Matt1892

7th isn’t so unrealistic after all it seems… Villa and Man Utd are winnable games, 4 points puts us on 30 point at the half way point, which is a similar tally to last season when we came 7th.

Good result and helps with our goal difference.

Steve Bruce has Blackpool playing as well as you would expect, I did enjoy the boos at the end, sadly I think they were more aimed at the ref but mine were directed at him, hopefully he has a shit Christmas. Ground 36 of the 92.

It would be difficult for him not to put out this article, presuming the agents that are moaning are also the same agents that feed him exclusives on transfers.

It isn’t my algorithm, it was something others said on here as to why it would be unreasonable to think we should challenge the big 6 with their finances, meaning it should be unreasonable for the likes of Villa, Forest, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham to challenge us for 7th spot, with our finances. You actually support my point regarding Man Utd, that these supposed big 6 clubs can have poor seasons, meaning that 6th should be possible if they can’t turn their season around, although we would have to turn our own season around too, as despite them having a terrible season so far they are only one point behind us.

At the end of the season, he would have us 3 and a half years in the role, if we fail to qualify for Europe and finish lower than 7th, it will be the second season running that we have gone backwards. This isn’t acceptable for a club that has invested as heavily as we have since his arrival, and he will be moved on, with nobody to blame but himself.

I went to watch Stockport County vs Peterborough tonight, just under 10k in attendance and quite a nice ground apart from metal poles blocking off some the view. The first time I have got to see the legend that is Ricky-Jade Jones in person, I think it was FIFA 22 that I got him to 94 rated. Going to Blackpool vs Stevenage tomorrow.

At least you are attempting to argue the right point now, although this isn’t about us vs Liverpool who are likely to win the league, it is about why you think us finishing 7th is an unrealistic expectation, when we have the 7th most valuable squad, 7th biggest income and from the stats TCD posted the 7th highest wage bill. You can add to that no European football to distract us. Howe has been backed with an unbelievable amount of money, and was given the benefit of the doubt last season for what was seen as a blip down to being in Europe and the worst injuries of any team in the league, but he now has to deliver.

Exactly this. This isn’t money spent since the takeover, the figures posted are the cost of assembling their current squads that are being used this year. The players inherited are irrelevant.

I expect us to come 7th, which in 9 of the last 10 seasons is achieved European football, or to qualify through one of the cup competitions. If he can’t do that then I think the club will move him on, which will be the right decision. Our squad cost nearly as much as Liverpool and Spurs squads to assemble, and considerably more than Villa have spent, with the majority of that spent by Howe, so let’s not pretend he is some plucky underdog that we shouldn’t place too high expectations on.

If we finish lower than 7th then it is showing a trend of going backwards season on season.

Even if you take the sky six out and say that we can’t compete with them due to finance, which doesn’t take in to account that they have bad seasons… We have a higher revenue than Villa as of the last set of accounts, the 7th highest in the league, so why is 7th an overachievement? Not even taking in to account all of the extra games Villa have in Europe this year.

Willock will give us balance, I am not sure putting Tonali there and bringing Longstaff in on the other side will do that.

If that is the point then argue the point, don’t make up points and try and proceed to argue the made up points.

It is the opinion that doing better than teams with a higher wage bill is overachieving, whilst not doing well against a team with a lower wage bill is underachieving.

Someone show him our wage bill compared to the other semi finalists, he will change his mind when he sees that.

You argued against a point that nobody made, when this was pointed out you argued that someone might as well have said that with a comment that didn’t actually mean what you claimed at all, then got called out for it. The comment that if there is money available and they don’t give it to Howe to spend in January signals they have likely made up their mind about changing him as manager, is not the same as saying that he won’t be backed in January.

He should have gone in the summer when we had an offer for him.

So nobody has said he won’t be backed then.

So not unrealistic to expect European football as a minimum then.

Has anyone said he won’t be backed?

There are clubs that I wouldn’t expect us to rival in terms of performances like Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea but there is no reason why we shouldn’t be competing with Spurs, Man Utd and Villa. The whole argument that someone has a more valuable squad or pay higher wages automatically means that our level is 8th is ridiculous, as teams that pay higher wages under achieve, or have European games that stretch their squad so they can’t compete to the level they want every week. Does it mean that if any team that pays less wages than us finishes above us this season we have underachieved? What about if we finish 8th but Forest finish 7th and Man Utd 9th? Is that an underachievement? Should we even be celebrating beating Brentford last night as we pay far more wages than them? It is nonsense.

You really can overpay players in wages.

The question mark over Dibling will be his attitude, hopefully he has matured but the move might be too soon for him.

We wouldn’t, the point being what you pay in wages doesn’t automatically transfer in to how good your squad is, when you could easily overpay on wages.