claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:21 am
That would be amazing. The club not having your enthusiasm has really held them back recently.
Maybe your sarcasm was sustaining it.
Last season was a painful watch. If you don't think our poor recruitment held us back last season we must have been watching different teams.
The gaffer had little to no tactical freedom. It was a case of if you are fit you are playing. The team practically picked itself. Out on the pitch his tactical changes ( given the options on our bench ) amounted to bring a player off 10 minutes before the end to reduce the stress placed on them and boost their recovery time. Through no fault of his own he had nothing to work with.
The season before last we practically crawled over the line. Our players were spent. All of us appreciated the heroic effort that they put in and the magnificent result they achieved. What happened after that was a travesty. Instead of being re-enforced they were expected to do the same again ( with fewer resources ) and make it to the Winter window. When that window arrived they were expected to make it to the end of the season. No loans, nothing.
What the team achieved was legendary. I honestly didn't expect them to have enough to make it to the end. When I say the team I mean everyone ( except the recruitment team ). The lads did fantastic, the playing staff did fantastic, the gaffer did fantastic and the Medical Team did fantastic. I mention the latter because keeping our small squad of veteran players on the pitch and helping them to perform at such a high standard was a product of careful management and considerable planning. We definitely had our fair share of injuries ( in no small part because our players have more miles on their clocks ), just fielding a competitive team was a monumental achievement.
Our bench consisted of development players, who were needed for those rest a player substitutions. Granted they did pick up some experience from being around things, but they would have got far more experience out on loan playing week in and week out. The small number of players we had to work with denied them that.
Last season wasn't a performance that signified forward progression it was a valiant rear guard struggle. I agree with Dyche that it was our most challenging season to date and the greatest performance of our team in recent years. It was a stubborn never say die product born out of a desperate need - in which everyone rose to the challenge and picked up the slack resulting from our poor recruitment in the last 5 windows.
If you think we are currently in good shape, look again, because we have a massive amount of work to do.
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