Negan Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Now when LJ first came in he said that he would need 3/4 transfer windows. Now judging by his first, come the 4th we'll be a force. I look at the team now and for the first time in our more recent championship days we look like a serious top 10 team. I honestly wouldn't swap Flint and Magnusson for any other teams central defenders. When Smith is back and 100% him and O'Neil arguably one of the best midfield duos in their positions. Obviously we would have liked that quality striker to replace Kodjia but Abraham looks as though he'll hit the 20 mark and Engvall could yet turn out to be a gem. Now top 10 teams are promotion contenders. Do you reckon we can finish in the play offs this season? We're off to a cracking start and what seems like 3 of our hardest fixtures behind us, which we came out of with our heads held high, can we keep it up for the rest of the season? I think we'll have a top half finish, be disappointing if we don't considering the amount of money we've spent. Which if we do, we then might be able to attract that next level of player which will boost us up and we can have a real go at it, if we did finish in the play offs it would be a season to early for us. I know some fans might want here and now success but I think this season we'll get top half and then next year LJ and co will really go for it. Certainly exciting ones ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk Red Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Not likely, but not impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairman Mao Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooki Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 No, not impossible but highly unlikely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Army 75 Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 You never know . Realistically I would probably put us 8th to 12th bracket. Sneak the playoffs would be a fantastic achievement. I'm sure the club will be aiming for top spot. I think we have the makings of a really good side once they all get up to speed. Looking forward to seeing our new striker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance Williams Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Possible but undesirable just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robson Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Keeping my feet on the ground and saying no. It's not impossible but not likely. Next season could be a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezo Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 This is my best train of thought re the striker saga. Will we score less goals without Jimmy - probably, does it mean we are more or less likely to get promoted - logically less. But then where did I think we would finish before he left 10 - 12, where do I think we will finish now 12 - 14. So no major difference in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidered abroad Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 By end of September, I believe we could have around 17 points from ten games. If continued through the season, that would take us into the pray-offs with 78 points. Realistic? Possibly, because if we get to end September with only 3 defeats, the confidence will be very good and unlikely that we would blow up later on. This, coming from a lifelong City pessimist, would be a very good season. The again, it could all go belly up at Rotherham and end the dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderMB Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Right now, relegation is still more likely than promotion. The squad is now solid, but losing a 20 goal a season striker will damage us, as it would damage any team. We've also made a ton of changes. So many, in fact, that I think it'll take a good six months for our players to gel. With that being said, I think we've bought the right type of players, and I hope to see us taking advantage of the European market a bit more. There is definitely talent out there, as demonstrated by Hodor and Kodjia, and if Engvall turns out to be as good as these players then another few transfer windows will put us in contention for the top half of the table over the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozo Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 If we can get 4 points from Rotherham and Wednesday away, i think we'll all start believing. Lose both those games and suddenly people will get twitchy. It's like in cricket; add two quick wickets and you get a true picture of how you're faring. Based on this inexperienced squad, I'd say no we can't. We're always two injuries away from a weak team. Next season, potentially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phileas Fogg Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 I don't even think it'd be the best thing just yet. We've got such a young side now, it might actually be better for us to stay here a season or two and have the side gradually improve and gel into a formidable unit before we get promoted. Consolidating and improving in all aspects, including getting all stadia arrangements / ticketing right, getting the youth academy where we want it and having an even more effective recruitment system in place could take time. If we get these right it'll make us a more effective side and commercial outfit if we were promoted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudski Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Whilst it is obviously the Clubs dream to get to the Prem, if we were to do the unthinkable and make the play offs and go up...what then? Apart from the money, all I can think of are negatives. No way are we ready as a Club to go up yet. Still building as a Club throughout. I'd like to think if we ever went up, then we would be in a position to sustain that position and not come straight back down again. Doing that would make us go backward imo. I'd like to think we could keep getting better each season in this league and develop throughout the club. No point dreaming about the Prem and play offs if we