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Expectation v Reality

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Expectation v Reality

Postby Sneag » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:51 pm

As this MB lurches from euphoric to depressed from game to game, sometimes from minute to minute during games. I find myself wondering what goes through the heads of your average football fan.

There seems to be a general expectation from football fans that their players be absolutely infallable week in week out. And ro my way of thinking this is totally unfair and borderline insane.

Can you imagine if in your own job you were held to the same standards that we expect of the players/management/staff of this club? Every single day you will be expected to be 100% on your 'A'' game, any slippage to 95% will be would lead to a bunch of people you don't know abusing you in terms that would make a Gunnery Sgt Major blush. Slip to 90% the same people will be demanding you are fired?

Before anyone hollers hypocrite I'm not exempting myself from criticism here, I've been just as bad at times. But it seems to me lately that the levels of criticism of players has reached a pitch I don't think I've seen before. Maybe it's a hangover from the failed 'project promotion' I dunno. But I do think it's rendered all Stags social media platforms very toxic environments, that seem completely divorced from the reality of supporting a tier 4 side.

We have limited resources, so our pitch isn't a retractable billiard table with an army of groundstaff.

Our bars are small, the choice in food kiosks limited because the club has no margin for wasteage.

We get unproven managers or managers that just got sacked. We don't get Pep or Jose, we don't even get Sam Alardarse. We have got Clough & probably for the first time since Ian Greaves a manager with a decent pedigree. Newsflash for those expecting instant success, it took IG a couple of seasons, he did it on a budget & it wasn't always pretty to watch. For me as long as NC improves us each season & doesn't spout raspberrys from the 'Big Bumper Book of Management Cliches' in quite content.

Our players are playing at this level for a reason, they will always have flaws to their games, we'll have keepers that drop crosses, get beat at the near post, shank clearances into touch etc.

We will have defenders who will sometimes get done for pace, get caught out of position, switch off occassionally.

We will have midfielders who will pick up stupid second yellows, or sometimes lose the battle, fail to beat the first man with a set peice.

We will have strikers who will fluff one on ones, miss sitters or have no grasp of the offside rule.

All these thing will happen and they are all things that would try the patience of Job. But are we really being fair?

I'm getting close to half a century as a Stags fan & in that time I've seen 3 outstanding sides and two grindingly efficient sides.

Oustanding:

Dave Smith's team is about as flawless as I've ever seen.

Peter Morris's team although one of the best managed to go 5 games without a win at the business end of the season, including 3 defeats. Stagsnet would have exploded, Morris doesn't know what he's doing, Randall, Moss ex Spireites, Arnold too short, Pate past it etc etc you know the drill.

Dearden/Watkiss promotion side. Great football but could defend for raspberries. Easy to forget some of the battering we got on the run in. No doubt that side was written off on Stagsnet, I can't remember I was mostly drunk. :D

Efficient

Greaves's teams. Dull as raspberry but the won games. Probably would keep our fans happy though. As someone said the other day in modern football Greaves would have been sacked before we got out of Div 4.

Cox's honest boys. Great to watch when you win, & the perfect means to an end. But ugly as raspberry when plan A fails.

What I'm rambling on about is the fact that they were some of the best sides in our history & 74/75 apart, they all had flaws, players made errors, managers made errors & the pies were still over cooked. Yet our mentality now as fans is to hold the current set of players to a higher standard than those great teams. It's madness.

This season is a write off, unless we lose the next 12 or win the next 12 which we won't. So maybe the mass hysteria when a 4th division player in a struggling side makes a mistake is all a little bit ridiculous.

Try to enjoy the season, see you all in August.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Curry 9 Brace 7 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:10 pm

Players are at this level for a reason, sums it up really, like you say. Spot on.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby georgefostersbeard » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:12 pm

My only thought is that we are lucky in having a club which is being honest with us over the current situation and the current strategy. Clough and David Sharpe were very clear that our only objective after the departure of Coughlan was to get to safety and, if possible, reduce costs. All of this appears to be successful.

This and preparation for the 21-22 season should be the only things that we should be judging when looking how successful Clough has been in the summer.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Curry 9 Brace 7 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:16 pm

A good old Greavesy 1-0 away win, couldn't beat em. I hope Nigel gets given time to sort Stags out, I think he will
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby bellwhiff » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:28 pm

There’s a general demand (and it is a demand) for instant success and there’s a false sense of entitlement in some fans that we have a right to win every game because we have a rich owner.

