Consolidation First Priority.

[manor15]

I watched quite a bit of L1 football this season and have to say that the teams at the top were excellent. Think next season will be very different, Swindon have lost and will continue losing key players, Sheffield United will see some big changes with a new manager, Chesterfield also lost their manager, so the 3 that will be in L1 again of the top 6 won't be as strong. Add on to that that the teams that have come down will all struggle to be right at the top, Wigan and Blackpool in meltdown and Millwall pretty much rebuilding a new squad, there's a chance for some surprises in League 1 this year.

I'd happily take a lower half finish this season and some consolidation, survival has to be the first aim and then build from their in the most sustainable way possible.

 

[Pubey]

we should aim to win as many games as possible.

 

[Angell Delight]

If we look at the 4 sides promoted from L2 last season 3 of these (Chesterfield, Rochdale and Fleetwood) all finished in the top 10. That's highly encouraging. One (Chesterfield) even grabbed a play-off place. And the 4th promoted side (Scunthorpe) stayed up fairly comfortably. So there's no reason why we shouldn't go into next season with real optimism. Some very strong teams have left L1 this year at the top end and been replaced by 3 sides who IMHO are considerably weaker than those they replaced.

Would a second successive promotion be possible? Who knows! Would I class it as a surprise if it happened? Yes, certainly. If we finish mid-table I'll be happy with that. Consolidation is key and would give us a solid foundation to mount a future promotion challenge and push the club forward.

 

[Mark Stevart]

we wont win league 1 with wigan having parachute payment money unrealistic to think we will seriously

 

[Pubey]

we wont win league 1 with wigan having parachute payment money unrealistic to think we will seriously

Wigan had parachute payments in the Championship. Where did that get them?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

To quote Tom Jones ... it's not unusual to ...... have one team relegated the next year after promotion. By that I mean that the winning mentality can clearly be lost quite easily. I do agree that it is so easy to suddenly find oneself drawn into a relegation scrap - either from failing to get 3 points or a sudden bad run ..... and we know all about that. :sad:

2013-14 Promoted, 2014-15 in L1
Chesterfield 6th
Scunthorpe 16th
Rochdale 8th
Fleetwood 10th

2012-13 Promoted, 2013/14 in L1

Gillingham 17th
Rotherham 4th (P)
Port Vale 9th
Bradford 11th

2011-12 Promoted - 2012/13 in L1

Swindon 6th
Shrewsbury 16th
Crewe 13th
Crawley 10th

2010-11 Promoted, 2011/12 in L1

Chesterfield 22nd (R)
Bury 14th
Wycombe 21st (R)
Stevenage 6th

2009-10 Promoted, 2010-11 in L1

Notts County 19th
Bournemouth 6th
Rochdale 9th
Dagenham 21st (R)

2008-09 Promotion, 2009-10 in L1

Brentford 9th
Exeter 18th
Wycombe 22nd (R)
Gillingham 21st (R)

2007-08 Promotion, 08/09 in L1

Illegitimate Franchise 3rd
Peterborough 2nd (P)
Hereford 24th (R)
Stockport 18th

2006-07 Promotion, 07/08 in L1

Walsall 12th
Hartlepool 15th
Swindon 13th
Bristol Rovers 16th

2005-06 Promotion, 06-07 in L1

Carlisle 8th
Northampton 14th
Leyton Orient 20th
Cheltenham 17th

2004-05 Promotion, 06-07 in L1

Yeovil 15th
Scunthorpe 12th
Swansea 6th
Southend CHAMPIONS

 

[Barry.C]

Thats really good info. If my maths serve me correct the average position of the 4 teams going up over 10 years is 13th!! just below half way then. Quick consolidate, quick.

 

[Barry.C]

Perhaps we will be holding up the play off cup again though, as we dont like to take the easy route. Maybe I will relent and stick £20 on us to join the Championship, as I have just been inspired again by the banner picture at the top of the zone page, and the fact that Atko is so chuffed and committed he appears to have wet himself?

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Consolidation should never be a target, fine if it happens but do not sit back and think of middle diddle as will prob end up going down. Instead add what quality we can to the squad and go for it with the full commitment in every minute that Mr Brown got them motivated to do in the second half of the season just gone. Then see where that takes us.

UTB

 

[USAShrimper]

Consolidation should never be a target, fine if it happens but do not sit back and think of middle diddle as will prob end up going down. Instead add what quality we can to the squad and go for it with the full commitment in every minute that Mr Brown got them motivated to do in the second half of the season just gone. Then see where that takes us.

I don't think consolidation should be a target. However, I don't think we can thrive or be stable with another long period in L2, so it's about priorities. Our target should always be to move up the leagues and play at the highest level.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

i obviously don't want us to settle for anything pants but i think staying up would do. top half and flirting with the play offs would be a very good season i think. i wouldn't be delighted but i'd take not going down

 

[chapperzUK]

I think we should be aiming for play-offs, although that doesn't mean we SHOULD be making the play-offs and anything less is failure. Carry on the momentum from this season adding a few quality signings without making too many changes will be best in the long term.

