28 Jun 2015 08:05:31
Just read West Ham are going to beat us to the signature of ogbonna, don't know much about him but if this is true what's going on, we seem to be getting linked with a few players all the time but to avail it's getting really frustrating, we need to start competing and soon because if teams like West Ham and Stoke etc are in a better position than us it is not a good sign, we are a much bigger club than most but money talks, I'm worried we're going to be left behind even more than we already are
{Ed025's Note - you are judging us on past history there sav, at this moment in time we are in the same bracket as your west hams and stokes, there are tiers in the premier league and we are in row 3, you have the elite 4, then the pretenders which includes liverpool and spurs then come us and the other mediocrity, the good thing is we are not in the dross bracket, but if the way we played last season is anything to go by we could easily end up there..
28 Jun 2015 09:25:56
Trouble is Ed supporters are now looking at a top eight finish as a success. We are coming to accept mediocrity while other clubs are strengthening. With no investment and old stadia, we are falling back year upon year. If things continue as they are then I can see in five years time it being a success just to stay in the Prem. Just to put it all in perspective, I celebrated my thirty fifth birthday the year we last won anything. I'm now retired.
{Ed025's Note - i could not agree more woburn, other clubs seem to be progressing why we stagnate, the sky money seems to have helped all the clubs around us to make headway in the transfer market yet we seem to be very frugal with our money, we have a good fan base and history yet investment seems to pass us by each year and unless things change i fear you may be right mate..
28 Jun 2015 09:54:25
After last year I'm not expecting top 8. Sadly, but in all honesty, I don't expect to finish any higher than last year. At this current time we're in the 12th-16th bracket. We should be too good to go down but we have an aging squad, a clueless manager and awful tactics. Moreover, most players faced with the choice of us and West Ham will choose them. They pay more, they're in London and we're no longer a big club - history means nothing to players born after our last trophy win.
I'm concerned that it might be sooner than 5 years before stopping up is deemed a success. Money has ruined the game. I have 20 years before I retire and like you Woburn, I might not see another trophy before I stop working.
28 Jun 2015 11:23:57
Ed give us the your reason why you think spurs are a bigger club than us
{Ed025's Note - in my eyes they are not richie but most unbiased people would imo, they are able to buy quality players at will and are on the verge of obtaining a new ground, they dont have our history mate but they have the backing to progress where as we seem to be stagnant at this time..
28 Jun 2015 12:03:11
Fair point ed can see what you mean.it seems to be just us that think we are a big no massive club.it is a pity the money people at our club never thought the same.
{Ed025's Note - a real pity richie mate..
28 Jun 2015 13:54:34
I live in Italy and Juventus and Torino fans (where Ogbonna played before) don't rate him!! So I would not be too upset about this one.
28 Jun 2015 13:38:40
I'll play devils advocate on this ed25, and say that most clubs would be happy with a top 8 finish, as sad as that may seem. Realistically, and forgetting the upcoming season, there are only two or three clubs that will fight for the title in the last month or so of the season. These are the clubs that can get fined for FFP, to the tune of 20m+, yet still strengthen their club with expensive players and astronomical wages. We can't compete with that. Sadly, even though the premier league has put English football on the map even more so, it has caused the clubs with financial muscle to pull further away from the rest. The timing of the league breaking away, when we became perennial strugglers, wasn't good for EFC. If it happened earlier, say '87, we may have also jumped on that gravy train. The sad reality is that, and this involves our club just as much as the others who will not win a trophy either, the boards of most clubs will be happy just to stay in the premier league and keep taking from the tv money that sky throw about every few years. I'm not talking specifically about us here when I say that success for the majority is finishing out of the relegation places come the end of the season, anything higher than that is a bonus. As I said, it is sad but it is the way football has gone with all the money.
{Ed025's Note - i dont see that as playing devils advocate spud, but as an honest post that is telling the truth mate, we all have aspirations that we will be fighting for top 4, but in reality thats a pipe dream, if im honest a realistic goal would be the last european place or maybe a good cup run..
28 Jun 2015 22:25:26
If I'm honest ed025, I'd rather miss out on the europa unless we have a big enough squad to cope with the extra demands that the euro tramps league places upon a team. Don't get me wrong, a night game at Goodison is always a great occasion and, work permitting, I'll get to as many as I can. I think we should have blooded the young lads in that comp last year purely because we never had a squad big enough to cope with them demands. There shouldn't be too much of a difference between playing Wednesday and Saturday than Thursday and Sunday but other teams have also found it difficult in the recent past. Strange but true. At the end of the day, the league is the bread and butter, our concentration should be on that imo. If we qualify any time soon then I will be behind us obviously, I'd just rather we have a good domestic cup run than have to travel to the far ends of eastern europe.
{Ed025's Note - i will have tha spud...