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Comments
That is so gutting, IMO far more than us missing out...
Top 6 for us will still be a hell of an achievement IMO ⚒️⚒️⚒️
We were on equal points with 5th place when the January transfer window opened, and entered the last week of the window in 4th place in our own right. If we had strengthened the squad we could have given ourselves a better chance of holding on; instead we basically swapped Haller for Lingard, which obviously worked out, but other areas were, IMO, neglected.
Obviously no-one knows what would have happened if Sullivan paid the £40m that would have got Moyes the striker he wanted in January, or if Moyes had accepted one of the strikers Sullivan was prepared to get, or if Cullen wasn't sold for £500k and was available to cover Rice's injury, but if we don't make Europe, I think I'd find it difficult not to blame the board for running the squad so thin.
As others have said losing Rice has been a big blow and imo the pressure of staying in the top four has got to the players and the manager.
Although a CL place has gone it's still in our hands to achieve a europa league place.
Lets not mess it up.
We’re still in that top 6 with three games left, looking at fixtures, I would say 4 points will guarantee us top 7. Obviously we want to try & finish 6th & I do think, with Liverpool’s fixtures, 6th is best case scenario now.
It may not happen but lets be disappointed if it happens and not before.
I wonder what you base it on or how you judge if they are well-run? And is their record 'on the field' what you get for being a well run club?
Leicester since they got the new owners in 2010.
- Took 4 years to get promoted to PL.
- Once in PL:
Season 1, flirted with relegation for a chunk of it, finished 14th (their own 'great escape')
Season 2 Champions
Season 3, Flirted with relegation, finished 13th
Season 4, finished 9th
Season 5, finished 9th
Season 6, finished 5th
This season, currently 3rd
- Other honours:
Champions League, knocked out at the quarter final stage
Europa League, knocked out in R32
Managerial appointments: 7 managers in 10 years since the takeover.
---
As a slightly separate question, is this a satisfactory record of steady progress?
Who would be happy if WHU finished 9th this season, 9th next season, 5th season after ...
Final have had 10 managers since 2011, are they a well run club? A lot may say not, are they a successful one many will say yes. Anything lower than 6th this season will be a major disappointment. 7th would be a very small consolation. IMHO success on the pitch is the biggest benchmark I use as a judge.
So for example, using your benchmark, Leicester were a well-run club last season, less well run the season before, even worse 2 seasons before that, and the best run club when they won the league.
Or are you using 'success' in different way?
They’ve more often been closer to the Champion’s League than they have to relegation. They’re generally in competition for a European place. They’ve done it without spending as much as most others in those positions. They’ve wasted money on some transfers but have brought in a lot of deals and coped with losing major players like Kante and Mahrez (and even Drinkwater, relative to his role in that team).
I’d absolutely be happy if West Ham were in Leicester’s position. It’s too tight to expect top 7 every year.
Leicester have got a lot more right than wrong under their owners. What we've seen is steady progress from the Championship to what it is now; an established top half PL club which is beginning to regularly challenge for the top four. They have a transfer policy that has, for the most part, worked really well, they've made considerable investment in the infrastructure of the club (their training facilities looks incredible), and their owners are well-liked and respected by the fans.
As for the '9th, 9th, 5th...' finishes, yes I would be happy, if we had all of the above. With those things in place, I would have faith that there'd be year-on-year improvement and a chance of winning something. Unfortunately we don't have a transfer policy, we don't have world class facilities, we lose far more on transfers than we make and the relationship between owners and fans is non-existent. This season for us feels like a one-off, which is why I'm desperate for us to get into Europe. I honestly don't think we'll be in this position again for a long time.
(And just scrolling back, I think we’ve only done it 8 times in our history)