You're the Board - what are the targets and expectations for the 26/27 season?

12th-16th

You only have to look at Oxford and Pompey to see that it’s incredibly tough to sustain status. I think this would be a huge achievement. We need to mellow out and just compete for season upon season, the champ is more exciting than the prem anyway.

Steady progression and improvement has to be the aim. The style of play doesn't concern me yet, just results.

The league is so bunched in the middle that we don't need a dramatic change in fortunes to climb up the table. If the season were to end today we would finish seven points off the top half. There have been plenty of playoff chasing teams we've come up against this year that I have been unimpressed by, but they are more consistent than us and either able to go on winning runs or grind out results when they aren't at their best. Unfortunately we have had quite a few barren periods this year:

• Five losses in a row in November / December.
• Four games without a win over December and January. 
• Four games without a win in February. 
• Seven games without a win across March and April

This is to be expected in our first year in the league - we've also picked up points from very unlikely situations, that's football. If we can avoid these long spells of poor form then there's no reason we can't improve our league position next year. 

A lot of the target-setting process depends on our transfer business this summer. I am cautious about the amount of turnover some seem to want as it's clear to me that Jones is big on team chemistry and character. However, I still think we will need 6-8 players in. To me this should consist of a couple of loans, a couple of frees, and decent money spent on three or four players. All of that is before factoring in any unexpected departures. It will be a busy summer.

Targets:  I shudder whenever I see that word.  They are always a bad idea. If anyone is interested search Goodhart's Law.  (Targets have been screwing over the general performance of the NHS for decades.)

Anyway as a simple example, if a striker is given a target of 20 goals in a season (and a bonus if he achieves that), it will probably distort the play and performance of the team.  Said striker is always likely to shoot even when a pass to another better-placed player would be more desirable.

If the club can put in place a number of measures that can demonstrate how well we are doing both on and off the pitch then all well and good. 

The key, for me, has to be to increase income. With the limits placed on losses over a three-year period. (£39mn is it?) we are always going to struggle to compete without the relief provided by more income. With the best will in the world you are not going to get significant extra money from the fans. TV money is fairly fixed, so that leaves receipts from outgoing transfers and additional sponsorship as the main drivers. Alice Larkworthy as Commercial Director has got one hell of a job to do.

next years aims/targets/expectations.

First team - Just to stay up again, would be nice to finish the season safe with 4/5 to go rather than 1 game, so 60 point target I think would be seen as a success. I'd like see us compete with teams a bit better and show real intent with the ball, really don't care if that means 30% possession if when we have possession we have purpose and threat going forward and not aimless hoofs up field that 90% of the time come straight back.

Academy - Cat 1 for the academy achieved, with 2 more graduates seen as genuine first 18 options, and 2 further squad options.

Women's team - I don't follow them but from headlines looks like they've had a great season, if they can get a following and get closer to breaking even maybe with the promotion this might help. Surely the more money we generate as a whole club the better it is for everyone and we'll generate much higher advertising revenue across the club if so.

I think what this season showed more than anything is that the style we play is incredibly draining and if we can't play our desired style we're god awful. We started the season so well and then one or two injuries in the wrong areas and a bit of fatigue and we were atrocious. We perked up a bit with some fresh blood in January, brought in 4 proper first teamers and 2 more to rotate in and immediately we looked more balanced and energetic. We then lost a bit of steam again and a bit more rotation - more Kelman, Godden returning, more Fevrier, JRC and Knibbs - and we had enough again to get over the line.

All that to say that we need to be able to rotate our squad with quality like for like players. Gillesphey has decent games sometimes - Hull, Middlesbrough - but can also cost us. We can't afford to rotate him in regularly for Bell. Knibbs took too long to get up to speed and was injured so Carey had to stay in despite his form. Edwards didn't have reasonable backup so we died in the period where we didn't have a LWB. Burke was too unfit to cover Ramsay consistently (and you do maybe have to wonder about Sichenje already). Before Dykes and Godden's return we just had Leaburn, TC, Kelman and Olaofe who had to play regardless of form. Coady fixed up some of the problems we got with Coventry but there wasn't a realistic replacement for Doc who offered the energy that role needs. Both the keepers are a bit ropey. The aim this summer has to be improving on our weakest first team players while keeping the better ones around as effective rotation options. We need a better player than Doc, an equivalent to Bell, Edwards and whoever is at RWB. We need pace and direct running as an alternative to TC, we need a holding midfielder with Coady's positional sense but more mobility. The target has to be ending the first window with upgrades on first teamers from this season with the first teamers who kept us in the league still there as sufficient options to put into lineups that don't significantly weaken us. If we've done that then the expectations can be to not have to worry about relegation and have a Bristol City type season.

NabySarr said:

SouthLincsAddick said:

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 asking for pretty football now are the same that said Curbs had taken us a far as he could. 

