Perspective

[BudleighBee]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

 

[sonofabee]

No need for a positive, common sense post like this, you’ll upset the regulars!
I remember during the close season when we went up thinking we should finish above Rotherham and Blackpool, fingers crossed maybe Bolton. I’d have bitten your right arm off for 5 seasons and it’s been beyond my wildest dream. New ground, multi million pound ex players starring in the Prem and the best football I’ve witnessed in 50+ seasons. Frank out I say

 

[Amcclint]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

Splendid post and how true
I am hugely grateful we are where we are
Hugely

 

[Leicester Bee]

Obviously there isn't anything I disagree with the OP over. Never thought we'd even get a sniff of Premier League football in my lifetime, with the occasional foray into the Championship being the extent of my expectations.
But, expectations do change and that's partly down to the success of the club. The management have positioned the club to achieve Premier League football, to attract more and new fans, and with that comes change.

It's great to look back and remember how we viewed our club. It's great to be able to say how far we've come and enjoy what we have, especially after two defeats that seem to have caused grief within our fanbase not seen since Bristol Rovers away in 1998. But, at some point, this perspective becomes less and less relevant and I start to feel like the old fellas who stood on the New Road harping on about better days, when I first started supporting Brentford.

Take nothing away from your viewpoint though. I'll be exactly the same myself.
"You weren't there driving through the snow to get to Barrow", "You've never had to go to Accrington Stanley and been turned away at the last second due to a frozen pitch", etc, etc. But, as time goes on, younger fans will look at me in the same way as I looked at the old fellas stood on the New Road. I can't help but look to the past. I'll even argue that to a certain degree, even pre-pandemic, I kinda enjoyed myself more in amidst 300 of us hardy souls losing to Oldham during the midweek than I do now.

 

[AB]

Back in the day I didn't mind us losing too much and well-fought draws and wins were truly joyful. Increasingly over the last few years anything less than a win seems a bit flat. Partly that might just be because everything is a bit flat when watched on a screen and you can just switch it off and walk away without reading the moaning on here and social media, whereas if you've gone to the game there'll be drunken postmortems/celebrations in the pub and time to reflect on it all on the journey home with a week of anticipation before the next game.

But if the worst happens and we do what we used to do in L1 for so long, have seasons where we challenge but ultimately fail interspersed with seasons where we trundle around in midtable, why should this feel worse in the Championship? We no longer have an existential threat to face, we've actually got what most of us would have sworn in the bucket shaking days is all we wanted, a sustainable club to follow, except as Budleigh says, we've actually got a load more than that. Things we'd have been laughed at for thinking were at all realistic.

Maybe those Swansea fans accidentally had a bit of a point. Let's just enjoy things and not think that we have to win the league. The team are up to doing that, but at least for the longer term fan, supporting the club is only so much about achieving on the pitch. Then, when it happens, success will be all the sweeter.

 

[nick logan]

Obviously there isn't anything I disagree with the OP over. Never thought we'd even get a sniff of Premier League football in my lifetime, with the occasional foray into the Championship being the extent of my expectations.
But, expectations do change and that's partly down to the success of the club. The management have positioned the club to achieve Premier League football, to attract more and new fans, and with that comes change.

It's great to look back and remember how we viewed our club. It's great to be able to say how far we've come and enjoy what we have, especially after two defeats that seem to have caused grief within our fanbase not seen since Bristol Rovers away in 1998. But, at some point, this perspective becomes less and less relevant and I start to feel like the old fellas who stood on the New Road harping on about better days, when I first started supporting Brentford.

Take nothing away from your viewpoint though. I'll be exactly the same myself.
"You weren't there driving through the snow to get to Barrow", "You've never had to go to Accrington Stanley and been turned away at the last second due to a frozen pitch", etc, etc. But, as time goes on, younger fans will look at me in the same way as I looked at the old fellas stood on the New Road. I can't help but look to the past. I'll even argue that to a certain degree, even pre-pandemic, I kinda enjoyed myself more in amidst 300 of us hardy souls losing to Oldham during the midweek than I do now.

as someone who has been to Oldham about 20 times , can i respectfully say " bugger off mate , Forest away is much much better "

 

[nick logan]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

I had the league table on Quest paused for ages yesterday.
I still cant believe what has happened to this club.
10 years ago we lost 4-1 at Dagenham.
its bonkers after years of mid table div 3.
The stadium is utterly amazing and the team is doing us proud.
Everyone should try and enjoy this every minute of every day

 

[Griffingreen]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

What took you so long the join the GPG.

