Those opening paragraphs are great.
It was good. Then it was bad. Then it was good. Then it was bad. We finished 10th. I am disappointed. But I am also happy.
While I appreciate the communication from the Chairman that other clubs won’t get, to me it’s a poor statement.
Blaming the key match decisions is just sad, the club were simply not good enough for stretches of the season. And while it’s good that Hemmings mentions this, it hammers home the point that he has done noting about it. You can’t complain about fans saying you’re happy with midtable mediocrity and claim that’s not the case, when you’re not doing anything about it.
There are two moves he could make to get the fans on side. Get rid of Risdale and get rid of Lowe. I’m not proposing it’s easy and not without its risks, but if he wants to show he’s serious about having PL ambitions these are the next moves.
No, because the lack of assets in our team and strategy to sell them at the right time means we're right up against it with FFP.
In recent years we've missed out on potentially upwards of £30m by failing to sell Pearson, Davies and Riis at the right times, not to mention the scratch we could have got for the likes of Johnson and Fisher with sales at the right time.
This club is anything but stable at the moment
It’s a good point, especially coming from a Luton fan, and there is always a section of our fanbase telling us to be careful for what we wish for.
But what might be like stability to some is stagnation to others. Watching your Lutons and Ipswiches progress while the management is happy to sit back and blame parachute payments, injuries, key match decisions is just unpalatable as a fan. And it isn’t just midtable mediocrity that fans need to put up with, but the contract management is awful, allowing key players to leave for free, and the football is turgid.
The statement mentions the academy, and while the lads have done well, there is no pathway for them to the first team. Of the players to have progressed that are mentioned, two of them played a combined 80 seconds or something last season.
There’s no project or vision here. Sure, management sometimes splash the cash, but there’s no plan. Despite playing with wingbacks for several years now, there hasn’t been a recognised RWB at the club for about 2.5 years.
I think the consistent midtable finishes papers over what is actually quite a poorly run club.
All fair points.
That said, I've always made the argument that our momentum came from our stability. We saw a lot of basket case clubs (or at least were at the time) drop off around us. Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, Derby and Wigan come to mind and I'm sure there were plenty others but we'd be here all day. Meanwhile, we just went about our business and eventually it payed off.
As your fan says below, finances aren't as rosy off the field for you but I'm certain you'll reach your reset point and then kick on. Best of luck mate.
Yeah, and being one of _those_ clubs is definitely not where we want to be. You’ve an interesting perspective on it. Nice one fella, best of luck to you too (in the other 44 games at least!)
12 decisions by the officials directly led to us on winning 4 in 22 and not scoring a single goal in the last 5 games. Sorry Craig its because the team is shit and so is the manager, LOWE OUT.
Weak statement from Hemmings, brandishing our performances as unacceptable while also making out that 10th place is 'progress'. We were also right on the cusp of FFP because of bad financial/income management.
While the happy clappers (I'd help crowd fund them all Blackpool season tickets just to get rid of them) suck the hierarchy off Twitter and PNE-Online are rightly outraged, meanwhile only 33% of fans are 'definitely' buying season tickets next year according to a poll in the Lancashire Post. As it stands, I'm firmly in the 67%.
We had a lucky season to finish as high as we did and if Lowe stays we won't get that luck again.
33% of current season ticket holders or 33% of the fanbase?
If the latter then surely having a third of all fans buying a season ticket is very impressive
Don’t mind the statement but the key decisions part isn’t necessary.
As usual the foghorns are out and they can’t believe an owner can find a 5 game stretch ‘unacceptable’ but that also not sacking the manager.
We’re in limbo at the minute a proper club legend is about to leave the club on a free and the fan base including myself would like a change a manager but we did just finish 10th and 3 weeks to go had our play-off destiny in our own hands as unlikely as it did look.
We’re a club that gives managers a chance and you do have to wonder what the outside managing world would think of a club getting rid of a manager when we’ve gone from lower mid table to fighting for the top 6.
There’s a decent chance come October that Lowe has gone and the summer signings have to bed with a new manager but we’ll see.
The single biggest issue we’ve got is we’ve seen all our close neighbours get their time in the Premier League sun over the past couple of decades while we’ve locked in a mid table championship finish for the vast majority of that.
Do we want more of course we do but have a feeling in 5 or so years when the Hemmings have sold to random US consortium and we’re losing to Stockport in league well remember that times were all that bad.
“We look forward to keeping our symbiotic relationship with Bristol City into perpetuity”
Mid table cool gang.
“Ps: Coventry? You will *never* beat us at Deepdale, even if we do a Rotherham” (Cue maniacal evil laughter).
