Dave
TFF member
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Post by Dave on Mar 30, 2009 15:27:47 GMT
Yes fellow members its time to put your hand our your heart and answer this simple question. Is just making the play-offs going to be enough for most fans.I think most fans are now resigned to the fact that we won't go up as champions this season, while it could still happen, only getting draws in our last two games, may have really ended any hope that we did have. Still we have a great chance to be in the play-offs, but we all know what a lottery that is and only one team from four will be going up via that route. We have heard so much from fans this season about the resources Bucks has had and the backing he has received from the board. Yes its true but I do think most on here know that no matter how much gets spent on a team, promotion could never be guaranteed. It took city five years to get out of this league, this is only our second season in it, we came very close in our first season to going back up, only losing out in a play-off semi final. I do believe that painful defeat against Exeter is partly the reason the gates are down this season and do wonder if we did not go up this season, if we would see gates drop even further next season. So if we make the pay-offs but fail to win through and go back up, should be all still be proud and feel that getting into the play-offs for a second season would have been an achievement. Or would you see it as a failure and that we had not made any progress this season on the one before. For me while I would be gutted to lose say in the play-off final, I would still feel we had done well and even more so when you look at our FA cup run this season. I would still fear that with wage capping next season and the real threat of lower gates, that getting promotion next season would be that much harder, but we know we never do things the easy way at TUFC. All we can do as fans is keep alive the hope and get behind the team at all the games, then trust the rest to the gods, is there a football god? well let me know if you know of one as I want to start praying to him.  |
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Fonda
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Talking absolute football...
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Post by Fonda on Mar 30, 2009 15:49:48 GMT
I thought at the start of the season it was reasonable to see reaching the Play-Offs as a minimum requirement this year. With the squad assembled, I could see no reason to have to expect anything less. But I don’t think anyone has the right to expect promotion. Luck will inevitably play a part when the Play-Offs come around, so we could quite conceivably miss out through no real fault of our own. As long as we reach the Play-Offs, and once there give performances that we can be proud of, we can’t justifiably ask anymore. We’re as good as any team in this division, so if fortune favours us on the day, we have every chance. But if the rub of the green goes against us, that alone wouldn’t represent a bad season.
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Post by Swanny on Mar 30, 2009 17:19:40 GMT
The nice thing about reaching the play-offs is that it keeps the dream alive right to the end of the season. It must be rather boring to be a team like Mansfield whose season is effectively over now. And they they arguably a bigger club than ours. Plus the extra gate / TV revenue would be very handy. So yes, I think reaching the play-offs would be viewed as a success.
Talking of Exeter, they did not reach the play-offs until their 4th. year in the BSP. The other point is that a team who keeps reaching the play-offs tend to go up eventually. The law of probability and all that.
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midlandstufc
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Post by midlandstufc on Mar 30, 2009 17:34:10 GMT
Agree with Swan - I'm hoping 3rd - stretch target 2nd - will be happy for the season for 4th or 5th.
Hope we don't blow up like last year in the semis.
Will be distraught to miss out altogether but can't envision it.
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Post by jmgull on Mar 30, 2009 18:25:16 GMT
...Hand on heart, I'd have been delighted to make the play offs again this year, especially when you consider that we lost a left winger capable of getting 20 goals per season in Zebroski.
I couldn't really envisage us winning the league......lets be honest we are TUFC....we just don't win leagues! - well, we've never come remotely close to it in my 30 odd years supporting.
All i hope is that, if we do get to the play offs and go onto lose either the semi or the final....it isn't accompanied by the same absolute heartache and despair that we had to endure last time.
I've loved this season and enjoyed the last one too (before THOSE 20 minutes).....I don't again want to have to self hypnotise myself to not even think about football, as i had to last May, June and July.
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Post by witneygull on Mar 30, 2009 18:27:28 GMT
As long we are in the play-offs, and go into it in good form, then thats a start.
Beyond that, we need to turn up for both legs of the semi, not roll over like last season.
So, to answer the question, I think reaching the play-offs and giving a good account of ourselves is "enough".
Day out at Wembley and I would be delighted, going up would be immense! Come on, it MUST be our turn to win up there - what are we on, one win from 4?
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Post by weathergull on Mar 30, 2009 19:05:13 GMT
Is just making the play-offs going to be enough for most fans?
Simple answer to that question is of course no!
Should we go on to Wembley and win, then of course the question becomes irrelevant.
Should we fail to make the play-offs ( or fail in them ) we will be saying goodbye to Paul Buckle in the summer!
