3spirit Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Having read the 'end of season thoughts' thread, and articles by ' Bakes and Unders' in the Slough Observer and Slough Express today, it got me thinking about the difference between 'hopes' and 'expectations' of the fans and the managers themselves. For me, finishing in the top 10 and having a great 'Cup' run would be pleasing and satisfactory for next season but there's many fans who will think, that is a complete failure. For them, it seems 'play-offs' or nothing. Of course, I would love to see us make the play offs or even win the title but is that realistic? Even with five ' better' players new to the team, that is going to take some doing. From my viewpoint, I see this season as one where we cement our position as one of the better teams in the Southern Premier, and then have minimal change through next summer, to put us in the position to challenge for honours in the 2017-2018 season, when hopefully our attendances have improved with the new stadium, and that business sponsorship has been forthcoming and ongoing. There are no guarantees in football. What will be, will be but one thing I would like our managers to say in the media, is that any team facing the Rebels are in a tough game [ and not the other way around, that the teams we face are going to be tough ! With belief, who knows how far our team will reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staines_rebel_Jr Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Entertaining attacking football at home !!! No excuses of a bad pitch now we are on 3G pitch. I'm expecting great things from warren Harris this year as we all know what he is capable of. Hopefully we see the Waren Harris from the promotion winning year. As fans we must make sure that at home games we are as loud as anyone else in the league and encourage good play. The best way to keep new fans coming back is by creating a great loud and welcoming atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3spirit Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Entertaining attacking football at home !!! No excuses of a bad pitch now we are on 3G pitch. I'm expecting great things from warren Harris this year as we all know what he is capable of. Hopefully we see the Waren Harris from the promotion winning year. As fans we must make sure that at home games we are as loud as anyone else in the league and encourage good play. The best way to keep new fans coming back is by creating a great loud and welcoming atmosphere. Nothing I don't agree with there, SRJ. To be fair, Wazza had that bad hernia injury and has stepped up a division to when the promotion year was. He's beginning to look sharp again but we need back up/cover for him, as I don't expect him to do it all and last season I thought we were over reliant on him. Will be interested to see how good he is on 3g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishadrian Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Not sure how much of an advantage the 3g pitch will be More suited to some players style (Putman) for example but every team opposing us will also be playing on the same pitch Im sure we will see more attractive football but possibly from both teams 3Spirit you say you want us to cement our position as one of the better teams but imo 16th/17th hardly makes us one of the better teams I think we must strive to become one of the better teams with a high as possible ambition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I think realistically we can only expect the squad to achieve a final position in the league marginally better than where we finish in the attendance league table. This season we finished 12th in the attendance league table with an average of 279..... next season I would hope attendances will increase to over 300, so would hope we can finish in the top 10. At some stage if we can average attendances of 500 I would expect us to be making the play-offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staines_rebel_Jr Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Attendances have little effect on final league position. None of the top three supported teams made the play offs and Hungerford who got promoted came 17th in attendance table with an average of only 199. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Really? Of the top 10 best attended sides, 9 finished in the top ten places in the league. Hungerford were the exception, and Dorchester underperformed finishing 13th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenSTFC Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Id be personally pretty disappointed if we only averaged around 300 in a new stadium. Yes results/performance will make a big difference but I would hope with some big summer signings, lots of media coverage of the new stadium and some decent marketing I would hope over 400 if we're mid table to 500 if flirting with the play-offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3spirit Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Not sure how much of an advantage the 3g pitch will be More suited to some players style (Putman) for example but every team opposing us will also be playing on the same pitch Im sure we will see more attractive football but possibly from both teams 3Spirit you say you want us to cement our position as one of the better teams but imo 16th/17th hardly makes us one of the better teams I think we must strive to become one of the better teams with a high as possible ambition Irishadrian, next season we have to strive to be a hard team to beat and one that knows how to win games. Last season we had glimpses of what could be achieved when we acquired certain players that enhanced us. Had Charlie Mpi and to a lesser extent Ed Smith stayed till the end of the season, we would have finished higher in the table than we did. Losing players that are among our best ones would affect any team. With the right player acquisitions, I believe we will keep moving forward in our efforts to become one of the better teams, although it will take longer than a wave of a magic wand ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staines_rebel_Jr Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 1-Poole (5th) 2-Redditch (9th) 3-Hitchin (4th) 4-Hungerford (17th) 5-Leamington (7th) 6-Kettering (2nd) 7-Weymouth (1st) 8-Chippenham (10th) 9-Kings Lynn (3rd) 10-Merthyr (6th) 11-Chesham (13th) 12-Dunstable (23rd) 13-Dorchester (8th) 14-Biggleswade (20th) 15-Cirencester (24th) 16-Frome (16th) 17-Slough (12th) 18-Cambridge (19th) 19-Stratford (15th) 20-St Neots (11th) 21-Bedworth (18th) 22-Histon (14th) 23-Bideford (21st) 24-Paulton (22nd) (Attendance table) Most teams attendances clearly don't impact on final league position otherwise Weymouth and Kettering would have been promoted but instead didn't make play offs. Dunstable and Cirencester would have been relegated but instead sat well safe in mid