Worried?

[gl1]

We will stay up. Or perhaps we won't. Pretty certain we won't go up though. Be one of them I expect...

[Davefevs]

18 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

And PNE and Sheff Utd. Neither have exceptional squads on paper. They just get the best out of what they have which is exactly what we'll need to do. 

People need to wake up and realise that we're not a Villa, Norwich, Derby and we're not going to have a squad on paper that looks anywhere near as strong. 

We didn't in 07/08 either and we were 90 minutes from the Premier League. All about application. 

The theory is that we've had 2 more years than Millwall, Bolton and Sheffield Utd to establish our squads, and I'd go on to say that our promo team was better than any of theirs.  The theory comes unstuck when you realise we've dismantled that squad.  However, I would be disappointed if more than one of those finished above us....there's usually one that adapts well.  

7 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Last years squad was better than Barnsley and we finished behind them. It was miles better than Burton's and we finished just above them. The other two team will be feeling the newly promoted bounce.

relying on others to be worse than us is what it's come to isn't it?

 

That's the reality of this division, although you could say that the workmanlike teams that we see in our 'pack' did ok last season....I expect us to be more workmanlike this season, so it might not be pretty at times, but we need to focus on results first.  Those two late back to back defeats at home in winter to Brentford and PNE, were games we certainly didn't deserve anything less than 2 draws from, yet we ended up with zero points.  It's little things like that, that make us 2 points better off, and keep us tick over and away from relegation (imho).

[BCFC_Dan]

If Johnson has learnt lessons from last season then we'll be fine.

If the end of season form was due to Johnson's coaching and the replacement of Pemberton with McAllister then we'll be fine.

If the middle of last season was the blip and the start and end showed the real quality of the team then we'll be fine.

If those things aren't true then we'll struggle and Johnson will be sacked.

[Phileas Fogg]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

He might get 27!   I think you've misinterpreted my post.    If not, then fine.

I'm not doubting his ability.  I've seen enough clips of him over the best part of two years following his name being mentioned by @Shtanley to think I know what we'll get...and I'm delighted he's signed.  Don't take my goals comment to be a criticism or judging him to not be good enough, the next sentence i wrote was a compliment to the other parts of his game.  I thought that if Diedhiou was available, that clubs plenty bigger and better than us would get him, especially at £5m+.  That's a fee which attracts bigger spenders than us, and quite often more attractive than us...where we tend to miss out  The fact we've got him is a massive (potentially) coup (French word?).  He has a better allround game than Kodjia, but not as quick (who is?) and not as many tricks, but he'll lead the line better, be involved more in general play etc. Tammy was different again, and difficult to sum up, apart from the obvious poacher.  There were times when his back-to-goal play belied his tender age, but there were others when it didn't stick.

i know a lot more about Diedhiou at this point than I did Kodjia prior to his English debut v Yeovil in 15/16 pre-season and I liked what I saw that day....the clips / highlights I've seen over a period of time of Diedhiou make me confident we've signed someone who can make equally as big an impact as our previous SCO Angers signing.

Of course watching him live will give me more basis for a proper reflective review of what we've got, but I've seen a fair bit more of him that the 4 minute YouTube package.  A view of ability is different to a view of performances.  And that view will take more than 5 minutes!!  Although Tammy it only took 23 

The above probably comes across a bit arsey!

No fair enough that's a good analysis. 

I was attempting to be tongue in cheek really at outrageously quick OTIB judgements. You being one of the better posters on here, you don't do that. 

LJ said himself that Diedhiou 'isn't a natural finisher (like Abraham)'. But I got the impression from that interview that he feels he's someone who can become one. Given his size and strength, maybe (if anything) his physical attributes are better suited to the league than Abraham. 

I am really looking forward to watching him play, @Shtanley has a good eye for a player (even if we disagree on Reid) so hoping Diedhiou is a great signing.

[Phileas Fogg]

11 minutes ago, BigTone said:

We could sign my Dad from Australia for £5m but it doesn't mean we will be any better. The French guy isn't proven at this level so is a big gamble IMO especially at that price. He may, however be a revelation so fingers crossed.  My point here really is that price means nothing.