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jamie
TFF member
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Post by jamie on Mar 30, 2009 20:23:08 GMT
Is just making the play-offs going to be enough for most fans?Simple answer to that question is of course no! Should we go on to Wembley and win, then of course the question becomes irrelevant. Should we fail to make the play-offs ( or fail in them ) we will be saying goodbye to Paul Buckle in the summer! Nonsense, We should be looking at improvement, consistency and evolution. Getting rid of a manager if we don't win the play offs would be chucking the baby out with the bath water. The board have invested in Paul and his ideas and financially it makes sense to continue to do so. Changing a manager usually means changing key positions and key players within the backroom staff & team. I say whether we go up or not we should continue the plan we have and build on the relative success so far. |
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Enzo
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Post by Enzo on Mar 30, 2009 20:25:06 GMT
The nice thing about reaching the play-offs is that it keeps the dream alive right to the end of the season. It must be rather boring to be a team like Mansfield whose season is effectively over now. And they they arguably a bigger club than ours. Plus the extra gate / TV revenue would be very handy. So yes, I think reaching the play-offs would be viewed as a success. Talking of Exeter, they did not reach the play-offs until their 4th. year in the BSP. The other point is that a team who keeps reaching the play-offs tend to go up eventually. The law of probability and all that. All we can reasonably ask for is the Play Offs. Then it comes down to rub of the green, fitness and the tactical nouse of the Manager. I don't think a Play Off defeat should see the end of the Manager....................although Buckle made an absolute pigs ear of it last year. However, failure to make the Play Offs at all would be a sackable offence in my eyes. Conparisons with Exeter's first few seasons are, in my opinion, misleading. They spent their first few years in the BSP just trying to keep afloat..........and got lucky with a massive pay day at Man Utd. Fair play to them. Whilst we were certainly on our financial knees as we exited league football, the consortium have backed Paul Buckle in a way that Tisdale and many other BSP Managers could only dream of. With the current level of support through the turnstyles, I really fear that we will be the the exact opposite of Exeter in that if we don't get out of this league soon, we will have very little hope when the budgets are slashed.......probably from the end of this season. |
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Post by ospelgull on Mar 31, 2009 6:48:43 GMT
Reaching the play-offs is a realistic target, a must if I may say so. The title is a different story, you just can't buy that just with money. Teams with lower gates and smaller budgets than us have won the title in recent years so a drop in gates and by that the budget won't change anything. With the footballknowledge and contacts available at the club, consistency, hard work and patience a lot can be achieved.
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rjdgull
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Admin
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 31, 2009 6:49:49 GMT
Promotion never seems to come naturally to us  Of the two I've known, the last time out was automatic promotion gained on the last day after a long chase from behind to get third place. Before that it was the harrowing experience of a play off final with it all coming down to penalties  If I recall correctly, it came down to our goal keeper having to score on the sixth penalty and only then the left foot of a certain Blackpool player hitting his shot wide. Dread to think how many other play offs we have been in. In other words, we can only try to get into a good position and then hope that by the narrowest of margins we win through. At least in this league, we are not the underdogs battling the odds to try and win through against a much bigger team in the play offs. |
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petef
Match Room Manager
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Post by petef on Mar 31, 2009 9:27:09 GMT
Undoubtedly a football club, as any business must always be ambitious, but the two seasons in the BSP have been competetive and interesting perhaps not as much quality football but wholy entertaining none the less.
Would we all be that much happier if we gained promotion? The answer to that is - Only if we can compete at the sharpe end as EC have done this term. Lingering around the bottom half and struggling to compete in league one would soon take its toll.
Maybe we have truly found ouer level?+'@**
To suggest Paul Buckle will be replaced if we fail is quite ridiculous . On the whole he has done a pretty good job, no matter what some may like to believe and the club have up till nowalways been competetive in this league and dont forget our exccelent cup runs. I can name half a dozen ex league side who would love our "SUCCESS" over the last 20 months.
Back to the question and making the playoffs is good enough for me but I am a realist that realises there will be three other teams just as hungry to get thet other spot and it could go any way over the three matches that decide it.
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Post by buster on Mar 31, 2009 12:06:39 GMT
Is just making the play-offs going to be enough for most fans?
Absolutely not! Unless it is achieved in conjunction with;
An end to global militiarisation, drug related offences, politicians and bank officials who put money before identifying what people want, target driven idiots who think everything should be leaner rather than looking at systems, the inefficient health service & a society that promotes a policy of running around in circles as fast as you can without achieving anything apart from ticking boxes.
But Dave I guess you didn`t mean that............ ;D
What will be will be. I don`t expect anything but I did hope we would actually win something during what will hopefully be a short stay before our return to div 4. That why last year was so hard for me to take. So promotion via the play offs would be an acceptable consolation.
buster
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Post by weathergull on Mar 31, 2009 14:39:37 GMT
Is just making the play-offs going to be enough for most fans?Simple answer to that question is of course no! Should we go on to Wembley and win, then of course the question becomes irrelevant. Should we fail to make the play-offs ( or fail in them ) we will be saying goodbye to Paul Buckle in the summer! , We should be looking at improvement, consistency and evolution. Getting rid of a manager if we don't win the play offs would be chucking the baby out with the bath water.The board have invested in Paul and his ideas and financially it makes sense to continue to do so. Changing a manager usually means changing key positions and key players within the backroom staff & team. I say whether we go up or not we should continue the plan we have and build on the relative success so far. I didn't say that the club would get rid of Paul Buckle! He's a young manager who has done very well in his first two seasons. If we don't go up this season though I don't see him sticking around. A biggish team like Luton coming down with another league team joining them, plus the tightening of the purse strings next season. All this is hardly going to make his job easier! He had a bit of public exposure last season with the visit to Wembley, and this season with the FA Cup. So I believe if a league club comes in for him......... |
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jamie
TFF member
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Post by jamie on Mar 31, 2009 20:39:29 GMT
Interesting logic weathergull, not sure I buy it though. if he wasn't getting the backing from the club then maybe, i just feel he is more likely to want to see the job through.
Fair point though - you didn't say he would be told to go. That was my inference
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If I recall correctly, it came down to our goal keeper having to score on the sixth penalty and only then the left foot of a certain Blackpool player hitting his shot wide. 