Not Hard to see progress for the forseeable future

[Ian Royal]

Of course, that's football.

But 0-0 is not a bad result.
That is my point.

It is/was a point and in terms of results, a good point. If this thread is about progress then we have to ask if our current style of football will cut it in the Premiership. After watching plenty of games this season consisting of some truly dog sh1t football, then the answer IMO is no. We will not be grinding out any results in the Prem like we have been this season, and if you think we'll finish up any better than our last season in the Prem you're in you're in for a shock.
Good result? Yes
Poor football? Yes
Progress? We'll get promoted, but unless we invest in central midfield we're coming straight back down.

Getting promoted again IS progress. In fact a top 4 finish is progress on where we thought we could be before the season started and where the club has spent the majority of the last 25 years (the most successful period of it's history).

And what makes you think we won't change our style or bring in new players hould we get promoted? Yet again, another transfer window passes with signings. Which is pretty impressive given we never sign anyone... apparently.

[Royal Lady]

And these signings - when will be playing them? A £300k player who can't even get in Ipswich's first team is unlikely to make a massive difference to our play in the Premiership, should we get back there. Surely, "progress" would be being able to maintain a position in the Premiership for a number of seasons. If we don't go up, how can that be progress? If we go up, don't invest, come back down, how is that "progress". Sometimes, Ian, I think you just like arguing with Schards and it wouldn't matter what he said, you'd argue the point.

[Franchise FC]

And these signings - when will be playing them? A £300k player who can't even get in Ipswich's first team is unlikely to make a massive difference to our play in the Premiership, should we get back there. Surely, "progress" would be being able to maintain a position in the Premiership for a number of seasons. If we don't go up, how can that be progress? If we go up, don't invest, come back down, how is that "progress". Sometimes, Ian, I think you just like arguing with Schards and it wouldn't matter what he said, you'd argue the point.

I'm with Ian on this.

What we need this season is a group of players that can finish in the top two or win the play-offs.

What we need next season is a completely different kettle of fish. You're quote makes it sound inevitable and implies it as a 'fact'.

Tell you what - how about we wait and see.

[Royal Lady]

No it doesn't. I'm asking the perfectly reasonable question that if we went up, didn't invest and came back down again, would people still be calling that "progress". I do wish people would read threads properly before making their own comments.

[Don Finch]

What we need this season is a group of players that can finish in the top two or win the play-offs.

What we need next season is a completely different kettle of fish. You're quote makes it sound inevitable and implies it as a 'fact'.

Tell you what - how about we wait and see.

No, what we needed to do this season was invest in a couple of high quality players in preparation for next season. They would have bedded in ready for August then. Bringing in a whole swathe of new players doesn't seem to work and based on our last foray, we won't be doing that anyway. Whether we could sign these 'high quality players' is another argument altogether. Tabb looks to be a decent signing but the loanee from 'swich isn't exactly inspirational.
I don't think I could take another season like the last, I'd prefer to wash my car than turn up to watch that dross again.

[Ian Royal]

You're argument about Tabb and Harding(?) would make sense if they were bought to come in and play in the first team in the Prem. Which they quite clearly aren't. Especially seeing as one of them is a 6 month loan deal

They are here to help ensure we get up. If we do, we probably get to keep the half dozen Premier League PROVEN players we already have. Add that to the half dozen players we have with great potential, plus the younger players who are being developed and we won't need a huge amount.

ESPECIALLY if we change our system slightly and if the purchases we do make, are good ones rather than the poor ones the season we got relegated.

Yes we'll need a major overhaul by our standards. But really we'd not need much more than a top quality centreback, midfielder, striker and winger. Depending on improvements and out goings. Obviously more would be nice, but those are the absolute essentials.

[Ian Royal]

No it doesn't. I'm asking the perfectly reasonable question that if we went up, didn't invest and came back down again, would people still be calling that "progress". I do wish people would read threads properly before making their own comments.

