2018/19 Season Reviews/Conclusions

[Pedro]

A frustrating season and a massive missed opportunity. Wasteful transfer windows, poor recruitment, stuck with a bland formula which wasn't getting results, far too many basic errors, lethargic play and too much chopping and changing whilst skirting past the obvious.  I am glad it is over to be honest.

[Oldgregg86]

On 27/04/2019 at 13:49, Stuart said:

So you’re just going to ignore the point I’m making and keep going back to points/league position. Ok then but it is you that is dismissing the context.

I completely understand the point your making.

I think it would be wrong to say they have had a better season but as a fan the Wigan fans should be happier with their achievements

[47er]

On 28/04/2019 at 03:04, DE. said:

A decent start, a terrible November and Christmas period, a fantastic January, a truly dire February/March followed by a good end to the season. Pretty erratic but it will end in mid-table consolidation which has to be seen as acceptable all things considered. 

If Mowbray learns from this season then the extreme lows of this campaign will hopefully be worth it in the long run. If we start with the Evans/Smallwood axis next season with Mulgrew at centre back and diagonal balls being launched up to Graham with Bennett shoehorned into the team wherever possible then I'll despair. Even Mowbray surely has to understand now that his loyalty and mindset has been misplaced for large portions of this season and needs to be re-aligned for us to really progress. I just hope we can shift some of the deadwood, even though we gave some of that deadwood new contracts at the start of the season. 

He's a slow learner, an over- cautious man. That's the worry.

[Bigdoggsteel]

On 27/04/2019 at 09:32, Stuart said:

I’ve already explained my view.

Pound for pound they have.

It isn't boxing 

[Bigdoggsteel]

On 27/04/2019 at 09:32, Stuart said:

I’ve already explained my view.

Pound for pound they have.

So if roles were reversed you are telling me that you would be on here saying that pound for pound we have had a better 2 seasons? 

I don't belive you

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

So if roles were reversed you are telling me that you would be on here saying that pound for pound we have had a better 2 seasons? 

I don't belive you

Ok

[Leonard Venkhater]

On 24/04/2019 at 10:57, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, I am trying to think of a time where a club basically demoted captain and I can't. Even Hanley is club captain at Norwich, but doesn't really start. Not sure how that works to be honest.

Lenihan as captain just feels right at this point. I think he is ready and it would bring out the best in him. 

I would be happy for Mulgrew to stay, just not as a starter. 

Flitcroft replaced by Barry Ferguson....wasn't managed well by Souey...

[Guest]

The main thing to take away from this season for me is that the average age of the squad was yet again brought down.

I know that the 'future' is something people always cringe about when it comes to TM, but to his credit we've introduced a lot of young talent into the first team picture. From signing Chapman, Armstrong, Brereton and Rothwell - we've also given squad numbers to the likes of Dan Butterworth, Tyler Magloire and John Buckley - not forgetting of course Lewis Travis.

So without ANY transfer spend this summer, you'd have to say that next season, this exact same squad should be expected to do better than this season. You'd expect Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Bell, Travis, Davenport, Rothwell, Armstrong, Brereton and Chapman all to become better players than they've been this season.

[Bigdoggsteel]

10 hours ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

Flitcroft replaced by Barry Ferguson....wasn't managed well by Souey...

Ya, I don't know how it can be managed tactfully to be honest 

[JacknOry]

Just please dont let us finish 14th. 13th, 15th or whatever, just not 14th. Not sure I can take being told by Chaddy all summer that he predicted we'd finish 14th at the start of the season. 

[Leonard Venkhater]

3 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, I don't know how it can be managed tactfully to be honest 

Certainly not by "forgetting" to inform the old captain!

[tomphil]

Thought we'd finish somewhere midtable which to be honest is no bad thing for a season just after promotion. I said that Mowbray and his methods would turn out to be good enough to see us around that position over a season like they saw us to promotion last season despite plenty justified concerns at times.  In this is league to me he's almost a guaranteed 1.5 pts a game man although it's come about a lot differently than I thought it would I was expecting many many draws !

