Realistic expectations for LG1 24/25

[tottz]

Funny, I voted mid table back in the summer and was fairly resigned to that. Just didn't see a way we could overcome years of losing and turn it around in one season.

Now we look on course to fulfill that, turns out I'm absolutely fuming.

[runner76]

Still can’t believe how many voted top 2…..explains why it’s so depressing on DATM

Voted for play off positions and, despite recent poor run, still happy with that prediction.

There will be 2-3 some way ahead of the rest, I reckon. Then a pot where we will be where it might be any 4 from 10 or so…..

I don’t think we will be anywhere near the doldrums back end season

[irverino]

Derby finished 2nd last season on 92 points, they had a slow start to the campaign with just 14 pts after 10 games, gradually they got going to reach 46 points from 23 games at New Year.
If Birmingham are to walk to the title then the runners spot looks anyone's currently.......Even the bookies haven't a clue who wants it looking at the odds.

[runner76]

Oct 4, 2024 11:15:30 GMT 1 irverino said:

Derby finished 2nd last season on 92 points, they had a slow start to the campaign with just 14 pts after 10 games, gradually they got going to reach 46 points from 23 games at New Year.
If Birmingham are to walk to the title then the runners spot looks anyone's currently.......Even the bookies haven't a clue who wants it looking at the odds.

Yeah. So far seems like Brum nailed on champs and second could be anyone…….

It’s how we finish the season that matters….

[Tinpot]

I think 2nd would have been a realistic target with the squad we have - with the caveat that a playoff berth would be acceptable.

Nobody will be complaining about promotion, regardless of whether it's our first automatic promotion in 42 years or through the playoffs.

I suppose the two questions left are:

1) Below what level does this become an unacceptable season?

2) Where do we actually think we'll finish?

Every club in this division below Birmingham will fit at least one of the following as an acceptable season:

* Lose in the playoff final
* Lose in the playoff semis
* Just miss out on top 6
* Miss out on top 6 but still top half
* Bottom half but comfortably avoid relegation
* Narrowly avoid relegation
* Relegated but at least going down fighting.

I'm not sure where the line is for us. At the start of the season I thought we'd just miss out on top 6. Now I think we'll be bottom half but comfortably avoid relegation. Neither feels like they're acceptable though - even if you disregard the "challenging for the PL in 3 years" narrative.

[overtonterrierspirit]

The narrative coming out of the club at the end of last season was that all efforts will be made to get out of this league, this season.
A lot of great work was carried out to make the stadium look better and work on the offices etc was carried out to set us up for what was hoped to be a successful season.
On the playing side, the key signing in my mind, was going to be a striker.
We have failed to do this again and my one real criticism of the club is that I think we should have been prepared to spend money on this position. Not a ridiculous, unrealistic amount but enough to solve a massive problem.
I think alarm bells started ringing with lots of us after the first few games, despite the good position in the table, we could see that the team were falling short.
Personally, I still think there is just about enough time to resurrect a promotion challenge, but this has to start on Saturday and yes, the fans need to play their part - despite our stress and worry over how things have been going recently.
A few wins and I think we can still realistically expect promotion.

[willo]

Oct 4, 2024 12:16:49 GMT 1 overtonterrierspirit said:

The narrative coming out of the club at the end of last season was that all efforts will be made to get out of this league, this season.
A lot of great work was carried out to make the stadium look better and work on the offices etc was carried out to set us up for what was hoped to be a successful season.
On the playing side, the key signing in my mind, was going to be a striker.
We have failed to do this again and my one real criticism of the club is that I think we should have been prepared to spend money on this position. Not a ridiculous, unrealistic amount but enough to solve a massive problem.
I think alarm bells started ringing with lots of us after the first few games, despite the good position in the table, we could see that the team were falling short.
Personally, I still think there is just about enough time to resurrect a promotion challenge, but this has to start on Saturday and yes, the fans need to play their part - despite our stress and worry over how things have been going recently.
A few wins and I think we can still realistically expect promotion.

Saturday might come too early for us but following the next international break, there are some very winnable games (certainly on paper). However I thought we’d be dead certs to beat Northampton Town so what do I know? Maybe mid-table is where we’re at with this team and we’ll just have to accept that.

