04-02-2018, 02:11
(This post was last modified: 04-02-2018, 02:20 by Slick_Footwork.)
To be honest, I think we would struggle in the Championship with what we'd be left with if we do go down (which seems inevitable, but I'm still praying for a miracle).
I expect that the few decent players we have would go.
What would we be left with...
The likes of McClean, Nyom and Robson Kanu aren't even top players at Championship level. Then some older campaigners such as Brunt, Mozza, Yacob and McAuley, who were too good for that level in their pomp, but all the wrong side of 30 (some miles the wrong side) and likely to struggle with the hussle and bussle of the Championship now.
Honestly I could see it being more of a relegation battle than a promotion push...
But I guess when you think about it, we've had this coming. For the past 3-4 years we have failed to replace the old guard.
The fact we're grumbling that Morrison is out and debating if Brunt is our best midfield players (both been here 10+ years and never world beaters at Premier League level) tells its own story. The fact McAuley is still playing at 38 when we have 1 injured centre half shows how pathetic it was that we never replaced Olsson.
We knew these players needed replacing for years and we never did it. We put far too much emphasis on loans or short term permanent deals. When we did sign for cash, we signed poorly. Why we decided to spend £15m on the 'potential' of Burke when we don't have a single player in the middle of the park who can play progressive passes forwards is beyond me. Pulis was obviously responsible for a lot of this mess, losing the plot this season, but Williams and Hammond have a lot to answer for - giving him free reign and allowing these ridiculous transfers to go through.
Replacing 33 year old Fletcher with 36 year old Barry when it was obvious we needed legs is a prime example of a lack of due diligence from the board. Now I'm not knocking Barry, he's been one of our better players, but last season it was obvious we needed an injected of energy so this clearly wasn't the right move.
Krychowiak was the one player we signed who actually added legs, but he's another stopper in the same mould as the numerous others we already have. The fact we signed him and Barry, when we already had Livermore and Yacob shows how the board did not think of the balance of the squad. What is the point employing a technical director if he's not going to look at the basics? It seems we will get what we deserve when we are paying huge salaries to a bunch of muppets who don't know football.
I expect that the few decent players we have would go.
What would we be left with...
The likes of McClean, Nyom and Robson Kanu aren't even top players at Championship level. Then some older campaigners such as Brunt, Mozza, Yacob and McAuley, who were too good for that level in their pomp, but all the wrong side of 30 (some miles the wrong side) and likely to struggle with the hussle and bussle of the Championship now.
Honestly I could see it being more of a relegation battle than a promotion push...
But I guess when you think about it, we've had this coming. For the past 3-4 years we have failed to replace the old guard.
The fact we're grumbling that Morrison is out and debating if Brunt is our best midfield players (both been here 10+ years and never world beaters at Premier League level) tells its own story. The fact McAuley is still playing at 38 when we have 1 injured centre half shows how pathetic it was that we never replaced Olsson.
We knew these players needed replacing for years and we never did it. We put far too much emphasis on loans or short term permanent deals. When we did sign for cash, we signed poorly. Why we decided to spend £15m on the 'potential' of Burke when we don't have a single player in the middle of the park who can play progressive passes forwards is beyond me. Pulis was obviously responsible for a lot of this mess, losing the plot this season, but Williams and Hammond have a lot to answer for - giving him free reign and allowing these ridiculous transfers to go through.
Replacing 33 year old Fletcher with 36 year old Barry when it was obvious we needed legs is a prime example of a lack of due diligence from the board. Now I'm not knocking Barry, he's been one of our better players, but last season it was obvious we needed an injected of energy so this clearly wasn't the right move.
Krychowiak was the one player we signed who actually added legs, but he's another stopper in the same mould as the numerous others we already have. The fact we signed him and Barry, when we already had Livermore and Yacob shows how the board did not think of the balance of the squad. What is the point employing a technical director if he's not going to look at the basics? It seems we will get what we deserve when we are paying huge salaries to a bunch of muppets who don't know football.