Same pattern for 3 years


We are still 4th because of the gap we built up, our form has clearly dropped since January. Last 5 games we are 13th in the form table, not good when our playoff rivals are top 5 in said table.

It takes some mental gymnastics to act like we aren't playing the worst football all season in this part of the season.

We were crying out for 3 or so established championship players in January to get back into the automatics like we were.
I know, no mental gymnastics here. I've made pretty much exactly the same point in another thread. In fact the form dropped long before January - there was a clear drop off from November onwards.

The OP makes pretty much the same posts every year though about spending money in January. He was desperate for us to spunk £5m on Johnson Clarke-Harris for a long time. We didn't have a prayer of catching the top two then and still finished in the play-offs without him. His point about all three seasons following the same pattern just factually isn't true. There's a separate point that we could have invested more this January and really kicked on which I agree with. I think they probably focused everything on getting Le Fee in early, not playing again in the league until mid-January after Portsmouth, having a couple of easy fixtures in Derby and Plymouth then having Mundle, Watson and Browne ready to return. Avoid defeat against Burnley, beat the two teams at the bottom and go into February with a much stronger squad regardless. Obviously it didn't pan out that way and the injured players took longer than anticipated to get back to fitness, which seems to be a pattern. I agree that at some point you have to question how much they actually want promotion - we can cry all we want about parachute payments but ultimately that is how much it costs to compete, we either want to or we don't.

(Not advocating reckless spending either but if we accept we're going to lose players every year in this league we are never ever going to be in a position to compete).
 
This ownership group don’t give a toss we needed 4 or 5 signings we made 1 who’s injured as I don’t believe Danns would of offered much at all.

The lack of cover in midfield, full back and right wing is so obvious. As with have 3 full backs who can’t stay fit.
 
Once we do, we will be ready for the next step, sometimes i kind of wonder, if the Owners actually want the club to get promoted, because that would mean it would cost the club more in wages and transfer fees, or are we going to have to wait until someone with a deep swimming pool of cash comes along, i am not claiming to be wrong or right, just what i generally wonder during transfer window, this january we were in touching distance, of the premier league and yet...
I can't see that myself.

If we are struggling for money, then the best way to make money is to go up (if we can do it with minimal investment), spend very little, put our best young players in the shop window and bank the massive cash difference between Championship and the Premier League. Come back down and either have the funds to keep our young, best players or make a huge profit if they want to be away. Have parachute payments boosting funds for the next two (or is it three?) years. You end up with a club exactly where we are now, but with some serious financial clout to be able to build a team capable of leading the promotion race and surviving.

Personally I think if we do somehow go up, we are so far short of being a surviving Premier League team, that is probably what we should look at doing.

Potentially a couple of £5m players extra in January could have had us in a more realistic chance of going into the playoffs, and perhaps be in touching distance of the top two. But you have to make that gamble and risk comes with that. They didn't fancy that risk.
 
It's complete bollox.

This season we were in 4th place in January and we're in 4th place now.

Last season, yes, we collapsed with the management fiascos.

Season before, we finished the season much stronger by the end, sneaking into the playoffs in 6th place. We were between 8th and 10th in January. We improved!!

The pattern you're claiming to see ... just ... isn't ... there.
We were a couple of points off the top 2 in January iirc, mind
 
It's complete bollox.

This season we were in 4th place in January and we're in 4th place now.

Last season, yes, we collapsed with the management fiascos.

Season before, we finished the season much stronger by the end, sneaking into the playoffs in 6th place. We were between 8th and 10th in January. We improved!!

The pattern you're claiming to see ... just ... isn't ... there.
The run two years ago was down to the manager and players that had been there since to the start of the season really stepping up though. Nothing to do with anything the hierarchy did.
 
I can't see that myself.

If we are struggling for money, then the best way to make money is to go up (if we can do it with minimal investment), spend very little, put our best young players in the shop window and bank the massive cash difference between Championship and the Premier League. Come back down and either have the funds to keep our young, best players or make a huge profit if they want to be away. Have parachute payments boosting funds for the next two (or is it three?) years. You end up with a club exactly where we are now, but with some serious financial clout to be able to build a team capable of leading the promotion race and surviving.

Personally I think if we do somehow go up, we are so far short of being a surviving Premier League team, that is probably what we should look at doing.

Potentially a couple of £5m players extra in January could have had us in a more realistic chance of going into the playoffs, and perhaps be in touching distance of the top two. But you have to make that gamble and risk comes with that. They didn't fancy that risk.
Basically, it’s just thoughts In trying to work out why it’s taking so long to be ready for the premer league, having watched Ipswich come out of l1 and get there in under 12 months, and after almost 8 years we continue to find ourselves in the football league. It’s interesting 🤔 brain twister, as to the reason why when in January as previously said by other posters we had a golden opportunity.
 