 

[Brentford Bob]

I think those of us who have endured forty odd years of mostly disappointment would probably agree with most of the comments above.
I’m glad that I’ve experience winning, and losing at The Racecourse on a Tuesday night, I wouldn’t swap losing at Torquay with Bernie falling asleep on my wife’s shoulder (her first and last game) and even the weekend where we got turned away from Accrington Stanley at 2pm had it‘s merits.

But, that’s in the past now. As much as I look back on those times with much fondness, I don’t want to do it all again. I really like where we are now, and even if we do achieve nothing this season, it won’t bother me greatly because we’ll still be in the Championship, and we’ll buy some more exciting, young players to replace those that leave and, most importantly we’ll be able to go to the games and have a drink with our friends.

 

[Leicester Bee]

as someone who has been to Oldham about 20 times , can i respectfully say " bugger off mate , Forest away is much much better "

Fair.

In all seriousness, though, there was something about being in a smaller crowd but known loyal characters.

Brighton away, when Hughton had just taken over, we took a huge number and the atmosphere was as flat as a pancake.
Peterborough away, December 1994, in a game where the wind was so strong that Tamer Fernandes could barely kick the ball out of the penalty area, but the 200 fans spent the entire second half having such a laugh, with non-stop singing, not giving "too much" of a sh*t.

I definitely preferred the Peterborough awayday.

 

[David Brentford]

So much good stuff here. I think part of it is the current situation. Since the start the pandemic results seem to have taken on even more significance. As it is all on TV or iFollow and the games are coming thick and fast, my week is all about the expectation and then reflection after on the result and performance. It appears to weigh more heavily now than before - even though we haven't lost many in reality!

I clearly need to get out more..

Oh, hang on..

 

[Outlander]

I used to do 40+ games a season until my mid 20s. Then kids came along and ruined it. So I marooned myself in Scotland In a massive sulk and only go to half a dozen a season with my oldest boy.

But like @David Brentford said above, the games seem to have more significance now than they ever do. Is that expectation? Is it Covid? A combination of both?

Back in the league 2 days there was always a sense of gallows humour, especially at the away games. You could stand where you wanted at the home games and even have a wander round there was that much room. It always felt that I was part of something and my shouting/singing could make a difference. I don’t get that same feeling now when I attend and probably haven’t since our second season in the Championship.

I think we have a tendency to only remember the good times and the times that are so bad they are laughable (Barrow away, postponement at Accrington Etc)

Having said all that would I change anythjng? Would I heck! To have a club that is sustainable, not on the brink of collapse/non existence and one that plays bloody good football whilst barely ever losing is a bit of a dream.

 

[Bee1895]

One simply gets used to things. e.g. not visiting a stadium.
I guess for some clubs it is going to be tough, when the gates are back open.
Some might think twice about buying a steep expensive match ticket.

 

[nick logan]

One simply gets used to things. e.g. not visiting a stadium.
I guess for some clubs it is going to be tough, when the gates are back open.
Some might think twice about buying a steep expensive match ticket.

i'll never get used to not going , hopefully next season or Watford at home !!

 

[Jockbee]

As said before...mid 50's....Torquay on a friday....Argyll the next day...those were the days...come a long way since then...Yeovil who beat us at Wembley....now almost non league...You Reds..

 

[TorbayBee]

Yes these are really strange times.
I now feel an anxiety and pressure when watching more than I ever did in the past. I can almost say I have stopped enjoying it which is crazy given where we are. I talk to my son in law a Man City season ticket holder and regular attendee home and away for 30 plus years. He feels the same way, now losing feels like a tragedy not just part of football life. Ironically I think social media has a lot to do with this, although my recent semi retirement means I have a brain that has nothing to do most days so it gets up to mischief.
Sorry rambling. I suppose what I am saying is that I need to re-invigorate the joy element that was there on an almost deserted away terrace at Stockport in the rain/sleet whilst also absorbing the joyfulness of the current situation. In those days I did not fret or worry about the Bees, I just loved them .

 

[BudleighBee]

What took you so long the join the GPG.

That is a very good question. I have always read it, but just never joined. Now I have, it has made the whole experience that much better. First match v York city Nov 1972 (W2-0)

 

[marvelous007]

as someone who has been to Oldham about 20 times , can i respectfully say " bugger off mate , Forest away is much much better "

They do great pies at Oldham though. Lol

 

[The Pipe]

Have spent all my life travelling home and away to watch the mighty Bees with considerably more disappointment than joy, however that represented an investment of over 60 years of my life.

