bigmick wrote:laza wrote:Im pretty someone told me or may have read once or twice on some forum that we had this fantastic squad which would have taken/put a credible challenge for the title last season if we had a few more arms around the shoulders.
We strenghened quite well, brought on a respected man manager, so I cant see why we wont be challenging for the title this year.
I think you're getting yourself a little bit confused here to be totally honest. I think your post refers to me if I'm not mistaken (quite a lot of your more snide ones do), and I don't think you are fairly representing my thoughts.
I actually think/thought we have been good enough to challenge for the title for three seasons, or at least we had the tools to do so. Unfortunately however, when you buy a 20 million pound striker and decide to spend/spunk the fee on a player who you don't intend to play, it doesn't overly help your cause. Similarly, if you sell strikers and replace them with quite obviously inferior players, slowly but surely your chances are eroded. Similarly, if you sell your pivot at the base of central midfield and replace him with a 20 million quid crock/flop who doesn't play, then it stands to reason that as sure as eggs is eggs, your chances are being reduced.
Further, if you are fourth the previous season, third, or second even, then clearly you have a platform, a base camp if you like, from which to mount a challenge. It also helps of course if you have at least some money to spend, if you haven't then your chances gradually diminish, even more so if what you do have you spunk on dodgy 7 million quid left backs from Italy, or dodgy 11 million quid strikers from Holland.
So in conclusion I'd say that before last seasons started, we had the tools to challenge for the title. I'm surprised to be honest that you don't agree, we had finished 2nd the season before, had challenged and were seemingly improving. We sold our midfield lynchpin for reasons we don't need to go into here, and chose to re-invest the proceeds on Aquilani for 20 million quid, and Johnson for 17 million quid. The rest is history, and as you know we finished 7th.
This season, Roy has rightly packed Aquilani off from whence he came (as nobody wanted to buy him obviously) and has made a fairly significant profit in the transfer market, due no doubt to our financial situation. He has to try and make do with some of the players/dross he was left behind, and he takes over a dispirited squad, with an injured star striker, who finished 7th last season.
Therefore it is unrealistic to expect us to challenge for the title IMHO, particularly as one or two clubs are better this season than they were last (Man Utd and Man City fairly obvious examples, Chelsea now Essien is available etc etc).
I hope this clears it up for you. It is a shame though that once again a perfectly sensible, reasonable thread is invaded and potentially derailed by someone who as in and out says is interested purely in high fiving the posse. You really should try and move on.
I am pleased that you think "there is no reason that we shouldn't challenge for the title" although I can't help thinking that this is the prelude to another silly point scoring exercise and not what you actually think. Suffice to say once again if you do think that then we don't agree, and my thoughts on your football knowledge are re-affirmed.