Media and Press 2014/15

[Matt Collins]

I'm feeling very pessimistic and really think this could be the year we drop. Oddly,
I'm very worried about our goal scoring great, especially in the first couple of
Months. Not what I felt a year ago

There are some reasons not to slash the wrists just yet though.

1. It's likely that half the sides in the league will go into the last six games at risk of going down. There's a lot of teams that are much of a muchness. Burnley, WBA, Leicester, Sunderland, and perhaps QPR have squads that don't look better than ours. So we shouldn't be completely cast adrift.

2. It sounds very weak, but once kozak and benteke are back I think our squad will be unquestionably stronger than last season:

- Hutton certainly looks a more robust option at right back than we had last season
- okore and senderos added to the ranks at CB.
- Richardson must be a better bet than luna - though whether he's better than Bertrand is less obvious
- n'zogbia must be a better bet than Tonev
- not sure what cole will contribute but he's the type we didn't have
- albrighton going is a shame. We should try to replace him with proven quality

Even if we didn't add any more players I think we're better off from a purely player perspective.

The big issue for me is momentum and lack of confidence spilling over. And the real problems I think we'll have scoring in the first 7 or so games. We could be bottom by the time kozak and benteke come back and the rot may have set in

[Damo70]

On the positive side we must be the only club in the Premier League who will be boosted by a forty million quid forward pairing being available for selection in the coming months.

[paul_e]

On the positive side we must be the only club in the Premier League who will be boosted by a forty million quid forward pairing being available for selection in the coming months.

Exactly, all the other sides who will be in th ebottom half will struggle for goals all season, we'll struggle for a month or 2 then have 2 very good goalscorers to call on.  If Bent can grab a couple before then and we can get a few elsewhere I can't see us being adrift by the end of september and at some point we'll have more than enough firepower to put on a bit of a run.

[exigo]

4,000-1? I remember the glory days of being around 33s to win the league.

[Steve67]

I know we are probably about as interesting to the media as a woman to a gay man, but I am quite surprised that the media haven't really picked up on the malaise of the club and picked it to bits. Might help Randy to focus the mind a little.

[cheltenhamlion]

They are scenting blood, don't worry about that. If we start badly we will be the only story around.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I know we are probably about as interesting to the media as a woman to a gay man, but I am quite surprised that the media haven't really picked up on the malaise of the club and picked it to bits. Might help Randy to focus the mind a little.

I don't think we matter much to the press any more to be honest. Our impending relegation scrap is about as interesting as Fulhams was but without the Michael Jackson statue and lovely ground to make it interesting.

We are now part of that bottom half mush that is written about only when they impact the main storyline of important clubs who are trying to win things.

[Ron Manager]

We are now seen in the same light as Stoke and Southampton and West Brom. Mediocre and easily beatable.

[Gregorys Boy]

I know we are probably about as interesting to the media as a woman to a gay man, but I am quite surprised that the media haven't really picked up on the malaise of the club and picked it to bits. Might help Randy to focus the mind a little.

I don't think we matter much to the press any more to be honest. Our impending relegation scrap is about as interesting as Fulhams was but without the Michael Jackson statue and lovely ground to make it interesting.

We are now part of that bottom half mush that is written about only when they impact the main storyline of important clubs who are trying to win things.

Can see where you are coming from, but if do go down next season or are at least in danger of dropping then I see them getting interested again.  Along with Leeds we would be the biggest club to even drop down to the Championship (in the Prem era that is), in fact arn't we like one of only seven clubs to appear in every PL season?  Its not the sort of headlines we are often, but it would be big news none the less.

[ADVILLAFAN]

I know we are probably about as interesting to the media as a woman to a gay man, but I am quite surprised that the media haven't really picked up on the malaise of the club and picked it to bits. Might help Randy to focus the mind a little.

I don't think we matter much to the press any more to be honest. Our impending relegation scrap is about as interesting as Fulhams was but without the Michael Jackson statue and lovely ground to make it interesting.

We are now part of that bottom half mush that is written about only when they impact the main storyline of important clubs who are trying to win things.

Can see where you are coming from, but if do go down next season or are at least in danger of dropping then I see them getting interested again.  Along with Leeds we would be the biggest club to even drop down to the Championship (in the Prem era that is), in fact arn't we like one of only seven clubs to appear in every PL season?  Its not the sort of headlines we are often, but it would be big news none the less.

We'd be bigger than bloody Leeds!

[Gregorys Boy]

I know we are probably about as interesting to the media as a woman to a gay man, but I am quite surprised that the media haven't really picked up on the malaise of the club and picked it to bits. Might help Randy to focus the mind a little.

I don't think we matter much to the press any more to be honest. Our impending relegation scrap is about as interesting as Fulhams was but without the Michael Jackson statue and lovely ground to make it interesting.

We are now part of that bottom half mush that is written about only when they impact the main storyline of important clubs who are trying to win things.

Can see where you are coming from, but if do go down next season or are at least in danger of dropping then I see them getting interested again.  Along with Leeds we would be the biggest club to even drop down to the Championship (in the Prem era that is), in fact arn't we like one of only seven clubs to appear in every PL season?  Its not the sort of headlines we are often, but it would be big news none the less.

We'd be bigger than bloody Leeds!

Only slightly, but its actually a decent compersion.  They over spent on players to get glory (a bit like us under MON), there was no sign of them not being in the Prem for the long term (slight difference here as the warning signs have been with us a few years now), and like us they have a very strong fan base, and a top ground.  Their case should be the real warning to us of what can happen.

[ADVILLAFAN]

If we went down I'm not sure we'd do a Newcastle and come straight back up. There's also the worry that we'd get taken over by asset-strippers.

[Gregorys Boy]

If we went down I'm not sure we'd do a Newcastle and come straight back up. There's also the worry that we'd get taken over by asset-strippers.

History shows than it is sometimes the bigger clubs who struggle to come back up, and don't really adapt to life in the Football league.  As you suggested it does depend partly on how much of the squad you retain too.

[Tony Erdington]

The Championship, would be horrendous for us, lots of half decent clubs, Villa park would be the biggest ground a lot of them would ever have played at,(their cup final syndrome) we as a whole would be on a downer, and there for the picking, thanks randy.

this is now our fourth season of scrapping and the odds are shortening.

[pauliewalnuts]

If we went down I'm not sure we'd do a Newcastle and come straight back up.

Newcastle managed to keep hold of almost all their "best" players and shed some of the dross they'd picked up. I'm not so sure we'd manage to do that, either.