Honestly, it is a little bit grim but I am just counting down to 50 points and then seeing where we are from there. I can't imagine we will manage to get ourselves relegated, but the sooner we tick off the next 29 points, the better.
As others have said, a cup run would be a nice antidote to a thoroughly cursed league season.
I'd like to see a replay of the second disallowed goal. The match report says the ref blew for a foul on the keeper by Hanlan. However, I'm pretty certain he blows for a foul by Hanlan as he muscles past the defender to get to Vokes' knock-down. I'd stopped watching, before Hanlan/Mehmeti had bundled the ball home, as I'd already seen the ref indicate the foul.
No mention of Mawson's booking though so it didn't help on that account.
A number of comments about what Sullay could be up to instead on a Saturday afternoon. I'd say take up cricket...even if you don't get on you still get an epic afternoon tea out of it!
I remember getting Palace into the Premier League was Alan Smith’s proud boast soon after he arrived at Adams Park. I believe he mentioned it to the players during his first pre-match team talk, saying “As you know, I got Crystal Palace up into the Premier League” to which Simon Garner apparently responded (sotto voce perhaps) “yeah, and brought them straight back down again”. Nice one, Simon.
Thanks. The Goals Against figure is probably the most significant. There have been a number of goals we've let in recently where I've thought that no way would they have scored with Scowen in the team
All this hand wringing doom and gloom. Please! Get two of Josh S, Gapy or Thomo back to put some spine in team and we are fine. Get Taf fit along side F-J and Alfie and we’re are sorted. Onwards. COYB’s!
Worrying rumours, but would be a nice by-product. We'll need to put out a decent team to progress, in any event, I'd have thought, as the Saddlers are in fair form.
So where do these rumours regarding finances being tight come from?
With a run to the play-off finals last season and maybe a payout from Derby, can we really have money issues.
However, on the other hand we have reduced our football management staff by losing Bloomers and the goalkeeper coach, so maybe there some truth in the rumours?
I just don’t understand how anyone can assume our finances are completely fine.
Our squad size and quality have increased significantly since the pre-Couhig era. We have much higher profile players. More coaching staff (prior to Blooms & Lee H leaving). More backroom staff. Significant ground upkeep improvements (pitch quality, floodlights). We’ve given new contracts (obviously with a higher salary) to our top players to keep them around (Tafazolli, McCleary, Thompson etc.).
I would take an educated guess at our annual cost base being 50%+ higher than 2018/2019. I would also take an educated guess that our underlying annual revenue has not increased in line with this cost base (remove one-offs such as Derby compensation, Championship money + parachutes; crowds haven’t got much bigger and match day revenue must be stagnating, as it seems very few are paying for £7+ food at the ground).
We’ll be fine because we can sell Mehmeti and Forino, but replacing them with comparable footballing quality, whilst remaining financially sustainable, could be tough.
There needs to be an ounce of realism in this conversation.
Usually people say "things can only get better" when things are really bad and everything is going wrong. It's a similar thought to "the only way is up", though not tempting fate so much as "what can possibly go wrong now?"
The thing is, things can always actually get worse in football (ask Southend or Oldham fans!), which is why many of us are a little upset at what seemed like an excellent chance to challenge with our best ever squad appears to potentially be slipping away (though of course that remains to be seen) through a mixture of injuries, refereeing decisions and a collective forgetting that the second 45 minutes is not a warm down. To some of us, there is a sense that next season brings massive uncertainty, with a potential sea change regarding the squad and struggle to maintain the current on-paper quality, so it is a case of wanting to grasp the opportunity while we have it, rather than assuming it will come around every year.
Of course I am being a little tongue in cheek and I get your point - if we go from under-performing to performing even at a baseline standard, get some players back, and get referees with better observational powers than a cyclops with a cataract, we may indeed march on up the table.
Not sure why you are challenging it. It happened. Why? I don't know. Besides the point - note, telecom, text message, homing pigeon - it happens in football when players are asked to get bookings by their manager.
I speculated in the summer that losing Stockdale and going for a loaner rather than Blackman could well be a sign that budgets were being tightened. Signing Stryjek would certainly have saved some money, though since then we've also signed Alfie which I can't imagine will have come cheap, so maybe budgets were being squeezed with that in mind.
Since then we've lost two coaches without replacement and this week I see a physio left without anyone replacing her so far.
I suspect it's too early to speculate on next year's budget, we may yet have an FA Cup run, I guess it's feasible we might reach the play offs, there will certainly be player sales to tide us over. But I also don't see the Couhigs' business model generating much revenue. Food is too expensive and poor quality. The 'worldwide wanderers phenomenon' means £170 online season tickets and I'm not certain they were sold in their thousands. Merchandise is of variable quality. At the moment - and let's hope I'm wrong - none of the development squad look likely to generate big sell on fees, though a couple look like they have potential with the right nurturing. I'm not seeing many big name advertisers on the electronic hoardings (which are already broken in large segments).
We've not heard much about the new stand or access roads for a while...
Comments
That didn’t work but it was an online report that Alfie’s booking on Saturday means he will miss the sport Vale game. If it isn’t true then great.
Honestly, it is a little bit grim but I am just counting down to 50 points and then seeing where we are from there. I can't imagine we will manage to get ourselves relegated, but the sooner we tick off the next 29 points, the better.
As others have said, a cup run would be a nice antidote to a thoroughly cursed league season.
Port
I'd like to see a replay of the second disallowed goal. The match report says the ref blew for a foul on the keeper by Hanlan. However, I'm pretty certain he blows for a foul by Hanlan as he muscles past the defender to get to Vokes' knock-down. I'd stopped watching, before Hanlan/Mehmeti had bundled the ball home, as I'd already seen the ref indicate the foul.
