Lighten Up

WBA-Josh · (This post was last modified: 29-12-2017, 20:41 by WBA-Josh.)

I agree with all the comments in this thread. Now I'm not as old as all you golden oldies Whistle

but I do remember the good times in the Championship under Mowbray and Di Matteo and after the first few years in the Prem, it all changed and Premier League safety became the maximum objective. This toxic attitude eventually led us to Tony Pulis and the final destruction of our good reputation.

I don't want to see us get relegated but it won't be the end of the world if it happens. The club can rebuild and reshape itself to make it better in the long term and even if it would take a few seasons to get promoted, at least we'll do it as a proper club.

I still think that we'll stay up and if we do, I hope Alan Pardew can rebuild and reshape us and take us forward as a proper club again.

4evaabaggie · (This post was last modified: 29-12-2017, 21:02 by 4evaabaggie.)

Josh, we have always been a proper club, what we are losing / have lost is playing proper football. We are not alone ... Most clubs are happy to achieve mid table mediocrity, the greed league is all about money, football and entertainment do not matter as long as the £'s keep rolling in and you keep those lions on your sleeves.

Getting relegated would not be a great loss from a footballing point of view, more even league, better football but from a competing point of view and challenging for silverware it would be disaster ...... no money means no improvement on the quality of the squad, being back to square one every time we get promoted, being in the shadow of the clayheads. The dingles if they make it won't stay there .......

Baggievicar · 29-12-2017, 23:03

If we go down, the huge issue will be how well we use the parachute money.
I have to say, I had more faith in Peace to use it constructively (skinflint though many thought him) than the new owner - Peace understood football.
I still think we'll stay up. No idea why.

talkSAFT · 30-12-2017, 11:27

(29-12-2017, 23:03)Baggievicar Wrote: If we go down, the huge issue will be how well we use the parachute money.
I have to say, I had more faith in Peace to use it constructively (skinflint though many thought him) than the new owner - Peace understood football.
I still think we'll stay up. No idea why.

That's a good point, Vic.
Jeremy went to every match, and so at some time would have called Pulis into the office and told him he didn't want to watch this shite every week. (Whereas Lai has only watched once to my knowledge and couldn't translate the mood of the fans).
I still don't get the 'skinflint' nickname. All Albion fans went along with his prudence from 2002 onwards, all agreeing that the way forward was a slow upward curve, and he learnt the lessons that cost so many big Clubs a long spell in the doldrums. (Many of them wish they'd followed Peace's model). Some think the time was right 3-4 years ago to progress and pop down the Bank for a loan, and it MIGHT have worked; but only if you consider that the Revenue earned by finishing top 8 (say - no one really believes we're capable of joining the Top 6) is not that much greater, and from a financial point of view, not worth the risk. In reality he's proved correct, because the pot's empty, every penny we've made has been spent (and it's crazy to go overdrawn), and Dan Ashworths don't come off a conveyor belt - and we can't allow or trust narrow-minded Head Coaches to spend the profits.
Blaming a 'Skinflint' is a good excuse for ambitious fans to blame something/someone, but in reality Jeremy did a fantastic job, taking over from Thompson. If you'd forecast this millenium's success to fans back in the 90s we'd have wanted 100/1 for a £5 bet.