[deepc]

We have played two really good halves away from home Posh and Bolton.We were extremely fortunate to beat Stevenage and Shrewsbury at home.
Rotherham was appalling,don’t let’s kid ourselves about a dodgy penalty award.It was an awful performance.
Northampton was laugh out loud bad.The one defeat that really started the alarm bells ringing for me was Blackpool.They were streets ahead of us in every department.We held Brum to one goal in a game which we all expected to loose.Which brings it to Barnsley.
I cannot see where the turnaround is going to come from with this group of Players..Toothless in attack,a porous defence and an absent midfield.I have just read that MD says that Kane “wasn’t in the condition we wanted” when he reported back for preseason.Which brings it back to recruitment.
We have signed a group of mentally weak and physically injury prone players.
I remember the fall through the leagues in the 1970’s and this has the same stench of weakness about it.The fans gave up on the team back then.It has started to happen this time around.I know several who won’t be there on Saturday.This for the biggest local derby.

We have a coach who cannot find a system that the players can operate under.They are either too thick to take things on board or physically unable to carry out his plans.I don’t think it was the wisest thing for MD to come out the day before a local derby and say he should not have left the managers chair for the opposition to go to Swansea.
We also have an owner that believes that our strike force😂😂will come good with better coaching.
Absolute madness.
We are going to hell in a handcart and at the moment don’t see any way to arrest the fall.
Anyone got Mick Buxton’s number..?

[irverino]

Current top four promotion candidates (Brum 1/3, Wrexham 11/1, Bolton 14/1, Town 16/1) go head to head tonight, two home wins (Brum/Wrex) is a 3/1 double, two away wins (Bolton/Town) @10/1.......Two draws 12/1.

[dezzly]

Having watched 12 league games so far now and seeing the standard I really do think the second automatic spot is a very very realistic target.
We are improving and performance levels are much better now and results justified.
I also think we will continue to improve and also crucially we now look more of a team.
I think the one big reason if we weren’t to get autos would be complacency or slackness.
Wrexham are a decent side and you can see why with their relentless style and aggression they would overwhelm a lot of sides in the division.They do lack real quality but the style if they can keep it up will see them up there I think.
We currently sit 5th 3 points above 15th…but the team in 15th…Bristol rovers.Barnsley sit on the same points!!To me now the penny seems to have dropped with us we are a much better side than those.
I’m hoping we now don’t throw in a stinker on Saturday but it really is there for us if we want it.

[dezzly]

open.substack.com/pub/weareterriers/p/how-likely-is-promotion-for-huddersfield?r=30y0eq&utm_medium=ios

Not sure if those who don’t subscribe can read this but an interesting read and something fans can maybe work off as the season goes on.

[jp]

These international breaks are ruining the game. What the hell is the point of them anymore? Does anyone actually bother watching England versus Greece etc? The World Cup games were utterly unwatchable, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than watch qualifiers/friendlies.

We’re in the 3rd tier. Why on earth is there even a break? it’s bad enough standard as it is. The relentless nature of weekly matches was the only advantage of relegation.

[irverino]

Two 3-2 defeats to Brum (H) & Wrexham (A) in the opening week of the season are the only losses inflicted on Wycombe Wanders in the league, two 2-2 away draws at Barnsley & Blackpool (who both scored late equalisers) are the only other points they have dropped.

KN stated he wants a top two spot to gain promotion, but realistically we are going to be lucky to make the play offs on current performances & results.

With Sac now out of the way maybe Kev should be looking at spending Jan/Feb in the UK to oversee his ambition.......Otherwise our season could end in a similar way to Republics, badly.

[willo]

Went for outside the play-offs, just a little over the halfway mark, prior to a ball being kicked and I’ve seen absolutely nothing so far on a remotely consistent basis that we’ll be anything different. What’s really frustrating is that League 1 is a very poor league, far worse than I was expecting tbh, and with the right attitude we could have been bang in contention. We’re miles off as it stands, far too many average to poor players.

[goodbet]

Before the season started I thought that we would be in the bottom half,this was based on watching the team last season and they reminded me of the team that came down from the Premier League.

When we were relegated last time, the squad looked shocked tired and appeared to be running through treacle most games and to add to that the club was in a complete shambles. Hence the echoes of the previous relegation team.

As others have noted, the league is worse than expected so we should finish above half-way even if we don't change anything. Not a thrilling prospect to watch.

[Big Ern]

We are currently sitting exactly where I predicted us to be at the start of the season. We haven't got enough winners in this squad. Players with fragile mentalities and a complete lack of ideas in the dugout. I expected better from Duff to be honest bit it's a combination of poor signings and poor in game management.

Unless we show real ambition in January this season for me is going to be a complete failure and I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

[dumbo]

Nov 10, 2024 13:13:40 GMT 1 Big Ern said:

We are currently sitting exactly where I predicted us to be at the start of the season. We haven't got enough winners in this squad. Players with fragile mentalities and a complete lack of ideas in the dugout. I expected better from Duff to be honest bit it's a combination of poor signings and poor in game management.

