Operation Premiership (1 Viewer)

[SBT]

Last time round it was a slogan without much action behind it. This time round it seems like an actual shift in the whole club’s strategy.

The Premier League Packages, the transfer fees loaded with big incentives, the temporary stadium deal, the contract re-negotiations…everything at the club seems geared towards winning now, and working out how to pay for it later.

We are all in.

There are serious questions to ask about what the plan is if things go wrong (and in some cases, they surely will). There are plenty of teams who have tried and failed to do similar. But just a few weeks after botching a promotion that even our most optimistic fan would have admitted we were not quite ready for, we now have one of the league’s best midfielders, a genuine European wonderkid at wing-back, a strike force currently valued at up to £15 million, and O’Hare waiting in the wings for the second half of the season. No more excuses - either this team is seriously legit, or heads have to roll.

The one big asset I haven’t mentioned is Robins. He has the complete trust of the fans and (you assume) the owner, but in a lot of ways this will be his toughest season with us, because of the expectation alone. I believe he will find a way to make it work, even if that’s not right away. I can well imagine fans being more impatient than me though, and I have to wonder if an owner who’s shoved so many chips into the pot will have the same patience.

But it’s all quite exciting isn’t it.

 

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[Johhny Blue]

Don’t forget the SBA

 

[jim20]

Whatever happens I think we need to stick with Robins, look what he’s done for this club with nothing to work with. From a 20 year downward spiral, to two promotions (one of which while not playing at our home ground) and a playoff push after being bottom in October. He deserves the time, and belief to get it right and he will, if we stick with him he will get us to the prem in the next few years

 

[SBT]

He deserves the time, and belief to get it right and he will, if we stick with him he will get us to the prem in the next few years

I’m really not convinced he’ll get a few years to make it happen.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

I’m really not convinced he’ll get a few years to make it happen.

Who in their right mind would sack him? There'd be a lynching.

 

[Grendel]

Whatever happens I think we need to stick with Robins, look what he’s done for this club with nothing to work with. From a 20 year downward spiral, to two promotions (one of which while not playing at our home ground) and a playoff push after being bottom in October. He deserves the time, and belief to get it right and he will, if we stick with him he will get us to the prem in the next few years

I don’t think a few years will wash with king. Two probably but history will be that to a new owner

 

[Grendel]

Who in their right mind would sack him? There'd be a lynching.

There won’t be anything - I’d guess he will have the next two seasons to get promoted

 

[SBT]

Who in their right mind would sack him? There'd be a lynching.

If we’re in the bottom half of the table at Christmas then I guarantee there will be fans on here saying he should go.

 

[COVKIDSNEVERQUIT]

Last time round it was a slogan without much action behind it. This time round it seems like an actual shift in the whole club’s strategy.

The Premier League Packages, the transfer fees loaded with big incentives, the temporary stadium deal, the contract re-negotiations…everything at the club seems geared towards winning now, and working out how to pay for it later.

We are all in.

There are serious questions to ask about what the plan is if things go wrong (and in some cases, they surely will). There are plenty of teams who have tried and failed to do similar. But just a few weeks after botching a promotion that even our most optimistic fan would have admitted we were not quite ready for, we now have one of the league’s best midfielders, a genuine European wonderkid at wing-back, a strike force currently valued at up to £15 million, and O’Hare waiting in the wings for the second half of the season. No more excuses - either this team is seriously legit, or heads have to roll.

The one big asset I haven’t mentioned is Robins. He has the complete trust of the fans and (you assume) the owner, but in a lot of ways this will be his toughest season with us, because of the expectation alone. I believe he will find a way to make it work, even if that’s not right away. I can well imagine fans being more impatient than me though, and I have to wonder if an owner who’s shoved so many chips into the pot will have the same patience.

But it’s all quite exciting isn’t it.

Yeah and Mark Robins think's his Christmas has come early.

 

[Evo1883]

There won’t be anything - I’d guess he will have the next two seasons to get promoted

Should have given him a 2 year contract then truth is , unless he's really underachieving he's going nowhere.. just signed 4 years

 

[Evo1883]

If we’re in the bottom half of the table at Christmas then I guarantee there will be fans on here saying he should go.

Yea but we have that every year if we don't win for 3 matches

 

[hill83]

The money being spent now ups the pressure drastically on Robins though

 

[Grendel]

The money being spent now ups the pressure drastically on Robins though

It’s the Wright signing that’s the real focus for robins. If he’s the next Dublin or Keane life’s good. If he’s the next Lee hughes or Bellamy it’s not so good.

 

[Evo1883]

The money being spent now ups the pressure drastically on Robins though

True, but it's not like doug has dug deep , the money came from a player sale .

City are for all to see 9th favourites with the bookies for promotion
. We are however better placed than we've been for many years , more players of higher quality on longer contracts

 

[covmark]

The money being spent now ups the pressure drastically on Robins though

Absolutely. He's the hero that's had to work on a shoestring budget to work magic. Different pressure now. We all hope and think he'll pull it off.

 

[COVKIDSNEVERQUIT]

The money being spent now ups the pressure drastically on Robins though

Stand and Deliver.

