Boom or bust?

[beaglebum]

This has to be one of the only pre-seasons in which I honestly don't know how we will fare in the forthcoming season.

Firstly the games/results haven't exactly been inspiring. I get you can't look too much into it, but last year we had some tough games and the players were obviously up for it, beating ManU and drawing with Leicester. This season, palace aside, we haven't really played teams who are better than us and I feel they would've got a better workout being beaten 2-8 by ManC than by beating Wealdstone by the same scoreline. And surely the players would prefer playing against top teams and not non league or lower German teams?

Secondly the players we've signed (and the manager) are all young and mostly unproven. Every report I read from the club is really bigging these players up saying what we can look forward too. I really hope that's the case but has that put added pressure and expectation on them?

And lastly, we've seen some huge players leave in the summer- austin, barbet, gray ball, odubajo, Wallace. Have we honestly signed any player which today can say they are better than who they've replaced? I don't mean future potential but today? And the same could be aimed at Beale v Warburton too. The future might be bright but what about the present???

Obviously we are still 2 or 3 players short, especially strikers and at RB. But this pre-season I'm literally none the wiser of what the season ahead holds.

Is it just me or is that how the majority feel?

[SM]

I think that’s a fair summary.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect for next season. Of the signings, Paal and JCS look pretty promising - Paal especially.

I still think we’re too light upfront. If you’re heading into a season with Lyndon Dykes as your main striker then I think you’re going to have problems.

I still struggle to see where the (consistent) goals come from in this team.

[old pauline]

I'm sure we have gone into seasons honestly not knowing what to expect in the past. Warburton's first season, Magilton, Souza, the Italian reformation, JFH, there have been many occasions when we have not known what to expect.

A concern I have is the character and togetherness between players, management, fans and Board if there are wobbles. Especially with the average age being so low. I'm worried that the bottom is going to fall out on occasions.

[deadendjob]

Fair summary. Quite honestly I think we're going to struggle. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I feel that with the significant wholesale changes and an unproven manager/new squad members, I'm quite nervous as to how we'll fair. Fan expectations will be around the 10, which will put excessive pressure on a new manager trying to stamp his mark when he loses a couple of games. I wouldn't be surprised if he fails and is gone by Xmas.

[ActonArthur]

Fair summary. Quite honestly I think we're going to struggle. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I feel that with the significant wholesale changes and an unproven manager/new squad members, I'm quite nervous as to how we'll fair. Fan expectations will be around the 10, which will put excessive pressure on a new manager trying to stamp his mark when he loses a couple of games. I wouldn't be surprised if he fails and is gone by Xmas.

Hope not. The comments in this thread are all fair. Definitely need a right back and letting two seasoned strikers go and expecting the remaining one to get the goals seems like folly to me. I reckon the manager and the club think the same and I expect these positions to be bolstered in the near future. I wish to remain optimistic and the players Beale have signed are all ones with potential and that’s a good thing. All his interviews so far he says the right things. I get the impression he has connections with lots of clubs and that will be useful. I’m quite excited in regards to Sinclair Armstrong but if dykes gets injured or flops, don’t want see him get put under pressure to be the main striker playing two games per week and he might struggle to make that jump so quickly.

[dm]

Given the change of manager, squad churn and the Board doubling down on their young player development strategy, perhaps it's not surprising the coming season is a difficult one to call.

I'm doing the safest thing and sticking with a midtable finish.

[qprphilip]

Personally, I think we'll start off slowly, and get better as the season goes on.

[UxbridgeR]

The bench on Saturday certainly looked very weak, but we do have a handful of injured players who are due back in training this week, so I imagine we'll have a stronger squad available for Blackburn on Saturday.

The transfer window doesn't close until 1st September, so a lot can and probably will change between now and then. Ideally, you'd have
everything in place for the first game, but when you're working with a limited budget, it's often the case that you have to wait and see who's available when those clubs with deeper pockets have got their targets in the bag.

I do hope we don't end up with too many loans. We already have two, and I would prefer we don't start the season with four or five in the squad.