Where should we be as a club

[Hawkwell Blue]

We should be in Southend.

 

[fatgrandad]

...

We have Brexit (Browns Exit) and the Remoaners ...Until there is a unity and a common goal then the infighting deflects us away from directing our support in any positive and effective way...

Not a bad metaphor, certainly in terms of comparing the two groups of club and country “Brexiteers”. One lot whose ideas were senselessly set in stone years ago, and for whom no set of unfavourable statistics will sway them from their preset viewpoint. And the other lot who want us to leave the EU.

While there are flaws, I can see more good than bad with the current regime, so I am happy to remoan positive. I believe we are punching just about at, or perhaps just above, our weight. And generally speaking , we are on a slightly upward trajectory, despite the odd hiccup. IMO.

PS Of course I might change my mind if only our own club Brexiteers could find £350m a week to invest in the club.

 

[Benfleet A1]

Just keep in existence.....I want our club to survive ....

I agree but a odd season of glory would be nice, once in a while. It's not much to ask.

 

[Jam_Man]

We are a league one sized club, league one is our natural level.

We can strive to get above that level but with the size of clubs you get in our league and the money being spent in the Championship these days I cant imagine many believe that is anything but punching above our weight.

Its over expectation which is pretty normal for fans to have that leads to disappointment.

Striving to get promoted from this league should always be our goal either way, because the whole point is to win games.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I agree but a odd season of glory would be nice, once in a while. It's not much to ask.

What like winning the League One title?

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

Speaking from my heart though, it's frustrating as I'm sure it is for most fans of league one clubs to see the likes of Burton come from nowhere and become a stable championship club.

I wouldn't call Burton who are 3rd from bottom in the Championship 'stable'. They had a good first season but to remain there is going to be difficult.
They only average 3,300 home fans and that is probably not sustainable in the Championship.

 

[edwardss2]

Interesting fact from the Walsall Programme, that they made a profit for the 12th year in succession last year. Looking at the ground and the size of the crowd (it was oddly empty it seemed) I guess a lot of this is from non-matchday use of facilities. So I suppose that where we are will depend literally on 'where we are'.

 

[JB Shrimper]

We are probably where a club our size should be but with the squad we had last season we should already be playing Championship football!!!

 

[MisterStubbs]

Stable might have been the wrong choice of word but like you said, they had a very good first season and survived in the league despite having some giants of English football in there with them compared to our championship season that somewhat fizzled out by mid season.

 

[AndyT]

We are probably where a club our size should be but with the squad we had last season we should already be playing Championship football!!!

So PB did bring the right players in during the previous summer, after all. :cool:

 

[JB Shrimper]

Right players yes, right training and tactics no!

 

[kaymac]

I wouldn't call Burton who are 3rd from bottom in the Championship 'stable'. They had a good first season but to remain there is going to be difficult.
They only average 3,300 home fans and that is probably not sustainable in the Championship.

Somehow they achieved a pre-tax profit of £1.35m for 2016/17. Must be doing something right financially-speaking.

 

[onceknownasrab]

Thank you for making the post Eurotopical but the Brexiters are the moaners. I don't see the reasoning for getting rid of the Tango One nor do I view him as the Messiah or Promised One. All is not "sunny in the garden" however it is my garden and as such I won't be bad mouthing it. The moaners generally don't offer anything up as an alternative and as an example I give you the Timlin or indeed Brown positions which get so much flack but very very little of an idea as to who instead should replace them.
If you heard or read a match/season/team/club report from the typical continual moaner would that encourage a potential supporter to get down The Hall?

Its all about reframing. You see Brexiteers as the moaners and we see ourselves as realists that are championing a cause in the face of apathy and short vision. Very much like the national Brexit situation, the remoaners, pontificate and are the first to be abusive and condescending to anyone that challenges their view. Again, not unlike national Brexit, the remoaners find the current situation acceptable and the Brexiteers believe that it will change, in the not so distant future, for the worse.

You also try to suggest that those opposed to the current regime are some way responsible for putting off future fans? Why? Any prospective new fan can look at the situation and know it needs to be questioned and in all honesty they are more likely to be less than impressed by the apathy of those that want to let things meander on and do not display the care and passion associated with such a tribal affair.

Fortunately we are entitled to express our differing view and hopefully it can be done with respect.

 

[AndyT]

Right players yes, right training and tactics no!

Fair comment.