aren't ready for it. It's a bit like winning a night in with Liz Hurley when you were 16...fun at the time, but with years experience behind you, you wish it had been when you were in your thirties, when you knew what you were doing, and could make it last ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibor Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Goals for this season IMO are to get 50 points on the board asap and then start preparing for next season's promotion challenge. We don't want to go too far too fast as it's often harder to sustain. Obviously nobody will be unhappy with a playoff finish, which is possible if unlikely, but let's not get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin1988 Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 2 minutes ago, Nibor said: Goals for this season IMO are to get 50 points on the board asap and then start preparing for next season's promotion challenge. We don't want to go too far too fast as it's often harder to sustain. Obviously nobody will be unhappy with a playoff finish, which is possible if unlikely, but let's not get carried away. This is true, but squad wise we are not too far away, in my opinion. We're maybe short at full-back and up front, but that aside we're pretty well equipped to deal with the upper echelons these days; it certainly wouldn't take a radical overhaul for us to be any more. 07-08 was an anomaly of huge proportions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 1 minute ago, spudski said: Whilst it is obviously the Clubs dream to get to the Prem, if we were to do the unthinkable and make the play offs and go up...what then? Apart from the money, all I can think of are negatives. No way are we ready as a Club to go up yet. Still building as a Club throughout. I'd like to think if we ever went up, then we would be in a position to sustain that position and not come straight back down again. Doing that would make us go backward imo. I'd like to think we could keep getting better each season in this league and develop throughout the club. No point dreaming about the Prem and play offs if we aren't ready for it. It's a bit like winning a night in with Liz Hurley when you were 16...fun at the time, but with years experience behind you, you wish it had been when you were in your thirties, when you knew what you were doing, and could make it last ;-) I think if we ever went up the plan would be to expect to come back down again, but so much richer that we could emulate Burnley who this time are competing better and have more sustainable cash to spend. Despite a certain amount of excitement from a decent start, like Nibor I think we are some way away yet. As for Liz Hurley, she goes out with an obnoxious Aussie **** with a plastic face, so there's hope for us all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivorguy Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 No, and not desirable either. Last promotion was at least a season earlier than planned, and look at what happened. We need steady progress over these next two seasons and push on in third. Last season set us back a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myol'man Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Top half will do fine, it keeps the season alive a dreaming of play-offs well into March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChippenhamRed Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Magnusson has played, what, five games for the club and already people are saying they wouldn't swap him for any other central defender from any other team, some of whom they've probably only seen play once or twice, if at all? Think people need to calm down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina's Rolls Royce Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 16 minutes ago, EnderMB said: Right now, relegation is still more likely than promotion. Really??? How do you work this out? The squad is now solid, but losing a 20 goal a season striker will damage us, as it would damage any team. Where does Tammy Abraham fit in to this damage? Currently looking as good as Kodjia if not better. Having brought in several new players who have a record of notching a goal or two and having Tomlin for the whole season not just a dozen or so games we are considerably stronger than last season. We've also made a ton of changes. So many, in fact, that I think it'll take a good six months for our players to gel. They don't all have to start in the same line up. O'Neil and Magnusson have slotted straight in. With that being said, I think we've bought the right type of players, and I hope to see us taking advantage of the European market a bit more. There is definitely talent out there, as demonstrated by Hodor and Kodjia, and if Engvall turns out to be as good as these players then another few transfer windows will put us in contention for the top half of the table over the bottom. As far as Promotion is concerned- we are no where near ready and would definitely come to soon for any sustainability but as long as we're improving as a club and as a team then we're going in the right direction to challenge for the step up. Failure will not live with the Lansdown's persistence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red white and red Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Possible, not likely. We have had a good window, but we are a fair way off teams like Norwich, Newcastle and villa who are established prem teams with much better foundations. I would put us in the mid table bracket, which I would be delighted with, considering last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JammyOne Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 In agreement with everyone else. I like the idea of getting 50 points on the board ASAP and then planning for next season. Main thing is to get the team playing well together and not fear relegation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodburyred Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 13 minutes ago, spudski said: Whilst it is obviously the Clubs dream to get to the Prem, if we were to do the unthinkable and