I don’t really agree to be honest. Last season was a total disaster, but let’s not pretend it wasn’t a massive underachievement rather than an accurate representation of the squad’s quality. It was a total failure of the previous manager to both recruit to fill clear gaps in the squad, and then turn those players into an effective football team.Whilst I admire the enthusiasm, I am still baffled we are talking about the playoffs being our target.
Last season we barely escaped relegation. We haven't been told we have some kind of massive budget for a total overhaul so it's fair to say a lot of those players will still be here this year. I really can only see this as a year for bedding in and achieving a top half finish rather than challenging for the top; we have so much rebalancing to do and so many players who are simply not at the level for promotion chasing who we can't simply jettison due to contracts and who we can't sell due to nobody wanting them.
I like the faith but I think it'll be 2 or 3 windows before we could see a team that pulls together and gels. Do hope I'm wrong though.
We’ve already made some impressive signings that show that we still have some financial clout when it comes to attracting players, so it’s fair to assume that more will follow.
When you look at what came before last season it’s a more accurate and consistent representation of where this football club is and should be when things aren’t falling apart in the dugout. I’d be surprised if internally we weren’t expecting to challenge for the Top 6 at the very least.