Disagree with that - price is the value of a player to a club. If he was crap, Angers would let him go for £500k. 

When players have time to run on their contact, the price is decided by the players 'worth' to a team and selling price of players of a similar pedigree from rival clubs. 

It is an enormous gamble though and heaps lots of pressure on Diedhiou AND the management. He has to start well.

[BigTone]

Just now, Phileas Fogg said:

Disagree with that - price is the value of a player to a club. If he was crap, Angers would let him go for £500k. 

When players have time to run on their contact, the price is decided by the players 'worth' to a team and selling price of players of a similar pedigree from rival clubs. 

It is an enormous gamble though and heaps lots of pressure on Diedhiou AND the management. He has to start well.

Was Engval worth £2m or has his signing been a complete waste of time and money ?

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

No fair enough that's a good analysis. 

I was attempting to be tongue in cheek really at outrageously quick OTIB judgements. You being one of the better posters on here, you don't do that. 

LJ said himself that Diedhiou 'isn't a natural finisher (like Abraham)'. But I got the impression from that interview that he feels he's someone who can become one. Given his size and strength, maybe (if anything) his physical attributes are better suited to the league than Abraham. 

I am really looking forward to watching him play, @Shtanley has a good eye for a player (even if we disagree on Reid) so hoping Diedhiou is a great signing.

Haha....you were being tongue in cheek, I was being a sensitive old snowflake (that's the new en vogue term to be used on here I believe). 

Do you remember Kevin Campbell - Arsenal / Everton?  He reminds me of him a fair bit, but a bit taller version.

[RUSSEL85]

9 hours ago, Touch_my_butter said:

Not worried - think we'll finish a comfortable 12th-16th.

No frills, no danger, solid yet unremarkable season

I can only dream of a boring season.

[Phileas Fogg]

Just now, BigTone said:

Was Engval worth £2m or has his signing been a complete waste of time and money ?

Can't tell yet as he hasn't been given a chance. We don't know what's gone on off the pitch with him.

Not all gambles will work though, just the nature of it. 

[Phileas Fogg]

Just now, Davefevs said:

Haha....you were being tongue in cheek, I was being a sensitive old snowflake (that's the new en vogue term to be used on here I believe). 

Do you remember Kevin Campbell - Arsenal / Everton?  He reminds me of him a fair bit, but a bit taller version.

He's a bit before my time but I've heard the name. Seen other people mention Wayne Allison who i've seen clips of.

From the YouTube clips i've seen of Diedhiou he seems like a powerful fairly complete forward, bit more well rounded and athletic than Đurić but not as quick as Kodjia (much stronger though). Based on those physical attributes, i'm hoping he'll take to the league very well.

 

[One BCFC]

58 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

I'd add ipswich to that and possibly QPR

No chance we have a better squad than either of them.

[downendcity]

42 minutes ago, BigTone said:

We could sign my Dad from Australia for £5m but it doesn't mean we will be any better. The French guy isn't proven at this level so is a big gamble IMO especially at that price. He may, however be a revelation so fingers crossed.  My point here really is that price means nothing.

Kodjia was proven at this level and cost Villa £15m and wages way beyond what we could afford. Tammy was proven at this level but now playing in the premier league at wages way beyond us and we couldn't afford his transfer fee, even if Chelsea wanted to sell him..

The reality for us is that tto bring in players proven at this level is financially beyond our means - not perhaps in terms of transfer fees ( which I think SL would find if justified) but certainly as far as wages are concerned, because our wage budget is way below many teams at this level.

We have to buy smart, as we did with Kodjia, and may have to pay ( for us) big fees to bring in players like Fammy, but we also have to accept that these players will be unproven at this level, so there will be an element of risk that it might not work out , as seems to have been the case with Engval.

That is the reality of the championship. The teams with parachute payments can afford to buy proven players, as can many other clubs that are financially much bigger than us - but we can't. The club has changed dramatically, in terms of the way it is being run behind the scenes, and has put in place a sensible, manageable strategy aimed at bringing us success in the longer term, but not crippling us financially in the meantime.

