End of season reflections

[Harry]

31 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I thought the first 10 games were pretty good, bit of revisionism here.

Then isolated decent results and performances but a very long hard 6-7 months since those first 10.

I think you’re being revisionist to be honest Pops. 
Cov home we were very fortunate to win and they at least deserved a point. 
Stoke away was relatively comfortable against a hugely unimpressive opponent that day. They improved as the season went on. 
Sheff Weds at home, they probably had the better chances and I wouldn’t say we nailed on deserved the 3 points that day. 
Forest away we were totally outplayed and were incredibly fortunate to take 3 points. 
Barnsley away we were decent and unlucky not to win it. 
Our next wins, away at Huddersfield and away at Cardiff were massively fortunate. We were outplayed from start to finish in both games aside from a 10 minute spell vs Hudds. 
 

Many of those wins were as a result of either very early goals or in a few of those games where we got a 2nd it was very late when the other team was pushing. 
 

I’d say our game plan early in the season seemed to revolve around trying to get a very early lead and then hoping for the best. 
It was probably only the Stoke game where we could genuinely say, yes, we deserved the win.  
In every other game under Holden we were dreadful and somehow scraped points. Likewise since Pearson arrived, we’ve continued to be generally shit but manage just enough points to stay up. 
 

There’s no revisionism here. We were basically shit all season. 
 

[The Coach]

Same as Ollie Watkins wasn’t it? We offered more money but Brentford offered less with more addons. Exeter knew he’d develop better at Brentford rather than here. Hence selling to them and earning a bigger cut from the sale to Villa.

[robc]

I have been watching the City since their relegation back in 1960 and although I have certainly seen poorer teams technically I cannot remember seeing the side capitulate on so many occasions as they have done this season. To lose 7 successive away games was bad enough but to lose 7 successive matches at home as well was truly dreadful. I still cannot believe that we only took only one point – yes, one point - from our last 10 home games. We have never before, in our history, I believe, lost 13 league games at Ashton Gate. The shots on target statistic is staggering enough but our football has been spineless and we have looked out of our depth on so many occasions. Seeing the ball lumped up in the air so often and almost never winning it ahead the opposition and losing the physical battle against almost every opponent we have faced has been so disheartening. My overriding memory of the season is that, despite all the injuries, we probably deserved to go down and were very lucky not to have done so. If there were still 3 or 4 matches left to play we probably would have. The only bright spot for me was the appointment of a proper manager, at last, in Nigel Pearson. He has however got one hell of a job on his hands!

[Mr Popodopolous]

@TomThumb84 @Harry

I didn't include Cardiff in my first 10, away at Huddersfield we rallied quite nicely. More attempts on goal- XG is often quite interesting as far as where sides should be. Were we overperforming in first 10? Yes. Was it as drastic as some posts claim- not so sure. Since then very much so but...vs Sheffield Wednesday we had a lot of chances and good possession, vs Coventry they had more ball but we had more shots- lucky to turn 1 into 3, we stayed in some games and went again. Middlesbrough home potentially unlucky not to get a point, Swansea at home an interesting one- we had more possession and shots on target, but it took a last minute penalty.

This was it up to Norwich at home- some big variances but not so much with us.

Fast forward to now however...

This is the most recent. 

There has been an enormous drop off after the first 9 or 10, definitely.

[TomThumb84]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

There are games where as fans, just because City aren’t on top / dominating that we then see that as the other team must be.  That’s not the case, there are parts of games where no team is on top.

As fans we sometimes see opposition possession as dominance.  Derby (h) was an example where they just huffed and puffed, around the halfway line, and rarely looked like hurting us.

It has been a tough watch (very tough at times), but it hasn’t always been bad.  Overall it’s been poor.  I’ve seen more shit team performances than I’ve ever seen, but I totally disagree with the summary of the opening 4 games.

But the season is over….don’t suspect many of us will look back fondly!

Appreciate your point, however, across those 4 games I mention, (where we got 12 points), I am not interested in possession - its an over-rated metric and anyone who knows the game understands this.

However, what I am interested in is that in those four games (maximum points), we had 44 shots (abnormally high for us), but the opposition had 51.

To win 4 games whilst the opposition threatens our goal more than we threaten theirs is a complete aberration and unsustainable over a period of time as was proven.