Unless we show real ambition in January this season for me is going to be a complete failure and I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

Would you even want to show real ambition this January?

It means trusting Cartwright with big spending and signing long contracts. Potentially tieing us into the Duff 532 system. Ambition could easily backfire and harm us long term.

I'd be happy with the Joe Taylor deal getting completed for a fair price, but if I was Kev I wouldn't overpay and not sure I'd do it at all.

Top 2 chance has gone either way and we should make the playoffs even with the current squad.

I'd be trying for a loan or two and focusing on transfer outs. Then interviewing a new DoF ready for next summer when we have a bunch of contracts up.

[isitjustme]

Nov 10, 2024 13:42:52 GMT 1 dumbo said:

Nov 10, 2024 13:13:40 GMT 1 Big Ern said:

We are currently sitting exactly where I predicted us to be at the start of the season. We haven't got enough winners in this squad. Players with fragile mentalities and a complete lack of ideas in the dugout. I expected better from Duff to be honest bit it's a combination of poor signings and poor in game management.

Unless we show real ambition in January this season for me is going to be a complete failure and I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

Would you even want to show real ambition this January?

It means trusting Cartwright with big spending and signing long contracts. Potentially tieing us into the Duff 532 system. Ambition could easily backfire and harm us long term.

I'd be happy with the Joe Taylor deal getting completed for a fair price, but if I was Kev I wouldn't overpay and not sure I'd do it at all.

Top 2 chance has gone either way and we should make the playoffs even with the current squad.

I'd be trying for a loan or two and focusing on transfer outs. Then interviewing a new DoF ready for next summer when we have a bunch of contracts up.

Absolutely this......!!!

[Big Ern]

Nov 10, 2024 13:42:52 GMT 1 dumbo said:

Nov 10, 2024 13:13:40 GMT 1 Big Ern said:

We are currently sitting exactly where I predicted us to be at the start of the season. We haven't got enough winners in this squad. Players with fragile mentalities and a complete lack of ideas in the dugout. I expected better from Duff to be honest bit it's a combination of poor signings and poor in game management.

Unless we show real ambition in January this season for me is going to be a complete failure and I have seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

Would you even want to show real ambition this January?

It means trusting Cartwright with big spending and signing long contracts. Potentially tieing us into the Duff 532 system. Ambition could easily backfire and harm us long term.

I'd be happy with the Joe Taylor deal getting completed for a fair price, but if I was Kev I wouldn't overpay and not sure I'd do it at all.

Top 2 chance has gone either way and we should make the playoffs even with the current squad.

I'd be trying for a loan or two and focusing on transfer outs. Then interviewing a new DoF ready for next summer when we have a bunch of contracts up.

I do agree, think we need to chalk this season down to experience and then completely rebuild in the summer. If I'm not mistaken these are all out of contract:

Helik
Kasumu
Ward
Koroma
Lees
Pearson
Hogg
Maxwell
Headley
Turton
Ruffels
Ayina
High
Hodge- return to parent club
Lonwijk- return to parent club
Marshall- return to parent club

That is one hell of a lot of players. I can see Pearson and Helik, perhaps Kasumu offered new contracts but the rest I reckon will leave.

If we can't rebuild from that then we do have serious investment issues.

[dezzly]

I think it will all come down to where we are at come the new year as to what we do in January.I’m not going to write automatics off just yet but under no illusions it’s now a tall order,especially with Wycombe doing what they’ve done recently,they thrown a real spanner in the works.
We probably won’t fit the game with them in before Christmas.If we include the New Year’s Day game we will likely have 9 league games.
To still have anything like a sniff of autos I genuinely think we need to win 6 and draw a couple of those 9.That would leave us on 43 points with 23 played 23 left.
Repeat the same form second half of the season and 86 points most likely lands you in the play off spots.
Slightly improve on it and you’ve a decent chance at autos.
Right now even with the league form improving no one could have any confidence that we’ll put a run like that together up to the new year though it’s not completely laughable.
If we can put that together I think it puts us in a better place mentally(fans and players) to be able to exceed the first half season points tally in the second half of the season.
If we come up short and are sat on around 37/38 points im not sure anyone will believe it’s anything other than playoffs(which should be a bare minimum)
The next 6 weeks are hugely important.

[captainblack]

I hope I am completely out of touch , but I cannot see us making the play offs at the present time.
If we dabble in the January transfer window successfully , things may alter . However a lot of
Town fans will be sceptical about doing good business in January . Our recruitment has been poor
for the last few seasons.