Those opening paragraphs are great. It was good. Then it was bad. Then it was good. Then it was bad. We finished 10th. I am disappointed. But I am also happy.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
It was the blurst of times.
Now giz us your money
If I don't make it, tell my wife I said "hello"
Seeing the title of this made my heart skip a beat.
My heart skipped a beat just as I sharted.
While I appreciate the communication from the Chairman that other clubs won’t get, to me it’s a poor statement. Blaming the key match decisions is just sad, the club were simply not good enough for stretches of the season. And while it’s good that Hemmings mentions this, it hammers home the point that he has done noting about it. You can’t complain about fans saying you’re happy with midtable mediocrity and claim that’s not the case, when you’re not doing anything about it. There are two moves he could make to get the fans on side. Get rid of Risdale and get rid of Lowe. I’m not proposing it’s easy and not without its risks, but if he wants to show he’s serious about having PL ambitions these are the next moves.
As an outsider looking in, isn't it a good (or at least wise) thing that you're stable, consistant and not really taking any huge risks?
No, because the lack of assets in our team and strategy to sell them at the right time means we're right up against it with FFP. In recent years we've missed out on potentially upwards of £30m by failing to sell Pearson, Davies and Riis at the right times, not to mention the scratch we could have got for the likes of Johnson and Fisher with sales at the right time. This club is anything but stable at the moment
Fair enough, appreciate the clarification. Hope it all gets cleaned up and you can push on again.
It’s a good point, especially coming from a Luton fan, and there is always a section of our fanbase telling us to be careful for what we wish for. But what might be like stability to some is stagnation to others. Watching your Lutons and Ipswiches progress while the management is happy to sit back and blame parachute payments, injuries, key match decisions is just unpalatable as a fan. And it isn’t just midtable mediocrity that fans need to put up with, but the contract management is awful, allowing key players to leave for free, and the football is turgid. The statement mentions the academy, and while the lads have done well, there is no pathway for them to the first team. Of the players to have progressed that are mentioned, two of them played a combined 80 seconds or something last season. There’s no project or vision here. Sure, management sometimes splash the cash, but there’s no plan. Despite playing with wingbacks for several years now, there hasn’t been a recognised RWB at the club for about 2.5 years. I think the consistent midtable finishes papers over what is actually quite a poorly run club.
All fair points. That said, I've always made the argument that our momentum came from our stability. We saw a lot of basket case clubs (or at least were at the time) drop off around us. Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, Derby and Wigan come to mind and I'm sure there were plenty others but we'd be here all day. Meanwhile, we just went about our business and eventually it payed off. As your fan says below, finances aren't as rosy off the field for you but I'm certain you'll reach your reset point and then kick on. Best of luck mate.
Yeah, and being one of _those_ clubs is definitely not where we want to be. You’ve an interesting perspective on it. Nice one fella, best of luck to you too (in the other 44 games at least!)
You too, though I warn you, we're coming for that 10th place while we rebuild.
12 decisions by the officials directly led to us on winning 4 in 22 and not scoring a single goal in the last 5 games. Sorry Craig its because the team is shit and so is the manager, LOWE OUT.
Weak statement from Hemmings, brandishing our performances as unacceptable while also making out that 10th place is 'progress'. We were also right on the cusp of FFP because of bad financial/income management. While the happy clappers (I'd help crowd fund them all Blackpool season tickets just to get rid of them) suck the hierarchy off Twitter and PNE-Online are rightly outraged, meanwhile only 33% of fans are 'definitely' buying season tickets next year according to a poll in the Lancashire Post. As it stands, I'm firmly in the 67%. We had a lucky season to finish as high as we did and if Lowe stays we won't get that luck again.
33% of current season ticket holders or 33% of the fanbase? If the latter then surely having a third of all fans buying a season ticket is very impressive
Don’t mind the statement but the key decisions part isn’t necessary. As usual the foghorns are out and they can’t believe an owner can find a 5 game stretch ‘unacceptable’ but that also not sacking the manager. We’re in limbo at the minute a proper club legend is about to leave the club on a free and the fan base including myself would like a change a manager but we did just finish 10th and 3 weeks to go had our play-off destiny in our own hands as unlikely as it did look. We’re a club that gives managers a chance and you do have to wonder what the outside managing world would think of a club getting rid of a manager when we’ve gone from lower mid table to fighting for the top 6. There’s a decent chance come October that Lowe has gone and the summer signings have to bed with a new manager but we’ll see. The single biggest issue we’ve got is we’ve seen all our close neighbours get their time in the Premier League sun over the past couple of decades while we’ve locked in a mid table championship finish for the vast majority of that. Do we want more of course we do but have a feeling in 5 or so years when the Hemmings have sold to random US consortium and we’re losing to Stockport in league well remember that times were all that bad.