Hard not to be disappointed with some aspects especially the Jan window as I think if you are in a good position and have the means to strengthen you should do so, always.  That bit us on the arse although bad spells are inevitable in this division I think a little bit more urgency and savvy could've made it less concerning.  Can't moan too much though in the end when you have good winning streaks balancing it all out.

Quite an enjoyable season all in all when you consider the fact they've been able to play it out comfortably in the end which in turn allowed other players chances.

Overall conclusion = Comfortable !

[Dreams of 1995]

Wigan can't possibly have had a better season than us. We are ahead of them in the table in every aspect. I don't buy this whole comparing it over a few seasons - the table doesn't lie I'm afraid and there isn't a single thing that Wigan beat us in.

If we are having it right they had a significant advantage to us in League 1 in the fact they had only just bounced out of that league. Our poor start to the season cost us but I wouldn't say Wigan outclassed us. They came above us - they were the better team. We came above them this season - we are the better team. Frankly it's as black & white as that.

[OJRovers]

Putting the Brereton signing aside, which for value for money has been a disaster and looks like a poor decision.

Apart from that, finishing the season in a respectable mid-table position is a decent return to the Championship,

I do think we missed an opportunity in the January window to bring in a few loan players to push for play-offs. Just a boost of a couple of fresh players could have kept our run going.

Mowbray overall took too long to realise that some of our League One players weren't good enough. Travis and Rothwell were massively under-used. Reed was played out of position too much.

We really need to sign some players to fit into the formation that Mowbray wants to play. It has been round pegs in square holes all season with our 'wide forwards'.

 

 

[Herbie6590]

From Riversider23

 

https://blueyedboy.wordpress.com/2019/05/01/ewood-will-relax-for-swansong-to-rovercoaster-season-of-peaks-and-troughs/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[philipl]

20 points above a relegation place

13 points off a play-off slot

29 points off automatic promotion.

Not bad for first season back

Boro, Bristol City  can be expected to strengthen as can Villa and/or Leeds and/or Derby. WBA , Swansea and  Stoke have tough second season down financial decisions to make.

Relegated Cardiff wiil be tough but perhaps not quite good enough, Huddersfield will need some rebuilding while Fulham under Scott Parker will walk the Championship if their owners keep pouring the cash in.

So it won't get any easier but we probably have the most encouraging crop of younger players we have had this decade at the club so I for one am excited by what next year could bring.

Get the goals against column down from 69 to under 50 and we will have a very good season in 2019/20.- this squad has goals in it irrespective of whether DG's legs last but that defence needs sorting. 

[roversfan99]

Just now, philipl said:

20 points above a relegation place

13 points off a play-off slot

29 points off automatic promotion.

Not bad for first season back

Boro, Bristol City  can be expected to strengthen as can Villa and/or Leeds and/or Derby. WBA , Swansea and  Stoke have tough second season down financial decisions to make.

Relegated Cardiff wiil be tough but perhaps not quite good enough, Huddersfield will need some rebuilding while Fulham under Scott Parker will walk the Championship if their owners keep pouring the cash in.

So it won't get any easier but we probably have the most encouraging crop of younger players we have had this decade at the club so I for one am excited by what next year could bring.

Get the goals against column down from 69 to under 50 and we will have a very good season in 2019/20.- this squad has goals in it irrespective of whether DG's legs last but that defence needs sorting. 

Cardiff I would make strong favourites for promotion. They are a team full of players proven to be very good Championship players even if they struggle at Prem level, and they have the best manager. Etheridge in goal, the likes of Bamba, Manga, Peltier, Bennett, Morrison and Cunningham defensively, players like Gunnarsson and Ralls in midfield and attacking players like Reid, Murphy, Mendez-Laing and Hoilett going forward. Whereas Fulham I certainly cant see walking the league under an inexperienced manager with presumably their 2 prized assets Mitrovic and Sessegnon subject to poaching by vultures.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I believe it's going to take major surgery to get us anywhere near even the playoffs next season.

Over to you Venkys......

[Butty]

On 30/04/2019 at 09:34, JacknOry said:

Just please dont let us finish 14th. 13th, 15th or whatever, just not 14th. Not sure I can take being told by Chaddy all summer that he predicted we'd finish 14th at the start of the season. 

I predicted us too finish 15th.. So don’t worry I’ll just remind you of that all summer instead  

[RevidgeBlue]

We won't know how good a season this has been until twelve months hence.

Personally I think it's been a pretty disastrous season in the sense we're no further forward than this time last year and if TM remains I expect a relegation struggle or us to go down next season.

However if he changes his spots, ditches the old guard, gives youth a proper chance and supplements that with signings that will go straight into and improve the first eleven who knows?

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

We won't know how good a season this has been until twelve months hence.

Personally I think it's been a pretty disastrous season in the sense we're no further forward than this time last year and if TM remains I expect a relegation struggle or us to go down next season.

However if he changes his spots, ditches the old guard, gives youth a proper chance and supplements that with signings that will go straight into and improve the first eleven who knows?

He has given youth more of a chance than any manager in our recent history. Yes - sometimes it has been forced on him - but he is promoting young talent all the time.

He gets a lot of criticism - but you can see in spells why some of these players have been held back ;-

Travis - adds drive to midfield, but still gets caught on the ball, and has been lucky on more than one occasion this season not to give away goals while trying to retain possession.

Rothwell - looks like a Rolls Royce when running with the ball, but still too often makes the wrong ball and not good at sniffing danger defensively

Davenport - injured a lot of the season

Reid - I may be alone, but when he played centrally thought his positional play was poor. So can see the decision to play him wider.

I do wonder whether TM bottled it this season, or injuries and form forced his hand. But IMO players like Davenport, Rothwell and Brereton were brought in to change our playing style - lets hope we see them best of them next season.

A decent experienced, tall centre half to partner Lenihan would go a long way to cure some of our issues.

 

 

[Stuart]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

We won't know how good a season this has been until twelve months hence.

Personally I think it's been a pretty disastrous season in the sense we're no further forward than this time last year and if TM remains I expect a relegation struggle or us to go down next season.

However if he changes his spots, ditches the old guard, gives youth a proper chance and supplements that with signings that will go straight into and improve the first eleven who knows?

I think this is a fair observation - although it could be argued we are worse off having blown £6m-£7m on a player who can’t get into the team.

We have learned that this league is about fine margins: 10 points between 8th and 15th.

The only glimmer of hope is that Mowbray seems to set targets to achieve and he has come out and said that next season’s target is promotion. Very much easier said than done.

I agree with you that football is volatile and injuries can devastate a season. We could easily be in a relegation battle next season, which is why I felt that when we were with 3 points of the play-offs in January we should have strengthened the First XI and tried to kick on. Now we are starting again on zero points and have it all to do once more.

[DeeCee]

Overall I think we've moved forward, both off and on the pitch but not as much as I would have liked/expected. Six and a half out of ten. Could do better.

[Exiled in Toronto]

Now the season is over, the history books will only show a decent 60-point return to this level, marred by an inordinately high goals against column. Against that background, to have had two sack the manager polls and a temporarily hyperventilating relegation thread says more about BRFCS than BRFC. 

The only other factor worth considering for me after a season ends is who in the squad will get better next year, who will be good enough, who will get worse and ergo not good enough. I was enthused by the young talent on the field when the whistle went today, we have several players who should get better. The defence has to be the priority for recruitment; we need a better goalie, RB and CH. Bell may get good enough, he’s definitely learning, but either way we need another LB. Throw in a top midfielder and another scoring option and we could have an exciting year.

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, Exiled in Toronto said:

The defence has to be the priority for recruitment; we need a better goalie, RB and CH. Bell may get good enough, he’s definitely learning, but either way we need another LB. Throw in a top midfielder and another scoring option and we could have an exciting year.

So in your view, 6 out of the 11 need replacing then?

Perhaps that's why BRFCS was hyperventilating, we went on more than one multiple losing run, and there were several relegation threads!