I’ve commented on the bipolar nature of the comments of some on here. It’s frankly laughable, the lack of balance.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Sandy Pate Best Stag » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:23 pm

Although I have some sympathy for the sentiments of this post, you cannot compare modern day conditions to the sides of yesteryear. The number of allowed substitutes, the condition of pitches and general size of squads have moved the game to an unrecognisable entity.

In past years, players had to be more flexible as there were 11 on a pitch and you only went off if you were seriously injured and certainly not if you ‘felt a muscle’ as that left your team a man short. You had to play wherever you fit and that was your lot.

Today’s players are more specialist in the position they play in and by and large play in that position. I think that is the reason they aren’t cut as much slack when they consistently fail to reach the standard especially when alternatives are available but not given a chance.

Add the fact that we also now have video coverage of every game that allows us to review and scrutinise every minute of the game and also to voice our opinions on platforms like this. Maybe we don’t moan any more than previous eras but more people have access to our complaints.

Most fans are realistic about our level and wouldn’t be passionate supporters if they weren’t as they would just follow the premiership on tv. We’ve always moaned but just not been heard.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby bear 73 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:53 pm

A good post sneag , but Mansfield have been under achieving having been in league 2 for 12 years and non league for 5, So in the last 17 years we have finally got to 16th in the lowest division of the football league and hopefully will avoid relegation., 5 clubs in league 1 have lower attendances and with only 4 in league 2 having more than 1000 fans more,
So Mansfield are one of the bigger clubs in league 2 , and after 12 consecutive years should be in the top ten,
8 managers in 5 years and for me here lies the problem, [ to many cooks spoil the broth ]
Clough has been lucky, this pandemic has meant no fans and cost cutting by most clubs has meant Clough came into a remit of stabilization avoid relegation while assessing all aspects of the playing squad. , Having spent many years competing with clubs while on a small budget, progress in league 2 for Mansfield town is a level playing field, and top ten is a fair expectation
for a start in his 1st full season.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby magicstag » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:45 pm

Most of the reactions on here, remind of how
Much tv as changed football.
Everyone thinks every player can do what the
So called superstars do .
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Torrystag » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:53 pm

Really dont think stags are an under achieving club ,we have been through some terrible times but as a club and as a town we are really not doing to bad ,ok now with our owners we could be doing better ,but its all about evolution not revolution ,which hopefully we may see through our dealings ,in the current climate we are lucky to have cloughie as our boss and sharpe as the ceo its not going to be a barnstorming climb up the leagues ,but hopefully an ongoing improvement in our fortunes ,heres hoping
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Chrisuknottm » Sun Mar 14, 2021 5:55 pm

magicstag wrote:Most of the reactions on here, remind of how
Much tv as changed football.
Everyone thinks every player can do what the
So called superstars do .


Just as a point about the TV comment. I love watching "The Big Match Revisited" currently on ITV4 on Saturday mornings at 10.30

The three things that stand out are:

My memories and perceptions of all my boyhood stars (over the past few weeks it's fluctuated between 72 to currently November 79) have been shattered to a great extent and the old First Division couldn't hold a candle to the skill levels currently in the Premiership. Players I was in awe of seemingly unable to do the basics right for the majority of the game.

The absolute dross of pitches by November of most seasons. ...how did they ever play football of any standard on those.

How excellent today's commentators are compared to Brian Moore, Hugh John's etc. I know it's not a fair comparison over 40 years on and it's like comparing apples and whatever but it's almost laughable at times.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby ST4GS » Sun Mar 14, 2021 6:59 pm

Torrystag wrote:Really dont think stags are an under achieving club ,we have been through some terrible times but as a club and as a town we are really not doing to bad ,ok now with our owners we could be doing better ,but its all about evolution not revolution ,which hopefully we may see through our dealings ,in the current climate we are lucky to have cloughie as our boss and sharpe as the ceo its not going to be a barnstorming climb up the leagues ,but hopefully an ongoing improvement in our fortunes ,heres hoping
I think we have under achieved. During the last 30 years our highest finishing position is 67th or 2nd bottom of the third tier. Name any other club who has been in the top four tiers for 10 seasons who can't beat us. Most teams have had their time in the sun at top league 1 level and some even reached the Championship like Burton, colchester, Rotherham, scunthorpe, Cambridge, grimsby, Shrewsbury. Hartlepool even reached a league 1 playoff final.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Gazmoose82 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:24 pm

Sneag wrote:As this MB lurches from euphoric to depressed from game to game, sometimes from minute to minute during games. I find myself wondering what goes through the heads of your average football fan.

