Mental that we’ve gone from being the biggest fish in league one to the . . .



There’ll be x3 teams recently relegated from the premier league, other teams who were also in the premier league a little further back, established championship teams and two teams who finished higher than us in league one……..

Why would it be easy?
 
‘Nowt to be scared of’. Absolutely. But concerns and confidence are misplaced imo if they are based on the size and/or vociferousness of crowds and size of the club (which in itself is questionable) rather than the ability of the players, the cohesion of the team and the tactical nouse and coaching ability of management.

We had the same crowd sizes and passionate support when we plummeted to the lowest position in the clubs history for the past few years and it didn’t stop the team from being shite or getting beat and relegated.
 
We ended up fifth in league one ffs,, great return on our big crowds. Some need to take a reality pill .......

If you extrapolate the 10 wins, 7 draws and 1 defeat fron Alex Neil's 18 games over 46 games, that is 94 points and a top of the table finish. He is the single most important factor in our chances next season. Speakman and Co obviously need to do the business too, the consensus seems to be around the 10 new signings mark with little to nothing coming through the 23's. The big attendances hopefully contributes a meaningful sum into the club finances but I'd say that's the limit of its importance. Can maybe help in a one off massive game like the Sheffield Utd play off semi but the ground isn't rocking anything like that for your average game.
 
To be fair , that includes clubs like Yeovil , Millwall, Rotherham, Scunthorpe and Wycombe It is rare that a club wins the League 1 play offs that has 30,000 support and the finances that generates.
How did Man City get on after they won the play offs ? That is the only equivalent really .

And for the record, I think we will finish 8th to 12th at the moment.
Top 5 the usual suspects Norwich, Watford Burnley plus Sheff Utd and WBA. After that who knows ?
In 2018/19, the vast majority of posters on here said Sunderland would win the League 1 title .... but they didn't. They then said Sunderland would win the play-offs ... but they didn't.

In 2019/20, the vast majority of posters on here said Sunderland would win the League 1 title .... but they didn't. They then said Sunderland would win the play-offs ... but they didn't.

In 2020/21, .... you know the drill!

Attendances were usually used as a reason for the (over) confidence, yet it was misplaced. "Positive thinking without ability is wishful thinking" as the saying goes.

Yet here we go again. No lessons learnt, just the big crowds will gain success mentality.

If the support which you claim is so influential, why did it take four seasons to get out of League 1 and even then via the play-offs?

The reality is that support doesn't guarantee success. Football is littered with examples of that and always has been. Look at them up the road historically. If you want an up to date example, look no further than Forest Green Rovers ... led league Two all season and went on to be crowned Champions. They ranked 21st out of 24 in home attendances in League Two.

Success doesn't come from numbers who support the club ... there are other factors that are more important ... playing ability, mental toughness, team spirit / togetherness, a good management team and club ownership, sustainability ... to name but a few.

Time for a reality check, otherwise with such high expectations a lot of supporters may well end up disappointed.
 

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