Second Season Syndrome

Just getting the feeling, that this season will go one of two ways - either push on, making up for the collapse / failure of last year, or could be a struggle to put last year behind, and mid-table mediocrity could be looming.
Of course much will depend on what level / quality of players arriving, and keeping hold of prize assets, plus the big question, can the likes of Phillips / Klich / Allioski / Roofe, pick-up & maintain last years performances, with the opposition now knowing what they are all about.
***** then, that quality reinforcements are sought, to provide competition & backup, and the U23 lads - Struijk / Diaz / Edmundson etc, given a real opportunity to play, and not just become bench warmers.
Once the fixtures are out for the season, the first 10-12 games played, the feel & vibe from the club, may signal whats ahead.

We have one of the best if not the best (by some distance) coaches in the league.
given what he achieved with the squad last year it seems he owns the philosophers stone and can turn base metal into stone.
he will have a full pre season
already been linked with lots of attacking players
Wise/Warnock/Hockaday/Heckingbottom are not involved
Ken Bates has left the building
Why worry about things we can’t control or before the preseason has properly started

It's the best place we've been for many seasons now to push on with some consistency. There's a VERY grave danger that we all get carried away and assume it's going to be a cake walk and that our name is already on the trophy, that would be disastrous, it's going to be just as tough this season as last, it's a bl00dy slog.

It will all be down to the squad we have.

Two wingers, an extra centre back and either a striker or centre mid (Quality ones) and we will be challengers. If we signed Kent and Helder Costa then I'd back us all day long.

Poor ineffective signings and one or two players leaving and I think we'd struggle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hopelesslyoptimistic

We have one of the best if not the best (by some distance) coaches in the league.
given what he achieved with the squad last year it seems he owns the philosophers stone and can turn base metal into stone.
he will have a full pre season
already been linked with lots of attacking players
Wise/Warnock/Hockaday/Heckingbottom are not involved
Ken Bates has left the building
Why worry about things we can’t control or before the preseason has properly started

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Best coach in world, which is why it bothers me that he isn't backed fully as with a good squad he'd walk this league. This season he got what is probably a 14th place squad to almost automatic promotion.

Exactly, don't know what the hell radz is playing at, appreciate he's got elland rd back, got the training ground up and running again, plus the under 23's etc etc, but please go that extra mile and give this man the money and players he wants, you'll get your money back ten fold by hitting the promised land.

thought he has gone an "extra mile" with the running track?

FFP is really restricting what EFL teams without parachute payments can do. Brum, Sheff Weed, Forest, Derby all struggling more than us because of it. It's doing the opposite of what was intended i.e. levelling the playing field, it's giving relegated clubs a huge and unfair advantage. Not saying Radz has buckets of cash (he clearly doesn't), but even if he did he wouldn't be able to spend it.

And back to the thread subject, I've been watching our games from last season again, and the number of goal-scoring moves which involved Saiz (either directly or in pulling opposition players out of position to create space for others - especially Klich) is very noticeable. We definitely missed him in the 2nd half of the season, and the type of unpredictability he brought is very very difficult to replace. Yes there are clearly other areas of weakness in the team, but I'd say it was his absence that hurt us the most now I've had time to look again at last season.

I think the good thing is Bielsa showed that the squad doesn't need an overhaul. The same players who were written off as not being good enough in the past almost got us promoted, so that part really depended on who the coach is. If we could add a couple of good players then I don't see a reason why we would drop back but the biggest problem is some clubs are demanding our whole budget for one player. And we need around 4-5. Liverpool want 12m for Ryan Kent for example. Come on...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldWhiteTaff

FFP is really restricting what EFL teams without parachute payments can do. Brum, Sheff Weed, Forest, Derby all struggling more than us because of it. It's doing the opposite of what was intended i.e. levelling the playing field, it's giving relegated clubs a huge and unfair advantage. Not saying Radz has buckets of cash (he clearly doesn't), but even if he did he wouldn't be able to spend it.

And back to the thread subject, I've been watching our games from last season again, and the number of goal-scoring moves which involved Saiz (either directly or in pulling opposition players out of position to create space for others - especially Klich) is very noticeable. We definitely missed him in the 2nd half of the season, and the type of unpredictability he brought is very very difficult to replace. Yes there are clearly other areas of weakness in the team, but I'd say it was his absence that hurt us the most now I've had time to look again at last season.

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100% in agreement with Saiz, the team was more fluid, unpredictable and potent when he played. I really hope Izzy Brown would have been a good shoe in for that role but it never happened.

As for FFP, there is 101 ways around it if need be, we could get big sponsorship, a sister company could buy one of our assets like Thorp arch or sponsor us etc. However I think ultimately Radz is not someone that likes to take a risk with his money, not unless the odds are heavily stacked in his favour.

Good news is that we have a lot of youngsters that I think were deliberately held back last year to maybe keep them out of the shop window if we didn't get promoted. Even without additional signings and providing we don't lose key players, i think this years squad will potentially be the strongest we have ever had in the championship.