There seems to be a general expectation from football fans that their players be absolutely infallable week in week out. And ro my way of thinking this is totally unfair and borderline insane.

Can you imagine if in your own job you were held to the same standards that we expect of the players/management/staff of this club? Every single day you will be expected to be 100% on your 'A'' game, any slippage to 95% will be would lead to a bunch of people you don't know abusing you in terms that would make a Gunnery Sgt Major blush. Slip to 90% the same people will be demanding you are fired?

Before anyone hollers hypocrite I'm not exempting myself from criticism here, I've been just as bad at times. But it seems to me lately that the levels of criticism of players has reached a pitch I don't think I've seen before. Maybe it's a hangover from the failed 'project promotion' I dunno. But I do think it's rendered all Stags social media platforms very toxic environments, that seem completely divorced from the reality of supporting a tier 4 side.

We have limited resources, so our pitch isn't a retractable billiard table with an army of groundstaff.

Our bars are small, the choice in food kiosks limited because the club has no margin for wasteage.

We get unproven managers or managers that just got sacked. We don't get Pep or Jose, we don't even get Sam Alardarse. We have got Clough & probably for the first time since Ian Greaves a manager with a decent pedigree. Newsflash for those expecting instant success, it took IG a couple of seasons, he did it on a budget & it wasn't always pretty to watch. For me as long as NC improves us each season & doesn't spout raspberrys from the 'Big Bumper Book of Management Cliches' in quite content.

Our players are playing at this level for a reason, they will always have flaws to their games, we'll have keepers that drop crosses, get beat at the near post, shank clearances into touch etc.

We will have defenders who will sometimes get done for pace, get caught out of position, switch off occassionally.

We will have midfielders who will pick up stupid second yellows, or sometimes lose the battle, fail to beat the first man with a set peice.

We will have strikers who will fluff one on ones, miss sitters or have no grasp of the offside rule.

All these thing will happen and they are all things that would try the patience of Job. But are we really being fair?

I'm getting close to half a century as a Stags fan & in that time I've seen 3 outstanding sides and two grindingly efficient sides.

Oustanding:

Dave Smith's team is about as flawless as I've ever seen.

Peter Morris's team although one of the best managed to go 5 games without a win at the business end of the season, including 3 defeats. Stagsnet would have exploded, Morris doesn't know what he's doing, Randall, Moss ex Spireites, Arnold too short, Pate past it etc etc you know the drill.

Dearden/Watkiss promotion side. Great football but could defend for raspberries. Easy to forget some of the battering we got on the run in. No doubt that side was written off on Stagsnet, I can't remember I was mostly drunk. :D

Efficient

Greaves's teams. Dull as raspberry but the won games. Probably would keep our fans happy though. As someone said the other day in modern football Greaves would have been sacked before we got out of Div 4.

Cox's honest boys. Great to watch when you win, & the perfect means to an end. But ugly as raspberry when plan A fails.

What I'm rambling on about is the fact that they were some of the best sides in our history & 74/75 apart, they all had flaws, players made errors, managers made errors & the pies were still over cooked. Yet our mentality now as fans is to hold the current set of players to a higher standard than those great teams. It's madness.

This season is a write off, unless we lose the next 12 or win the next 12 which we won't. So maybe the mass hysteria when a 4th division player in a struggling side makes a mistake is all a little bit ridiculous.

Try to enjoy the season, see you all in August.


Excellent well thought out post mate!... And im aware that i myself am guilty of this on many occasions :lol:

But also i believe you have missed one big factor in expectations off your list...the cost of football these days.

Im told (on many occasions) about the stags glory years by my dad everytime we go to the match :lol: he always goes on about how he could catch the train... Have about 10 pints & dinner.. And watch the match for under £10! Therefore (so he tells me) most people were happy even if dross was served up.
Lets be honest for an away day nowadays its the best part of £100 and about £50 for a home game all in... Your gunna be expecting more return for your big outlay right???!
Also the devils work that is social media has alot to answer for.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Martin Shaw » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:55 pm

Gazmoose82 wrote:
Excellent well thought out post mate!... And im aware that i myself am guilty of this on many occasions :lol:

But also i believe you have missed one big factor in expectations off your list...the cost of football these days.