 

[Blues 'n twos]

Now the euphoria of going up has died down, the mandate for the club must be to stay up, build a platform to improve the overall strength of SUFC both on and off the field. I'll settle for a couple of seasons in L1 if we continue to improve and move the club forward. Unless there is major, new, significant investment, we'll not be able to do a Bournemouth. More likely to be like Crewe or Scunthorpe, struggle at first, but every year higher up will improve things and maybe be more like a Rotherham. As someone who's supported the Blues for 45 years, the experience of watching the team in the Championship level was exciting, but fleeting. As long as we don't go back down again, I'll be happy for now. Even more reason to keep this group together if possible. We'll need to add yes. However, the team chemistry and character of the current team will go a long way next season.

No not yet! Still walking around whistling Southend tunes and smiling like a Cheshire Cat..... Give me another couple of weeks:smile:

 

[united we stand]

I don't get all this talk on consolidation. We will be the 'form' team going into the season . We should be looking to start where we left off. We need to continue a 'winning' mentality and 'never say die' . If things do not go to plan then change the goal posts , but to start by saying the target is consolidation sounds really defeatist and is IMO counter productive . We are not talking about going from the championship to Premiership- we are talking about league 2 to league 1.

Ron's plan is championship, why should we not be targeting the play offs? We haven't even kicked a ball yet and some are effectively 'settling' for simply staying up. I am dreaming of another Wembley appearance, and a better cup run next year . Maybe we won't hit the same heights as this year , but I prefer to dream whilst we still can.

• No one gave us a hope of being in with a shout of third - but we had it in our hands
• No one thought 1 minute before we scored at Wembley that we would score- and the win on pens
• no one thought :_
• Corr's goal tally and lack of injuries
• Barretts return
• Bentley record
• Our seven wins without conceeding
• The emergence of Bolger
• NO financial issues this year (that we know off)
• etc etc

They all happened, why can't dream world stuff happen next year ?

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

I don't get all this talk on consolidation. We will be the 'form' team going into the season . We should be looking to start where we left off. We need to continue a 'winning' mentality and 'never say die' . If things do not go to plan then change the goal posts , but to start by saying the target is consolidation sounds really defeatist and is IMO counter productive . We are not talking about going from the championship to Premiership- we are talking about league 2 to league 1.

Ron's plan is championship, why should we not be targeting the play offs? We haven't even kicked a ball yet and some are effectively 'settling' for simply staying up. I am dreaming of another Wembley appearance, and a better cup run next year . Maybe we won't hit the same heights as this year , but I prefer to dream whilst we still can.

• No one gave us a hope of being in with a shout of third - but we had it in our hands
• No one thought 1 minute before we scored at Wembley that we would score- and the win on pens
• no one thought :_
• Corr's goal tally and lack of injuries
• Barretts return
• Bentley record
• Our seven wins without conceeding
• The emergence of Bolger
• NO financial issues this year (that we know off)
• etc etc

They all happened, why can't dream world stuff happen next year ?

i'm just saying that while being around the promotion race would obviously be great, i think that if we are going to survive that shouldn't be seen as a disaster by anyone, either fans or management

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

I'm just saying that while being around the promotion race would obviously be great, I think that if we are going to survive that shouldn't be seen as a disaster by anyone, either fans or management.

Agreed. And I don't see that as being "defeatist" or settling for mediocre. I am sure the players and management (like the fans) will be looking for 3 points each and every game.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Agreed. And I don't see that as being "defeatist" or settling for mediocre. I am sure the players and management (like the fans) will be looking for 3 points each and every game.

exactly, it's about realistic expectations rather than maximum ones

 

[USAShrimper]

Still haven't changed my mind, priority for me is not to go back down again into the basement, Want to be optimistic, will hope for a great season, support the "Shrimpers" to the end. However, the long term health and prosperity of our club is based on at least staying at this level and building and pushing on. Better players, better wage offers, new stadium, all dependent on this, can only survive in L2, but have a better chance of real growth every year we stay in L1 or higher.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

I'd say a top six spot is up for grabs next season. In the eight years I watched Orient in League One this time round, last season was comfortably the worst in terms of the overall quality of the division. Chesterfield were probably the worst side to make the playoffs in a decade, and Bristol City won the division so easily it was almost a joke (even though they weren't a patch on the two automatically promoted sides from the season before). Everyone from tenth downwards was actively poor and could conceivably have been relegated.

(Yes, yes, I know this means Orient did a spectacular job to actually manage to get relegated under these circumstances.)

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

I'd say a top six spot is up for grabs next season. In the eight years I watched Orient in League One this time round, last season was comfortably the worst in terms of the overall quality of the division. Chesterfield were probably the worst side to make the playoffs in a decade, and Bristol City won the division so easily it was almost a joke (even though they weren't a patch on the two automatically promoted sides from the season before). Everyone from tenth downwards was actively poor and could conceivably have been relegated.

(Yes, yes, I know this means Orient did a spectacular job to actually manage to get relegated under these circumstances.)

Wait until you get use to league 2. Your opinion may change.