It’s been a fantastic season that has exceeded all expectations. I think all four games against Swansea this season have highlighted our limitations. They’re defensively well organised and can stand up to our physicality and so once the long ball was nullified, we lacked the quality and composure in the final third to cause them too many problems. Next season will be interesting to see if our approach will evolve. As Warnock hinted after the Middlesbrough game, I think teams will be have us figured out a bit better next season and so we need a more varied approach. I’m a fan of getting it up field quickly. Kicking for territory and pinning the opposition deep in their own half is a perfectly good tactic in rugby but tends to be looked down on in football. The tippy tappy playing out from your own 6 yard box bores me senseless and doesn’t serve us well. I’d just like to see us be a bit more composed and try to get it down and play more in the final third. We’ve shown we can do it and played some great football at times this season but all too often we’ve become a bit too one dimensional.
I expect our team to look very different next season and especially our squad. We have six guys out on loan and can anyone see Schmidt, Ritzmaier, Christie-Davies, Simoes, Aitchison and Wolfe getting near the starting 11? Thomas? Adeboyejo? Miller? Halme? Odour? Chaplin? Maybe even Kane? That's a lot of players who if we don't want this season to be a flash in the pan and we want to challenge year after year probably aren't to the level we want to give competition in each place.
I think last night was one of very few occasions, if not the only occasion, where Ismael’s stubbornness went against us. Trying to outmuscle their defenders and playing a high line and condensing the play, played into their hands. We played one counter attack with some pace, and scored. We’d played them three times without scoring, we needed to try something different to take them by surprise.
Be interesting next couple of seasons to see how we grow as a team imo . This season was a one off imo in terms of playoff finishes but next season should see us establish as a Championship side and hopefully progress and maybe in a few more seasons time we may get here again . Just glad we hopefully won’t see the div 1 football for a while especially in my lifetime .
Can't disagree with much of that. We saw over 3 games how comfortable they were with our default style of play. We also saw on Monday, how uncomfortable they looked when we went at them. We needed to show them something different yesterday, and my worry was always whether we were willing or able to do that. Starting with Victor was a poor decision. For me, we played completely into their hands for 70 minutes. They never looked in danger until we got the ball down and ran at them. Just like on Monday.
It'll not be our manager who chooses the main style of play. Lee said. This week. The high press is the philosophy instilled in new coaches that we go forward with . My fear is Warnock is right. Clubs will adopt to counter that style. We need a plan B and plan C. The quality is there. It showed that in spades at Bournemouth. Styles moved into a more midfield role the second half.
Tbh teams try to adapt to every style it’s if they can counter it . Every week teams will come up against different styles and try to adapt . Our style is just lacking that extra bit of quality to finish it off imo. But tbf I don’t think we finished with the same intensity last few games and the substitutions reflected that . The three fresh forward after an hour for instance . imo it’s as if we believed we could match these teams toe to toe and in most parts did apart from the spark of quality at crucial times . Teams learned to do just enough then frustrate the fek out of us .
My worry is we don't/won't try to adapt. I totally get having a philosophy and letting the other teams worry about us. It's the thing that's given us the season we've had. But at some level, at some point, possibly in the key moments, I also believe the thing that makes a difference is being able to change things if you need to. We've seen it with regularity this season. The teams who have done well against us are the teams who have gone up against our style of play. In those games, we have to be able to show something different. We just don't seem to have a Plan B. That was the one disappointment from the play-offs. We didn't learn.
I think the bigger question is going forward did the five substitution rule give us our "Edge" i would say you could even call it a unfair edge based on our already set up style of play and players we had bought in to play that system Was this our chance to beat the system i think so.
Very much agree. Five subs and empty stadiums were two key factors for me. Both of those things disappear next season
What did warnock actually say? His style has been direct for years but still gets results. I'd just like us to play to our strengths strubers tactic of anderson standing on the 6 yard box then passing the ball to him and him trying to be Paulo Maldini and play the ball out of defence was a recipie for disaster and i think that's why anderson has improved alot as were not inviting pressure on him and he has been encouraged to clear his lines.
After saying that his Sheff Utd team weren’t as direct as our current side and that our centre halves make Chris Morgan look like Franz Beckenbauer he went on to say: “I thought we played ideally against Barnsley as I don’t think some teams like coming out against them and they will not get away with that next year and they have got to try and go up and ruffle a few feathers at the top level as I don’t think they will get away with it at this level two seasons on the trot.”
I DO think that we should and will cash in on any players for whom we can get good lucre. If Southampton, or Brighton DO come up with £8-10 million for Styles, I would be accepting that offer and using the cash to rebuild for another promotion push next season. Now is the time to strengthen, but we can only do it with a tactful sale, or two first. I am sure that the board have already identified targets should it be championship next season, which it now is. I am sure that they will have scouted and would be willing to offer decent money for the likes of Kyle Dempsey, Kyle Joseph and a few others, but our being able to be competitive in bidding would depend on our selling an asset, or two. It will also be great if we do land Dike for the £2 million area, which is what Dane seems to be suggesting, because he is already an asset worth five times that amount - it wouldn't bother me if Orlando had a 50% sell-on, it would still be a good deal for all three parties. We DO need to strengthen, however, across the board. We have a good number of seasoned and now successful players at championship level, but we need cover and a scattering of players who will offer something different within the preferred 3-4-3 structure. I will be surprised if Ismael does leave over the summer. He is an astute cookie and will know that there would be little point in going to a financially crippled basket-case of a premiership, or championship club. WBA might be an offer he would consider with their parachute payments, but it looks as though they already know that they want Wilder and I would think he would snap their hand off. The Crystal Palace boardroom dispute between Lampard and Ismael as next manager would be most likely to fall Lampard's way, especially as Ismael has no Premiership management experience and I am not sure that prima donnas like Zaha would fit well into Ismael's alpha-male management style. Could become a disaster very quickly. I would think that Ismael would have one more season trying to get us up there before seriously considering other options. He might stay on longer if we were to get promoted next season, but, if we continue to do well, but just fall short again, I think that he will look at his CV and think it is worth cashing in. Again, I am sure that the board will have someone in mind who we have never heard of, but who will continue the momentum already built up. Good days. Keep 'em coming.
Not sure what difference it makes if I'm honest, warnocks style of play is very direct and Chris morgan was only good for clearing the West stand so I think he was abit salty post game like he always gets. its a hard style to get results against get the ball up field win the 2nd balls etc.
As I understood it He was always expected back in Orlando after our final game. He’s their player. I would imagine their will be no incoming transfers for a few weeks yet