Im told (on many occasions) about the stags glory years by my dad everytime we go to the match :lol: he always goes on about how he could catch the train... Have about 10 pints & dinner.. And watch the match for under £10! Therefore (so he tells me) most people were happy even if dross was served up.
Lets be honest for an away day nowadays its the best part of £100 and about £50 for a home game all in... Your gunna be expecting more return for your big outlay right???!
Also the devils work that is social media has alot to answer for.

Yes but that's just inflation. In real terms I don't think it has changed.

I'm not sure what year you're referring to but if by glory years you mean the 1970s...

then £10 in 1970 is equivalent to over £100 now.

£158 in fact, using an inflation calculator
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetar ... calculator

So you can tell your dad it was costing him far too much :lol:
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Beano » Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:45 pm

I remember getting a £1 note to go to the game in 77/78

60p Junior entrance fee
20p junior bus from Glapwell
10p programme
10p bovril/crisps

60p in today’s money would equal £3.50, so the cost of football has certainly outpaced inflation.

However,

The biggest contributor to player abuse/over expectation is down to modern life I suppose. Everything has to be instant, from online deliveries, fast food, etc everyone thinks you can just throw money at something and have it NOW. (Doesn’t always work with football)

Combine over expectation with the mass abuse of social media that infects all walks of modern life and all common sense seems to go right out of the window.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby arsene wengers coat » Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:48 pm

It's just populism filtering it's way into other strands of life.

Don't get upset at fans wanting instant gratification ,when the owners of our club have been more guilty than anyone of wanting instant gratification. John and Carolyn sowed the seed.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Hon Sec » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:00 pm

magicstag wrote:Most of the reactions on here, remind of how
Much tv as changed football.
Everyone thinks every player can do what the
So called superstars do .

We regularly see “superstars” on TV miss sitters and keepers making mistakes. They are only human.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Gruff » Mon Mar 15, 2021 8:39 pm

Can't disagree with you Sneag. Was dragged along to my first match in 1973 and think your summing up of the teams is pretty much spot on.

As I'm time-weathered as a Stags fan, every single season I have an uncontrollable desire for success, an expectation of mediocrity, and a constant fear of possible relegation.

I love Stagsnet to bits... 5 wins on the trot and we're world-beaters, 3 losses on the trot and the manager and squad aren't fit to wear the shirt... I think every supporter thinks they are a TV pundit nowadays, and we even seem to have created Piers\Meghan scenario with Jamie Reid :D :D

Stay up this season. Rebuild over Summer. Improve next season. Automatic promotion the next season.... Same story for the past 6 years :)
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby gazza1988 » Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:00 am

Expectation vs reality very rarely match up fully. It's like comparing the score ov a games vs the xG score of a game.

For some reason our expectation levels are always a few notches higher than reality. For some reason we seem to think that because we've got Clough we should win every game. Not gonna happen. I don't think any team, certainly at professional level, has ever won every single game in a season. Yet here we are expecting to win every game.

We've got money. No doubt about it. We see what happened to Abramovic (sp?) at Chelsea and I can't remember his name at man City as 2 examples of throwing money at a problem and getting results. So we expect the same to happen here. Not realising that other teams are also doing the same. We get told we've got a top 3 budget and expected top 3, didn't get it so managers either quit their job or was sacked because if it.

We had a new chairman who came in and wanted to emulate Doncaster and get to the championship in 6-7 years. That was 11 years ago and in that time we've gone up 1 division. That's the reality. Is we've came close twice to getting league 1 football. 1 because the manager left with 12 games to go and destroyed morale. The other was because the final result of the regular season was the right one. Because the expectation was promotion and the reality didn't match up we went backwards. We expected to challenge again with a rookie manager. The reality was he wasn't up to it. We then took a rookie from another club that was doing well in the league above, the reality was he wasn't up to it either.

Another great example of expectation not meeting reality is, and I'll say/type just one word and you'll know what I'm talking about. Barrowcelona.

Everyone has their own set of expectations be it results, league finishes, player roles etc etc. Same with the manager. That's what leads to questions about why a player is being picked. I'm guilty of that same as anyone else. It also leads to blame being placed squarely on one players shoulders if they aren't the persons favourite. Reid if we don't score or Stech if we concede have been 2 examples over most of this season, sometimes they have been justified but not all the time.

Marquee signings don't help. Look at Maynard. His expectation was to fire us to promotion. The reality is he hasn't. He scored 4 goals for us while appearing in 21 games this season.