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Last season we started to fall away from October - hence sacking Mowbray after 2 wins from 9 in December.

Previous season we started January in 4th and finished 6th. But were never in contention for the top 2 and had a strong end to the season.

This season we've gone from 4th to 4th.

Agree we could/should have done more in the window. We also could/should have bought a striker in January 2023, although Ekwah was a big part of our end of season form and you could argue we finished in the play offs regardless.
I think people remember that Mowbray period a bit worse than it was yeah the form might have had a wobble but we were three points outside the playoffs when he was sacked and he pretty much always had a strong finish to a season. That was without us replacing amad and we’re still lacking a striker as well. If anything I think Mowbray was over achieving more than people seem to think Reggie is.
 
The huge advantage of premier parachute money aside SAFC are ten points clear of comparative teams in the division

I think that indicates progress ?
 
Checked @wicketkeeper’s post history… no where to be seen when we’ve been winning :lol:
This is the pattern of the particular poster. Doesn't half talk nonsense as well. 3 seasons ago we played well towards the end of the season with a depleted side. Last season was tragic and as of now, we've hit a poor run but still higher up the league than both the other seasons in the championship. So the op is utter, utter tosh
 
Basically, it’s just thoughts In trying to work out why it’s taking so long to be ready for the premer league, having watched Ipswich come out of l1 and get there in under 12 months, and after almost 8 years we continue to find ourselves in the football league. It’s interesting 🤔 brain twister, as to the reason why when in January as previously said by other posters we had a golden opportunity.
Ipswich gambled, spent a lot and it paid off. There are a few other teams that do that and it doesn't work. Then they find themselves in trouble.

Don't Boro often splash the cash, and they are drifting away from the playoffs?
 
We’re not going up this year. We are playing now like we did the back end of last season. Once you fall apart you don’t the it back on and we also are screwed with injuries. Championship mid table next season.
 
Ipswich gambled, spent a lot and it paid off. There are a few other teams that do that and it doesn't work. Then they find themselves in trouble.

Don't Boro often splash the cash, and they are drifting away from the playoffs?
i am not exactly sure how much boro, have spend this season, but to be fair gibson does back them as much as he can, as for ipswich they took a risk as you say it worked, i guess it depends on which side of the debate you view it from.
 
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Ipswich gambled, spent a lot and it paid off. There are a few other teams that do that and it doesn't work. Then they find themselves in trouble.

Don't Boro often splash the cash, and they are drifting away from the playoffs?
Ipswich didn't even really gamble, they spent very little. They spent a lot on wages in L1, that's about the extent of it.
 
It's complete bollox.

This season we were in 4th place in January and we're in 4th place now.

Last season, yes, we collapsed with the management fiascos.

Season before, we finished the season much stronger by the end, sneaking into the playoffs in 6th place. We were between 8th and 10th in January. We improved!!

The pattern you're claiming to see ... just ... isn't ... there.
could we have been in a higher position though as we have dropped some silly points. we have also seen a drop of the fast free flowing football. we are now rather boring to watch with occasional glimpses of good football.
 
Basically, it’s just thoughts In trying to work out why it’s taking so long to be ready for the premer league, having watched Ipswich come out of l1 and get there in under 12 months, and after almost 8 years we continue to find ourselves in the football league. It’s interesting 🤔 brain twister, as to the reason why when in January as previously said by other posters we had a golden opportunity.
You mention Ipswich took one season to get out of the championship and compare it to our 8 years outside of the premier league. You do know that Ipswich were outside of the premier league for 23 years don’t you?
That said, the January transfer window was so so disappointing, especially after signing Le Fee. I thought when that happened we were really going to go for autos.
 
I don't see your point. Are you saying if we did invest in January we would not have gotten back into the automatics anyway, like we were earlier in the season?

I seem to recall a time when we were comfortably clear at the top of the table. The fact is our form has tailed off as the season has progressed, why? A number of reasons, but a big one is lack of squad depth, when our players get injured or tired the quality drops significantly because our bench is weak.

Our form since January has dropped off even more, it's irrelevant if we are still 4th, that just means the teams below us crap too.
You're over thinking my post. It implied no speculation about any "what would have happened" scenario. All I did was point out that the pattern the OP is headlining doesn't exist.
 
Once we do, we will be ready for the next step, sometimes i kind of wonder, if the Owners actually want the club to get promoted, because that would mean it would cost the club more in wages and transfer fees, or are we going to have to wait until someone with a deep swimming pool of cash comes along, i am not claiming to be wrong or right, just what i generally wonder during transfer window, this january we were in touching distance, of the premier league and yet...
Le Fee looked to be a masterstroke. Unlucky he gets injured.
Danns would have been a great addition. Maybe could blame the board more with him but it’s still pretty much bad luck.

If the two of them hadn’t had injuries they’d have took us close imo.
 

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