So in the end Mid-Table
Finishing somewhere between 8th and 14th. Not bad.
So what now for the near future, say next five years. Obviously we should aim to win every game in a seamless drive towards inevitable Champions League glory, but more interestingly what would be acceptable performance to the supporter base? Wouldn't expect the club to declare this as an ambition but would retention of fan ownership, an intention to play a slightly more pleasing style where possible, retention of league status and an aggregate finishing position of say 65 over the next five seasons be OK?
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Can't even wait until the end of the season for another poorly packaged post on moving away from fan ownership.
A thread derailed by pettiness in record time. We're only minutes away from Mr. Plant chastising me for defending Dev.
In 5 years, I would be satisfied to see us debt free and competing for the automatics in League Two/bravely fighting to stay up in League One.
Holding our own in league one with much of our debt cleared, the odd cup run and a 5,000 average home gate and our acadamy back doing well.
Other than that final season under Saint Martin, the best we've been has been a consistently solid 3rd tier team, and that's probably the most we can hope for in the medium term. I'd imagine that, barring another glut of excellent loan signings like last year, we've got another two or three seasons doing pretty much what we've done this season, toying with the play-offs at best. If the football is entertaining I think that's tolerable. My main gripe this year hasn't been with overall results and position but the often tedious way we've gone about it.
Competing in league one with the colossal forces of the likes of Walsall, Fleetwood, Burton, Southend, Oldham, Bury, Rochdale.
Closer to the playoffs than to relegation.
Aspirations are one thing but I have to say many of your "acceptable" performance are set quite high. I don't get to go as often as most of you, so arguably have less say in the matter, but personally I would be reasonably content with a team that hovers around mid table Lg2, playing reasonable football. Anything better than that I would see as very much a bonus.
While an occasional sojourn into Lg1 for a year or two might be possible, I don't really see it as particularly likely. I don't really have a problem with that.
Short term staying as far away from relegation from league two as possible. I'd like to see us as an established league one club (though can anyone think of an example of a stable league one club?). I can't see a team like ours so close to the bright lights of the big London clubs realistically going much higher.
I doubt we'll do as well next year as we have this. Avoiding anything to do with relegation and the odd play-off challenge or cup run for excitement seems to be an acceptable baseline - but we should be aiming for the playoffs every season.
Bill Stickers, you can say what you want old chap
But you have to admit this is an identikit Dev C post. Rehashing the same point he has made over and over and over again? He lurks in the background, waits for something to go wrong and then chirps up to claim some sort of voice of reason high ground, as though it's some sort of crime to want to be fan owned and be successful on the pitch
He is indescribably boring, and has no real idea of what it is to be a football supporter
I'd like to see goals. But then that might run the risk of promotion. Scoring 2 or more and conceding fewer would be good (or 2-2 / 3-3 draws occasionally). More emphasis on defenders defending and midfielders/attackers attacking would be good and ball kept mainly on the deck. I'd settle for that, whether in L1 or L2. Yes, that's my dream.
Pushing for L2 play-offs every year should be standard, but I'm not expecting to see a 27 goal a season striker leading us to romp home as champions any time soon. Though that would be nice!
Sadly far too fat these days to make lurking an option.........
I have no particular desire or beef with fan ownership. Like anything else it has its advantages and disadvantages. of course I like anybody else want the club to be "successful".
The point of this thread (once you ignore the abuse from the usual suspects) is to seek to define what the baseline and therefore success is.
For me I, like one or two others have now suggested, would be reasonably happy with broad mid table Lg2 most years, possibly a playoff challenge and a cup run every few years and accept that occasionally we may flirt with but hopefully avoid a relegation battle. I see no reason why fan ownership cannot deliver that.
I agree that we should target play offs each year (while understanding that we will not achieve that target more often than not).