So no, I stand by what I said, we were set up poorly, got lucky then crashed, and we were not very good in those games (apart from Stoke).

[Offside]

It’s been a woeful season. We’ve looked every bit as bad as when we last got relegated from this league and we are very lucky to have avoided finishing in the bottom three. 
 

Positives:

Pearson has been able to assess what’s needed before next season. 

OOC players give us scope to refresh the squad. 

Ashton has gone - the person who has overseen the mistakes that have led to the mess we’ve been in. 

Rolls has gone so hopefully the medical/fitness side of things can be overhauled. 

We’ve got an experienced manager from the outside, which is what many of us had been crying out for. I was expecting results and performances to be better once Pearson took over, but starting again with someone else wouldn’t be a guarantee of success. At least he’s got experience, has been here long enough to know what is needed, and has a chance to shape his own squad. 
 

For next season I’m not even thinking about us trying to make the play offs. I just want us to be a team who show some fight, move, entertain and actually play as a team. It’s appalling that with the money we’ve spent we have finished lower than teams who have much more limited resources. 
 

[Mr Popodopolous]

6 minutes ago, TomThumb84 said:

Appreciate your point, however, across those 4 games I mention, (where we got 12 points), I am not interested in possession - its an over-rated metric and anyone who knows the game understands this.

However, what I am interested in is that in those four games (maximum points), we had 44 shots (abnormally high for us), but the opposition had 51.

To win 4 games whilst the opposition threatens our goal more than we threaten theirs is a complete aberration and unsustainable over a period of time as was proven.

So no, I stand by what I said, we were set up poorly, got lucky then crashed, and we were not very good in those games (apart from Stoke).

More ball and chances vs Sheffield Wednesday too. Possession is an overrated metric is it? Maybe yes, maybe no but the number of top club and International teams and managers who swear by it is an interesting counterweight.

Nottingham Forest we conceded a lot of goals and ground and Bentley saved us there for sure.

[Harry]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

@TomThumb84 @Harry

I didn't include Cardiff in my first 10, away at Huddersfield we rallied quite nicely. More attempts on goal- XG is often quite interesting as far as where sides should be. Were we overperforming in first 10? Yes. Was it as drastic as some posts claim- not so sure. Since then very much so but...vs Sheffield Wednesday we had a lot of chances and good possession, vs Coventry they had more ball but we had more shots- lucky to turn 1 into 3, we stayed in some games and went again. Middlesbrough home potentially unlucky not to get a point, Swansea at home an interesting one- we had more possession and shots on target, but it took a last minute penalty.

This was it up to Norwich at home- some big variances but not so much with us.

Fast forward to now however...

This is the most recent. 

There has been an enormous drop off after the first 9 or 10, definitely.

I prefer not to look at XG as a guide to how we performed. 
I look at the match itself. Cov & Sheff Weds deserved draws at the very least. Hudds we may have “rallied” but it was dreadful for 70 mins. 
I remember post-match threads back in those heady days of September and even then, after 4 wins, many of us were concerned about the ‘performances’. 
Any manager will tell you they are always looking for a ‘performance’. We ‘performed’ to our par in about 5 games this season. The other 41 we didn’t perform. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, Harry said:

I prefer not to look at XG as a guide to how we performed. 
I look at the match itself. Cov & Sheff Weds deserved draws at the very least. Hudds we may have “rallied” but it was dreadful for 70 mins. 
I remember post-match threads back in those heady days of September and even then, after 4 wins, many of us were concerned about the ‘performances’. 
Any manager will tell you they are always looking for a ‘performance’. We ‘performed’ to our parents in about 5 games this season. The other 41 we didn’t perform. 

Coventry yes, Sheffield Wednesday not sure I agree.

Bournemouth away arguably a point might have been fair, Middlesbrough at home likewise- the Norwich game they probably edged it but we competed quite well- missing a penalty and hitting the post not ideal, reasonable possession and chances. Swansea some ways we were lucky, some ways we were a bit better- maybe a point was right.

Yes agreed, things felt unsustainable for a while- as they did under LJ in 2019/20, definitely performances are important. xG is but one stat though- the shots per game have dropped right off since the first 10, while the opposite has increased, our possession is probably lower than even the first 10. That first 10 would have been the high watermark- was largely downhill from there.

