What Are You Realistically Hoping For Next Season?

Sounds slightly over optimistic to me, if all the criticise of this season is correct, why will we transform into a winning side? We aren’t going to sign many new players, the competition will not be a place to blood young players. If we are in the top six we will have done well

 

Simply because there is a big gap in quality between the Premier League and The Championship. The gap will be even bigger next season.

 

Top 17 I hope given we will still be a PL side.

 

All depends on how serious the owner is.

 

I reckon it's more that an United and Milan have massively overrated Hendrick, rather than you underrating him. He's a decent Premier League player though, albeit he would have been a reserve at Burnley if it hadn't been for Gudmondsson being injured more or less all season. But as a first reserve central or right midfielder, he'll do fine.

I doubt he'd come to you in the Championship, though. More likely to return to Burnley than that.

 

To the OP, get on and beat Arsenal. I want Villa down. Down, down, down. (And I want Burnley to finish above Arsenal. Though if we beat Brighton, we do that anyway.)

 

championship survival

 

A 6 figure salary, a villa in Marbella and 5 vietnamese girlfriends in their early 20s

 

Playing in the Premier League.................. WE AREN'T DOWN YET!!!

 

Survival

 

Promotion, with a record points haul

 

To get Vydra back from Burnley.

 

Promotion.

 

Champions

 

Nothing less than 100 points will be acceptable

Can see Deeney and Gray scoring 100 combined in this farmer's league

 

Defenders that put their bodies on the line. A team we can get behind. Some glimpses of homegrown talent. Promotion.

 

Both have great Championship experience from 12 years ago and should absolutely destroy that league.

 

Promotion, by hook or by crook.

 

My main hope is that I can sit with my friends at home matches and stand with them at away matches next season. Regardless of the results, I found the last nine games in empty stadiums not only depressing, but totally alien to why I follow and support a football club. I know for many watching on TV is the only option. But as I can walk to the stadium from home and have good fiends to travel to away matches with. For me next season will be great if we canal, go back to watching in stadiums. Better to have been in the Premier League, but 23 home games and 23 away game attendances will be more aim from 12 September.

 

Promotion.

 

You'll have a hard time with that target considering October is the earliest the government is planning on letting fans back in.

 

Watford's historical response to relegation from the top division:-

1988: after first 15 games - top by 3 points; finished - 4th (play-offs, lost in semi-final)
2000: after first 15 games - top by 1 point; finished - 9th (5 points outside play-offs)
2007: after first 15 games - top by 8 points; finished - 6th (play-offs, lost in semi-final)

Something of a pattern here.

 

Agreed, but who are these fiends you go to away matches with?!

 

All for different reasons. in 88/89 we failed an automatic promotion slot by a few points, which we would have got if we'd not failed to win our last two home games. Harrison admitted later that he was not the manager type, his scattergun approach to signings and sales didn't help either.

In 2000/01, GT later admitted he got the players super-fit for the season and it looked like it was paying off until they were knackered by November and never recovered.

In 07/08, Aidy got them fit and despite just clinging on to 6th we were never out of the automatic promotion race until about 4 matches to go, things went awry behind the scenes with players and Aidy falling out.


Unlike those seasons we will be starting with a new manager and we have a core of a squad better than those other seasons. Obviously it will be interesting to see which players come and go, and of course, who the manager will be. I'd welcome Joka with open arms, last time around he was quick to get shot of the dead wood and troublemakers.

 

Always wonder what would have happened that season had Middlesbrough not recalled Adam Nonce-son so early as well

 

Yes, so i think the key is to start really poorly.

 

I was thinking exactly this last night and was going to write something similar. We have history and form for starting well (although I seem to remember it very much papered over the cracks), and then tailing off. After that we then spend a few years in the wilderness. I can see it happening once more.

 

How much can you really look into stuff that happened 30 years ago? Might happen again, but I doubt it has any bearing on our current position

 

Well I guess if it happened once then fair enough, but something similar has happened three times now. Also, if we include our odyssey in League One in the 90's, we c*cked up that first season as well by drawing about a million games. I think it's just an interesting historical observation and not one that can be completely dismissed.

 

Brutal season, came out of the blocks flying and looked like we were gonna piss the league, then got thrashed at home by WBA and never fully recovered

Second half of the season was just: 1) Pass to Sadler 2) Launch at Henderson 3) Knock down to King. Dreadful to watch

 

I remember thinking in 2000 "how are we top?" because we didn't seem to be that good but were getting the results - then it all fell apart. In 2007 we had all the power required in the Championship back then but had lost the guile and class we had two years before.
The time will be more similar to 1988 in that we have spent a period in the top division so the Championship will be a new experience for most of our players.

 

I thought the Aidy attempted bounce back season was that we mainly played one dimensional hoof ball which got found out in the second half of the season?

 

bit like the last 12 months then...

 

You're probably right, in 2007 & 2000 a large number of the promotion squad were still with us in the post relegation squad. I guess that of the team who played in the 88/89 season only Jackett and Rostron were around in 1982.