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You're the Board - what are the targets and expectations for the 26/27 season?
Comments
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Staff is an interesting point.jimmymelrose said:If the question allows me to imagine that I have a vote as a board member then, unpopular as this might be here, I would be arguing to change manager, or at least restructure the management team. We need to be able to have more attacking threat. Kelman for example could be a 20 goal a season Championship striker. Many people on here say that our players are League One level but I think we’ve got 7 or 8 who could be performing much better with different training. NJ stifles creativity and he needs someone to help him change this or he needs to go.
Ultimately my target would be to score 55-60 goals and to let in 55 again. This would naturally lift us to mid table and would feel enjoyable again. We need to get the ball forward on the ground, have faster more accurate passing and create more chances. I don’t believe NJ will do this with the same staff he has now.If I head correctly from the @LouisMend podcast today NJ said we have a small staff and all work excess hours etc.
I interpreted he was making the case with the board to have more people in place.I already find I don’t recognise many on / around the bench any more or appreciate their individual roles.Football has changed massively of course but the reliance / need for so many is still a surprise and sort of exposes the limitations of managers these days in what they alone bring.
That said I hope NJ is around a long time and we get success through stability.2 -
Agree with most of the above - basically bottom half is fine but avoid a relegation battle (apart from anything else I can’t hack the cortisol levels being go high for so long!)
aside from league position, though, the main thing I want to see is attempting to attack football matches. This doesn’t have to be tiki taka, it doesn’t have to be 70% possession, it doesn’t have to be every game of course.. but I just want to see us have a go at teams… look like we are trying to win games, take them by the scruff of the neck and not just trying to avoid losing and pray.
Even if it’s not always used, at least have the ability / tactics available to impose periods of pressure on teams when we need to. You have to have that in your locker because it is absolutely Certain you will be behind in matches and if you have no ability to come from behind ever, which we have been completely bereft of this season, you will lose a lot of games by default.when you look back across the seasons entirety - it’s quite astounding really how there has barely been even a 5-10 minute period of note where we’ve been banging on the door and had an opponent penned in clinging on to avoid conceding. we didn’t even manage that against 9 men! Even our better performances like the Leicester and Wrexham home games were never really like that. Feel like that’s pretty rare - even relegated teams usually have the odd game where they are able to throw the kitchen sink at opponents late on if chasing a game etc. that said, I think Oxford probably been similarly awful in that respect this season.2 -
This is a good one. Seen plenty of my heroes back at the valley this season and not heard a word from any of them_uptheaddicks said:A new sound system please.5 -
- Solid mid table (8th-14th)
- Academy Category 1 Status
- An actual cup run
- Fully integrate 2 or 3 academy players into the first team squad (Fullah, MBick, Gough are prime candidates, potentially Mwamba or Enslin getting decent League loans too)
- Better football, less sufferball and aim to score 2 or more goals a dozen times at least in the season
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With Leicester down, it would help us if Ipswich and Southampton go up. The least amount of teams with parachute payments the better.
As for us, if we want to keep moving forward with continuity and keep this core together, which is a great group, we must extend Ramsay, Lloyd and TC. However, without major major investment, we will be around 14-20th. I think the aim and plan is a slow build the squad and develop the younger players each season.8 -
Avoid the second season slump that catches out far too many promoted sides.19
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At this point safety by the end of March.7
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I'm being a bit pedantic, but this season isnt over yet. Better Pompey's result next week and we will finish in the third quartile, albeit at the bottom.Pedro45 said:Jim Rodwell answered very recently that next season we aim for the third quartile of the division. This year we were fourth quartile, so that would be an obvious improvement. Conversations on the necessary budget have still to be finalised.
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Quicker hand dryers in the West Stand, meaning faster exit from the men’s toilets to buy more pints…4
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There's a lot of good answers already, and without specific knowledge of the pressures the board will be facing this will no doubt just prove to be a guessing game. From my point of view I'd like to see the following:
- Have mathematical safety sewn up by the beginning of April at the latest. That doesn't mean giving up at that point, just not having a stressful end to the season.
- Having a squad deep enough to field a truly competitive squad for all cup matches, not just league games. Unless we're drawn against particularly difficult opposition, progressing in at least one of the cups beyond our opening rounds.
