2025/26 2025/26 Season: How's It Going?


Ian said:
I thought it would be interesting to get our thoughts on the season as it progresses. We've got threads for individual players, individual matches and specific topics such as transfers, owners, etc. but this is for our expectations and analysis of the season in general:
  • What are we realistically aiming for?
  • How are we progressing (or regressing as the case may be)?
  • As the season goes on, what's going well, what needs to change, do we need to adjust our expectations?
It would be a great source for vaulting if nothing else.

Initial thoughts and expectations, bless?
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To me the aim should be to improve week on week throughout the season. We're a firmly mid-table side. The most likely outcomes are to see us finish both well clear of going down and well off making Europe through the league. So the best thing to aim for is improvement. The younger players find consistency and the team as a whole finds a style of play that can challenge the better teams in the second half of the year. Who knows at that point. Palace just did exactly what I'd like to see us do and it ended with them lifting a cup. That's probably the best case for us this year and the one I'd like to see us pursue.

Progress is a tricky one because frankly this window has me completely bewildered. They've come in and made in my opinion three very smart signings. Barry's profile is terrific and worth the chance to see if he can become a high level striker. Aznou is a cheap enough option with a strong background that could be something in a year or two. Alcaraz to me is someone who got lost in a weird set of circumstances for a couple of years but has the background of a player who can do it at this level and imo was superb at this level the second half of last year.

Then after doing all that they went and spent a hefty amount on a older, positional tweener and signed a guy on loan who positionally steps on the player who has at this point been your most consistent threat. I don't really want to relitigate those signings here, but I think from a wholistic strategy perspective it raises real questions. And now we look set to go and buy another younger, developmental, grow into the league but also ready to help now type of guy. It's just a real question of where is the rhyme or reason with it. Frankly I could probably go on for a couple thousand words about the window and my general confusion with it.

So my answer on progress I think is one massive shoulder shrug. Could we get to a point by April where this team is solid, quick to transition into dangerous counters, and filled with players like Ndiaye, Barry, Dibling, etc. hitting their peak all at the right moment? Sure, we certainly could. Or the other side where Moyes isn't quite at this level in the modern game anymore, Grealish and Ndiaye can't play together hurting Ndiaye's season and Beto keeps starting over Barry could happen and at that point it's hard to feel like we moved forward toward being a real threat for Europe again.

On the last point: I don't know where people's expectations are. For me I feel they're fairly low and reasonable as a result. This team is 6 months of matches removed from a manager who simply did not allow them to play constructive football and from a dire financial situation. It shouldn't be fixed yet. If people think this is a full bounce back year now I would caution strongly against that. Just get better, match by match, week by week, maybe do the double over the kopites along the way and hope come April we've got a FA Cup quarterfinal in the new building on our schedule. Who cares if we're 13th at that point?
 
TheBigIguana said:
To me the aim should be to improve week on week throughout the season. We're a firmly mid-table side. The most likely outcomes are to see us finish both well clear of going down and well off making Europe through the league. So the best thing to aim for is improvement. The younger players find consistency and the team as a whole finds a style of play that can challenge the better teams in the second half of the year. Who knows at that point. Palace just did exactly what I'd like to see us do and it ended with them lifting a cup. That's probably the best case for us this year and the one I'd like to see us pursue.

Progress is a tricky one because frankly this window has me completely bewildered. They've come in and made in my opinion three very smart signings. Barry's profile is terrific and worth the chance to see if he can become a high level striker. Aznou is a cheap enough option with a strong background that could be something in a year or two. Alcaraz to me is someone who got lost in a weird set of circumstances for a couple of years but has the background of a player who can do it at this level and imo was superb at this level the second half of last year.

