Play-off watch

[TVOR]

And therein lies the rub. Everybody is happy to say they were wrong, they didn't think we could finish this high but yet they all (almost) to  a man say with real conviction that we couldn't have finished any higher. Talk about contradictory.

Your grandmother had wheels argument can just as equally be applied the other way. One player, a top notch goalkeeper would have made a massive difference.

Again, happy to be proven wrong but I havent seen anyone say that. We could have finished in the playoffs, we could have won them. I just dont think we would have.

To Dan's question. Yes it certainly is a possibility that he could have been a player to change our fortunes. Do you also think its possible he could have got injured within a week of joining too?  I think you get it that we will never know, and both scenarios have positives and negatives and respect the opinions of those who think we took the right path so respect you for that.

[lordjord]

Yes that's all well and its nice for you to share your opinion is but like everybody else, that's all it is, an opinion. You, like everybody else have no idea where we would have finished had we gone for it (like Lincoln). None of us will ever know because we can't, because we didn't go for it. What we do know is that this was the table on January 1st when we were 4 points better off than Lincoln AND had a game in hand. That's NOT an opinion. It couldn't be done (our supporters said).

That sounds so condescending  , thats why i posted it, its a forum, we are all generally stating opinions. Yeah we could have done it, as at the time teams in the relegation zone could have done also, I just think most thought it was so unlikely that it would not be adding the risk factor considering we lost over 1million already and we then went on to play another rookie keeper and regularly trotting out 4 CB's across the backline. How much do you think would have been reasonable outlay? Say £1m for 3 outfield players plus their wages. That's not getting you anywhere near top end L1 talent even at those sums.

With so many players around these levels being OOC each season I would rather see that we gave players more cash by way of wages rather then take the huge gamble on a few 100k for players which is not guaranteed to get you anything. One thing is for certain, we all want Brady to be backed as much as possible so that we can see how far he can take us which hopefully is the championship. If we can generate the funds to speculate on bigger fees then what would be a huge boost eventually, but I think there are better ways to go about it right now is all.

[lordjord]

I’ll pose a question.

If we’d gone for Taylor from Luton at the same time that Lincoln had, and been successful. Would an in form poacher have won us some of those close games you mention?

My gut says yes, and I’d also imagine he’d have chosen us due to location. So possibly just 1 extra player could have made all the difference.

I dont think so personally. I dont think we can rely on simply having a poacher type striker in the current set up of the team, whoever plays there currently be it Bowie, Simpson or Appere is asked to get through so much work off the ball I dont think Brady would allow someone to be more of a poacher or that we would create enough without that players pressing.

[DavCobb]

And therein lies the rub. Everybody is happy to say they were wrong, they didn't think we could finish this high but yet they all (almost) to  a man say with real conviction that we couldn't have finished any higher. Talk about contradictory.

Your grandmother had wheels argument can just as equally be applied the other way. One player, a top notch goalkeeper would have made a massive difference.

Where does the bit about not having owners that were willing to bankroll these extra players come into it? Or were you offering up some of your pension?

Forget the play offs, I reckon we could have potentially pushed for the autos with half a dozen better players.

The answer to the ultimate question of life, the Universe and everything is not 42, it's Danny Hylton. That guy has a lot to answer for.

[Bingers]

Interesting to see that the teams in the top half of the table then are also the teams who are in the top half now, with the exception of Bristol Rovers, which is a real shame...... for them.

[Winslow Lee]

I’ll pose a question.

If we’d gone for Taylor from Luton at the same time that Lincoln had, and been successful. Would an in form poacher have won us some of those close games you mention?

My gut says yes, and I’d also imagine he’d have chosen us due to location. So possibly just 1 extra player could have made all the difference.

I thought this inane hypothetical thread was done but apparently it won’t die.

We were never going to go for Taylor as we were already up to our four loan max. We went for Jack Marriott but were told it would cost stupid money to sign him and decided against it and he went to Wrexham. So I guess a more pertinent question to pose is what would have happened if we’d have used a huge chunk of next season’s budget to sign Marriott?. Well he’s done nothing at Wrexham in league 2 and is already barely getting any minutes so personally I’m glad we decided against it.

[GrangeParkCobbler]

I thought this inane hypothetical thread was done but apparently it won’t die.

We were never going to go for Taylor as we were already up to our four loan max. We went for Jack Marriott but were told it would cost stupid money to sign him and decided against it and he went to Wrexham. So I guess a more pertinent question to pose is what would have happened if we’d have used a huge chunk of next season’s budget to sign Marriott?. Well he’s done nothing at Wrexham in league 2 and is already barely getting any minutes so personally I’m glad we decided against it.

With respect its a 5 loan max, and that is only a max in the matchday 18. In theory we could have ten players on loan at the club but we could only name FIVE of them in a matchday squad. Second point is that we weren't up to the max as we actually signed Springett on loan six days after Lincoln signed Taylor, so again in theory we could have signed Taylor but then not be able to get Springett...... would that have been a bad thing?
Another thing to mention though is that already having Bowie and Simpson in on loan it was highly unlikely we were ever going to go for a third loan striker (that's if we are calling Springett a winger rather than a striker) as it would have pushed Bowie or Simpson out of the picture....something which parent clubs don't tend to like!

The "revelation" that we had set ourselves a 54 point target this season also shows the ambition from the club, from the top downwards, so it is now folly to believe we were ever in a position where we even wanted to have a tilt at a playoff place anyway!