People only care about the style of football if we aren’t winning games. I didn’t hear any complaints from January 2025 to October 2025 when we were doing well and winning a lot of games. The style only became an issue when we started losing more games 

The style of football we played during that period was better than we've played more recently. Since January, we've regressed to a really basic style of hoofball, relying a lot on long throws, which we weren't playing in the autumn, when we were playing more of a pressing game, and scoring good goals on the turnover.

I understand why we initially went back to basics to grind out results, but it then stopped working so we ended up playing ugly football, and losing anyway. 

It's interesting that NJ changed it up for the last 2 games, reverting more to how we played in the autumn, and we looked both more effective and more attractive.

There are some unrealistic expectations as well as some realistic ones. We will still have one of the smallest playing budgets in the League, although maybe not 3rd lowest this time. 
One thing I hope we will do better at is our summer recruitment which wasn't great last year. Improved a lot with the loans in January (and Shijenje). This time last year we were still hedging our bets at whether it was players for League 1. Besides having an extra month, players will look at us as more solid and progressive. We all have our opinions of the holes that need filling and those to be moved on. Overall target for me would just be something like 17-19th. 
Off the field 2 targets, keep trying to build long term support (particularly youngsters). Secondly to increase commercial revenue somehow - it's the only realistic way to increase our playing budget. 

Transfer fees and wages for any new recruits are going to have a very serious and quite low ceiling if the current ownership is to keep the company's losses within the strict limits.
All expectations for squad enhancement have to be kept on the low side of realistic.
The club's business finances have been improving but not to the degree that gets us into the stratospheric figures bandied around in this lunatic division in recent years.
One or two departees might generate small fees, e.g. Alex Mitchell
Reality may strike in that if significant, profit making offers come in for anybody then they will have to be given serious consideration, however unpalatable they will be.
Solid offers need to be made for Harry Clarke and Jayden Fevrier.  Neither is the absolute finished article for Championship football but both have proved that they are very able campaigners, both show heart and commitment, both bring character and both are the best we've seen, this season, in their correct wing-back positions.
Most of the recently acquired bodies that haven't shaped up will have to be offloaded with dispassionate haste.
Margins in this division preclude carrying any deadweight.
January's recruitment was far more successful than last summer's.  Let's assume that was down to good management more than luck and with a full month more to repair and improve the squad than in '25, our good spell can last beyond August.
So long as we finish 18th or above next season, hitting 50 points before the end of March we can count it as solid progression.

The answer to the question is dependent on how much investment is made in the first team squad. Spend c£10m inclusive of the Sichenje fee and I think we will likely remain in the 4th Quartile but hopefully out of harms way. I also think that unless perhaps 50-100% more is not spent on top of £10m we will have to accept compromise on play style etc. 

As commented above the quality will be better next season with less likely teams facing the sorts of points deductions they did this season. 

Chris_from_Sidcup said:

Bailey said:

I don't see any team coming up who will spend like Wrexham or Birmingham, Cardiff maybe, but anway finish above those three is a must. If we have a target, then become established as a Championship side is a target, sides such as Swansea and Bristol City would be in that genre. As for the squad, it's an interesting one, with the return of Mbick, Kanu and Oloafe, would add to Leaburn, Godden, Kelman and Dykes if he signs. Loans again for Mbick, Kanu, Oloafe and possibly Leaburn, but a quality finisher must be brought in. Quality must also be added to the midfield, wing backs and back three. There is my wish list, if the squad gets trimed in quantity and quality is brought in, I'm confident that we can have a good season. 

I think Cardiff are pretty skint. They lost 35m in their last championship season, and i can't imagine it got a lot better in league one, so i'm not sure they can go wild on transfers without soon finding themselves in PSR trouble.

Cardiff have been pretty sensible in L1, using some very good academy players like the Colwill brothers and Dylan Lawlor. I can't see them splurging in the summer.

All 3 promoted sides from L1 this summer should have lower budgets than us.

cafcfan said:

Targets:  I shudder whenever I see that word.  They are always a bad idea. If anyone is interested search Goodhart's Law.  (Targets have been screwing over the general performance of the NHS for decades.)

Anyway as a simple example, if a striker is given a target of 20 goals in a season (and a bonus if he achieves that), it will probably distort the play and performance of the team.  Said striker is always likely to shoot even when a pass to another better-placed player would be more desirable.

If the club can put in place a number of measures that can demonstrate how well we are doing both on and off the pitch then all well and good. 

The key, for me, has to be to increase income. With the limits placed on losses over a three-year period. (£39mn is it?) we are always going to struggle to compete without the relief provided by more income. With the best will in the world you are not going to get significant extra money from the fans. TV money is fairly fixed, so that leaves receipts from outgoing transfers and additional sponsorship as the main drivers. Alice Larkworthy as Commercial Director has got one hell of a job to do.

I can only conclude none of the current squad are on such a bonus 😆