Then after doing all that they went and spent a hefty amount on a older, positional tweener and signed a guy on loan who positionally steps on the player who has at this point been your most consistent threat. I don't really want to relitigate those signings here, but I think from a wholistic strategy perspective it raises real questions. And now we look set to go and buy another younger, developmental, grow into the league but also ready to help now type of guy. It's just a real question of where is the rhyme or reason with it. Frankly I could probably go on for a couple thousand words about the window and my general confusion with it.

So my answer on progress I think is one massive shoulder shrug. Could we get to a point by April where this team is solid, quick to transition into dangerous counters, and filled with players like Ndiaye, Barry, Dibling, etc. hitting their peak all at the right moment? Sure, we certainly could. Or the other side where Moyes isn't quite at this level in the modern game anymore, Grealish and Ndiaye can't play together hurting Ndiaye's season and Beto keeps starting over Barry could happen and at that point it's hard to feel like we moved forward toward being a real threat for Europe again.

On the last point: I don't know where people's expectations are. For me I feel they're fairly low and reasonable as a result. This team is 6 months of matches removed from a manager who simply did not allow them to play constructive football and from a dire financial situation. It shouldn't be fixed yet. If people think this is a full bounce back year now I would caution strongly against that. Just get better, match by match, week by week, maybe do the double over the kopites along the way and hope come April we've got a FA Cup quarterfinal in the new building on our schedule. Who cares if we're 13th at that point?
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Loads of good points there mate
 
The cups are absolutely key this year. I watched Crystal Palace v the seal clubbers on Thursday and their fans were bouncing. 8th-15th makes no real difference but imagine even a cup semi at Wembley. That’ll be what makes the club really start to feel good about itself.
 

Ian said:
They made us look poo a few days ago. I would bet good money that, head to head, we don't beat at least three of those teams.
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for the first 45 they were well on top and we didn`t turn up. I thought that was more down to our approach to the game as much as the way they were well up for it. Even so it took a bad mistake by us giving the ball away and what looked like a soft penalty to beat us with our make shift back 4.
 
A stress free solid season would do me. Think we're well capable of a top half finish , Leeds last time out I'm hoping was down to lack of numbers.
My only concern is up front, I'm not convinced by our strikers tbh, hope I'm proved wrong.
 
Timbucktoo said:
for the first 45 they were well on top and we didn`t turn up. I thought that was more down to our approach to the game as much as the way they were well up for it. Even so it took a bad mistake by us giving the ball away and what looked like a soft penalty to beat us with our make shift back 4.
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I agree it was about our approach to the game: selection, tactics, motivation and attitude. That's the worry!
 
Bilko said:
A stress free solid season would do me. Think we're well capable of a top half finish , Leeds last time out I'm hoping was down to lack of numbers.
My only concern is up front, I'm not convinced by our strikers tbh, hope I'm proved wrong.
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Problem is that we still have the same numbers today.

Still a weakened squad without Branthwaite and a severe lack of goal scoring threat.
 
I think we're a physically weaker team/squad without Doucoure & to lesser extent DCL. Definitely need better up front and cover in many areas. Another long season ahead imo.
 

Ian said:
I agree it was about our approach to the game: selection, tactics, motivation and attitude. That's the worry!
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The only good thing about that is because Moyes is still living in 2004 he will at least attempt to win the home games so we shouldn't see the negative shambles we saw on Monday today.
 
3 points from those 2 games are a good start considering we still have transfer activity to do. I would have said anything between 2-4 points would have been par.
 
Relieved to win a game in August for many years. Now we go to Wolves with hopefully a small bit of pressure off, and with the pressure on them, need to be going for the win.
 
LostLegend said:
I've always said progress, slow and steady is what we should be aiming for.
We went down the Icarus route with Moshiri and look where it landed us.

I'd like to see us aim for an upper mid-table finish. Anything in the top half is good and a good solid cup run.

Need a good kick up the arse signings wise first though!
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Honestly think your low balling there. The likes of palace and Bournemouth are weaker, Newcastle and villa can't spend.

If dibling is added I would expect europe. The team is significantly better then last season
 

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