- A team with enough goalscoring talent that we can score at least 55 goals in the course of the league season.
- I'm not sure how this can be measured, but it's very important for me. Playing some genuinely entertaining football. Fans should not go home bored and frustrated. They should feel they have been entertained. Again, that doesn't mean that we can forget our defensive duties, but it does mean that going to football should be fun.
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Well the target has to be survival. By how much depends on recruitment, competition and Jones. I think it’ll be a tougher division than this season next year. We need four or five shoe in starters that are all better than what we currently have. We also need a change in our match day ethos because this year we didn’t score nearly enough goals. Jones set us up to stymie teams and it worked up to a point but more of the same will I believe inevitably lead to another season looking down. I’m sure it will be evolution but being honest the football was often ugly and poor and we stayed up by the skin of our teeth, but we did stay up. I expect a bottom third finish but hope for better. I’d look to Hull City for inspiration. Struggled season before last and were expected to struggle again but have been in and around playoff places all season albeit looking likely to bomb out at the last furlong.2
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The way football is I think a lot of clubs next season will face either points deduction or transfer embargoes. I think this already includes, Pompey and WBA. Hull of course will still be embargoed.0
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I disagree with a couple of these points - I genuinely couldn’t care less about the cups. Staying in the Championship is the absolute be all and end all, and cups are just a distraction and injury risk.Stig said:There's a lot of good answers already, and without specific knowledge of the pressures the board will be facing this will no doubt just prove to be a guessing game. From my point of view I'd like to see the following:- Have mathematical safety sewn up by the beginning of April at the latest. That doesn't mean giving up at that point, just not having a stressful end to the season.
- Having a squad deep enough to field a truly competitive squad for all cup matches, not just league games. Unless we're drawn against particularly difficult opposition, progressing in at least one of the cups beyond our opening rounds.
- A team with enough goalscoring talent that we can score at least 55 goals in the course of the league season.
- I'm not sure how this can be measured, but it's very important for me. Playing some genuinely entertaining football. Fans should not go home bored and frustrated. They should feel they have been entertained. Again, that doesn't mean that we can forget our defensive duties, but it does mean that going to football should be fun.
I also don’t think we’re at the stage yet of being an entertaining side in the Championship - I don’t think that should be the priority at all, and it’s likely to take years to achieve in any case4 -
Tight cost base + aggressive player trading + revenue compounding + clear identity on the pitch + ~58 points + new academy breakthrough debuts + staff behind the bars that actually know how to pour beer
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On the pitch ,it's still consolidation 60 points is a reasonable target.Despite the style of football we have a manager who knows what he is doing.We just need to keep improving season after season.
Off the pitch ( we can't underestimate the damage the Roland and sangaard years have done to the clubs infrastructure and income streams however) if we keep on improving we will become more attractive to investors.
I have confidence in our management now and year by year if we can tick off things like cat 1,Valley ownership etc..?
The stadium, location,demographic is so favourable for a successful premier league team compared to our 2 other SE London rivals we are still underperforming by a long stretch.
If we are owned,managed and marketed properly we can go far,very far but it does take time to repair the damage
Forgot to mention the potholes in car park and covered end bogs
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That sums up my feeling pretty well.ns9 said:I think an ambitious but sensible ambition could be 60 points next season, which would possibly see us finish in and around 12th-16th.
That said, if someone offered me any form of Championship football for the next 5-10 years then I would snap their hand off. We cannot return to the hellhole of League 1 again and staying up should be our first priority for the foreseeable until we earn the right to set our expectations higher (which may take another 2-3 years of building). I think expectations were realistic this season - just stay up - and I think most of the criticism came from a place of genuine horror at a return to L1 rather than any sense of entitlement that we should be higher in the league.
Outside of that, a slight upgrade in playing style with a touch more creativity would be great but only if it meaningfully contributes to more points/wins - I don’t want us to deviate too much from NJ’s style just for the sake of watching something better but that we’re not particularly good at. NJ plays a certain way and he has been hugely effective with it.
