Finishing 7th

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

I would have happily settled for 7th before the season started as I felt we might have a transitional season.

The way the season has progressed though is going to make 7th feel quite disappointing.

The media said we would struggle because of a lack of squad depth - I actually think that's pretty lazy. We had 14 outfield players out at one point of the season, any team in the country would struggle with an injury list like that. The injuries we picked up in December and January have really hurt us and we're still dealing with the fallout now.

I'd also say that before the Jan transfer window, Martinez said we would need to bring in cover for Gibson and Kone. We didn't do that. We swapped a centre back for a winger (a move I think I'm pretty happy with) and we swapped one striker for an injured one (a move I'm less happy with). Think January didn't work out as planned, but it perhaps wouldn't have been a huge issue if we weren't dealing with the huge injury issues we've had.

7th is probably as good as it's going to get as I imagine United will find a bit of form, Spurs are a difficult one to predict but the top four are miles away now. 6th at absolute best, 7th most likely.

If we manage to get past Arsenal in the FA Cup though, I think we'd probably all have taken being 7th and in the semi finals in March if we had been offered it before a ball was kicked.

Saved me typing, as that's bang on imo.

 

[Michaelcoyb]

Think it depends on the FA cup really.

Win that and nobody will even remember where we finished in the league

This. Ive got a feeling about the cup this year. Bring on Arsenal! But first we need to build up momentum against West Ham.

 

[snipellis11]

I agree we've played pretty well in some games.

The Spurs one is a good example. All over them for large parts of the first half.

But if you don't score, you are always in danger of not winning. Therefore you don't deserve to win.

Yeah i agree we need to be scoring goals to have a chance of winning games, and it is always risky being at 0-0 especially against teams like chelsea, but the football we are playing is good and what we need is a striker who can score goals which will help us a lot more with taking our chances, hopefully lukaku being back from injury will help us and hopefully he can hit form and score goals for us because i just think we are missing the finishing touch upfront at the moment.

 

[Moomin]

Everton will build your hopes up and smash them back down again.

 

[Fearthainn]

Average for me. Don't think I could ever consider a season in which we finish 7th as good, even if it is Bobby's first at the club. Heart almost says disappointing, considering where we were at the start of the transfer window, but head knows there were obviously plenty of positives. So yeah, average.

 

[Allezfan]

It entirely depends on other things.

7th and an fa cup win is very different to 7th and no europe while the RS win the league, for instance.

 

[MACCA75]

The penny pinching decision to loan an injured striker who hadn't played for 5 months instead of spending some actual money on a striker who would have come in and hit the ground running on Jan 1st is the main reason why the season looks like petering out.

The club isn't ambitious at the end of the day.

 

[neil999]

be dissapointed, but would be an ok finish for martinez in a transistional season

 

[quasi modo]

7th is average, to get any higher we would have to spend big something we can't do with the current board in place.

 

[banno]

I put average but in all honesty I thought we would be lower considering the total difference in our style. I thought it would take a good six months just to start seeing benefits from it. We have adapted quicker than I thought and RMs first season with us will be a considerably learning curve for himself and the players. Come the summer RM is intelligent enough to fit newcomers into place and have a team that is closer to his ideals than what we have had this season. Thing is will he have the money to buy a striker or two that will guarantee a threat or will he have to do fingers crossed buys and hope they will be a threat. Thats the difference between us and all the clubs above us. I am optimistic for the future.

 

[Allezfan]

For the record, I still expect us to finish 5th or 6th.

7th is a false position given we have a game in hand vs palace at home.

 

[Blue Truth]

Average and disappointing.

 

[davek]

I said at the begining of the season top 7 would be very acceptable for a first season under a new manager using new methods. I think we'll finish 6th now, tbh. I can see United slotting into 5th eventually and we'll overhaul Spurs in the end.

Without backing with investment I'd accept that again next season and some more progress in the cups. That's what we can realistically achieve.

Some of our hopes/predictions/expectations in this thread from the
summer:http://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/realistic-expectancies-for-the-season-under-martnez.57582/

 

[TraffordBlue]

If you had have asked me at the start of the season i'd have said slightly disappointing as I think we were better than Liverpool. After the first 3 games when we didn't have an in form Jelavic or Lukaku i'd have said it would have been a decent achievement to come 7th. Now though i'd be dissapointed as I think although Liverpool have improved considerably going forward, we are a better team than Spurs or Man United. For our performances and the bad luck we have had with injuries, I think 5th would be a fair position for us to come. We can't compete with Liverpool unfortunately as their strikers are the most in form in the league and they have the ability put good teams away 4-0 and 5-1 which we don't. If they had have had the injuries to key players like us though I think they would have struggled and done well to come 6th.

 

[Duncan Disordely]

Considering the high we were on through December, 7th would be disappointing, but winning the cup would temper that somewhat. But at the start of the season I'd have taken 7th and a March To Wembley.

However, and I know it now looks unlikely, but I still think 4th could be on, as distant as it may look. Every team goes through a poor run during a season, hopeful this spell is ours out of the way. The R's could hit a sticky patch at any time, and if their attack can be nullified they look very shaky at the back. We've a game in hand, and we have a run of very winnable games coming up. We really need all our players carrying a knock back to full fitness, and we will be on with a chance.

If we can, winning the cup could be a massive moment for the fans, players and management as it would truly bring back a sense of belief that we are a team that SHOULD, and CAN win trophies.