[E.J.Thribb]

Like the song says “Rip it up and start again”. 

[Robin-hugh-blind]

Next season is going to be a very strong champ. this season was a right shocker, fortunately the points we got from that good start saved us. just 6 draws all season (lowest in the league) tells me we don't compete in every game, were either up for it or not.  good luck NP. hell of a job on his hands. 

on to next one, COYR 

[Davefevs]

3 hours ago, TomThumb84 said:

Appreciate your point, however, across those 4 games I mention, (where we got 12 points), I am not interested in possession - its an over-rated metric and anyone who knows the game understands this.

However, what I am interested in is that in those four games (maximum points), we had 44 shots (abnormally high for us), but the opposition had 51.

To win 4 games whilst the opposition threatens our goal more than we threaten theirs is a complete aberration and unsustainable over a period of time as was proven.

So no, I stand by what I said, we were set up poorly, got lucky then crashed, and we were not very good in those games (apart from Stoke).

Nor am I, was just using possession v Derby as an example of how certain aspect can skew thoughts.

The shots against need context.  Freeman’s right foot swinger ends up in the net, Christie’s left foot swinger gets tipped over.  We conceded quite a high proportion of long range efforts, because we managed to defend outside our box (Mawson instrumental).

Very noticeable that as we started to defend deeper we started conceding better chances, and deflected goals.

We also played with purpose / to a plan in those early games.

It didn’t last.

But happy to disagree.

[SecretSam]

Well, it's over. Time to learn lessons, assess and go again.

Huge summer ahead, on the pitch and off.

@nigelgpearson is going to need some help he can trust.

Tinnion's going to have some tough decisions regarding the kids.

[italian dave]

19 hours ago, firstdivision said:

Killed by injuries. Had a big part to play. 
But totally bored by our football, our lack of imagination and lack of basics: back back back to Bentley,hoof, the opposition win it; strikers who can’t control the ball; defenders who can’t defend the box.

Very worried by NP’s inability to produce a more resilient team. I’m hoping the injury situation, out-of-contract situation plus the feeling of nothing to play for after Birmingham accounted for that. But I really do wonder...

 

 

Agree with all if that.
But I’m also giving NP the benefit of the doubt and thinking that much of what’s happened post Birmingham has been about him learning; trying things out, looking at players, experimenting with pegs and holes. 

By the same token, I’m therefore not too surprised/dispirited by just how poor it’s sometimes been (even if it has been awful to watch!). We’ve had spells where we’ve been OK, but then we’ve changed things around, made weird substitutions, and it’s gone downhill. 
Yesterday being a case in point. There’s no way that, if that game had anything resting on it for us, that we’d have had a line up remotely like we had for the final 30 minutes. 

[Superjack]

59 minutes ago, italian dave said:

Agree with all if that.
But I’m also giving NP the benefit of the doubt and thinking that much of what’s happened post Birmingham has been about him learning; trying things out, looking at players, experimenting with pegs and holes. 

By the same token, I’m therefore not too surprised/dispirited by just how poor it’s sometimes been (even if it has been awful to watch!). We’ve had spells where we’ve been OK, but then we’ve changed things around, made weird substitutions, and it’s gone downhill. 
Yesterday being a case in point. There’s no way that, if that game had anything resting on it for us, that we’d have had a line up remotely like we had for the final 30 minutes. 

Exactly this.

After four years of a 'Head Coach' signing 60+ players, not liking half of them and changing formations about three times a game, this period will hopefully prove to be a godsend.

[Jerseybean]

18 hours ago, Harry said:

I think you’re being revisionist to be honest Pops. 
Cov home we were very fortunate to win and they at least deserved a point. 
Stoke away was relatively comfortable against a hugely unimpressive opponent that day. They improved as the season went on. 
Sheff Weds at home, they probably had the better chances and I wouldn’t say we nailed on deserved the 3 points that day. 
Forest away we were totally outplayed and were incredibly fortunate to take 3 points. 
Barnsley away we were decent and unlucky not to win it. 
Our next wins, away at Huddersfield and away at Cardiff were massively fortunate. We were outplayed from start to finish in both games aside from a 10 minute spell vs Hudds. 
 