YES

[Hampshire Royal]

It's simply not true that people disagree with Schards no matter what he says. I, for example, agreed with him when he said we were the best team in the CCC this year. So there!

It's just that he insists on posting so much that is wrong on here. Maybe he does it to provoke a reaction, or maybe he really believes it. Either way.....

[Royal Lady]

You're argument about Tabb and Harding(?) would make sense if they were bought to come in and play in the first team in the Prem. Which they quite clearly aren't. Especially seeing as one of them is a 6 month loan deal

They are here to help ensure we get up. If we do, we probably get to keep the half dozen Premier League PROVEN players we already have. Add that to the half dozen players we have with great potential, plus the younger players who are being developed and we won't need a huge amount.

ESPECIALLY if we change our system slightly and if the purchases we do make, are good ones rather than the poor ones the season we got relegated.

Yes we'll need a major overhaul by our standards. But really we'd not need much more than a top quality centreback, midfielder, striker and winger. Depending on improvements and out goings. Obviously more would be nice, but those are the absolute essentials.

How can you say on the one hand that Tabb and Harding are here to ENSURE we get up and then state "if we do". And What poor players did we buy the season we got relegated?

[Don Finch]

You're argument about Tabb and Harding(?) would make sense if they were bought to come in and play in the first team in the Prem. Which they quite clearly aren't. Especially seeing as one of them is a 6 month loan deal

That was my point, in a nut shell.
It's encouraging to see the youngsters coming through, especially Pearce, he has the credentials to be an outstanding player + if some of the others continue improving they could certainly amount to something. Unfortunately the next Premiership season starts in August so we are walking a bit of a tight rope in terms of having enough quality to stay up. Whatever we do, we need to start playing football again, the pacey one touch style that got us plaudits two years ago seems to have deserted us - would love it to return!

[Royal Lady]

Why, for example, did we not play Tabb yesterday or even put him on the bench?

[ZacNaloen]

How can you say on the one hand that Tabb and Harding are here to ENSURE we get up and then state "if we do". ?

Because nothing is certain?

[Royal Lady]

Well, surely he should have said perhaps they were signed to try and ensure we got to the Prem, though we might not necessarily use them if we get there, then.

Not everything in life is certain, but we've CERTAINLY played rubbish the last few games.

[Ian Royal]

I'm sorry RL, I don't like being rude to you. But have you had some sort of lobotomy recently?

I said HELP to ensure we get promoted. Whoever we buy and whatever we do there is no certainty we will go up. This is a very hard division to get out of.

Would you be arguing that Fae, Cisse, Rosenior, Matejovsky & Kebe were successful signings last season? You're not allowed to consider the impact they've had this season as that hasn't helped us stay in the Prem.

[Ian Royal]

Well, surely he should have said perhaps they were signed to try and ensure we got to the Prem, though we might not necessarily use them if we get there, then.

Not everything in life is certain, but we've CERTAINLY played rubbish the last few games.

Wrong wrong wrongity wrong.

I've seen a couple of the recent games and we haven't played badly in the ones I've seen. Not fantastically, but still fairly well.

[Royal Lady]

Well, they were successful signings to my mind, with the exception of Fae. If Coppell didn't choose to use them as much as he could have to try and ensure he kept us up, that's not their fault.

[Royal Lady]

"last few games" - Swansea, Wolves, QPR - all three we played rubbish.

[Ian Royal]

"last few games" - Swansea, Wolves, QPR - all three we played rubbish.

Wolves and Watford we were categorically not rubbish.

[Royal Lady]

And Ian, I thought the point had been made by a number of posters that far from being a difficult division to get out of, this season the teams in it are dire!

[Hampshire Royal]

Why wasn't Tabb involved yesterday? I don't know. The person to ask is Coppell. If you think he was wrong - tell him. But we got a good away point yesterday without him.

If you did ask him, and you didn't like his answer, he'd probably react the same way as i would if you insisted on telling me that I was doing my job wrong (assuming you don't do the same job as me). I've lost count of the number of opposing managers who say we are the best team in this division.