Finally, facing £1m a year losses should also suggest that next season will be more of the same, in other words there was no money "saved" in January to be used in the Summer. The only time we've shown any real ambition in the transfer market in the last 10 years was on the back of the Chinese money......but thats for another thread!!

[Winslow Lee]

You are right Grange my mistake, had completely forgotten about Springett.

[DavCobb]

Finally, facing £1m a year losses should also suggest that next season will be more of the same, in other words there was no money "saved" in January to be used in the Summer. The only time we've shown any real ambition in the transfer market in the last 10 years was on the back of the Chinese money......but thats for another thread!!

Not sure we need to spend more to compete. We’ve done OK as we are. Imagine we swapped Hylton with two fit £2k a week players chomping at the bit. We’ll miss Leonard but with some decent additions there is no reason why we should struggle.

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Not sure we need to spend more to compete. We’ve done OK as we are. Imagine we swapped Hylton with two fit £2k a week players chomping at the bit. We’ll miss Leonard but with some decent additions there is no reason why we should struggle.

You're right...we may not need to spend any more! Its generally accepted that the Hylton transfer is right up there with "worst signings in the history of NTFC".

The Leonard miss will be big...... and we don't know how much of our budget was being used up on his wages..... it may have been nothing at all, we may have been paying 10%, 20, 30, 40...whatever? We just don't know. What we do know is we would need a comparable player on the pitch and a comparable deal with the parent club with regards to wages, that might be a tough ask!

[tcobb]

It can never be determined what will happen if you don't sign players,  Carlisle were 3rd from bottom and took the "Gamble " and signed 6 players ?  Ended up being the first team relegated !!! Might have stayed up if they hadn't signed that many.
Only thing for certain is if you say Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln  Marvo appears 

[TPFKA Marvo]

Could have been anybody, didn't have to be Lincoln, could have been Leyton orient, they were in a better position. The point always was, when many said it couldn't be done, somebody did it. That's all you need to know.

[just.reading]

Could have been anybody, didn't have to be Lincoln, could have been Leyton orient, they were in a better position. The point always was, when many said it couldn't be done, somebody did it. That's all you need to know.

They haven’t done anything yet, the season isn’t over for another month.

[GrangeParkCobbler]

They haven’t done anything yet, the season isn’t over for another month.

Isn't it about more than a league position though? What they (Lincoln) certainly have done is kept up the interest from their fans! I doubt very much whether they would have had a 10000 crowd against Leyton Orient on Friday had they been sitting safely in mid table like us. They also took a respectable 724 to Carlisle yesterday...again probably higher than if they had been in 11th/12th position. Commercial revenues will be up, who knows they may have sold a few more season tickets for next season to fans who live in the hope that they might actually be playing in the Championship.

They are involved in exactly what the playoffs were meant to do, in keeping the season alive for more clubs than if it was a straight 4 up 4 down.

[Bingers]

They are involved in exactly what the playoffs were meant to do, in keeping the season alive for more clubs than if it was a straight 4 up 4 down.

Oh GPC, you are soooooo last year! Surely you mean 3 up 4 down. We're League One now, don't you know?

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Oh GPC, you are soooooo last year! Surely you mean 3 up 4 down. We're League One now, don't you know?

Lol....my bad (whatever that means!) 

[Ragdoll Cobbler]

Could have been anybody, didn't have to be Lincoln, could have been Leyton orient, they were in a better position. The point always was, when many said it couldn't be done, somebody did it. That's all you need to know.

It couldn't have been done by us as JB never had (or was ever likely to get) any proper backing in the January window, hence why many said the play offs were a pipe dream for us...

I mentioned in the January transfer window thread that Joe Taylor (then on loan from Luton to Col U) would have been a decent signing of intent...Lincoln then went on to sign him & he's massively helped them to get into the final play off place...

All supporters would have loved a go at the play offs but without any tangible backing it was never going to happen...that's not being negative, it's being realistic!

[Manwork04]

It couldn't have been done by us as JB never had (or was ever likely to get) any proper backing in the January window, hence why many said the play offs were a pipe dream for us...

I mentioned in the January transfer window thread that Joe Taylor (then on loan from Luton to Col U) would have been a decent signing of intent...Lincoln then went on to sign him & he's massively helped them to get into the final play off place...

All supporters would have loved a go at the play offs but without any tangible backing it was never going to happen...that's not being negative, it's being realistic!

Let’s see what happens in the summer.

[TPFKA Marvo]

It couldn't have been done by us as JB never had (or was ever likely to get) any proper backing in the January window, hence why many said the play offs were a pipe dream for us...

I mentioned in the January transfer window thread that Joe Taylor (then on loan from Luton to Col U) would have been a decent signing of intent...Lincoln then went on to sign him & he's massively helped them to get into the final play off place...

All supporters would have loved a go at the play offs but without any tangible backing it was never going to happen...that's not being negative, it's being realistic!

Well you're certainly turning this debate on its head. That was NEVER the question. The question was could we do it with backing in the January transfer window and the resounding answer from the majority of you lot was "No", said it was impossible and a waste of money.
Now the question is will we be in a better position next year to have a go? I'd say that's very unlikely because what is going to change? I'll tell you what, nothing with the likes of you supporting the club. You can stick your realism where the sun don't shine. What's the point of following the club if you daren't to dream.

[TVOR]

Could have been anybody, didn't have to be Lincoln, could have been Leyton orient, they were in a better position. The point always was, when many said it couldn't be done, somebody did it. That's all you need to know.

With the exception of Ragdoll above who I think was replying directly to you post. Can you please point out who said it couldn't be done.