NJ has done a phenomenal job - keeping us up in L1 when he came in (absolutely no mean feat at the time), getting us up and keeping us up. Fully behind him for the next step of the ‘journey’ as he puts it, and it will be exciting if he can entice some real quality into the club in the next phase.
Yesterday and the first 30 minutes against Ipswich were definitely an improvement in playing style. I don't expect us to be a technical passing and possession side, but I do want something more than hoofing it up the pitch to a big man, and hoping to score from long throws.
And perhaps more importantly, if we want to attract more casual supporters and "neutrals" - improving gate and commercial income is crucial - we do need to improve our entertainment.
In terms of the summer transfers, we can't afford another summer where several of our signings are out of favour by October. I'd want to see that we have a long term plan, and are signing players to fit that plan.6 -
Some great posts here -
Targets -
60 Points
65 Goals
A couple of large wins at home.
Creative midfielder to feed Kelman is CRUCIAL - our most important buy and something we should spend the most money on.
I want 20 million spent - I know unlikely, but that's what I want.
Sell the training ground to ourselves or whatever we have to do.
I want some genuine, serious intent shown by this board.
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All for progression but going from the 23rd top scorers (excluding Wednesday) to the 8th top scorers is quite big of an ask especially for a defensive minded side.mascot88 said:Some great posts here -
Targets -
60 Points
65 Goals
A couple of large wins at home.
Creative midfielder to feed Kelman is CRUCIAL - our most important buy and something we should spend the most money on.
I want 20 million spent - I know unlikely, but that's what I want.
Sell the training ground to ourselves or whatever we have to do.
I want some genuine, serious intent shown by this board.
Also can’t spend 20M unless you want us to start Breaking FFP rules, assuming your not taking into account money we’re going to spend on other stuff like infrastructure trying to get a Cat 1 academy etc2 -
If I’m one of the owners…
Continue to engage with the supporters through all channelsUnderstand the potential of the club but also the need to make some difficult decisions that wont always be liked
Will finally employ a new CEO
We know this a great/proud club with a history we acknowledge that means as Custodians of the club we will do everything possible to move the club upwards on its journey2 -
Should be aiming to finish at the top end of the third quartile, so 13th/14th, but with decent recruitment and a fair wind we could finish a bit higher.0
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Recruit a new generation of supporters, ones who spend heaps on hospitality and merchandise.
Create loyalty scheme where you can buy supporters from other clubs with a 'loyalty matching' programme. (bit like Cruising!)
Put a casino under the east terrace for pre and post match profiteering.
Squeeze the (leased) asset to maximise revenue - bingo nights, wakes, kids parties.
Do a live stream back to the Valley for all away games (use Amazon fire stick).
Buy all adjoining housing and make a great big car park and use area for street food vendors and car boot sales on non match days.
Get photos of Roland .... buy the Valley back at a lower price.
Bring in an overpaid, over-aged, creative minded midfield as marquee signing - who excelled at WC2026 - to attract a host of young talented third world players from far away shores - build a hostel at Sparrows to home them and directs to The Beehive for cultural induction.
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I thought investments in the academy & infrastructure were excluded from FFP.Crispywood said:
All for progression but going from the 23rd top scorers (excluding Wednesday) to the 8th top scorers is quite big of an ask especially for a defensive minded side.mascot88 said:Some great posts here -
Targets -
60 Points
65 Goals
A couple of large wins at home.
Creative midfielder to feed Kelman is CRUCIAL - our most important buy and something we should spend the most money on.
I want 20 million spent - I know unlikely, but that's what I want.
Sell the training ground to ourselves or whatever we have to do.
I want some genuine, serious intent shown by this board.
Also can’t spend 20M unless you want us to start Breaking FFP rules, assuming your not taking into account money we’re going to spend on other stuff like infrastructure trying to get a Cat 1 academy etc
Either way it’s moot as we are unlikely to spend £20M (certainly not on fees alone) regardless.0 -
Progression, which could even just be staying up again as the second season can be harder. But I would say ideally a 10% improvement on return should be the aim.1
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12-16th , more attacking style of play , 2-3 new academy grads make first team appearances and 60 points.0
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I've got a feeling we are going to be as surprised as we were last year, in this transfer window.Crispywood said:
All for progression but going from the 23rd top scorers (excluding Wednesday) to the 8th top scorers is quite big of an ask especially for a defensive minded side.mascot88 said:Some great posts here -
Targets -
60 Points
65 Goals
A couple of large wins at home.