There is always a difference between expectation and reality. After the start we had people were expecting relegation and until that is a mathematical impossibility people will be scared of that outcome. We went on a great run when Clough came in which had us in the automatics based on the league table since he joined and this was talked about on all the podcasts and social media. This then raised expectations a touch and had people talking about play offs. We then lost players to injury and our form dropped and people panicked about relegation again.

We need to temper our expectations a bit. It's all very much like a spoilt brat at Christmas kicking off because they didn't get exactly what they wanted.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby arsene wengers coat » Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:37 am

The expectation of the chairman and owner is that we should be a L1 club by now.

The reality is that he has pumped money in to managers, staff, players, facilities, academy, stadium etc... The list goes on.

While ever the reality is that we are a L2 club, JR has failed to meet his own expectations of what his return on investment deserves. This will hurt him.

A few bad decisions along the way we can put down to experience, but expectation has to be promotion, and we need to be patient while reality catches up as the bad decisions he made set us back. No one should lower their expectations and be happy or content with flirting with relegation in the bottom league.

I'd rather be around people with aspirations of betterment and progress than be around people who are happy with the status quo.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby PaulG » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:31 am

My first match at Field Mill was on 29th April 1963, and I've been a season-ticket holder since 1973. You have to learn to be philosophical as a Stags fan of nearly 60 years! But you also have to work out exactly what it is gives you the most pleasure, and what the limits of your expectations should be (because if your expectations are unlimited, you are doomed to frustration; we'll never win the Premier League!). I was at every match of the '68-'69 cup run, and again the following year when we lost at Elland Rd. I was there, home and away, throughout the promotions of the 1970's, and the dire years of the early 80's (easily the most depressing few years, Conference notwithstanding), and at Wembley in May '87 (and again, less happily, a few years ago). But the team that warmed the cockles more than any other was the one containing six or seven players who'd come up through the youth team; the team of Bobby Hassell, Craig Disley, David Jervis, Liam Lawrence, Lee Williamson and Alistair Asher, who all came through together. Because that's the club we need to be. We need to find hidden gems, polish them up and send them on their way, to make way for the next lot. Where's the merit in buying your way to trophies? That just means you've got more money than the next club. So what? The term marquee, or statement, signing fills me with dread. The emergence of one or two of our youngsters, on the other hand, is, for me, the point of it all.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby garlic » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:52 am

PaulG wrote:My first match at Field Mill was on 29th April 1963, and I've been a season-ticket holder since 1973. You have to learn to be philosophical as a Stags fan of nearly 60 years! But you also have to work out exactly what it is gives you the most pleasure, and what the limits of your expectations should be (because if your expectations are unlimited, you are doomed to frustration; we'll never win the Premier League!). I was at every match of the '68-'69 cup run, and again the following year when we lost at Elland Rd. I was there, home and away, throughout the promotions of the 1970's, and the dire years of the early 80's (easily the most depressing few years, Conference notwithstanding), and at Wembley in May '87 (and again, less happily, a few years ago). But the team that warmed the cockles more than any other was the one containing six or seven players who'd come up through the youth team; the team of Bobby Hassell, Craig Disley, David Jervis, Liam Lawrence, Lee Williamson and Alistair Asher, who all came through together. Because that's the club we need to be. We need to find hidden gems, polish them up and send them on their way, to make way for the next lot. Where's the merit in buying your way to trophies? That just means you've got more money than the next club. So what? The term marquee, or statement, signing fills me with dread. The emergence of one or two of our youngsters, on the other hand, is, for me, the point of it all.

Thoroughly agree with that Paul G, it s the emergence of young teams/youngsters that I want to see. We are a League 1 club, no more no less, our sorrows will be many but the occasional bursts of joy keep you going. I still gloat about that 3-1 win at Huddersfield.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby Amber Andy » Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:52 am

arsene wengers coat wrote:The expectation of the chairman and owner is that we should be a L1 club by now.

The reality is that he has pumped money in to managers, staff, players, facilities, academy, stadium etc... The list goes on.

While ever the reality is that we are a L2 club, JR has failed to meet his own expectations of what his return on investment deserves. This will hurt him.

A few bad decisions along the way we can put down to experience, but expectation has to be promotion, and we need to be patient while reality catches up as the bad decisions he made set us back. No one should lower their expectations and be happy or content with flirting with relegation in the bottom league.

