Fans - Mental strength needed now.

SwissYellow

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There's a critically important factor for next season and that's us. We need to forget Monday, move on.

Previous play-off losers, follow 3 paths:

The most common is mid-table obscurity, A team takes a while to get going the following season, it lingers on unjust defeat or is suffering from a nervous hangover - this happens with new players or old, it comes from the fans. that sense of loss, the frustration builds to reduce patience in the crowd and can subdue morale.

Next is relegation it's surprising how many teams have been relegated following a play-off final loss, especially loses with a massive injustice or "luck" event. Swindon, losers of the play-off final in 2010 and Charlie Austin's "bobble" suffered a complete collapse because they felt they'd been unlucky, should have won, that mental weakness shot through the squad and is VERY DANGEROUS for us right now.

Leeds, Sheff Utd, Preston, Blackpool all went down in the years following after a losing final, Leeds also being relegated the season after losing a final.

The rarest route is promotion, surprisingly few teams have been promoted following a play-off loss, and those that do, didn't suffer too much from a heart breaker final- they got beat, they built on their squad and they went again.

It's critical for us as supporters to support. We could already be writing off next season by sticking to a morose, morbid, we're all doomed mindset. James Henry is a fabulous player but if his head goes because he's not allowed to forget the shoot or pass blip, it could slow his decision making process by a 1/2 second which would have a devastating effect on his ability and output,

Yes we're frustrated and of course we're angry but we've got to park it and now. Ive played in teams that suffered losses in finals, and been in teams that then won, or lost the season after. Its absolutely 100% mental now, and we have to help or we could complain our way to nothing or worse
 
Spot on.
League 1 is okay. A damn site better than the rest of the chod we have been watching previously.

Keep calm and carry on taking 6 points from the A420's.

Promotion would have been nice but we must keep our heads level and budget sensible for the long term.
 
There's a critically important factor for next season and that's us. We need to forget Monday, move on.

Previous play-off losers, follow 3 paths:

The most common is mid-table obscurity, A team takes a while to get going the following season, it lingers on unjust defeat or is suffering from a nervous hangover - this happens with new players or old, it comes from the fans. that sense of loss, the frustration builds to reduce patience in the crowd and can subdue morale.

Next is relegation it's surprising how many teams have been relegated following a play-off final loss, especially loses with a massive injustice or "luck" event. Swindon, losers of the play-off final in 2010 and Charlie Austin's "bobble" suffered a complete collapse because they felt they'd been unlucky, should have won, that mental weakness shot through the squad and is VERY DANGEROUS for us right now.

Leeds, Sheff Utd, Preston, Blackpool all went down in the years following after a losing final, Leeds also being relegated the season after losing a final.

The rarest route is promotion, surprisingly few teams have been promoted following a play-off loss, and those that do, didn't suffer too much from a heart breaker final- they got beat, they built on their squad and they went again.

It's critical for us as supporters to support. We could already be writing off next season by sticking to a morose, morbid, we're all doomed mindset. James Henry is a fabulous player but if his head goes because he's not allowed to forget the shoot or pass blip, it could slow his decision making process by a 1/2 second which would have a devastating effect on his ability and output,

Yes we're frustrated and of course we're angry but we've got to park it and now. Ive played in teams that suffered losses in finals, and been in teams that then won, or lost the season after. Its absolutely 100% mental now, and we have to help or we could complain our way to nothing or worse


Come back stronger , we'll go up via the Autos
 
Next is relegation it's surprising how many teams have been relegated following a play-off final loss, especially loses with a massive injustice or "luck" event. Swindon, losers of the play-off final in 2010 and Charlie Austin's "bobble" suffered a complete collapse because they felt they'd been unlucky, should have won, that mental weakness shot through the squad and is VERY DANGEROUS for us right now.

Leeds, Sheff Utd, Preston, Blackpool all went down in the years following after a losing final, Leeds also being relegated the season after losing a final.
I said this to a mate / fellow yellow before the game. In recent years the losing team in a L1 playoff final hasn’t always fared well in the next couple of seasons. Leyton Orient lost in 2014 and went down twice in the next three years to end up in the Conference; Swindon lost in 2015 and went down a couple of years later; Bradford lost in 2017 and were relegated in 2019... Shrewsbury also lost the 2018 final and only stayed up by two points the following season. It’s a representation of a division where large squad turnovers every summer flip the table on its head every season. Squads are largely built on loans, one and two year contracts, and the teams higher up are waiting to swoop for any player who has a standout season for their club. It’s a hard division to stay consistently competitive in for the majority of clubs.