 

[jim20]

Plus you could argue Robins made that money from the Vik sale, he bought him and developed him to a point where he was worth £20 mil

 

[Evo1883]

Robins being sacked isn't something that I see happening anytime soon so it's not really something that I'm even thinking about .. the strides the club have made under the bloke are there to see .. let's keep enjoying it

 

[shmmeee]

I still think Doug is giving it five years, has a figure he’s happy with for losses in that period, and if we don’t go up he’ll sell up.

 

[Alkhen]

I don't think this is anywhere near a make or break season. Doug will know players can take time to settle and fully shine. It's not like we have over stretched financially as we have invested the money we made from Viks sale. Even if it goes disastrously wrong we will be ok. On paper looks very promising so I don't have too many worries. It should be a great foundation to build from whatever happens.

 

[SBT]

True, but it's not like doug has dug deep , the money came from a player sale .

DK deserves credit for reinvesting so much of the Gyokeres money into the playing squad, and it’s Robins’ work that’s enabled him to get the money in the first place, but I don’t think he’s going to give anyone a free pass for very long if it’s not used wisely.

 

[Evo1883]

DK deserves credit for reinvesting so much of the Gyokeres money into the playing squad, and it’s Robins’ work that’s enabled him to get the money in the first place, but I don’t think he’s going to give anyone a free pass for very long if it’s not used wisely.

I think Robins will be fine

 

[blunted]

The big questions will be are Thomas, Lab, Binks and Milan better than Doyle, McNally and BNC? Are Simms and Wright better than Yok? Will Hamer stay? Will Wilson have another brilliant year and can Fadz pull another great year out of the hat on ageing legs? Big shoes to fill. No doubt, more depth in the squad but some development needed maybe. Always said, we need a bit of luck this year to go up. We need luck with injuries and all the players progressing. If O'Hare comes back as good as before and the others step up we should be ok. Our defence kept us alive last year and we need to get them playing as a unit.

 

[hill83]

I think Robins will be fine

So do I for the record. But he’s in a totally different scenario now.

 

[COVKIDSNEVERQUIT]

DK deserves credit for reinvesting so much of the Gyokeres money into the playing squad, and it’s Robins’ work that’s enabled him to get the money in the first place, but I don’t think he’s going to give anyone a free pass for very long if it’s not used wisely.

Yeah where are those Doug King doubters now.

 

[napolimp]

It's definitely not a make or break season, if anything this will be the first season where we've built a squad with the next few years in mind, if we are in the Championship next season we will likely be lining up in a similar fashion. And that's ok, the team will only get better with time.

 

[Alkhen]

The big questions will be are Thomas, Lab, Binks and Milan better than Doyle, McNally and BNC? Are Simms and Wright better than Yok? Will Hamer stay? Will Wilson have another brilliant year and can Fadz pull another great year out of the hat on ageing legs? Big shoes to fill. No doubt, more depth in the squad but some development needed maybe. Always said, we need a bit of luck this year to go up. We need luck with injuries and all the players progressing. If O'Hare comes back as good as before and the others step up we should be ok. Our defence kept us alive last year and we need to get them playing as a unit.

Biggest question mark for me is the new defence. Last year's was so mean in that second half of the season. Big boots to fill. I would love a proper marquee signing at CB. Thomas and Lati look good, no idea about Bink's yet. But 1 more big statement would really get me dreaming

 

[wingy]

DK deserves credit for reinvesting so much of the Gyokeres money into the playing squad, and it’s Robins’ work that’s enabled him to get the money in the first place, but I don’t think he’s going to give anyone a free pass for very long if it’s not used wisely.

But what then,new manager.
Don't think he'd get a new squad
Just catastraphing like.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

There won’t be anything - I’d guess he will have the next two seasons to get promoted

First season, most fans understand that the huge turnover of players means they may take time to gel. Lynching far too strong a word, but MR has more credit in the bank with me than to be demanding promotion, set against PL parachute payments. If DK only gave him 2 seasons, he'd be roundly vilified.

If we’re in the bottom half of the table at Christmas then I guarantee there will be fans on here saying he should go

We all know there are a few flat earthers sprinkled around this forum

 

[slowpoke]

Getting the defence right is so important if you want to be a top team, even taking the Gyokeres goals and assists into account the number of clean sheets last season was just as crucial to our success.

 

[clint van damme]

Who in their right mind would sack him? There'd be a lynching.

Taxi for Robins, gallows for King!

 

[Chris1987]

Expectations have risen exponentially but we as supporters should never lose sight of where Robins has dragged us back from. I'm sure that Doug appreciates this and wants to keep the fans onside . For the first time for a long time we are not begging stealing and borrowing players and are building for the future. Patience is vital.

 

[covcity4life]

For me it's the fact that after that playoff final loss it looked like we had missed our chance and that next season we would fall backwards after years of forward momentum.

But here we are 2 months later and I feel like perhaps we have a better team than we did then now and that's so exciting and I'm thankful for the situation after thinking I would be devastated for a lot longer

 

[Flying Fokker]

For me it's the fact that after that playoff final loss it looked like we had missed our chance and that next season we would fall backwards after years of forward momentum.

But here we are 2 months later and I feel like perhaps we have a better team than we did then now and that's so exciting and I'm thankful for the situation after thinking I would be devastated for a lot longer

The years of forward momentum have flown by. The misery dished out before that was horrible.

 

[sotvtoday]

If we’re in the bottom half of the table at Christmas then I guarantee there will be fans on here saying he should go.

If we lose tomorrow you mean.