The strangest season (4 Viewers)

Macca · 2026-01-27T07:43:29+0000

In all my 45 seasons following City this definitely is the weirdest. I remember a discussion on here after last years play offs about targets for this season. Mine was simply improvement so a comfortable play off finish with our highest Championship points total. Then came the summer activity or lack of and I downgraded to maybe play offs but likely missing out. Next was the first 10 games and an upward turn to definite play offs followed not long after with a "hang on a minute this might by the year." Currently downgraded to 50/50 either way

To top it off we are very likely to end up achieving what I hoped for last May but unless we go up its likely to be really detrimental morale wise for the club given what's gone before

CBS16 · 2026-01-27T09:37:25+0000

Macca said:
In all my 45 seasons following City this definitely is the weirdest. I remember a discussion on here after last years play offs about targets for this season. Mine was simply improvement so a comfortable play off finish with our highest Championship points total. Then came the summer activity or lack of and I downgraded to maybe play offs but likely missing out. Next was the first 10 games and an upward turn to definite play offs followed not long after with a "hang on a minute this might by the year." Currently downgraded to 50/50 either way

To top it off we are very likely to end up achieving what I hoped for last May but unless we go up its likely to be really detrimental morale wise for the club given what's gone before

To miss out now would be absolutely heartbreaking for the support, especially considering how the last few seasons have ended

skybluecam · 2026-01-27T09:38:58+0000

Personally I can't understand some of the vitriol directed at the team right now. I don't think anyone expected us to get autos, let alone win the title but we're top of the league and half the players are getting dogs abuse because our form has dipped.

Macca · 2026-01-27T10:41:41+0000

Guess its the just the way in which it has gone. If it was May now and we had built 80 points at a steady rate across the season people would say it was an incredible achievement. What we have done has been like a sprinter in a 10K race. All the glory in one hit and now limping across the line.
I think we will still get our record points total yet understandably people will be disappointed. Ultimately though always doubted that we had the necessary skill and depth to maintain what was required over a entire 46 games. With what we have I still think providing we don't fall off a cliff it has to be seen as progress

Ccfcisparks · 2026-01-27T11:06:19+0000

skybluecam said:
Personally I can't understand some of the vitriol directed at the team right now. I don't think anyone expected us to get autos, let alone win the title but we're top of the league and half the players are getting dogs abuse because our form has dipped.

Its the fact we were 13 points clear, put ourselves in a great position and have completely gone to pot.

shmmeee · 2026-01-27T11:06:48+0000

skybluecam said:
Personally I can't understand some of the vitriol directed at the team right now. I don't think anyone expected us to get autos, let alone win the title but we're top of the league and half the players are getting dogs abuse because our form has dipped.

Literally “you’d have taken playoffs at the start”

hazuk · 2026-01-27T11:07:02+0000

Macca said:
Guess its the just the way in which it has gone. If it was May now and we had built 80 points at a steady rate across the season people would say it was an incredible achievement. What we have done has been like a sprinter in a 10K race. All the glory in one hit and now limping across the line.
I think we will still get our record points total yet understandably people will be disappointed. Ultimately though always doubted that we had the necessary skill and depth to maintain what was required over a entire 46 games. With what we have I still think providing we don't fall off a cliff it has to be seen as progress

Second this If everything had been the same but some of the losses and draws had been more spread out, and we had been swapping in and out of the top two or three positions, there is no way that any reasonable person would see the current position as anything other than an unqualified success.

We've had good continuity in the squad between last season and this, but just look at what Ipswich have spent this year alone (I would guess their top three transfer fees are probably more than our entire squad, and possibly the training ground as well) - not to mention the players they have managed to retain from last season.

Call me pint half full, but given I would have taken another play-off run at the start of the season, I cannot be unhappy with the current situation. Do not get me wrong, I will be crying into that half-full pint if we really tail off - but for now, I am struggling to see this as anything other than progress.

AOM · 2026-01-27T11:21:14+0000

At the start of the season I thought the automatics would be a bit out of reach, and so it's been an amazing effort to be where we are.
It will be a massive disappoint though if we fail to achieve a top two finish considering the buffer we had, and the play offs are a complete lottery.

It does feel like our best opportunity for a long time, and the worry is another rebuild if we're in the Championship again next year.

I'm still feeling hopeful we'll do it

skybluecam · 2026-01-27T11:30:02+0000

Ccfcisparks said:
Its the fact we were 13 points clear, put ourselves in a great position and have completely gone to pot.

But the squad is the same one that put us in that position so why’s everyone digging them out now

Ccfcisparks · 2026-01-27T11:35:13+0000

skybluecam said:
But the squad is the same one that put us in that position so why’s everyone digging them out now

If you start a 100m sprint ahead of the chasing pack and then end up 3rd is that succesful?

Jamesimus · 2026-01-27T11:46:11+0000

Loved the start. Now it’s become more important I’m really struggling to enjoy watching the games. I don’t even celebrate the goals properly now because I anticipate us conceding one haha.

skybluecam · 2026-01-27T11:47:19+0000

Ccfcisparks said:
If you start a 100m sprint ahead of the chasing pack and then end up 3rd is that succesful?

If you expected to finish 4th then yes lol pretty poor metaphor

AOM · 2026-01-27T11:48:54+0000

Jamesimus said:
Loved the start. Now it’s become more important I’m really struggling to enjoy watching the games. I don’t even celebrate the goals properly now because I anticipate us conceding one haha.

I still feel confident we'll score even if we concede first, but being reliant on needing to score 2/3 goals a game is an issue and has been for a while

Ccfcisparks · 2026-01-27T11:50:26+0000

skybluecam said:
If you expected to finish 4th then yes lol pretty poor metaphor

You obviously have signifiicantly lower standards than me then if you would be content with finishing in the playoffs as thats where we were expected to finish at the start.

skybluecam · 2026-01-27T11:59:55+0000

Ccfcisparks said:
You obviously have signifiicantly lower standards than me then if you would be content with finishing in the playoffs as thats where we were expected to finish at the start.

I would be disappointed obviously, my point is about the abuse players are getting on here

Grendel · 2026-01-27T12:03:21+0000

Ccfcisparks said:
If you start a 100m sprint ahead of the chasing pack and then end up 3rd is that succesful?

Depends if you are Usain Bolt and firm favourite or the guy who finished 5th last time.

Bad example that

Ccfcisparks · 2026-01-27T12:05:05+0000

Grendel said:
Depends if you are Usain Bolt and firm favourite or the guy who finished 5th last time.

Bad example that

Regardless of the example, considering where we were in the league it would be a failure of epic proportions.

Macca · 2026-01-27T13:12:08+0000

Ccfcisparks said:
Regardless of the example, considering where we were in the league it would be a failure of epic proportions.

I feel like there is a lot going on in the league this year that would allow an underdog to over achieve then drop off so I'm more epic disappointment than epic failure

Macca · 2026-01-27T13:13:20+0000

hazuk said:
Second this If everything had been the same but some of the losses and draws had been more spread out, and we had been swapping in and out of the top two or three positions, there is no way that any reasonable person would see the current position as anything other than an unqualified success.

We've had good continuity in the squad between last season and this, but just look at what Ipswich have spent this year alone (I would guess their top three transfer fees are probably more than our entire squad, and possibly the training ground as well) - not to mention the players they have managed to retain from last season.

Call me pint half full, but given I would have taken another play-off run at the start of the season, I cannot be unhappy with the current situation. Do not get me wrong, I will be crying into that half-full pint if we really tail off - but for now, I am struggling to see this as anything other than progress.

Yeh thats me in a nutshell

The strangest season (4 Viewers)

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