Originally Posted by
Don_Corleone
I think McInnes generally has done a very good job, but I'm now convinced he's taken us as far as he can. I'm still unsure whether anyone else can actually take us further, but might be time for a freshen up soon.
We had the opportunity maybe 1 or 2 seasons ago to show our ambition by making some investment in challenging Celtic, who we've continually been runner up to in pretty much everything for the last 3 or 4 years. It would have required some fairly big changes in restructuring the wage bill and revisiting our targets as a club, but it was necessary if we were going to build on the momentum we'd built up for a few seasons and to take things to the next level.
I'm afraid to say we've missed the boat now. We've let Rangers build themselves back up to a position where they are stronger than us and are probably not a million miles behind Celtic once again. We've regressed and are back in the mix with teams like Hearts, Hibs and at the moment Killie, challenging for 3rd and the occasional cup run.
I don't really see any realistic way for us to achieve what we could have possibly achieved had we taken those steps and been a bit braver and bolder. Scottish football is going back to how it was from the mid 90s until Rangers disappeared. Old Firm will stretch further ahead with each passing season and we'll be left playing for the scraps and celebrating the odd victory over them without much hope of ever winning anything.
I like to think i'm not a happy clapper or a pant pisher as they're referred to - I try to stay balanced and realistic in my views - so the above is not a doom and gloom scenario, it's just what I believe is reality. We could make radical changes next season, but I think it's 2-3 years too late to make much difference.