table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishadrian Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I think its significant that between 11th and 24th place 14 teams there is only 1 in the top 10 for attendances Success attracts increased support without doubt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reading Rebel Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 I think its significant that between 11th and 24th place 14 teams there is only 1 in the top 10 for attendances Success attracts increased support without doubt Apart from Hungerford and Chippenham it's also no coincidence that the top 10 teams are historically the biggest teams and as such have the largest support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reading Rebel Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Having read the 'end of season thoughts' thread, and articles by ' Bakes and Unders' in the Slough Observer and Slough Express today, it got me thinking about the difference between 'hopes' and 'expectations' of the fans and the managers themselves. For me, finishing in the top 10 and having a great 'Cup' run would be pleasing and satisfactory for next season but there's many fans who will think, that is a complete failure. For them, it seems 'play-offs' or nothing. Of course, I would love to see us make the play offs or even win the title but is that realistic? Even with five ' better' players new to the team, that is going to take some doing. From my viewpoint, I see this season as one where we cement our position as one of the better teams in the Southern Premier, and then have minimal change through next summer, to put us in the position to challenge for honours in the 2017-2018 season, when hopefully our attendances have improved with the new stadium, and that business sponsorship has been forthcoming and ongoing. There are no guarantees in football. What will be, will be but one thing I would like our managers to say in the media, is that any team facing the Rebels are in a tough game [ and not the other way around, that the teams we face are going to be tough ! With belief, who knows how far our team will reach. All managers at all levels will say it's going to be a tough game regardless of the opposition. All that matters is what they really think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3spirit Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 All managers at all levels will say it's going to be a tough game regardless of the opposition. All that matters is what they really think! This will be our third season in the Southern Premier [if we stay in it and aren't moved to the Ryman Premier] and we need to emphasize our strengths, not harp on about on about our weaknesses if we are aiming on success. I have faith that Bakes and Unders are the right men at the helm to steer our team to another promotion [at some point in time] but last season even I tired of reading in the ' locals ' that the opposition were going to be a tough test. We all know there are no easy games in this league. All I was highlighting is that we need to focus the minds of our players, that they need to become the tough test to the opposition. We need them to believe they can beat any team in this division. Believing, can get you to the top of the tree, just ask Leicester. Accepting mediocrity won't win anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Interesting the way some people read the gaffers comments. I read it more as aiming for improvement, top half finish and maybe a flirtation with the play offs. I think we should be aspiring to teams like Hitchin and Chesham. I think each of them had five seasons at this level before featuring in the playoffs and that is off the back of being well established teams in their own ground in their own town. Personally think our primary aim has to be consolidation, improving the team, results and final league position while we build the fan base up in the new ground. Next season if we go finish top half that would be great. Would also love a run in the FA cup or trophy. I would also like to see a bit of the old atmosphere back, singing and supporting the boys throughout. Hopefully the new ground will prove the catalyst for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Underwood Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Interesting the way some people read the gaffers comments. I read it more as aiming for improvement, top half finish and maybe a flirtation with the play offs. I think we should be aspiring to teams like Hitchin and Chesham. I think each of them had five seasons at this level before featuring in the playoffs and that is off the back of being well established teams in their own ground in their own town. Personally think our primary aim has to be consolidation, improving the team, results and final league position while we build the fan base up in the new ground. Next season if we go finish top half that would be great. Would also love a run in the FA cup or trophy. I would also like to see a bit of the old atmosphere back, singing and supporting the boys throughout. Hopefully the new ground will prove the catalyst for that. Agree with every word Martin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longshot Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I was interested to note that the Binfield reserve manager whose team play in the Suburban Prem said that his sides worst 3 performances this season were the 3 away games played on 3G pitches. These surfaces do not suit all players. My own son gets very sore knees after playing on a 3G and is very reluctant to use them. It will be interesting to see what effect they have over the coming years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Baker Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I was interested to note that the Binfield reserve manager whose team play in the Suburban Prem said that his sides worst 3 performances this season were the 3 away games played on 3G pitches. These surfaces do not suit all players. My own son gets very sore knees after playing on a 3G and is very reluctant to use them. It will be interesting to see what effect they have over the coming years. For me 3G is without doubt much more forgiving on the joints than for example playing on a hard pitch early and late season.... I wish it had been around when I was playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longshot Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 If you are correct Bakes how come some players suffer after playing on it ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Baker Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Its just my opinion, you will always find people that done get on with it, but the vast majority of people that I speak to love it now, i guess some people react on all surfaces, i know myself used to ache for a day or two after playing on a hard ground.... especially pre season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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