That said, Millwall lost the 2016 final and won it the next year, Huddersfield did the same in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and Brentford lost the 2013 final before winning automatic promotion the following season. So it can be done. The key most likely lies in keeping the vast majority of a squad together, and making sure those who leave are replaced properly and adequately. I would be quite interested to see the state of the squads who lost the finals and compare it to the squad that started the following season. Both in terms of those who lost the final and then struggled, and those who lost the final and came back stronger. One would assume that those who bounced back had more familiar looking sides than those who didn’t - I might have a dig around in the next couple of days and see how that stacks up. There must be a common pattern to be found of some description.

You’re right overall though - everyone will need to do their part and try to get it out of their heads quickly. Especially those of us in the stands.
 
We need to wash Monday out of our psyche and move on. There is so much to be positive about with OUFC at the moment, so waddling in the mire won't do us any good. A quick list I've put together...
  • We are seeing players come through the academy system and sticking in the first team squad
  • We are looking to move up a category in the academy system
  • We have a proper training ground for the first time ever!
  • The Women's team is getting stronger and stronger
  • The first team is providing opportunities for young and talented players to move on
  • This is helping the club be more sustainable by generating significant transfers than it has been, before but not wholly sustainable yet
  • Our reputation in the game is improving, giving greater access to players in higher league academies
  • Young fans see a club that is successful and is competing against Premier League teams
I know some fans are a little precious, but the toothpaste is out of the tube, best move onto a fresh one and enjoy how far our club has come in the past 10 years.
 
As much as the pain is still there, Im already looking forward with building excitement to next season. I havent had a season ticket in the last couple of years because of personal reasons but I’m definitely getting one this season when they go on general sale.
 
There's a critically important factor for next season and that's us. We need to forget Monday, move on.

Previous play-off losers, follow 3 paths:

The most common is mid-table obscurity, A team takes a while to get going the following season, it lingers on unjust defeat or is suffering from a nervous hangover - this happens with new players or old, it comes from the fans. that sense of loss, the frustration builds to reduce patience in the crowd and can subdue morale.

Next is relegation it's surprising how many teams have been relegated following a play-off final loss, especially loses with a massive injustice or "luck" event. Swindon, losers of the play-off final in 2010 and Charlie Austin's "bobble" suffered a complete collapse because they felt they'd been unlucky, should have won, that mental weakness shot through the squad and is VERY DANGEROUS for us right now.

Leeds, Sheff Utd, Preston, Blackpool all went down in the years following after a losing final, Leeds also being relegated the season after losing a final.

The rarest route is promotion, surprisingly few teams have been promoted following a play-off loss, and those that do, didn't suffer too much from a heart breaker final- they got beat, they built on their squad and they went again.

It's critical for us as supporters to support. We could already be writing off next season by sticking to a morose, morbid, we're all doomed mindset. James Henry is a fabulous player but if his head goes because he's not allowed to forget the shoot or pass blip, it could slow his decision making process by a 1/2 second which would have a devastating effect on his ability and output,

Yes we're frustrated and of course we're angry but we've got to park it and now. Ive played in teams that suffered losses in finals, and been in teams that then won, or lost the season after. Its absolutely 100% mental now, and we have to help or we could complain our way to nothing or worse

Excellent post! I've just put an order in for more Positive Buses so let's all climb aboard and enjoy the ride!!!
 
We need to wash Monday out of our psyche and move on. There is so much to be positive about with OUFC at the moment, so waddling in the mire won't do us any good. A quick list I've put together...
  • We are seeing players come through the academy system and sticking in the first team squad
  • We are looking to move up a category in the academy system
  • We have a proper training ground for the first time ever!
  • The Women's team is getting stronger and stronger
  • The first team is providing opportunities for young and talented players to move on
  • This is helping the club be more sustainable by generating significant transfers than it has been, before but not wholly sustainable yet
  • Our reputation in the game is improving, giving greater access to players in higher league academies
  • Young fans see a club that is successful and is competing against Premier League teams
I know some fans are a little precious, but the toothpaste is out of the tube, best move onto a fresh one and enjoy how far our club has come in the past 10 years.
If the women are doing well do you think any of their players are ready to break into the men’s side?
 
Lets be honest.........its not like we aren`t used to riding the roller coaster almost every season one way or another.
There are extreme highs coupled with extreme lows either short term or long term.

It could be so much worse we could be mundane, mediocre and never doing much........ like Everton.
Never relegated, never challenging just 100% "meh" every season...........now that would kill me!
 
Lets be honest.........its not like we aren`t used to riding the roller coaster almost every season one way or another.
There are extreme highs coupled with extreme lows either short term or long term.

It could be so much worse we could be mundane, mediocre and never doing much........ like Everton.
Never relegated, never challenging just 100% "meh" every season...........now that would kill me!
Yes I always think that Everton seem a particularly pointless club. Even the likes of Rochdale occasionally go up or down
 
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