Expectations - 05/06

[Dazzza]

As things stand it looks like the majority of the squad is in place for the season so let's get the ball rolling on the old classic expectations thread.

Must admit really finding it a tough call this season, looking at the likely squad to face Barnsley there will probably only be 3/4 players starting from last season.  No Parkin who had pretty much become a guarantee against relegation and a hell of a lot of players that for one reason or another didn’t play much football last season.  A lack of league opposition pre-season and so many new players in the team hasn’t really helped clarify anything.

That said Whalley, Cureton and Thorpe all look to me like solid additions with a decent track record.  Smith and Collins on loan from Sheff Wed both look to be capable and have some experience.  While the pair of Shakes and Nicolau look to be quite exciting prospects and could turn out to be excellent acquisitions.

The concern has to be in midfield.  Not that we have ever had that midfield enforcer under King but there is a real lack of depth and by his own admission the side looks ‘lightweight’.  Not necessarily an obstacle to success if the side can play to its strengths but the question for me has to be can King get them to gel and play consistently rather than resorting to the hoof, dropping back to deep and panicking when the going gets tough.

So without further ado I’ll go for…..

Optimistically – Playoffs
Realistically – 7th -12th
Acceptable – 7th -15th  

Amen

[Spud]

Im gonna say 8th.

[yeo]

Obviously much depends upon injurys with such a paper thin squad.I find it hard to comment on a lot of the new players as I dont know enough about them.I do know that Kingy  has a good eye for a player and that good enough for me.

My gut instinct makes me think that Cureton will do well,I expect a great season from Fallon and O'Hanlan.I suspect thorpe will be a let down (hope im wrong though)

I see us finishing 14th.

[spacey]

Bollocks to that!

We're well goin' up

Even our shit players are great!

C'mon!

[Bob's Orange]

Again, injuries will have a big say in our small squad. Defensively I think we'll struggle this season and could leak a lot of goals. On paper, we have some good forwards, lets hope whoever King plays up front gels quickly and they can fire the goals that we'll miss after SSP's departure.

My key man this season is Gareth Whalley and my prediction is a rather lowly 15th.  :|

[Reg Smeeton]

I've consistently predicted a struggle this season.......if you ignore the real world, then you can make a case for us being half decent.....Cureton and Thorpe are proven scorers, Fallon has been our best player pre season, Migs and Whalley are class acts ...Roberts can be tremendous.....JI ansd SOH ought to be the best pair in the Div.....Rhys is a top young goalkeeper....Shakes and Nicolau might blossom and Jack Smith seems a steady defender with some CCC experience.

 Unfortunately in the real world neither Thorpe or Cureton played much last season, Migs is injured again....Rhys is injured and will miss the start of the season..Roberts has been crap since his crash and hernia....and its difficult for youngsters to come into a struggling side where the senior players aren't doing it.

 Jerel is still making routine blunders.....and teh likes of Nicho are goners.

[Dazzza]

I've consistently predicted a struggle this season.......if you ignore the real world, then you can make a case for us being half decent.....Cureton and Thorpe are proven scorers, Fallon has been our best player pre season, Migs and Whalley are class acts ...Roberts can be tremendous.....JI ansd SOH ought to be the best pair in the Div.....Rhys is a top young goalkeeper....Shakes and Nicolau might blossom and Jack Smith seems a steady defender with some CCC experience.

 Unfortunately in the real world neither Thorpe or Cureton played much last season, Migs is injured again....Rhys is injured and will miss the start of the season..Roberts has been crap since his crash and hernia....and its difficult for youngsters to come into a struggling side where the senior players aren't doing it.

 Jerel is still making routine blunders.....and teh likes of Nicho are goners.

Fully agree although the law averages should mean that at least a few of those capable should perform so I'd be dissapointed if we really do struggle in the depths.

Mind you this is Swindon Town where the law of averages equates to sods law.

[reeves4england]

We have the capability of doing well.
We have the liability of making it too hard for ourselves.

Hopefully the new forwards can score plenty of goals, and with an average defensive record that should see us around mid-table, perhaps close to the play-offs if things go well.

[Johno]

i think mid table would be realistic...playoffs would be optimistic for me, but is possible.

[STFC_Chris]

I'm fairly optimistic despite the small squad, leaky defence, non-existant midfield and high proportion of youngters that we will do well this year. I've no idea why :?. We have managed to get some quality players in (Cureton, Whalley etc) and I believe, if they can stay fit and on form, that they are capable of making up for the areas in which we are lacking.

So...
Optimistically - Top two  
Realistically - Playoffs

Edit: Having read that back it sounds totally ridiculous, however I stand by my word...for now.

[Sippo]

i really hope we make the playoffs. i would love it if we do, last game of the season we sneak in on 6th pipping city who will finish 7th    

But realastically I think we will finish bottom half. I hate to think it but I reckon just above the relegation.

[Bedford Red]

Like everyone else I think it could go either way.

If we can stay free of injuries and the players perform then top half and possible play-offs.