 

[blues exile]

Blues are exactly where they were when I first started watching them in 1961, mid table in the third division, except now there is the delusional allure of the playoffs, which helps to sustain interest in the season long after the automatic promotion slots have vanished over the horizon. In that third division of 1961 were Bournemouth, Palace and Watford, currently Premiership. Hull, Portsmouth, Coventry, Reading, Bristol City, Barnsley, QPR, Swindon, Notts County and Northampton all had spells in the top division, albeit very briefly in some cases, but supporters of 14 of the 24 class of '61 have at least had a taste of life at the top. Unless we find a genuine investor with deep pockets we can only expect to trundle along where we are. Dreaming of reaching and sustaining life in the championship with the present set up, from owner down through management, playing staff, ground facilities and level of support is a cruel delusion. My support and love for the club is non negotiable, but radical change is the only route to a sustainable higher level of football and nothing would please me more if this happens. Incremental progress as in the past few years can only take us so far.

 

[onceknownasrab]

Blues are exactly where they were when I first started watching them in 1961, mid table in the third division, except now there is the delusional allure of the playoffs, which helps to sustain interest in the season long after the automatic promotion slots have vanished over the horizon. In that third division of 1961 were Bournemouth, Palace and Watford, currently Premiership. Hull, Portsmouth, Coventry, Reading, Bristol City, Barnsley, QPR, Swindon, Notts County and Northampton all had spells in the top division, albeit very briefly in some cases, but supporters of 14 of the 24 class of '61 have at least had a taste of life at the top. Unless we find a genuine investor with deep pockets we can only expect to trundle along where we are. Dreaming of reaching and sustaining life in the championship with the present set up, from owner down through management, playing staff, ground facilities and level of support is a cruel delusion. My support and love for the club is non negotiable, but radical change is the only route to a sustainable higher level of football and nothing would please me more if this happens. Incremental progress as in the past few years can only take us so far.

A very fair assessment of the situation. What worries me most is the assumption by many that RM cannot deliver and the assertion that he is too tinpot. The level of investment he has shown, on the players and management front, is probably higher than than a club with our constraints, crowd size etc.., should expect.

Many seem to think that a new, money no object Chairman, is our only hope of salvation or at least advancement. Unless we are suggesting that council officials are corrupt or holding out because they dislike RM, then more money is not necessarily going to get the new ground any quicker. Further, there is no guarantee a new owner would want to carry on with the existing plans or even location and we may be put further back while he/she puts their own stamp on it.

There is the possibility that RM will eventually get his project off the drawing table and finally built. That may well be of great benefit to the club and any aspirations it holds. It may have been a long time coming but I am of the belief we are in the hands of a man that has taken the football side of things to heart. If he hadn't he could plan for a small, potty little stadium that serves a lower league club and not bother shelling out for the players he keeps supporting the manager with. For me, RM, has dreams of the Blues being a far more successful club than it ever has been.

Employing Brown, love him or hate him, does not smack of someone that cares nought and the fantastic efforts put into the youths appear to show a club that has plans for the future in excess of its current status. The signs are there. We are all frustrated at the pace of things but maybe, waiting for the current owner to come good, is better than what we may get with a new broom. Its all guesswork but at least the clubs lives to fight another day.

 

[Ex-Member1]

I don't agree that some fans are being delusional, more like unrealistic. Everyone is entitled to dream that we are going places but as has been said here many times, be thankful that we are still afloat and playing in a decent league. COYBB

 

[Tommy2holes]

At roots hall we should be challenging for the top 6 at roots hall.

If and when we move to Fossetts then we should try and grow fan base and become an established championship club.

 

[Blues 'n twos]

It’s a natural thing for you to want the best for your club, Chairman, Manager, superstar who is worth millions, and our only chance there is the youths, who we are bringing through well. IMO we are at the level that we should be, and the only hope for that to change is Fossetts and the income streams that will bring in, and love him or loathe him ( and for me the jury is still out ) we have to back RM and the management, Ronnie will go nowhere until he gets his return from his investment, and PB, despite some poor luck/judgement with signings in the summer, has done, and will in the future, attract good players to sign for us. Don’t get me wrong I’m not his biggest fan, but not all his signings have backfired, and some have given the reason for signing as wanting to play for him.
I was at Walsall yesterday and I felt that the players were more relaxed away from home again, and genuinely feel that the atmosphere at the Hall can be a tad “toxic” as our expectations are too high...at present, I get that people pay their money and can express their opinions, but personal abuse gets to the players and the squad as a whole.
I get ribbed at work and in my extended family for supporting SUFC, most are glory hunting Chelski, Spammers etc, I don’t want that, I have experienced highs and lows since 1971 that some of them will never do, and I wouldn’t change it for the world!

 

[Ex-Member1]

I agree that home grown talent is the way forward for our Club. We will never be in a position to compete for top class players, more we should nurture our own.