Rob Couhig - misplaced optimism?
We've lost 3 of what were probably our higher paid players Bayo, Stockdale and Stewart and so far replaced them with 2 promising non-league players and a Man U youngster.
Probably sensible in terms of finances but not sure if, as it stands, it ties in with Rob's optimism that we will be pushing for automatic promotion.
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not a chance, he said what he said just to sell more season tickets
How many have been sold?
We’ve got Sam Vokes, Gareth McCleary, Anis Mehmeti, and Ryan Tafazolli, five players I wouldn’t swap for anyone in L1.
That's only four
Sam Vokes is worth two.
Fair point
around 3k I believe, already up from last season ....clever tactics from Rob , won't work next season if he fails to deliver this season
After his adamance that we'd survive in the Championship and win the play-off final, I wasn't surprised in the slightest when Rob said we were aiming for autos - but I didn't really take much notice of it cause I don't think it's realistic without spending too much money. But the window is still open for another seven weeks, so not much point judging the squad yet - only one of our three signings so far (Mellor) could be seen as a (partial) replacement for one of the major departures.
D’mani Mellor looks like a budding Uche to me. All arms and legs and hard to shake off the ball. Will need a bit of body-building, mind.
Gawd...we almost survived in the Championship and made the playoffs despite a winless run that Gasroom experts said had put paid to our chances of reaching the playoffs. Every thing Rob C says seems to stick in someone's craw.
Of course we’ll be aiming for the automatics (along with a dozen or more other clubs).
Surely the Chairman needs to be optimistic before the season starts. We finished with over 80 points and reached the play off finals. It would have been even stranger if he said we were aiming for mid table mediocrity.
It seems absolutely ages since we had a season of mid-table mediocrity so to be fair we are overdue one.
It would make for an interesting change as a supporter to be ‘on the beach’ by April.
I really wouldn't take everything Rob C says literally. He's a showman who wants to maximise revenue. What we get is a partial truth wrapped up in hyperbole. It's just the way he is.
Didn't he also say at some point last season that the club would improve the toilets? I guess we'll see if that materialised in a few weeks time...
I remember how Dominic Gape looked when he first arrived and how he rapidly bulked up and gained strength.
What about a goalkeeper, Tyler Dickinson is not good enough for a 1st team keeper and we need another centre half.
Difficult getting a plumber nowadays!
The thing that struck me most about the recent training away-day pics was how muscular Anis Mehmeti now looks. Maybe he was just tensing for the cameras in the swimming pool shots but he looks like he might have put on multiple kgs of muscle over the summer...
Is it okay if I feel slightly uneasy that you've studied Mehmeti's physique enough to notice, @aloysius?
Only kidding. As someone whose physique tends to bulk up in all the wrong places for any kind of sporting activity - except maybe Sumo wrestling - I'm always impressed when meeting professional athletes at just how 'fit' their bodies actually are.
I think because we tend to see them alongside other footballers it normalises (?) our view of their bodies so we don't notice how different they are to our own - we'll mine anyway.
I remember meeting Sido in the changing rooms at M&S where he was buying a suit for a wedding. Always thought he was all gangly arms and legs but up close much more muscular and broad chested than he appeared from the terrace.
The last 3 seasons under the Couhigs have all been fantastic - promotion to the Championship for the first time in our history, nearly surviving the Championship relegation against all odds and due to some rampant cheating, and then getting to within 90 minutes of an immediate return to the Championship.
The facilities are improved, the crowds are up, the merchandise revenues are up, we even have a substantially bigger global fan base than before.
Yet Couhig is now a glass half full dickhead this year because, before a ball has even been kicked, with a transfer window that has weeks and weeks left to run, we haven't signed 4 top quality players?
These young players we've signed are not meant to be like for like replacements for Stewart, Stockdale and Bayo. They are not meant to be statements of intent. They are for the future, unless they do a Memehti / Forino and excel straight away, and even our most cynical fan chants their names now.
We will still sign a few first team names, and maybe loan a few more.
And lest we forget, we're still Wycombe. We get gates of 5k, in an expensive, competitive part of the country. If you need top quality, household name talent being signed year on year, go down the road and support Chelsea. This isn't the club for you.
I remember the Ben Townsend transformation: the gangly full-back of May 2000 re-emerged as the hench wing-back of August 2000. What a season that turned out to be...
Bayo seemed to lead some of the encouragement and competition with weights work but sure the analysts and fitness guys have a good handle on what is needed
Rob is a showman and possibly over promises at times but why would you want to kill the enthusiasm? It's infectious and sets a standard. Better to aim high....oh, and we'd be fkd without him.
What a splendid post, couldn’t agree more.
Thank you @Twizz it should be a rule of the Gasroom that, the much missed Sido gets a name check as often as Nick Freeman.
id much rather have misplaced optimism than misplaced pessimism.
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I also thought Ben Townsend was veering near the tubby side.(Luke Shaw) eg I think most people who saw his displays that season, thought he would go on to have a career close to or at the top level.
Shame it somehow never materialised.
Of course, but in the same interview he made a big point of doing everything necessary for us to mount a promotion push - we've yet to see that, so presumably that business is still to come. He does have a tendency to exaggerate, though - not that that's necessarily a bad thing as I think it's largely born out of enthusiasm.
No surprise here, the professional optimists funnily enough think it's all brilliant, the pro downers think it's all rubbish.
As always the truth is somewhere in between, and for me much higher towards the former.
I think we'll all feel a bit more comfortable if/when we do sign someone who has a vague chance of starting a league game though! Let alone the talk of continually trying to improve the squad, if you take it as meaning players who can compete to start games immediately, as opposed to the development angle.
But keeper aside we can definitely start the season strongly as we are.
I like Rob, I like his positivity, it's infectious. He was very clear when he first came in that the ethos needed to change, why look to avoid relegation when you could challenge for promotion. Why couldn't we do that?
This mindset change, driven from the top has done wonders here and long may it continue. What I'm expecting is the fans, players, staff etc buy into this automatics is our aspiration this season but that if we come up a little short, it's not disastrous. Of course, if we finish outside the top 10 then I suspect heads will roll.
Do I think autos are achievable - yes. Do I think we will definitely get there - no. It's going to be a lot of hard work but if Rotherham can keep doing it, why can't we?
Just look at the change in England cricket since Key & McCullum have taken over. More or less the same team that had only won one test match in 17, they've now won four on the spin, chasing more than 250 in the 4th innings each time. What is the one thing that has made such a dramatic u-turn in our fortunes? Positive Leadership from the top down and focusing on what the players are good at. We will achieve this, we want you to be positive and we want to win being positive.
I see a lot of similarities between Rob and what is happening with England cricket at the moment. Both will make some mistakes along the way but it's going to be a fantastic ride! Watch out League One we're coming for you again in 2022/23!