make the play offs and go up...what then? Apart from the money, all I can think of are negatives. No way are we ready as a Club to go up yet. Still building as a Club throughout. I'd like to think if we ever went up, then we would be in a position to sustain that position and not come straight back down again. Doing that would make us go backward imo. I'd like to think we could keep getting better each season in this league and develop throughout the club. No point dreaming about the Prem and play offs if we aren't ready for it. It's a bit like winning a night in with Liz Hurley when you were 16...fun at the time, but with years experience behind you, you wish it had been when you were in your thirties, when you knew what you were doing, and could make it last ;-) Whilst I get your point, I don't think you can plan to be ready. Its a case of taking it when it comes. Look at Hull , Burnley and the ilk. Considered attractive to players and favourites for promotion in the Championship all thanks to getting to the premiership. Hull back in 2008 could only dream of having that sort of pull. We as a club could be "ready" for the next 20 years and still not be lucky enough for promotion. As for Liz Hurley surely it would be better to have a quick go at 16 than to get to 70 regretting that you didn't get another chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Colby-Tit Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 What's all this "not ready yet" all about? I'm definitely ready, and I reckon SL is too. Besides, even if got promoted and then relegated we'd pocket £100m. Come on people, we're not Rag Ass Rovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Likely, no, because there are probably around 10 teams who could conceivably go up, only 3 spots available and we're in an extremely competitive League where the difference between bottom half and top half is really not substantial. But, I think we'll be in the mix and I think we're one of those 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red_Nine Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 5 minutes ago, Sir Colby-Tit said: What's all this "not ready yet" all about? I'm definitely ready, and I reckon SL is too. Besides, even if got promoted and then relegated we'd pocket £100m. Come on people, we're not Rag Ass Rovers. I concur, no idea what not ready for promotion means, anyone would think we play in a 800 seater stadium and have a team of 14 year olds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingswoodactor Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 33 minutes ago, EnderMB said: Right now, relegation is still more likely than promotion. The squad is now solid, but losing a 20 goal a season striker will damage us, as it would damage any team. We've also made a ton of changes. So many, in fact, that I think it'll take a good six months for our players to gel. With that being said, I think we've bought the right type of players, and I hope to see us taking advantage of the European market a bit more. There is definitely talent out there, as demonstrated by Hodor and Kodjia, and if Engvall turns out to be as good as these players then another few transfer windows will put us in contention for the top half of the table over the bottom. I think our new team gelled pretty well against Aston Villa in the 2nd half last Saturday! Seriously though, our new players all seem to have slotted straight in rather well, Tammy, O'Neil, O'Dowda, and Maggers massively so. Brownhill is the only one who looks a bit lost in our set up at the moment, but I think there's a good player in there for sure. I think overall, for the amount of signings we've made, we really haven't disrupted the team and it's playing style, from what we were seeing in the last few months of last season. Can't wait for the next game already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonBristolian Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Promotion is possible but the simple fact is that, with a couple of injuries, the gaps in our squad come clear. We're still a centre-back short (unless Ekstrand signs) and we need to see how Moore fits into English football. Little gets an unfairly hard time on here but is nonetheless a weak link in a back four. If Abraham gets injured or drops in form then we'd need Gustav to settle and fast. We're in a far, far stronger position than we were last season (especially before Christmas when it really only needed Kodjia and Smith out the team for us to be utterly doomed) but those weaknesses may tell over a season. That's not to be negative - we've done outstanding work in the transfer window and I think we've now reached a point where, rather than having fears of a relegation battle, I'd be disappointed to be anywhere below mid-table. But let's not get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marina's Rolls Royce Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 4 minutes ago, Red_Nine said: I concur, no idea what not ready for promotion means, anyone would think we play in a 800 seater stadium and have a team of 14 year olds No? Check out BCFC Aug 2015- Jan 2016 for a better idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddevon Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 45 minutes ago, cidered abroad said: By end of September, I believe we could have around 17 points from ten games. If continued through the season, that would take us into the pray-offs with 78 points. Realistic? Possibly, because if we get to end September with only 3 defeats, the confidence will be very good and unlikely that we would blow up later on. This, coming from a lifelong City pessimist, would be a very good season. The again, it could all go belly up at Rotherham and end the dream. I think this is very possible given that, although we ended up in 18th place last season, over the 23 or so games since LJ arrived we have shown play-off points form, and have now strengthend the squad. Eight points over the next 5 games will equal the first block of ten from our play-off final season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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