Many of those wins were as a result of either very early goals or in a few of those games where we got a 2nd it was very late when the other team was pushing. 
 

I’d say our game plan early in the season seemed to revolve around trying to get a very early lead and then hoping for the best. 
It was probably only the Stoke game where we could genuinely say, yes, we deserved the win.  
In every other game under Holden we were dreadful and somehow scraped points. Likewise since Pearson arrived, we’ve continued to be generally shit but manage just enough points to stay up. 
 

There’s no revisionism here. We were basically shit all season. 
 

Bound to agree Harry, even at the start of the season when we were winning there was rarely a game in which we were the better team. I remember frequently thinking if I were the opponents I’d feel robbed, Forest, QPR and Cardiff away being prime examples.

[italian dave]

7 minutes ago, Superjack said:

Exactly this.

After four years of a 'Head Coach' signing 60+ players, not liking half of them and changing formations about three times a game, this period will hopefully prove to be a godsend.

Ha ha! I meant Birmingham this year, long long after that head coach had gone! That head coach who, incidentally, with those 60 players, left us in a far stronger position than we either were, or are now.

I’m being deliberately provocative with that last bit! I’ve more time for LJ than many on here, but I’d agree that later in his reign we seemed to lose that identity he went on about so much, and it seemed as though he wanted to tinker all the time. How much all those departures and replacements were down to him is debatable I guess.

It certainly seemed like he got better results when he had fewer players to choose from. Which does make me wonder how we’d have got on this season!!

[Superjack]

2 minutes ago, italian dave said:

Ha ha! I meant Birmingham this year, long long after that head coach had gone! That head coach who, incidentally, with those 60 players, left us in a far stronger position than we either were, or are now.

I’m being deliberately provocative with that last bit! I’ve more time for LJ than many on here, but I’d agree that later in his reign we seemed to lose that identity he went on about so much, and it seemed as though he wanted to tinker all the time. How much all those departures and replacements were down to him is debatable I guess.

It certainly seemed like he got better results when he had fewer players to choose from. Which does make me wonder how we’d have got on this season!!

True. To be fair he would probably have got a winning run in between the losing ones.

[Jerseybean]

On 08/05/2021 at 14:37, Jerseybean said:

As the final whistle blows on our final game in what has been a hideous season for football generally and a woeful campaign for us, it would be be interesting to hear others end of season reflections.

Here are mine:

Thank you Wycombe Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham for saving us from relegation. As the saying goes ‘the table never lies’ and remarkably they (plus Derby and Huddersfield) all managed to accumulate fewer points than us.

Our late goals throughout the season also helped us, with a total of 5 points salvaged in the final 15 minutes of games. Points dropped / gained due to late goals (in the last fifteen minutes of games) this season:

Away to Barnsley - 2 points

Home to Swansea +1 point

Away to Bournemouth -1

Away to Huddersfield +2

Home to Derby +2

Away to Reading -1

Home to Birmingham -1

Home to Blackburn + 2

Home to Wycombe +2

Away to Swansea +2

Home to Bournemouth -1

Away to Sheffield Wednesday +1

Away to Wycombe - 1

Overall + 5 points

The most revealing and critical statistic is how many points adrift from the team finishing second we have been:

2020/21 = 40 points

2019/20 = 20 points

2018/19 = 19 points

2017/18 = 23 points

2016/17 = 39 points

2015/16 = 37 points

Which makes abundantly clear the challenge in front of us. As NP said after the Luton humiliation /capitulation ‘it is crystal clear that we are miles away from where we aspire to be’.

Looking forward I am delighted that we are still in the Championship and that we have appointed Nigel Pearson on a three year contract who IMO has the capability, networks and experience to ‘facilitate’ a rebuild and move us forward. While he aspired to be a teacher and a navigator in the RAF he has ended up as our manager where no doubt some of his teaching and navigation attributes will prove to be very useful. Sure, it will take time but please let’s all look forward to much better times and put this woeful season behind us.

Let the ‘shared accountability’ begin, let the ‘shared vision’ unfold and let ‘the journey’ end in success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent account here from the Exiled Robin: http://exiledrobin.blogspot.com/2021/05/a-season-of-unfortunate-events.html?m=1