THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

....but do you think for the "long term" future of the club that it is better that we do get relegated on Saturday.

If we stay up - will things really change much going into next season? Jacko will prob stay and a nunber of others.
If we go down - there would no doubt be an investigation into what went wrong with maybe real changes being made?

Is it worth a bit of short term pain to be stronger in the long term?

In the long-term, I honestly don't think it makes that much of a difference either way.

_________________
It's Pete's train set, and we should all feel honoured to be granted the privilege of paying to play with it.

"Shut the fuck up, you sausage!"

I look at the likes of Everton for this one. There was so much happiness that super Frank kept them up last season that it looked like they had won the league, but then look at them this season again no clue and if big Sean keeps (big if) them up then the merry go round starts anew as they have little funds to enhance a squad that bar keeper looks woeful (I mean when you sign Burnley players what did they think was going to happen).

Thing is from our POV I would like to think the fan expectations (and the clubs) would be a lot lower and if we are in the relegation mix in league one (god forbid it would be a League two relegation fight) then we wouldn't be as pissed as we are now. It is the fall from grace so hard that personally for me has been the bitter pill to swallow. But our first 11 with a bit more thought and a few additions might be ok. The subs/reserves have been lacking IMO especially defence and upfront, but did we really think all the injuries to defenders would happen this season. If the club manage their words carefully. Not promise the earth like they did this season then league one should be ok. Regardless of what league we are in I do not want Jackson sacked. There is nothing to suggest in our last three managers that we have the clout to get anyone that people would called "seasoned EFL managers" and even when we had Tisdale certain people hated his brand of football, which I can fully understand. We just have to get out of our heads that we are anything special, cause this season has proven we are not.

What “real” changes are you thinking of that would be best for the long term future of the club?

2018 was a much needed reset. We’d been dropping ever since relegation from the championship and the club was a shambles in trying to define life after Robbo.

This is a failure. There’s no way we should be in this position with a fair few of the same players as last season. If/when we go down on Sunday, all I will feel is anger at how it has come to this.

_________________
Cuboid of bum fluff

Oh I thought it was going to be about voting Tory.

_________________
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

Long term, whatever that might mean in football, I dont think it matters a great deal either way. Im not certain what 'real' changes you might expect. discounts on a cup of coffee for season ticket holders or a few percent off in the club shirt shop arent real changes.

If you want Pete to sell up and go then that might constitute real change but thats not always for the immediate better. Sometimes it is as well but I dont suppose either side of that equation were ever certain which way they would go.

It'd be better to be L1 because we're higher up and have less to climb to rebuild. Takes a year off any kind of rebuild, you'd think (ideally)...

Going down won't be the kick up the arse we need. The kick up the arse should happen regardless. If the mob upstairs think that were okay because we stayed up, think again. Major MAJOR reconsideration to our approach next season. We cannot go in blindly thinking things can only go well, we need to cover all bases and ensure we're not in this situation again.

My worry is that we won't. We'll be stuck with the same gagger, and a lot of the same players.

_________________
"It's not about hoping this little moment will change our momentum, its about our daily actions and courage in everything we do.. We've got to stop believing in fairytales"

- Graham Alexander, October 2023

Honestly I think a rebuild would be easier in league 1 at this time than in league 2. Another season of high player turnover in the summer window is not the answer. We need to add a few quality additions and build on the better players we have (O'Hora, Harvie, Watson, Josh Mc, Leko and Eisa). Dropping down to league 2 would make it much harder to hold on to those players.

I don’t think it’s an unpopular thought, I’ve mused over this point in the Meltdown, and I can’t say I reached any conclusions.
If we survive on Sunday or get relegated, there should be discussions on the whole mess both on and off the field that have left fans feeling underwhelmed at the football and taken for granted off it.
There is no doubt we pay top dollar at the concessions for poor product, and a price for club travel that is frankly laughable it’s so high.
I have done a price comparison with every other club in League 1 and we are higher than everyone, and not just by a couple of quid.
I came up with a plan several years ago to subsidise or even as much as free travel for fans and presented it to the club, to this day I doubt they even read it.

_________________
Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight