Early Season Form (2 Viewers)

[edgy]

We were getting steadily worse. We know we can finish strongly, get the start right and who knows....

 

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[shepardo01]

Lampard has told the players he wants them at it from the off. Has said, in what could be construed as a dig at the previous regime (fact that he wasn't impressed by fintess levels when he arrived) that the season starts in August not January. (This i know is obvious, but has been said to the players who were reporting back yesterday, some to sign first pro contracts and to collect kit)

 

[Viktor17]

Good.

fixtures very kind to give that good start.

 

[Covkid1968#]

Good.

fixtures very kind to give that good start.

Werent they last year aswell?

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

Lampard has told the players he wants them at it from the off. Has said, in what could be construed as a dig at the previous regime (fact that he wasn't impressed by fintess levels when he arrived) that the season starts in August not January. (This i know is obvious, but has been said to the players who were reporting back yesterday, some to sign first pro contracts and to collect kit)

I think with the Chris Jones at the club for preseason, it’s going to be a rough pre season. Expecting fitness to be much better at the start of the year

 

[Viktor17]

Werent they last year aswell?

Yes. Ultimately led to robins sacking.

we have another Chance to get into that top 6 pack early.

 

[chiefdave]

Would it not have been better to tell them they need to turn up ready to go as they were being sent off for the summer rather than the first day back?

We need to be at it from the start for a change rather than making life hard for ourselves.

The fixtures seem to have fallen pretty kindly and there’s not likely to be a massive turnover of players so not really much excuse.

 

[lord_garrincha]

Would it not have been better to tell them they need to turn up ready to go as they were being sent off for the summer rather than the first day back?

We need to be at it from the start for a change rather than making life hard for ourselves.

The fixtures seem to have fallen pretty kindly and there’s not likely to be a massive turnover of players so not really much excuse.

They may have.

 

[Nick]

Still amazes me that people were fine with it because "Robins will turn it around".

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Still amazes me that people were fine with it because "Robins will turn it around".

You'd been doing so well!

 

[Matt smith]

Still amazes me that people were fine with it because "Robins will turn it around".

It was clear he wouldn’t have.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

It was clear he wouldn’t have.

based on?

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

I think with the Chris Jones at the club for preseason, it’s going to be a rough pre season. Expecting fitness to be much better at the start of the year

Always wonder how that plays out against injuries from Xmas onwards, especially if you have a squad without significant back ups to allow players to rest.

 

[Matt smith]

based on?

Performances and tactics on the pitch.

No idea how to break a side down.

Much better coaching set up now in my opinion than the one that started last season.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Performances and tactics on the pitch.

No idea how to break a side down.

Much better coaching set up now in my opinion than the one that started last season.

you cant say with any certainty he wouldn't have turned it round.

We will never know.

 

[Hobo]

Still amazes me that people were fine with it because "Robins will turn it around".

Well, it seems obvious that a good start would make the difference. But how you finish is ultimately more important, especially if you get into the play offs.

Plenty of teams start really well then end up in a relegation battle or even relegated

Middlesbrough are normally consistent and up there then fade away in the last few months.

Forest and Southampton had terrible starts and got promoted. Even when Burnley strolled it their start wasn't convincing.

It's points accumulated by the end of the season that decide where you finish.

 

[Sky Blue Goblin]

Always wonder how that plays out against injuries from Xmas onwards, especially if you have a squad without significant back ups to allow players to rest.

I think there’s a fine line. You need the fitness levels to be high enough to put in the work, over the season but also need to ensure you don’t over do it and cause injuries.

Reason why sports scientists have become a big deal.

 

[clint van damme]

Well, it seems obvious that a good start would make the difference. But how you finish is ultimately more important, especially if you get into the play offs.

Plenty of teams start really well then end up in a relegation battle or even relegated

Middlesbrough are normally consistent and up there then fade away in the last few months.

Forest and Southampton had terrible starts and got promoted. Even when Burnley strolled it their start wasn't convincing.

It's points accumulated by the end of the season that decide where you finish.

Though Sunderland went to bits at the end last season but still got promoted.
I think it's just about accumulating enough points to get into the play offs and take it from there.
How and when those points are accumulated isn't that relevant.

Very few teams show season long consistency and those that do are generally teams who've just come down and have parachute money.

 

[fatso]

Lampard has told the players he wants them at it from the off. Has said, in what could be construed as a dig at the previous regime (fact that he wasn't impressed by fintess levels when he arrived) that the season starts in August not January. (This i know is obvious, but has been said to the players who were reporting back yesterday, some to sign first pro contracts and to collect kit)

Pre season friendlies havnt been good enough under Robins, a couple of years ago we played Leicester away as the first game of the season.
Our last pre-season friendly was Exeter away
And Leicester's was Liverpool

We were leading at Leicester in the second half, before we completely ran out of steam and ended up losing.

I said at the time that we hadn't been prepared anywhere near enough, and that has been consistantly the case under MR, and it was interesting to hear Frank say something similar.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

I think there’s a fine line. You need the fitness levels to be high enough to put in the work, over the season but also need to ensure you don’t over do it and cause injuries.

Reason why sports scientists have become a big deal.

I agree, but also a big part of that is squad depth.

Having a player who can come in of a similar/same standard so your first choice doesn't have to pay 3 games in a week can play a massive part in not picking up non-contact injuries.

 

[clint van damme]

Pre season friendlies havnt been good enough under Robins, a couple of years ago we played Leicester away as the first game of the season.
Our last pre-season friendly was Exeter away
And Leicester's was Liverpool

We were leading at Leicester in the second half, before we completely ran out of steam and ended up losing.

I said at the time that we hadn't been prepared anywhere near enough, and that has been consistantly the case under MR, and it was interesting to hear Frank say something similar.

That's some take.
And we didn't run out of steam really, we missed 2 very good chances, Godden missed a sitter, and they brought on Dewsbury Hall who's a game changer and that's exactly what he did.

 

[shmmeee]

Im convinced that if you want top three then you need a big squad of quality that you can use to maintain momentum the entire season. Everyone else with normal wage bills to worry about won’t be able to afford enough quality and will rely on purple patches more. It’s not just us that either start badly and finish well or visa versa. The league outside the top two or three is very streaky. Even Sunderland who had a top three wage bill didn’t maintain all season.

 

[clint van damme]

Im convinced that if you want top three then you need a big squad of quality that you can use to maintain momentum the entire season. Everyone else with normal wage bills to worry about won’t be able to afford enough quality and will rely on purple patches more. It’s not just us that either start badly and finish well or visa versa. The league outside the top two or three is very streaky. Even Sunderland who had a top three wage bill didn’t maintain all season.

Spot on, and even 3rd place had a significant wobble in their autos challenge

 

[shepardo01]

That's some take.
And we didn't run out of steam really, we missed 2 very good chances, Godden missed a sitter, and they brought on Dewsbury Hall who's a game changer and that's exactly what he did.

1-0 up until Hamer came off.
(Came off at HT in next game (Wimbledon)- sold to Sheffield United and plays full 90 mins next game!)

 

[baldy]

based on?

The fact he had eyes - Robins had got stale here & was never gonna turn it round

 

[Ccfcisparks]

The fact he had eyes - Robins had got stale here & was never gonna turn it round

And you can say that with 100% certainty

 

[Covcraig@bury]

Must win games 🫣just saying!

 

[Chris1987]

Irrelevant whether Robins would have turned it round or not we shouldn't have been in that position to start with. The form shown afterwards endorses that on the evidence of the last few seasons

 

[shmmeee]

Irrelevant whether Robins would have turned it round or not we shouldn't have been in that position to start with. The form shown afterwards endorses that on the evidence of the last few seasons

Wasn’t the start almost identical to the last few seasons? The football was worse, but results wise it wasn’t a million miles off.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Wasn’t the start almost identical to the last few seasons? The football was worse, but results wise it wasn’t a million miles off.

Yes for some reason it was common under Robins

 

[baldy]

And you can say that with 100% certainty

The performances showed no encouraging signs whatsoever though

 

[shmmeee]

Yes for some reason it was common under Robins

I think people expecting us to show top four form all season are going to be disappointed. Robins always decided to start slow and finish strong, you’ve got to pick that or the Sunderland way of steam to a lead then have a buffer, but miss that and you end up like WBA or Blackburn dropping out the play offs at the vital time.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

The performances showed no encouraging signs whatsoever though

Like nearly every season under robins ever where we thought the world was caving in after a bad start

 

[Chris1987]

Wasn’t the start almost identical to the last few seasons? The football was worse, but results wise it wasn’t a million miles off.

Very true. There frequently seemed to be excuses for the starts , players needing time to gel etc which I didn't really buy into.

 

[Chris1987]

I think people expecting us to show top four form all season are going to be disappointed. Robins always decided to start slow and finish strong, you’ve got to pick that or the Sunderland way of steam to a lead then have a buffer, but miss that and you end up like WBA or Blackburn dropping out the play offs at the vital time.

Depends on squad depth.