It's not any of that that worries me. As long as the stadium goes up, the 'next Aston Villa' tag is unfounded. We've had greater revenues than most clubs for most of the PL era, and we will continue to do so, simply because of our relatively high ticket prices and the demand there is to buy them. Sure, we might have a few mid-table seasons, but we've been there before, it doesn't bother me too much. Will it hurt seeing Bale, Modric et al leave? Absolutely. Will it kill us off? Unlikely.
As for the things we need to do over the summer if we don't make CL, here's a few likely scenarios;
-We have to attract a new manager - David Moyes
-Quite possibly need to buy at least 1 top quality goalkeeper - Krul, or Vorm, or Handanovic
-Need possibly 2 top quality centre backs (possibly including Caulker) - Vertonghen if he'll still want to come, or someone less known
-Need to buy a top quality striker (STILL AFTER 100 YEARS OF LOOKING FOR ONE) - Rossi (gamble due to injuries, but Levy likes gambling),or Negredo,or Ba,or Van Wolfswinkel
-Possibly buy a replacement for Bale - someone young, probably, like Redmond, or McClean
-Possibly buy a replacement for Modric - Badelj, Kovacic, someone talented but under the radar of the biggest names, or the likes of Allen, Cabaye et al if we're looking for PL proven players
So, even after selling our top players, we might end up with Moyes as a manager and a side like so;
--------------Vorm-----------
Walker---Kaboul--Caulker--BAE
Lennon--Cabaye--Parker--McClean
-------------VdV----------------
-------------Rossi/Ba------------
Which, while not spectacularly good, looks comfortably stronger than most PL sides outside the top four. So we'll probably be safe either way, due to our solid foundations. And we'll have pocketed quite a bit from the Bale and Modric sales as well, plus 'Arry's compensation.
What does worry me is the same thing that's been worrying me since 1999, my first year supporting the club; our mentality. No matter how many 'hard men' we buy, no matter how many motivational soundbites our lads come up with, we always seem to be soft, weak, and horribly fragile when the brick hits the fan and things get serious. Our mental strength is terrible, and always has been. Why? Why is that the case? We've had generations and generations of players come and go, but they're all the same when it comes to their weak heads. Why? Did we use up all our mental juice when Mackay and Blanchflower were around? Does our lack of success breed weakness? Or does our 'free-flowing' ethos actually inhibit us as a club when it comes to 'grit' and determination? It's baffling.
We have to solve this, or we will forever remain a nearly club. And maybe not even that.
It's not any of that that worries me. As long as the stadium goes up, the 'next Aston Villa' tag is unfounded. We've had greater revenues than most clubs for most of the PL era, and we will continue to do so, simply because of our relatively high ticket prices and the demand there is to buy them. Sure, we might have a few mid-table seasons, but we've been there before, it doesn't bother me too much. Will it hurt seeing Bale, Modric et al leave? Absolutely. Will it kill us off? Unlikely.
As for the things we need to do over the summer if we don't make CL, here's a few likely scenarios;
-We have to attract a new manager - David Moyes
-Quite possibly need to buy at least 1 top quality goalkeeper - Krul, or Vorm, or Handanovic
-Need possibly 2 top quality centre backs (possibly including Caulker) - Vertonghen if he'll still want to come, or someone less known
-Need to buy a top quality striker (STILL AFTER 100 YEARS OF LOOKING FOR ONE) - Rossi (gamble due to injuries, but Levy likes gambling),or Negredo,or Ba,or Van Wolfswinkel
-Possibly buy a replacement for Bale - someone young, probably, like Redmond, or McClean
-Possibly buy a replacement for Modric - Badelj, Kovacic, someone talented but under the radar of the biggest names, or the likes of Allen, Cabaye et al if we're looking for PL proven players
So, even after selling our top players, we might end up with Moyes as a manager and a side like so;
--------------Vorm-----------
Walker---Kaboul--Caulker--BAE
Lennon--Cabaye--Parker--McClean
-------------VdV----------------
-------------Rossi/Ba------------
Which, while not spectacularly good, looks comfortably stronger than most PL sides outside the top four. So we'll probably be safe either way, due to our solid foundations. And we'll have pocketed quite a bit from the Bale and Modric sales as well, plus 'Arry's compensation.
What does worry me is the same thing that's been worrying me since 1999, my first year supporting the club; our mentality. No matter how many 'hard men' we buy, no matter how many motivational soundbites our lads come up with, we always seem to be soft, weak, and horribly fragile when the brick hits the fan and things get serious. Our mental strength is terrible, and always has been. Why? Why is that the case? We've had generations and generations of players come and go, but they're all the same when it comes to their weak heads. Why? Did we use up all our mental juice when Mackay and Blanchflower were around? Does our lack of success breed weakness? Or does our 'free-flowing' ethos actually inhibit us as a club when it comes to 'grit' and determination? It's baffling.
We have to solve this, or we will forever remain a nearly club. And maybe not even that.
the average age of our team today was older than Chelsea's
time to call in Red Hair Adair AVB?
Deadwood we need to shift (well they are deadwood under Redknapp):
- Gomes
- Corluka
- Bentley
- Jenas
- Giovani Dos Santos
- Bassong
That's a lot of work. And we will have to probably have to take a hit on some of those if not all.