In recent years my levels of enjoyment have dissipated to first ambivalence to now not even bothering to watch on TV.

I genuinely think that football has created a monster that Doctor Frankenstein would be proud of. Fans are demanding, impatient and show zero tolerance, in the Winter and Summer it’s the same old mantra buy buy buy whilst for other players it’s get rid as they are not good enough ( often subsequently proving posters wrong). This is not EBay it is people’s livelihoods that are being discussed.

Couple of dodgy results in an otherwise excellent season and suddenly it’s all gone tits up, will be lucky to get a playoff position the players are rubbish etc. We also have a thread on how to cheat, yes I understand but it sticks in the throat a bit.

Alternatively when things are going well we have ridiculous posts about who to get rid of when we are in the Premier League, where we were when we go top etc, strikes me we are getting a bit above ourselves which then explains the subsequent reactions.

I hope for the sake of MB and the long suffering fans that started the journey like me in the dim distant past that promotion is achieved sooner rather than later however purely on a personal basis if the price of success is to create something that is so intolerant, impatient and where the benefits of cheating are seen as a justified way forward then count me out

 

[swr22]

A good thread here.

I think what we all want to see is Brentford being successful but without losing the DNA of what made the club special to begin with: a family club, with dedicated fans, picked due to real affection rather than glory-hunting, which respects a tradition that is as much about the people and the memories (both on and off the pitch) as the trophies and triumphs, that plays attractive football and has a smart, humble, irreverant/humorous, and knowledgeable fanbase.

I think the Twitter "Frank Out" brigade, the "when is Benham going to spend some money" fools and the like give many of us on here the heebie-geebies as we think it might be a sign that the culture that I was attracted by and played my part in furthering might be drowned out by fans who have somehow missed the Brentford Ethos 101 Training.

Who knows whether threads like this help cultivate perspective and humility, but it makes me remember that there are loads of us on here who are grateful for what Brentford has, is and will bring to our lives. And we don't measure it solely by last week's result.

 

[BeeHomeSoon]

Remember when we were sitting there hoping Charlie Ide and Joe Kuffour were going to save us from relegation along with Shipperley.

I genuinely never thought I’d see the player quality of Maupay, Ollie and Toney in a Bees shirt.

Yes we lost to the RaRas but for the first time in my life have I been able to laugh at them for celebrating “their cup final win” after we’ve hammered them and surpassed them in the last few years.

what a time to be alive and be a bee!!!

 

[brentfordwannabee]

9 hour round trip for Shrewsbury away at Christmas - 0 - 0

APPRECIATED WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED!!!!!

 

[BeesBloke]

My whole life the dream was to see us as a top half championship side, not just avoiding relegation every season as many expected, but to be actually
seen as a genuine established team in this division. We have surpassed that. I honestly thought that would do for me. Now I find myself fretting like never before that if we don’t make the PL this season we will lose Toney, Henry, DaSilva etc. I was the same last season about Watkins & Benrahma. I suppose it’s all relative. Should we made the premier league no doubt I will be delighted until I start fretting about who might leave should we miss out on europe.

 

[upnorthbee]

Like many, I’ve done some away grounds more times than I can count (Oldham, Rochdale, Blackpool, Huddersfield, Northampton etc), but the greatest thing is once the stadiums are open again, we have the chance to do a hell of a lot of new away games (get the chance to complete the 92 finally!)

Imagine Man Utd, Liverpool, West Ham, Everton away etc.

Im one of the lucky ones, I started following the bees in 1998, where I’ve actually seen some really entertaining teams through Copple, Alan, Rosler and now Frank, with a sprinkling of Butcher and Rosenior thrown in.

But we’ve earned this time to enjoy watching our football club playing top tier football, let’s just remember to enjoy it.

 

[seanrs]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

Good post and good thread as many have said already. I think the culture not just of football but life in general is to always look to better yourself which often takes over perspective. It shouldn’t be like that but it is.

The added factor is that we know if we don’t go up we will lose some of the current squad and it’s likely to be to clubs that are similar in ability to us but have made it to the premiership. Again, it is what it is though and something we need to live with, albeit sometimes through gritted teeth

 

[The Pipe]

Been giving this a bit more thought after what has been a disastrous week for the team one way and another

As fans we can be critical of team selection and tactics however we are living in strange times and normality has flown out the window. Like a number of Managers Coaches etc Thomas is dealing from a very suspect deck and I would imagine he dreads hearing from the medical team regarding which players are running on empty. We are probably in the area of moving the deckchairs on the Titanic and pretty much left with playing those less exhausted than others. In that scenario to try and change tactics is just not an option as by game time their is every chance the available personnel might have changed.