Would like more, or course, but being realistic:-
1. Don't get relegated; and
2. Sort that debt out. (Although I think this is probably nearer a ten year objective.)
3. Discover a few low/no cost gems like Pierre and Luke O.
This might be my naivety and the dream of how I would have approached a 5 year plan. but I see the last 2 years as:
Year 1. Survive and stay in League Football. Result - ended up in the play offs. Year 1 accomplished.
Year 2. Build on Survival, slightly more points and no real danger of relegation, get a quality defensive spine to the time. Result - Harriman, Pierre, Stewart, Jombati, Jacobson, Rowe, Bean and McCarthy in the squad, albeit the last on loan and a permanent replacement for Ingram required. Year 2 Accomplished.
But now we have the next 3 years to approach. In a nutshell they would be:
Year 3. Target: Playoffs as a minimum.
Build on the defensive rock Year 2 was built on and add creativity in midfield with one or 2 promising strikers backing up Older heads.
Year 4. Target Auto-promotion as a minimum.
Fill any defence holes as players go onto higher league clubs or get old/drop off in performance.
Add creativity where lacking in Year 3.
Add a proven goal scorer or two (the Holy Grail)
Year 5. Survive in League 1.
Year 5 is basically year 1 but in a higher League.
The two years after that follow years 2 and 3 above........and that answers your "what now for the next 5 years" question.
I'd go along with the Yak
I don't see why we would expect next year to be better than this one. We're likely to lose Pierre, we've already lost Ingram, and it will be hard to find another loanee the quality of McCarthy. We've had our best cup run for a while (since the league cup semis?) and been there or thereabouts in playoff places nearly all season.
We need a series of one year plans, not a five year plan. Unless the budget is increased year on year, what is it that drives the incremental improvements?
I like the Yaks thinking
We have to have some hope Chris...or we start messaging about the club lying about the money, the new striker who never appears, Gareth having no plan or Thompson being on a millon pound a week...
Hope is different to expectation!
I would love us to stop playing crap football , attempting to keep the ball on the floor and also try to entertain you fans with some goals!!
I think I said at the start of the season they 10th would be par. We could not match the investment of some clubs so we needed some consistent luck in signings and a lot of players to over-perform. A combination of the signings and form not happening got us to the position we are in.
Next year? Same again unless the luck and planets align.
The financial imbalance of the Premier and The Championship means that League 1 is the highest a Town Club of our size is likely to reach while we remain Supporters Owned. I think that the vast majority of our Fans want to remain a Supporters Club, rather than have a further bout of wasteful expenditure on trying to obtain the "Dream" . However we do want to see our Team play football. May we achieve this in the coming years as we become sustainable. We may be in League 2 for a long time, but York, Dag & Redbridge are joining Grimsby, Tranmere, Wrexham,Lincoln, Southport, Aldershot, Chester Torquay and Halifax who may remain even lower than us for a similar period.
Selling out to a "rich sponsor" is no magic wand for success.
Example stable League 1 teams:
Swindon, Gillingham, Port Vale, Oldham, Walsall. No reason we can't match any of those teams. Our infrastructure is comparable and in some cases superior. No reason to settle for mid-table League 2 every year, that should be the minimum requirement really.
Similar to Swindon?
Are you insane?
I don't think you can use the words Swindon and stable in the same sentence.
Especially if the words between "Swindon" and "stable" are "based gasroom user @rmjlondon is mentally"
Interesting thread and comments. Lets see who Ainsworth brings in and the what the overall squad side will be. Transfer/loanees changes will mean Ainsworth can't just bring another prospect for about 15-90 minutes of game time on a monthly loan deal any more, and let them go at the end of there loan term.
5 Months loan term next season so Ainsworth and his scouting network need ot bring their A game.
I doubt anyone is thinking about 'our aggregate finishing position..over the next 5 season.' lmao.
Lets just hope Ainsworth does not make a stupid decision to give an ageing striker a 2 year contract which means we have to put up with Thompson for another season as we can't afford to pay him off.
@robin, hear hear. running around with tons of energy just doesn't do it for me. If the likes of PCH returns on a 5 month loan at least I will have some thing to cheer about.