Creative midfielder to feed Kelman is CRUCIAL - our most important buy and something we should spend the most money on.
I want 20 million spent - I know unlikely, but that's what I want.
Sell the training ground to ourselves or whatever we have to do.
I want some genuine, serious intent shown by this board.
Also can’t spend 20M unless you want us to start Breaking FFP rules, assuming your not taking into account money we’re going to spend on other stuff like infrastructure trying to get a Cat 1 academy etc
NJ's speech was all about "I know you have been hurt" "These owners are proper people" - I sense something more than we think will happen, just like last year.
I for one was surprised as hell as the signings kept coming - I think this year Jones will have a clearer idea on how we continue the "journey" and what players will be capable of delivering that.
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You could if the owners wright off the loans they have made to the club, as has happened to Stoke , who because of that made a small profit last season.Crispywood said:
All for progression but going from the 23rd top scorers (excluding Wednesday) to the 8th top scorers is quite big of an ask especially for a defensive minded side.mascot88 said:Some great posts here -
Targets -
60 Points
65 Goals
A couple of large wins at home.
Creative midfielder to feed Kelman is CRUCIAL - our most important buy and something we should spend the most money on.
I want 20 million spent - I know unlikely, but that's what I want.
Sell the training ground to ourselves or whatever we have to do.
I want some genuine, serious intent shown by this board.
Also can’t spend 20M unless you want us to start Breaking FFP rules, assuming your not taking into account money we’re going to spend on other stuff like infrastructure trying to get a Cat 1 academy etc0 -
Carter has already stated that their aim is to have a mid table budget in 3 years time so I would expect just a modest increase on this seasons bottom three budget.
I’m expecting no pivot to expansive, attacking football, I think there will be more of the same, if we want to survive. I also think it’s going to be hard to expect NJ to overachieve on our budget two years in a row, so I’m expecting us to stay where we are, not in a relegation fight but around the same finishing position.I worry that a lot of the fan base will become frustrated with NJ because they will perceive a lack of progress, when actually he is working miracles with the finances we will have. Blaming what will turn out to be our best manager for a decade when their frustration emanates from the funding of the club. Yet the owners are still losing a huge amount of money each year and want to keep those losses manageable, and avoid points deductions.I personally don’t get this obsession with playing expansive football, did we turn into Spurs all of a sudden? Does anyone remember the Curbs PL years and his mantra of ‘stop the opposition playing their game’. Perhaps the same fans demanding pretty football now are the same that said Curbs had taken us a far as he could.17 -
1. Be an attractive team for Premier League (quality) loans.(yes I know aboutNJ not liking loans but I can't see a world where we have enough cash to buy decent players)
2.Avoid ponts deductions on spending
3.Survival in championship3 -
Spot on. And any other in line for points deductions? Not that I've heard. Its going to be more of the same unless we can get quality loans.se9addick said:
I’m not sure it massively matters that we came up with Birmingham and Wrexham. We didn’t finish above them (not even close). The teams that we did finish above are likely to be replaced by better teams, thus finishing outside the relegation zone will be harder.thenewbie said:
I don't think this will factor into it inasmuch as realistically we won't be competing at the top end of the table where you expect them to feature (unless one of them does a Leicester.)se9addick said:I think it’s going to be tough next season. I don’t see anyone being as awful/hampered as Sheffield Wednesday. I think the teams coming down will likely be better than those that have come up. So I believe the overall standard of the division will be higher.Obviously this massively depends on our transfer window but right now I will take one spot above relegation again as a starting target.
Weaker teams coming up compared to the likes of Birmingham and Wrexham IS more significant as its likely that sides like Portsmouth, Blackburn maybe Preston too may struggle again too so if we do get things right we honestly should be taking surviving with relative comfort as the aim as that gives about five or six sides we can legitimately hope to be better than over a season.0 -
Improve by 5-6 points and 3 places in the league.
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