A few years back we had a bunch of "proven" championship players that , with hindsight, were only here to pick up decent wages and we struggled to get them out of the club when it was shown their proven ability was in the past. That was when Sl was throwing money at chasing promotion and that ended well! I don't want us going back to those days.

 

 

[ooRya]

11 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

No fair enough that's a good analysis. 

I was attempting to be tongue in cheek really at outrageously quick OTIB judgements. You being one of the better posters on here, you don't do that. 

LJ said himself that Diedhiou 'isn't a natural finisher (like Abraham)'. But I got the impression from that interview that he feels he's someone who can become one. Given his size and strength, maybe (if anything) his physical attributes are better suited to the league than Abraham. 

I am really looking forward to watching him play, @Shtanley has a good eye for a player (even if we disagree on Reid) so hoping Diedhiou is a great signing.

As much as I loved Tammy, the same as everyone else, he is most definitely NOT a natural finisher!

Tammy's "gift" is always managing to get himself in the right place at the right time.

[Phileas Fogg]

2 minutes ago, ooRya said:

As much as I loved Tammy, the same as everyone else, he is most definitely NOT a natural finisher!

Tammy's "gift" is always managing to get himself in the right place at the right time.

That's true, he wasn't as refined as Jermain Defoe for example, but that comparison (between Diedhiou and Abraham) is what I assumed Johnson was alluding to.

I can't remember Abraham being in many 1v1 situations where he curls the ball around the keeper into the net like a renowned finisher. Maybe that's partly down to how we played and making him rely on half chances.

Perhaps what he meant really was natural poacher, which I agree, is far more about positioning and instinct.

[downendcity]

7 minutes ago, ooRya said:

As much as I loved Tammy, the same as everyone else, he is most definitely NOT a natural finisher!

Tammy's "gift" is always managing to get himself in the right place at the right time.

Getting in the right place at the right time would be of little value if he didn't have the ability to finish it off.

Doing that 26 times, at aged 19, in the championship for a team struggling at the wrong end of the table, would seem to make him pretty natural in my eyes.

[Davefevs]

Tammy was a funny finisher....he never seemed to make perfect contact, he scuffed them right into the corners, but out of reach.

He was a delight to watch, and watch develop too.

[Shtanley]

3 assists from Tammy last season. I think Diedhiou will make a significant contribution in that and goals. 

[The Fat Controller]

35 minutes ago, ooRya said:

As much as I loved Tammy, the same as everyone else, he is most definitely NOT a natural finisher!

Tammy's "gift" is always managing to get himself in the right place at the right time.

I agree. And I bored people to death around me with this last season.

Tammy is reactionary, a poacher. And he's great at it, and its why he'll continue to score frequently. I never felt hugely confident when he went through 1v1 as I didn't think he was a natural finisher as such but its a really fine distinction I suppose. 

The good thing is with him being so reactionary is that the service he received didn't have to be inch perfect every time, he'd find a way of getting to the right place at the right time. I don't think you can teach that. 

[Red Exile]

Been away for a few weeks and coming back I wouldn't say that I was worried...more unimpressed. Mid-table mediocrity appears to be the objective...and whilst that would be a step up from last season it's not very exciting is it? Tomlin's departure sees the one truly maverick creative leave the club, and whatever the rights and wrongs of his behaviour the loss of a player of his talent reduces our creative options. If the club thought him worth signing a year ago...and has all this much vaunted due diligence/DNA stuff in place...they've right a right mess. Will we ever see the best (or anything) of Gary O'Neil, Mags or Engvall? Last summer doesn't seem quite so clever now. Currently the squad looks to me weaker than last season.

[Monkeh]

1 hour ago, ashton_fan said:

If we carry on our form following the January transfers then we'll comfortably be mid-table, Tomlin created very little for us last season with the exception of the Huddersfield game on Sky, we played better with two up front and he didn't fit into that system.

Taylor created more in a third of the games tomlin did

[Monkeh]

1 hour ago, BigTone said:

We could sign my Dad from Australia for £5m but it doesn't mean we will be any better. The French guy isn't proven at this level so is a big gamble IMO especially at that price. He may, however be a revelation so fingers crossed.  My point here really is that price means nothing.