That having been said it still remains our objective to achieve promotion and that has not changed since the season started, and it rather feels like Thomas is rather hamstrung by the, what now seems, a depleted squad.

The argument that we have been in much worse positions during our life times does not really stand scrutiny as, whist our History is extremely important, no previous regime has had the same resources and leadership as now and I have to wonder at the limited incoming transfer activity in January

However for all the gloom on here the threads writing off our promotion hopes and the inditement of our players ability we have shown this season that we can mix it with anyone. We have shown steel at times and, on our day, are possibly the most attractive team in the league.

Last week brought us down to earth with a considerable bump yet, despite that we remain 2nd in the table, I accept Swansea have games in hand but they have to win them ( we have been down that route in the past) To a greater or lesser degree we still control our destiny and if we can scramble an ugly win this week we can start to fire up again knowing some of our players will soon return.

A tough job to select a team this week but our players can perform, we can start to pick up points and let the likes of Swansea etc worry about their own squads that are running out of steam.

Things are never completely Black or White and who knows, perhaps the recent setback will stop us getting above ourselves in expectations and enable us to appreciate that there are still many twists and turns to come for all the clubs in the Championship and we have as good a chance as others in finishing top 2

 

[brooks]

Over the past 60 years or so I've always hoped for Brentford to become an established second division!!! club and here we are. Any more success would be great but I'm happy with what we've got.

 

[Invipai]

There's always balance....we're allowed to be frustrated at 3 losses in a row, against teams we all felt we should be beating, at a time when even our rivals were starting to consider us too good to not go up. But perspective is always needed. I'm looking forward to Wednesday's game, which wasn't a mood I was in a couple of days ago.

Swansea's loss was a lifeline, we're still in this but we need to do the best we can with the injuries we currently have. Obviously we've come a long way over the last 10 years, but it would be weird to not feel down about recent results of if we fail to go up again this year. Our standards have risen, and that has some drawbacks as well including how some of our fanbase react to each loss.

 

[Hippobee]

Been giving this a bit more thought after what has been a disastrous week for the team one way and another

As fans we can be critical of team selection and tactics however we are living in strange times and normality has flown out the window. Like a number of Managers Coaches etc Thomas is dealing from a very suspect deck and I would imagine he dreads hearing from the medical team regarding which players are running on empty. We are probably in the area of moving the deckchairs on the Titanic and pretty much left with playing those less exhausted than others. In that scenario to try and change tactics is just not an option as by game time their is every chance the available personnel might have changed.

That having been said it still remains our objective to achieve promotion and that has not changed since the season started, and it rather feels like Thomas is rather hamstrung by the, what now seems, a depleted squad.

The argument that we have been in much worse positions during our life times does not really stand scrutiny as, whist our History is extremely important, no previous regime has had the same resources and leadership as now and I have to wonder at the limited incoming transfer activity in January

However for all the gloom on here the threads writing off our promotion hopes and the inditement of our players ability we have shown this season that we can mix it with anyone. We have shown steel at times and, on our day, are possibly the most attractive team in the league.

Last week brought us down to earth with a considerable bump yet, despite that we remain 2nd in the table, I accept Swansea have games in hand but they have to win them ( we have been down that route in the past) To a greater or lesser degree we still control our destiny and if we can scramble an ugly win this week we can start to fire up again knowing some of our players will soon return.

A tough job to select a team this week but our players can perform, we can start to pick up points and let the likes of Swansea etc worry about their own squads that are running out of steam.

Things are never completely Black or White and who knows, perhaps the recent setback will stop us getting above ourselves in expectations and enable us to appreciate that there are still many twists and turns to come for all the clubs in the Championship and we have as good a chance as others in finishing top 2

Great post & plenty of perspective shown throughout it. Despite 3 poor performances, we remain well in the mix. Totally agree about not comparing some of our previous dire times with now - just not comparable considering the resources available. The players have to really believe.

Although 'running on empty' I feel that it's an injection of confidence we need and where better to start than with any kind of win over Sheff Weds. That's worth almost as much as a full-fit player coming back to the first XI. All about between the ears - how many of us have played football at some time (at whatever low level it might be) and then when snatching a goal back from the opposition, you suddenly have that extra yard of pace, spring in your step, grit and determination to think you can get another goal and then snatch a win? That's what we need our players to feel like on Wednesday - get a goal or two, then feel ten feet tall again, just like they felt only a week and a half ago.

