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Author Topic: Where Did It All Go Wrong....  (Read 25156 times)

Offline Villan82

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #225 on: July 10, 2020, 04:33:39 PM »
I was sure we would finish about 14th with no serious worries. I thought we had so much momentum that we would keep grinding out the key results to avoid getting sucked into the dogfight.

I think we are all upset at how quickly it all turned to shit.

Offline RamboandBruno

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #226 on: July 11, 2020, 01:23:51 PM »
I was sure we would finish about 14th with no serious worries. I thought we had so much momentum that we would keep grinding out the key results to avoid getting sucked into the dogfight.

I think we are all upset at how quickly it all turned to shit.

I thought this, on about 45/46 points maybe. I thought some more about what went right in the last few months of last season. Grealish was the catalyst but it wasn’t just that. In that dire run without many wins post Xmas 2018 into new year 2019, we actually drew games we could of lost largely down to the goals of Tammy (QPR, Hull at home), without snatching those draws from the brink of defeat, even with the 10 game run we would of struggled to make the play offs. It was actually the combination of Grealish coming back, the form of McGinn, the marshalling of the defence from Mings and the goal threat of Tammy combined at just the right time that got us on that run.
I don’t think we’ve ever recovered from Tammy not being signed in the summer (I know it was out of our hands). I think with him some of those early season draws are wins (West Ham, Burnley) and defeats are draws (Palace, Arsenal) just those games alone would yield another 6 points and there are probably others and we’d be virtually safe, if not on the beach. Add to that just as our early season okish form started dipping we lose the second of the 4 in McGinn and we’ve never really recovered.
No disrespect to Wesley who may come good in time, but that four combined with the heartbeat of that team, and looking back not replacing Tammy adequately has killed us.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2020, 01:28:14 PM by RamboandBruno »

Offline sickbeggar

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #227 on: July 11, 2020, 01:56:14 PM »
I was sure we would finish about 14th with no serious worries. I thought we had so much momentum that we would keep grinding out the key results to avoid getting sucked into the dogfight.

I think we are all upset at how quickly it all turned to shit.

I thought this, on about 45/46 points maybe. I thought some more about what went right in the last few months of last season. Grealish was the catalyst but it wasn’t just that. In that dire run without many wins post Xmas 2018 into new year 2019, we actually drew games we could of lost largely down to the goals of Tammy (QPR, Hull at home), without snatching those draws from the brink of defeat, even with the 10 game run we would of struggled to make the play offs. It was actually the combination of Grealish coming back, the form of McGinn, the marshalling of the defence from Mings and the goal threat of Tammy combined at just the right time that got us on that run.
I don’t think we’ve ever recovered from Tammy not being signed in the summer (I know it was out of our hands). I think with him some of those early season draws are wins (West Ham, Burnley) and defeats are draws (Palace, Arsenal) just those games alone would yield another 6 points and there are probably others and we’d be virtually safe, if not on the beach. Add to that just as our early season okish form started dipping we lose the second of the 4 in McGinn and we’ve never really recovered.
No disrespect to Wesley who may come good in time, but that four combined with the heartbeat of that team, and looking back not replacing Tammy adequately has killed us.

yep, losing a (now) proven premiership goalscorer was what did for us, but we were really painted into a corner by circumstances. The obvious  thing is to buy a proven premiership/top foreign striker but you cant get them to come when you've just come up even if you can afford them. So you either have a punt on someone from a lesser foreign league or  championship side and hope they adapt quickly or you try and buy some proven guy in his last years on 100k a week. I think Wesley will come good, certainly in the championship and really people like Maupay, well their record is no better than his in the premier. If i had to point to a mistake it was probably buying Samatta when maybe that was the point he tried to get an old warhorse in with experience.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2020, 02:02:23 PM by sickbeggar »

Offline RichardBatchelor

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #228 on: July 11, 2020, 02:05:54 PM »
For me, we didn’t put in a single bad performance until Wolves away. A few mediocre ones for sure, but not bad. We didn’t pick up enough points when playing competitively, simple as that. Up until the end of November I enjoyed watching us at least some of every match. Had we picked up the points our performances merited from a pure footballing sense (the game management, to coin an annoying trendy phrase, was diabolical), we’d still be struggling but at least on a par with West Ham and probably safe. That was where it went wrong for me, but with the benefit of hindsight.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2020, 04:42:57 PM by RichardBatchelor »

Offline Villan82

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #229 on: July 11, 2020, 02:16:01 PM »
That's why a huge portion of the blame lies with the management team.

Offline ROBBO

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #230 on: July 11, 2020, 02:31:18 PM »
It all went wrong when they didn't replace Smith at Xmas, we have gotten worse as the seasons got on. Owners must take some blame for this.

Offline levico

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #231 on: July 11, 2020, 02:38:35 PM »
It all went wrong when they didn't replace Smith at Xmas, we have gotten worse as the seasons got on. Owners must take some blame for this.

Yep, got to agree with this. Laudable but misplaced loyalty by the owners but I’m convinced we could have stayed up with the appointment of an experienced manager. Very disappointing.

Offline Villan82

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #232 on: July 11, 2020, 02:45:53 PM »
Thought last year was the start of a new chapter, I have Zero enthusiasm for another stint in the championship.


Online ChicagoLion

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #233 on: July 11, 2020, 02:56:36 PM »
When things go wrong in organisations, it’s usually not one thing but a series of bad decisions.
This process started at the end of last season and they just got too many decisions wrong.
Purslow could have done something about it, from December on he has allowed Smith-to continue his haveago management Regime. He has been pretty clueless since and the players know when the coach is floundering.

Offline Rudy Can't Fail

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #234 on: July 11, 2020, 03:18:29 PM »
Not learning anything from the last 15+ years.  We always end up with resources yet don't appear to have the basic structures/teams in place to maximise effective use of them. We must be one of the biggest spending clubs in the world over the last 15 years yet it has got us nowhere.

Excellent point. For me the most important person at any club is the manager. Hopefully we'll finally learn something from the last 15+ years.

Offline eamonn

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #235 on: July 11, 2020, 05:23:52 PM »
I know these sound like minor gripes but they all add up: Having two more home games than away left to play post-Lockdown (more than anyone else except Citeh perhaps) as a team whose home form was vital for survival (can anyone find the home games only table at Lockdown?), the moving of the goalposts where teams can use two extra subs which favoured those with stronger squads - we have played most of the big teams since the return; the VAR calls which have possibly effected us negatively more than rivals and definitely having the least recovery time/turnaround in lockdown matches.

Offline SoccerHQ

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #236 on: July 11, 2020, 05:27:05 PM »
For me, we didn’t put in a single bad performance until Wolves away. A few mediocre ones for sure, but not bad. We didn’t pick up enough points when playing competitively, simple as that. Up until the end of November I enjoyed watching us at least some of every match. Had we picked up the points our performances merited from a pure footballing sense (the game management, to coin an annoying trendy phrase, was diabolical), we’d still be struggling but at least on a par with West Ham and probably safe. That was where it wrong for me, but with the benefit of hindsight.

Yeah same for me. People are saying this season was a disaster from start to finish but we were competitive up to that Leicester game in early December. End of November we were comfortably beating Newcastle at VP and fully expecting to finish above them and then went and got a 2-2 at Old Trafford, a game we could've easily won. Then were outplayed but narrowly lost at Chelsea. We had spirit and crucially some goals in us.

Since then bar the odd game most of our performances have been bottom 3 standard even in games we've picked up points (Brighton away).

There's something I can't quite shake off about the Leicester game. Mings doing his hamstring early on yet the manager seeming to think he could run it off and just as he was about to be finally taken off Vardy ran away to score. Leicester could've scored 6 or 7 in the end and we've never looked good defensively since so huge loss of confidence.

The Son goal then pretty much relegated us two months later.

Offline Rudy65

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #237 on: July 11, 2020, 06:46:54 PM »
I know these sound like minor gripes but they all add up: Having two more home games than away left to play post-Lockdown (more than anyone else except Citeh perhaps) as a team whose home form was vital for survival (can anyone find the home games only table at Lockdown?), the moving of the goalposts where teams can use two extra subs which favoured those with stronger squads - we have played most of the big teams since the return; the VAR calls which have possibly effected us negatively more than rivals and definitely having the least recovery time/turnaround in lockdown matches.

Those are just tame excuses in my view. We were crap pre Covid and have been since Man U away. After that game something changed and the diabolical surrenders at Sheffield U, Southampton home and away, Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester away plus Post Covid followed

Offline eamonn

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #238 on: July 12, 2020, 01:56:51 AM »
I know but I just don't want to believe we're this bad 😔

Offline ROBBO

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Re: Where Did It All Go Wrong....
« Reply #239 on: July 12, 2020, 02:02:09 AM »
Smith was a Purslow appontment, could be that Purslow didn't want to be proved wrong.

 


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