Nether was Kodja nether was tammy, if there something we have got right in recent years then its strikers

[Monkeh]

1 hour ago, BA14 RED said:

No chance we have a better squad than either of them.

both have more relegation problems then we have

[cityloyal473]

Not worried because I have no expectation of anything other than a relegation fight - we had a weak squad last season and it's the same for this year.

[Welcome To The Jungle]

11 hours ago, Touch_my_butter said:

Not worried - think we'll finish a comfortable 12th-16th.

No frills, no danger, solid yet unremarkable season

Sir, I don't believe you have met 'The Championship'. 

[Souchez]

We'll be fine ,relax everyone ,the players we've already brought in have played a high level and were being sniffed around by bigger clubs than us so must have something about them ,I'd also be amazed if we don't see a few more players coming in as well ,also think the likes of brownhill and o'dowda will come on leaps and bounds this season 

[Touch_my_butter]

24 minutes ago, Welcome To The Jungle said:

Sir, I don't believe you have met 'The Championship'. 

That's mostly how I remember the 3 years after our playoff season

[Super]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Tammy was a funny finisher....he never seemed to make perfect contact, he scuffed them right into the corners, but out of reach.

He was a delight to watch, and watch develop too.

He struggled when he had time with the chances. Missed a fair few with just the keeper beat. Sure with more experience he will convert those in the future.

[Kid in the Riot]

11 hours ago, JoeAman08 said:

I think we'll be fine. 62 points and around 13th. The core that led us to safety is still here and that side didn't rely that heavily on Tammy and the goals were a bit more spread. Think Diedhiou should be enough to fill that gap and Pisano you'd hope is better than Little. Certainly adds a presence at RB. If Brownhill, O'Dowda and Paterson can add some more goals and Paterson proved he can, then it'll really ease the pressure on the front men. Don't know who starts next to Doedhiou and I'd hope the Dicko rumour comes true or someone of that ilk. Think we can get a more box to box type threat to replace Korey. Then a move for a commanding keeper but as is I see it midtable. Think we're better than the teams coming up and a few others like Burton, Ipswich, Barnsley and a few others. 

Admire the optimism but it seems to solely stem from a few wins at the end of the season against teams that had little or nothing to play for whereas we finally woke up and were fighting for our lives. For the majority of the rest of the season we were clueless, dreadful.

If you don't move forward in this division, you're moving backwards. Therefore, as of now we are most definitely not in a better position than last season with Little and Tammy (our player of the season, by a mile) gone.

62 pts looks very optimistic with a poor manager and a squad that hasn't been improved.

History tells us that it is actually quite likely LJ will be gone by October; some cause for optimism at least. Managers that have had a poor season previously and end up getting fired in the first few months of the next season include: Tinnion, Millen, McInnes and SOD. It can even happen if you won the league the season before, see Cotterill.

LJ's position is incredibly precarious and he needs good quality signings asap because as of now our position is not good.

[RUSSEL85]

I think we will be ok too, a 14th place finish will be good progress in my opinion. The youngsters will have learned alot of the Championship last season which I think was the strongest I have ever seen. I do think however, if we make a bad start to the campaign the fans will turn nasty quite quickly.

[RUSSEL85]

1 minute ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Admire the optimism but it seems to solely stem from a few wins at the end of the season against teams that had little or nothing to play for whereas we finally woke up and were fighting for our lives. For the majority of the rest of the season we were clueless, dreadful.

If you don't move forward in this division, you're moving backwards. Therefore, as of now we are most definitely not in a better position than last season with Little and Tammy (our player of the season, by a mile) gone.

62 pts looks very optimistic with a poor manager and a squad that hasn't been improved.

History tells us that it is actually quite likely LJ will be gone by October; some cause for optimism at least. Managers that have had a poor season previously and end up getting fired in the first few months of the next season include: Tinnion, Millen, McInnes and SOD. It can even happen if you won the league the season before, see Cotterill.

LJ's position is incredibly precarious and he needs good quality signings asap because as of now our position is not good.

I agree with alot of our your points, although what did contribute was keep the same 11 for a number of games, and out younger players should have more experience. I do agree Tammy is a huge lost and hope Famara can help fill that void next season.