I'd rather be around people with aspirations of betterment and progress than be around people who are happy with the status quo.
Good post awc.
The key word is "patience". That applies equally to supporters and owners. As long as we progress each season (not necessarily promotion) then that's fine with me.
This season has always been about survival, following two poor appointments, which resulted in us going backwards.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby gazza1988 » Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:11 pm

Aspirations aren't expectations or reality though.

Really the thread should be "aspirations v expectations vs reality"

Our aspiration is to be in league one. Our expectations are to challenge for promotion to league 1. Right now our reality is bottom half of league 2.

When aspirations and expectations are the exact same that's when you can start to get problems. Let's look at facts. We had Evans who was on a great run and firmly in the play offs. An automatic push was on the cards and you'd have a good case for play offs being almost certain. He left. Flitcroft came in and the entire season was ruined in the last 12 games of the 46 game season. Next season promotion was the aspiration and the expectation. We failed in the last game of the season and failed in the play offs. Because expectation wasn't met he was sacked. Dempster, again promotion was both the expectation and aspiration. Very early that reality was not gonna happen. Same with Coughlan.

Me personally I aspire to get into league 1. Expectation is an improvement on the previous season. That's why I felt DF should have stayed on. Had he not improved then bye bye. Last time we did that Coxy got us promoted. He improved the next season getting us mid table (11th if I remember correctly, technically the highest finish until DF arrived) then we didn't seem to be improving so he lost his job and Muzza got it. No improvement and he lost his job to Evans. Then big improvement, the next season we were challenging, finally. Evans left and DF got it, we finished lower than when Evans left the club but still higher than we had for over a decade. Largely thanks to Evans who was in charge for around 3 quarters of the season. Next season saw another improvement, we were now challenging for automatics. Finished in our highest position since we were last promoted. We can't keep chopping and changing managers. Law of averages says we will get one that gets instant promotion but also we will get one that is instant relegation.

Our reality right now is our squad depth isn't good enough, our best starting XI is good enough. We've got a manager that has, imo a better cv than any manager we've had for years who has the added bonus of being respected in football. We've got to let him build a team ready to challenge. We've got some high earners on the books and some players he perhaps doesn't want to keep but are contracted to next season. He could be in a similar position to DF when he joined. Hamstrung by player he doesn't want taking up resources in the budget. So even if he "fails" next season, let's not do anything rash.
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Re: Expectation v Reality

Postby bear 73 » Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:47 pm

I had some glory years Watching Derby County under Brian Clough, followed by Mackay, and the Magical team of Jim smith with international super stars, then the lean years.
Total turmoil and the worst record in history, relegation from the Premier League with 11 points, and we sank lower up to the eye balls in dept and still sinking.
Then Nigel Clough was appointed and gloom turned to hope, over 4 years he brought financial stability to the club, revitalized the academy and slowly brought in players reducing the wage structure, whilst playing some academy players, Hughes, Hendricks,, Bennett,, he brought pride back to my club, and a believe in the community. The C,E, O left for Man City
and a Players agent come C,E,O called Sam Rush came in and wanted to change the input on the managers role in the club, Clough would not have this and so was sacked Mel Morris bought the club, and the world was there oyster, Morris and rush ended up with a big court battle, and after spending over 200 million and still losing millions, and trying to sell the club with no ground, we can see it all worked out well, I was disgusted with the club and after following football all my life i was at a impasse, Though clough can annoy you he is usually right.
He was nothing like Brian, he preferred a low profile and i found he had all the quality's i could believe in, Ive had some great times at, Sheff Utd, and Burton was a culture shock after Pride Park, and Bramall Lane, but again it was not the size of the club, but the challenge to be better, and believe me when you lose your best players to clubs in the same league, its like having your pockets pinched, Mansfield Town a place were i worked at the pits, a club that deserves a down to earth manager and to move forward, the word potential keeps cropping up.
Looking at the gates 4 thousand plus, then expectation must be top ten in league 2, reality , years of under achievement, Expectation this season improving the playing surfaces, looking at the academy, cutting cost, and to access the players, and lets see our starting point , next season reality and expectation top 10 at least,
Potential works with the fan base, When we achieve promotion, mid table league 1 , and Mansfield should be able to hold onto players from fellow league 1 clubs.
Expectations league 1 2023 / 24 reality also,, [ Motto if we fail this year, we try again next year,] if we improve every year promotion is a cert
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