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Re: Are we that good?
I asked the question in the thread title, but haven’t given my answer to it. Before I do that, a confirmation of what the question related to - the contributions on the Barnsley visitors compared us to the likes of Birmingham last season, Ipswich in 22/23 and, by implication, Plymouth from that season because they finished as Champions. My answer to the question i asked is no - we’ve already lost more games than Birmingham and Ipswich did and can only afford to drop twelve more points if we want to match Plymouth’s points total.
What I find very heartening though is that if I were to compile a top ten best City performances of this season, Burnley, Wrexham and Chelsea would all be in it. Therefore, it seems that we raise our game against teams from higher divisions and, although I know I shouldn’t, i can’t help thinking about Ipswich’s successive promotions without bringing in too many new players under an Irish manager who had been recognised more as a coach than a manager.
Before anyone reminds me that we haven’t even got one promotion yet, I’ll explain myself by saying that if we can maintain our two points per game form until the end of the season and go up as Champions, I’d say that a combination the momentum that would bring and the quality of the man in charge could see a repeat of what happened the last time we were promoted to the Championship in 03/04. That season saw us maintain an unlikely, but credible, Play Off challenge for about three quarters of the campaign.
You look at some of the teams pushing for a top six spot in this season’s Championship and it’s clear that, as usual, things like team spirit and momentum can count for more than money and big name players. Sides like Hull, Millwall, Derby and Watford are a lot higher up the table than many were saying they would be back in August. Conversely, a club with a losing mentality, mediocre managers and a general air of failure (i.e. Cardiff City since our failed Play Semi Final in 2020) are going nowhere in the second tier even if some say they have enough talent in their squad to comfortably avoid the drop.
If City can go up preferably as Champions, automatic promotion would be fine as well, and go into the new season with this manager in charge, then I’d say that, as long as Tan and co don’t get too involved, we could into a Championship season in as positive a frame of mind as we’ve seen in ages.
I asked the question in the thread title, but haven’t given my answer to it. Before I do that, a confirmation of what the question related to - the contributions on the Barnsley visitors compared us to the likes of Birmingham last season, Ipswich in 22/23 and, by implication, Plymouth from that season because they finished as Champions. My answer to the question i asked is no - we’ve already lost more games than Birmingham and Ipswich did and can only afford to drop twelve more points if we want to match Plymouth’s points total.
What I find very heartening though is that if I were to compile a top ten best City performances of this season, Burnley, Wrexham and Chelsea would all be in it. Therefore, it seems that we raise our game against teams from higher divisions and, although I know I shouldn’t, i can’t help thinking about Ipswich’s successive promotions without bringing in too many new players under an Irish manager who had been recognised more as a coach than a manager.
Before anyone reminds me that we haven’t even got one promotion yet, I’ll explain myself by saying that if we can maintain our two points per game form until the end of the season and go up as Champions, I’d say that a combination the momentum that would bring and the quality of the man in charge could see a repeat of what happened the last time we were promoted to the Championship in 03/04. That season saw us maintain an unlikely, but credible, Play Off challenge for about three quarters of the campaign.
You look at some of the teams pushing for a top six spot in this season’s Championship and it’s clear that, as usual, things like team spirit and momentum can count for more than money and big name players. Sides like Hull, Millwall, Derby and Watford are a lot higher up the table than many were saying they would be back in August. Conversely, a club with a losing mentality, mediocre managers and a general air of failure (i.e. Cardiff City since our failed Play Semi Final in 2020) are going nowhere in the second tier even if some say they have enough talent in their squad to comfortably avoid the drop.
If City can go up preferably as Champions, automatic promotion would be fine as well, and go into the new season with this manager in charge, then I’d say that, as long as Tan and co don’t get too involved, we could into a Championship season in as positive a frame of mind as we’ve seen in ages.
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