Quote Originally Posted by mickd1961 View Post
Prior to the start of last season people on here were tipping us for a top 7/8 finish.......I looked at the lack of pace in the squad,the lack of a goal threat up front,from wide and from midfield and predicted bottom 4 but I wasn’t sure if we’d be 17th or relegated but I couldn’t see anything other than trouble.

I also looked at the dire final three months of the previous season and a poor pre season allied to the Chadli debacle and Morison’s injury woes.

Rather than a total pessimist I’m more of a realist than anything else,I don’t just look a a £120k a week pay packet for a player and think he’s the new saviour.

If Rondon is CF next season we’ll struggle again.....you need a heavy number of goals to escape that division and as of yet we have not purchased the goals we need,the same weaknesses are there now as were there last season.

We need more legs and pace for this division and we need to nail this down before the season and not on August 31st 6 matches into next season.

If we do that we’ll end up Adam Le Fondre and Steve Sidwell.
I too looked at our squad and while encouraged by the 'supposed' quality of our signings I couldn't understand why we hadn't addressed it's glaringly obvious deficiencies. Unlike Swedish and yourself I didn't post of those concerns, so fair play to you and well called.

But as a relative newcomer to the site (2011 having read for a year previously) you've predicted we're in the sh it more times than I remember. That said I'm pretty sure it's been prior to almost (if not) every season and transfer window since. With this in mind it was bound to fall your way eventually and I dare say Brock's could/would have given you decent odds for it too .

However ..... you also openly stated Alan Pardew was a 'real manager' and you felt we should keep hold of him even if relegated.

Any thoughts regarding the latter.............. ?