[dezzly]

Nov 12, 2024 8:34:14 GMT 1 captainblack said:

I hope I am completely out of touch , but I cannot see us making the play offs at the present time.
If we dabble in the January transfer window successfully , things may alter . However a lot of
Town fans will be sceptical about doing good business in January . Our recruitment has been poor
for the last few seasons.

You may end up being correct but when 2 points off 4th and 5th and 1 off 6th I’m inclined to think we’ve a very decent chance.League form improved and when you take the fact that Barnsley are 4th and how easily we put them away I think playoffs should be likely.

[royrace]

Nov 12, 2024 8:34:14 GMT 1 captainblack said:

I hope I am completely out of touch , but I cannot see us making the play offs at the present time.
If we dabble in the January transfer window successfully , things may alter . However a lot of
Town fans will be sceptical about doing good business in January . Our recruitment has been poor
for the last few seasons.

Based on past performance and the difficulty in the January market I'm expecting nothing. And I can't get excited about a Luton reserve striker who Cartwright seems to have hung his hat on. Luton will probably be a L1 team next season and he can't get a sniff.

His transfers have been terrible to date, no reason to expect any different.

Regarding expectations, the club have made us clear they expect a top two finish. That's looking highly unlikely at the moment... So what happens next?

[irverino]

Nov 12, 2024 10:00:41 GMT 1 royrace said:

Nov 12, 2024 8:34:14 GMT 1 captainblack said:

I hope I am completely out of touch , but I cannot see us making the play offs at the present time.
If we dabble in the January transfer window successfully , things may alter . However a lot of
Town fans will be sceptical about doing good business in January . Our recruitment has been poor
for the last few seasons.

Based on past performance and the difficulty in the January market I'm expecting nothing. And I can't get excited about a Luton reserve striker who Cartwright seems to have hung his hat on. Luton will probably be a L1 team next season and he can't get a sniff.

His transfers have been terrible to date, no reason to expect any different.

Regarding expectations, the club have made us clear they expect a top two finish. That's looking highly unlikely at the moment... So what happens next?

Kev needs to rent somewhere for six months nearby in January (one of DH at Fixby, Holmfirth or CH etc), if he really wants to finish in the top two then that's my advice to him......Hands on with everyone on their toes, maybe then he will get a clearer picture, worked for Dean in the early days.

[runner76]

Was thinking playoffs before the season kicked off and I still think playoffs.

This is a shit league and I think we will be just that bit less shit than most other teams.

No way automatic.

[terriersyndrome]

Said on page 1 we needed to sign leaders, we're over a quarter of the way through the season and Duff is still going on about how fragile the group are mentally.

Just more evidence that Cartwright doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

[sabailand]

Nov 12, 2024 11:24:46 GMT 1 runner76 said:

Was thinking playoffs before the season kicked off and I still think playoffs.

This is a shit league and I think we will be just that bit less shit than most other teams.

No way automatic.

Agree, after relegation a play-off place would be a great effort and is very doable.

[royrace]

Nov 12, 2024 11:38:15 GMT 1 terriersyndrome said:

Said on page 1 we needed to sign leaders, we're over a quarter of the way through the season and Duff is still going on about how fragile the group are mentally.

Just more evidence that Cartwright doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

Isn't that page three of Cartwrights book of excuses? Has he blamed Warnock's pre season yet? Mentally fragile and they've spent millions on crap players, not one of them the type of leader that could galvanise a group? I'm thinking a Peter Clark, Rob Page, Barry Horne type. A Grant Holt or Alan Lee up front maybe, instead we get the antithesis in the form of Radulovic.

Getting very bored of excuses, hopefully the owner is too.

[goodbet]

Nov 12, 2024 17:01:55 GMT 1 royrace said:

Nov 12, 2024 11:38:15 GMT 1 terriersyndrome said:

Said on page 1 we needed to sign leaders, we're over a quarter of the way through the season and Duff is still going on about how fragile the group are mentally.

Just more evidence that Cartwright doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

Isn't that page three of Cartwrights book of excuses? Has he blamed Warnock's pre season yet? Mentally fragile and they've spent millions on crap players, not one of them the type of leader that could galvanise a group? I'm thinking a Peter Clark, Rob Page, Barry Horne type. A Grant Holt or Alan Lee up front maybe, instead we get the antithesis in the form of Radulovic.

Getting very bored of excuses, hopefully the owner is too.

It is not like it hasn't been pointed out on here numerous times as well.

[Essex Terrier]

We are at best a mid table side.

Ends.