Right then, where does the blame lie?

Why is everyone always trying to play the blame game. Blaming Gibson or individual players is ridiculous. Fans need a bit of realism. The 'glory' days have been and gone Gibson has done his deluded best but, in reality, we are never going to be a 'big' club and no Sheikh's are going to buy the club. The recent ploy of turning the clubs debts into shares does nothing other than make Bulkhaul a much poorer company but it does make the club easier to sell because potential buyers do not have to inherit the debt which goes back to the Bryan Robson days. Its a lousy business.
 
I think the blame probably lies with the financial reality at the club.
We had the best player in the Championship last year and we couldn't afford to offer him a raise to keep him here. We apparently didn't have the finances to buy the striker who'd struck up a great partnership with the Championships best player either. We couldn't afford the left back who'd provided the ammunition or the wide forward who'd come in in January and made a huge impression.
Our finances did allow us to go out and get a load of cheap buys though. Sadly those we did buy would always struggle to match what we'd lost.
To make matters worse it appears that our finances meant we cashed in on a lad who'd just started to perform consistently after 6 months and yet we didn't replace him.
Now we've got fans saying we've got loads of room in FFP terms to invest in the squad and that we'll finally invest the Tav, Spence, Akpom and Rogers money. I'm sceptical that we will suddenly spend big as the time to do that was last summer when we knew what we would be buying. A season on and we've got a few saleable assets that might attract bids that'll be hard to turn down and if even one or two of them go then we'll be facing a massive rebuild again.
I hate to say it, but I think those expecting us to give it go this summer are in for a big shock.
 
dooderooni said:
I think the blame probably lies with the financial reality at the club.
We had the best player in the Championship last year and we couldn't afford to offer him a raise to keep him here. We apparently didn't have the finances to buy the striker who'd struck up a great partnership with the Championships best player either. We couldn't afford the left back who'd provided the ammunition or the wide forward who'd come in in January and made a huge impression.
Our finances did allow us to go out and get a load of cheap buys though. Sadly those we did buy would always struggle to match what we'd lost.
To make matters worse it appears that our finances meant we cashed in on a lad who'd just started to perform consistently after 6 months and yet we didn't replace him.
Now we've got fans saying we've got loads of room in FFP terms to invest in the squad and that we'll finally invest the Tav, Spence, Akpom and Rogers money. I'm sceptical that we will suddenly spend big as the time to do that was last summer when we knew what we would be buying. A season on and we've got a few saleable assets that might attract bids that'll be hard to turn down and if even one or two of them go then we'll be facing a massive rebuild again.
I hate to say it, but I think those expecting us to give it go this summer are in for a big shock.
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I don't expect us to give 'it a go ' as such in terms of 7 figure signings.
I do have some hope ( it might be just that and wishful thinking ) that Carrick gets a fair budget and can learn from this year.

We're a one trick pony based on lovely flowing football played exclusively on the floor.

To get out of this league, or even be in the playoff semis ... To be seriously in and amongst the top 6 you need a level of aggression and uglyness.

You need something to get you out of frustrating situations.
You need experienced men, some threat in the air as an option , and some pace as options.
A league goal threat from Centre Mid or set pieces.

I actually hope there is a bit of turn over of players. Just got to hope it's the right ones to create a solid 18 who make sense.
 
It's historical, and it goes back to Southgate's sacking.
Apart from one embarrassing season in the Premiership, we have bumbled along with over-priced mediocrity, sold on some of our good kids and expected miracles from average players. Changing Managers every five minutes [16 including Caretakers since 2009] hasn't helped.
There has to be an underlying issue and there are a number of possibilities, including solutions?
In recent seasons we have been fending off relegation and spoilt by the efforts of one Chuba Akpom, without whom we would have been out of the play-offs with or without Archer and Giles. We need to get it right, which is easier said than done. If Luton can do it, why haven't we?
 
Not sure MC has much say in it to be honest. I think we've got a budget and wage structure that'll open up a certain pool of signings who'll come with a certain amount of risk.
I'd doubt that we'll see any of the loan players kept on with the possible exception of Ayling who is out of contract I think and we'd maybe have a chance of negotiating his wages down. If we couldn't offer Chuba or Giles enough last year then I think that tells you that wages will always be a stumbling block.
This new model is a backhanded way of saying that we'll be working in a different marketplace than what we have previously and success will depend largely on being lucky and bringing in players who hit the ground and are on it from day one.
 
Boro Devonport said:
First off, injuries have hindered us. However, I don’t think we have adapted and with the personal, maybe have gone a bit Karanka until we actually got forwards who can score a lot? I liked how we set up against villa and Chelsea at home.

I would argue Carricks stubbornness has cost him 14 league defeats possibly. Right now we are sinking without trace. His philosophy is admirable and tonight we dominated, but again, lightweight in attack and with the ginger ho approach we will always concede. Conceding is a problem when you don’t score more than you let in.
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“and with the ginger ho approach”……..whoever thought spellcheck could be so funny.😀
 
if we were playing Sunday league and the teamsheets were handed in before kickoff, the ref would saying, "wot no keeper and striker? your lads on the razz again last night eh?" lol ;)
 
dooderooni said:
Not sure MC has much say in it to be honest. I think we've got a budget and wage structure that'll open up a certain pool of signings who'll come with a certain amount of risk.
I'd doubt that we'll see any of the loan players kept on with the possible exception of Ayling who is out of contract I think and we'd maybe have a chance of negotiating his wages down. If we couldn't offer Chuba or Giles enough last year then I think that tells you that wages will always be a stumbling block.
This new model is a backhanded way of saying that we'll be working in a different marketplace than what we have previously and success will depend largely on being lucky and bringing in players who hit the ground and are on it from day one.
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There's an awful lot of players that earn less than 25k a week that could get us in the playoffs next year. Plenty will be established and not ' proper gambles '
Our player of the season this year will be on less than half that .. and closer to 30%
However it's a balancing act..
If the recruitment team don't acknowledge that ' only a plan A is needed ' .. they we are in more bother next year
 
Smogonsea said:
Lack of cutting edge and quality upfront. Which ultimately lies with the recruitment team.
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Is it purely the recruitment team though?
I expect in some/many circumstances they identify players that ultimately we can't afford/get a deal sorted for.
If it was purely down to identifying players then it's essentially fantasy football with no spending limits.
In some cases this season their selections have been an improvement, i.e. Dieng.
 
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I'm not sure recruitment has been that poor, I feel we've struggled due to injuries, and players being bought who have needed time to settle in and find their feet.

I think Rogers was signed to be Akpom's replacement. He didn't get the opportunity to play as a 10 at the start of the season, due to a shortage of options up front, and Carrick choosing to use him as a striker. Crooks and Coburn were both playing well in their respective roles, and so there was a period where Rogers couldn't get into the side.

I believe Lath was signed to be Archers' replacement. He didn't hit the ground running but I thought he was showing real signs of improvement before he got injured.

Basically, if we'd have eventually been able to have the side below as a settled side over the course of the season, I think we could have had a much different season to the one we've had, but injuries and certain other factors prevented it.

Dieng

Smith
VDB
Lenihan
Bangura

Howson
Hackney

Jones/Forss
Rogers
McGree

Lath
 
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Frankly, even if by some miracle we were able to gain promotion anytime soon, what are the chances of staying up. Football has moved on since the glory days. We just don't have the money, the ruthless ambition or the leadership to compete at the highest level.
 
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