No mention of Mawson's booking though so it didn't help on that account.
A number of comments about what Sullay could be up to instead on a Saturday afternoon. I'd say take up cricket...even if you don't get on you still get an epic afternoon tea out of it!
He's only on four yellows, so he's one away from a suspension yet.
Ideally gets another booking on Tuesday so he can serve his suspension against Walsall.
What's the pettiest mandatory bookable offence? Whatever it is, I want to see him do that.
Taking your shirt off when you score.
Even more so - taking it off when you don't score.
or....
Leaving the field of play without permission.
Ok, I want to see Alfie take his shirt off in celebration after cutting out an attack by smashing the ball into row Z
Without name dropping - I will anyway.
When I worked at Chelsea, Mourinho handed me a note to give to Joe Cole during training...
"Get booked in the next game - two days holiday"
I think he got booked for handball as he went down following a tackle on him.
I remember getting Palace into the Premier League was Alan Smith’s proud boast soon after he arrived at Adams Park. I believe he mentioned it to the players during his first pre-match team talk, saying “As you know, I got Crystal Palace up into the Premier League” to which Simon Garner apparently responded (sotto voce perhaps) “yeah, and brought them straight back down again”. Nice one, Simon.
Thanks. The Goals Against figure is probably the most significant. There have been a number of goals we've let in recently where I've thought that no way would they have scored with Scowen in the team
All this hand wringing doom and gloom. Please! Get two of Josh S, Gapy or Thomo back to put some spine in team and we are fine. Get Taf fit along side F-J and Alfie and we’re are sorted. Onwards. COYB’s!
Thank you @ReturnToSenda that is good news indeed.
Worrying rumours, but would be a nice by-product. We'll need to put out a decent team to progress, in any event, I'd have thought, as the Saddlers are in fair form.
So true. We are sitting kind of pretty in mid-table, under performing, and we are yet to field our strongest XI this season.
It's funny how being midtable and underperforming without our strongest XI available is taken as a positive by some!
So where do these rumours regarding finances being tight come from?
With a run to the play-off finals last season and maybe a payout from Derby, can we really have money issues.
However, on the other hand we have reduced our football management staff by losing Bloomers and the goalkeeper coach, so maybe there some truth in the rumours?
Why would it be a negative? Surely it means things can only get better?
I just don’t understand how anyone can assume our finances are completely fine.
Our squad size and quality have increased significantly since the pre-Couhig era. We have much higher profile players. More coaching staff (prior to Blooms & Lee H leaving). More backroom staff. Significant ground upkeep improvements (pitch quality, floodlights). We’ve given new contracts (obviously with a higher salary) to our top players to keep them around (Tafazolli, McCleary, Thompson etc.).
I would take an educated guess at our annual cost base being 50%+ higher than 2018/2019. I would also take an educated guess that our underlying annual revenue has not increased in line with this cost base (remove one-offs such as Derby compensation, Championship money + parachutes; crowds haven’t got much bigger and match day revenue must be stagnating, as it seems very few are paying for £7+ food at the ground).
We’ll be fine because we can sell Mehmeti and Forino, but replacing them with comparable footballing quality, whilst remaining financially sustainable, could be tough.
There needs to be an ounce of realism in this conversation.
Usually people say "things can only get better" when things are really bad and everything is going wrong. It's a similar thought to "the only way is up", though not tempting fate so much as "what can possibly go wrong now?"
The thing is, things can always actually get worse in football (ask Southend or Oldham fans!), which is why many of us are a little upset at what seemed like an excellent chance to challenge with our best ever squad appears to potentially be slipping away (though of course that remains to be seen) through a mixture of injuries, refereeing decisions and a collective forgetting that the second 45 minutes is not a warm down. To some of us, there is a sense that next season brings massive uncertainty, with a potential sea change regarding the squad and struggle to maintain the current on-paper quality, so it is a case of wanting to grasp the opportunity while we have it, rather than assuming it will come around every year.
Of course I am being a little tongue in cheek and I get your point - if we go from under-performing to performing even at a baseline standard, get some players back, and get referees with better observational powers than a cyclops with a cataract, we may indeed march on up the table.
Out of interest, why pass it on via a note? Couldn’t he just tell him in the changing room before the game?
Plausible deniability - the note was composed of letters taken from different newspapers and magazines.
Obviously didn't want other players to find out
He thought he'd give a note to you rather than pull him over for 2seconds and telll him one to one?
Not sure why you are challenging it. It happened. Why? I don't know. Besides the point - note, telecom, text message, homing pigeon - it happens in football when players are asked to get bookings by their manager.
Perhaps with the lip readers lurking in the trees he couldn't take the chance?
I speculated in the summer that losing Stockdale and going for a loaner rather than Blackman could well be a sign that budgets were being tightened. Signing Stryjek would certainly have saved some money, though since then we've also signed Alfie which I can't imagine will have come cheap, so maybe budgets were being squeezed with that in mind.
Since then we've lost two coaches without replacement and this week I see a physio left without anyone replacing her so far.
I suspect it's too early to speculate on next year's budget, we may yet have an FA Cup run, I guess it's feasible we might reach the play offs, there will certainly be player sales to tide us over. But I also don't see the Couhigs' business model generating much revenue. Food is too expensive and poor quality. The 'worldwide wanderers phenomenon' means £170 online season tickets and I'm not certain they were sold in their thousands. Merchandise is of variable quality. At the moment - and let's hope I'm wrong - none of the development squad look likely to generate big sell on fees, though a couple look like they have potential with the right nurturing. I'm not seeing many big name advertisers on the electronic hoardings (which are already broken in large segments).
We've not heard much about the new stand or access roads for a while...
We must have a new GK coach. There's no staff profile on the site, but then Dobbo doesn't have one either...