3 points will work more wonders than anything else.

 

[rodders]

We all recall the dark days, we remember when it would have been impossible to even dream of being a top Championship side. That is no reason however why having gained the previously thought impossible why ambition and the wish to reach higher should cease or we should be content.

 

[GABS]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

You forgot about losing to Fulham at Wembley in a play off for the Premier League! If a time traveller told me that on the pitch after Preston I may have decided to support Hampton and Richmond instead

 

[cromerbee]

After hearing we may well be in the stadium for the start of next season, the thought of being in a packed LR no matter who we are playing or in whatever league overrides everything else. It will be an emotional one for sure. It will also celebrate me supporting the Bees for 50 years! Yes it would be nice to go up this year( although not being there to see it will take the gloss off). Yes we will lose some players if we don't but we've done it before. Whatever happens it won't be Stockport at home in the 4th division that hooked me in the first place.
You Beeeeeeessss!!!! That's all.

 

[Shamrock_Bee]

I am one that says don't look back, always look for continuous improvement, the fact we were collecting money in buckets a few years ago has nothing to do with playing well or badly now. But:
I remember walking on the Griffin Park turf on that glorious Good Friday after Alan Judge had fired us to the Championship. All the feelings emotions, noise, colour, booze, even the Preston fans contributing. If I knew then that we would still be in Championship seven years later and even better that we would have finished every season in the top half of the table, I would have thought, wow that's going to be great. If I then discovered that we would have finished in the play-offs twice, have a team stuffed full of international players, reached the semi-final of the League Cup, made tens of millions on player transfers and be looking forward to watching football in a fantastic new stadium I would have thought all my dreams were going to come true. Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Yes I admit if I was also told that I would miss a whole season of football because of a pandemic and we still wouldn't have won in the playoffs my good mood might be slightly tempered, but all things considered it could certainly be worse.

I obviously wouldn't disagree with any of your post, and it is important to remind ourselves of where Brentford FC were less than two decades ago, to keep us grounded.

At the same time whilst the owner and board are sure to be very proud of where the club sits today, both from a business and football viewpoint, we shouldn't dismiss there is a very talented, canny business outlook there. Now I mean canny in the best possible way, but we are a business, yes we have people with genuine love for the club but it doesn't take away that fact.

Are we still heavily reliant on one person yes - could the business bring in it's own income, enough to be self sufficient and competitive in an ever competitive, lucative league! I think we know the answer!

It's my view what's currently happening to our great club is in some ways a gamble; I think it's been mentioned before for us to remain a genuinely competitive club at this level, mid to long term we need to at the very least become a PL club at least once or every few attempts if we come back down again.

It's wonderful thinking back to where the club has come from, it's also hard to see the same financial problems if the business continues to be run properly. However at the same time while our new commercial policy, new stadium, increased fan base will hopefully keep us somewhat competitive, it might be the case our current competitivness just isn't sustainable if we don't get the exposure, finance and increased commercial potential getting to the PL would bring.

This is very much our time, but also I suspect we need to take our chance in the next few years, if we don't we might become a lower championship/league 1 club again.

It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if we're financially secure but it would be wonderful to cement ourselves amongst the top 25/26 English clubs for a generation, and at the very least be competing at the top of the championship regularly with a few PL seasons threw in. It would be what the owner and board deserve; the gamble paying off!

 

[mhead bee]

I think the club is too ambitious for a certain group of our fans and nowhere near ambitious enough for others however most of us sit in the middle somewhere.

The club has however raised the bar and expectations through ingenuity and investment so it must expect a certain amount pressure to succeed. When you have a team full of internationals you need to expect to be challenging and it is not wrong of the fans to expect us to be up there. It is all very romantic to remember where we came from and how we nearly went out of business but you can't afford to dwell on that if you want to get to the top, you can appreciate it and pinch yourself from time to time but through the brilliance of one man the players, staff and back room staff are premier league quality not league two so have to be accountable IMO and that does not make me spoiled.

 

[Charley Bonner]

With three losses on the bounce and now Rico Henry now being Injured with a possible hamstring problem, how do you feel about the current football? after those three games and how it was before those losses were doubled? from 3 to 6.

 

[TheHairdresser]

Don't think the EFL will allow us to replay all 31 games from scratch mate.

 

[Charley Bonner]

Don't think the EFL will allow us to replay all 31 games from scratch mate.