The small squad and how we start will count a lot this season, can't see us finishing near the bottom though. However many we let in I'm confident we'll score enough to win games.

[Ben Wah Balls]

The pre-season has been better than I expected and I think we have a good basic team, with the addition of Collins the defence looks decent and the team has potential.

However, realistically although we have an outside chance of the playoffs, that would be an incredible achievement. Injuries could prove to be a problem but I would be happy with a mid table finish which I believe we are more than capable of achieving. Any more than that would be a huge bonus. A lot depends on how well the youth players perform and whether they can provide adequate backup.

The season could go either way but should be interesting nonetheless and it is good to see so many new players who will hopefully want to play for us more than some of the old ones.

[CARTMAN]

is it just our fans or does it go on at every club? why is everyone saying we are going to be shit this year? the quality at the club is there for all to see, ok we don't have a massive squad but tell me at this level who does?

we should be optimstic about the players we have, we finished mid table last season with a crap team, i am fed up with people kicking the shit out of any ounce of optimisum that comes out of the county ground.

remember if you have a positive attitude only good things happen  

[sonicyouth]

long post alert!

On a personal level, I'm really excited by the start of the season this Saturday, I've been to a couple of pre-season friendlies and for the first time in years I feel I've had a proper close season break, no footy at all - just cricket. Possibly because of this I'm feeling optimistic but I'm not sure.

King's signed some experienced and proven players at this level, Thorpe, Cureton and Whalley all have the potential to be top players in this division but their careers have been on a downward slope for the past couple of years. However, if you remember when Mooney joined us he was bouncing around clubs on loan, failing to score and admitted himself that he was at his lowest. What happened? He scored 20 goals for us and got us into the play-offs. I can honestly see Cureton doing the same, he's looked good in pre-season and seems to have the right attitude. Similarly, Whalley has impressed me and I think that whilst he won't be the lynchpin we so desperately need, he will provide the neccessary skill in the centre of the park to link the defence and the forwards, hopefully stopping any long-ball shite.

Furthermore, I feel that both Nicolau and Shakes will play a first team part this season and will step up to first team football effortlessly, Nicolau was impressive for Southend last season and he's looked handy in pre-season, willing to run with the ball and even stay out wide. For the first time in a few years, we've got two naturally left and right footed wingers - I hope King uses them properly.

If you look at the player's we've got at the club currently, there are a number of players who we know are capable of performing but were not consistent in the last campaign. During our play-off run in 03/04, Evans, Ifil, Fallon and Nicholas all played key roles and were players that all of us felt could go on to do even better. It is vital that they improve this season - although I am confident that Fallon will perform at a level that will surprise many -  it is doubtful that players like Ifil and Nicholas can ever regain the form they have shown in the past. Without a decent second goalkeeper Evans will never be pushed enough to perform like he did in his first season.

Possibly the most important player for us this season will be Sean O'Hanlon (and not just because we've sponsored him), he really needs to set an example and continue performing in the same vein that he has more or less since he joined us. King might call him the best centre-back in the division and whilst that's probably not true, he is without doubt the best centre-back we've got and could provide the rock to build the team around.

Two other players who have struggled due to injuries really need to keep fit this season with our threadbare squad, no surprises that those two are Roberts and Miglioranzi. Everybody knows what they're capable of when fit but there is far too much riding on their respective injury records. Stef is without doubt the best footballer at the club and combined with Whalley in the middle, the midfield may lack the punch which may have been provided by Smith, it will outplay the vast majority of teams in this division.

Finally, the youngsters - Pook in particular. I have high hopes for this lad and I am hugely confident that he will be able to perform consistently at a high enough level to warrant a first team spot throughout the season. He's confident, can use the ball, isn't afraid of tackling and working hard and can score goals as well. I wouldn't have any hesitations throwing him in the deep end at Barnsley on Saturday, you've got to start somewhere so why not at the start of the season? It's unlikely that Wells, Lapham and Caton will play much of a part over the forthcoming season, it's worth noting that Caton was outstanding against Crawley and that was playing on the left wing. For a lad so young and quite frankly so lacking in body strength, he was taking players on throughout the game and beating them nearly every time - that sort of willingness really impresses me. Again, whilst I doubt he will be involved much this season it's encouraging that he's impressed already.

As for a prediction, there is far too many factors to consider. If we keep clear of injuries and the players I pinpointed raise their performance levels, I feel that we've got a team capable of challenging for the playoffs. We've got the goals but can we defend as a team and stop conceding them? If we manage that, then we'll be flying. There's no doubt that the squad is too small and that could hinder us, but we're due some luck and whilst I'm not naive enough to actually believe the world works that way, I've got my fingers crossed nevertheless. Overall, I feel that the playoffs are a distinct possibility but I remain cautiously optimistic. However, anybody predicting a struggle this season must be on crack. We had a worse team/squad last season and we didn't struggle that badly, we were just horribly mediocre.

Anyway, roll on Saturday!