Didnt mean quite that far lad i meant just how do u feel about the performances

 

[Bee(h)Iver]

The crazy thing is that 3 halves of football ago things were still fine. Sure, we had lost to Barnsley but that looks like it might become an annual event! We were beating the raras and looking comfortable and were in the automatic promotion places with decent run of games ahead.

Things went downhill fast, but as the Huddersfield vs Swans game showed we are not the only club finding it tough right now. Norwich had a bad run, Bournemouth are in freefall and Watford struggling to get back to form. There is still a lot of games to go and I still think that if we can get 28 more points that'll be enough for top 2...I think all those people saying 90+ underestimate the strain this season is putting on every club.

I've supported the Bees for 45 years, and for me just being in the Championship for an extended period is as good as I ever realistically thought it would get. If you were to tell me that we'd also be playing some great football, were strong contenders for promotion and have so many quality players who are only going to get better I'd probably have asked you for whatever you were smoking!

So yes the last 3 halves have been a blip, and the extended injury list is a concern but not, truthfully, a surprise in what was always going to be a season of attrition over ability. I still believe we have enough quality to see us through and although I'm not expecting another extended unbeaten run (happy to be proved wrong though)

 

[TheHairdresser]

Didnt mean quite that far lad i meant just how do u feel about the performances

I think it's a combination of the heavy schedule causing stress and fatigue on a pretty depleted squad of players and as a consequence has led to the individual/collective errors that have led to all 6 goals we have conceded in this poor spell.

 

[Bee(h)Iver]

I think we played poorly against Barnsley and Coventry, the tactics for Coventry were probably wrong and we are suffering from fatigue and injuries which has meant more individual errors. And so are everyone else. We still have more quality than most of the teams around us (not Norwich - they are a level up in my opinion) and can certainly still make the top 2 as long as we don't panic and get back to passing the ball.

 

[Gazza Bee]

Didnt mean quite that far lad i meant just how do u feel about the performances

? Clearly nobody is going to be predicting top 2 based on the last 3 games - we have to just manage ourselves until we get players back which should be in the next 2 weeks hopefully. If we can be close to top 2 with 10 games to go then we have a real opportunity

 

[Charley Bonner]

? Clearly nobody is going to be predicting top 2 based on the last 3 games - we have to just manage ourselves until we get players back which should be in the next 2 weeks hopefully. If we can be close to top 2 with 10 games to go then we have a real opportunity

I agree, the performance was no where near the best of what we are capable of, i believe its all in the mentality in the players and I think they are still fighting for it to stay in the top top I don't think Ivan will be out long at all, hes a tough cookie and that opportunity is still definitely on the cards and no one should be that down about those games, Barnsley good team pressed well and played to their strengths,

QPR okay first loss to them in 3 years and looked decent in the first half never got going fully, and then Coventry were we looked tired and very rambunctious playing style notice that they adapted to Forss playing up front with the Toney strat of dalsgard hitting it upwards and flicking it on or hold up play but our rotational striker has been out of the games and hasn't got into any of the last three he has played. But i believe in the talent he has as well as all our players to come out on top

 

[GABS]

Watford struggling to get back to form

No they're not, they are level on points with us.

 

[Bee(h)Iver]

No they're not, they are level on points with us.

They've won 3 after failing to win 3 and have away games at Blackburn and Muff this week. They are either very good or very bad!

 

[rodders]

Very small chance of auto promotion now following debacle of last 3 games. Only possible if other teams implode like we have. Play offs our route now and we have never distinguished ourselves in that department

 

[brooks]

Very small chance of auto promotion now following debacle of last 3 games. Only possible if other teams implode like we have. Play offs our route now and we have never distinguished ourselves in that department

Almost a third of the season to go. We've as much chance as anyone, leaving out Norwich.

 

[GABS]

Very small chance of auto promotion now following debacle of last 3 games. Only possible if other teams implode like we have. Play offs our route now and we have never distinguished ourselves in that department

If by a very small chance you mean evens, then yeah it's a very small chance.

 

[rodders]

If by a very small chance you mean evens, then yeah it's a very small chance.

View attachment 24274

Betting odds reflect bets already placed and what bookies are likely to lose.,not the likelyhood of what will or not happen.

 

[AB]

Betting odds reflect bets already placed and what bookies are likely to lose.,not the likelyhood of what will or not happen.

Still, being in second with 15 to go doesn’t scream out very small chance regardless of having just lost 3 in a row.

 

[rodders]

Still, being in second with 15 to go doesn’t scream out very small chance regardless of having just lost 3 in a row.

No more like a loud shout!!!!