Most liked posts in thread: Rate our season out of 5

Zero. We're going to finish lower mid table in league 2. That is abject failure however you look at it.

 

Can I suggest that, after reading the assessments on here, Ryan really needs to hit us as soon as this abysmal season finishes with a piece of news that shows our positive intent for next time out and regenerates some interest in season ticket sales - there is a lot of lethargy about and whilst Wetherby is right (City is in the blood) what has happened during Covid means fans have had time to do other things and now reassess if they can stomach another shambles of a season first hand.
There will of course be some who just cannot wait bo be back in the ground no matter what but the fact that long term supporters are seriously questioning if they can be bothered should be very worrying for the club - and 'floating' fans will certainly not be attracted to re-attach to the club based on this seasons sorry efforts.
I have every confidence in Ryans intent but we need some tangible lift more than ever

 

Entirely up to you Wilsden. Next season will be my 67th, from short pants to short temper!! However as for the last 12 seasons my wife and I will be paying our Directors fees plus the add ons and making the trip to VP. Add to that in my case Bristol, Swindon, Exeter Crawley, etc. For me once a fan always a fan. Does that answer your question?

 

The worst League 2 in memory and we're going to finish in the bottom half. This season has been a disgrace.

 

1 can’t believe anyone would go higher, shit a brick have a bit of ambition. We’re in the khazi league anything other than promotion is failure there isn’t an in between at this level.

The football has been appalling to watch at times even when winning, it’s probably a blessing we weren’t allowed in this season.

Should I buy a season ticket next season @wetherbywhaler or not bother for the first time in 23 years? Should I wait for the 5 year point of Rahic leaving because I can’t be bothered with this garbage for another season?

 

63 years i have been going to VP
From men in cloth caps to turning up at 5 to 3 and walk straight into ground
Enjoyed our promotion seasons not many to glory days of Paul Jewel to the Parkinsonism era
Going to away games
Seen it all we've had some good managers and bad some who should not have got the job
I'm not a director like Wetherby whaler but a season ticket holder who will be renewing and getting behind my team
For those of you who think this is bad take a look at the early 60s
Hope to be back at vp in August covid permitting
Oh I do miss VP

 

I'm at the point of not being bothered. To have a Saturday off and not have any interest in this game and not check the scoreline out till an hour after, is not akin to myself especially when I have a Saturday off...The only grace I suppose, is I checked...

I'm not sure what tomorrow brings but I really don't care about the inept performance and absolute regression that we endure. During the last year I've dispensed of many ( but not all) negative elements of my life, one by one. I want to find positivity in this club but I'm struggling and at this point, I'm not caring.

We have been conditioned with the belief that it will take 5 years to recover, a reduced budget but are we just a failure of a club, rooted at the core from the boardroom to accept mediocrity?

 

How the hell is accepting mediocrity going to help? Have some ambition lad!

 

I like his will to succeed, its something you need in any form of business. Not accepting mediocrity, words that a fair few on here poured scorn over when used by posters like myself but then Sparks himself used those very words. I guess its alright if it comes from the club hierachy. That said, there are sometimes when less is more in terms of constant media talk and only action on the pitch will actually mean anything. heck i've even read posters on here suggesting on here Sparks won't be here long due to be head hunted. For doing what exactly? We need to wait till the club is challenging for or gaining promotion to be coming out with statements like that.
The club is heading in a better direction since Rhodes and McCall left although in reality it had just about reached rock bottom so couldn't drop any further. Sparks now has one of the biggest decisions the club has faced for a long time and could shape the future landscape of the club and its fan base. A decision that could easily go either way.

 

2 stars.

I can't really think of anything that hasn't been underwhelming.

The CEO appointment was meh.
The season was meh.
McCall's tenure was abysmal.
The appointment of the new managers was meh.
Our blistering start was great, but then quickly resorted back to meh.
The recruitment in January looked exciting, but has become meh.

Is anyone convinced T&S will win us promotion next season? Is anyone convinced Ryan is the man to lead the club?

Outside of a 10-15 game period, we've been lacklustre. There hasn't been a single inspired decision within the club, but at the same time there is a plan that could be coming together piece by piece - we'll find out if that plan is actually any good next season.

 

Agree with this completely.

I gave 2 stars as well. Mainly because the purple patch of form coincided with the lockdown. For a couple of months I looked forward to, and enjoyed, our two matches a week. There were a sprinkling of excellent performances.

The ambition for next season must be to challenge for the top three, but that looks quite a distance away. We are looking at a squad rebuild again, rather than building on a solid base. That is disappointing.

It is also a concern that there are doubts about our management team. They did a superb job to lift us away from relegation worries, but since the Newport game we have, broadly, been poor. Slow, predictable and weak defensively.

Squad wise, I'm not sure both Vernam and Crankshaw can play in the same team, but with the right coaching and support they could be contributing more next season. Canavan was a good signing and Callum Cooke is a good footballer. An experienced, mobile midfielder could help get the best out of Sutton and Watt. I would be very happy if we can keep Andy Cook. We've also got youngsters who've gained experience this season who can hopefully kick on. But, we need a more commanding keeper than ROD, an entire rebuild of the defence around Canavan, midfielders and a new strike force (probably).

While I am sure we do have lots of targets, the risk is that we end up with an unbalanced squad again next season, as we have so much to change. It will take a lot of luck for us to manage all the variables that go into player recruitment to create a promotion challenging squad.

 

1 star from me. Mainly due to the club having no intention whatsoever of trying to go up this season. McCall and Rhodes laid the platform before the season even started, this leading to the almost impossible task for Trueman. Even after that this division is that bad we flirted briefly with the playoffs although never closer than 4 points away. Made a number of January signings but refuse to sign one in the position badly needed, central midfield. Sparks has been a positive in some ways and Trueman did turn the results around. But the bare fact is this club will more than likely finish in the bottom half of league 2 and yet another rebuilding programme next season.

Sigh.

 

And to think all the talk just a few short weeks ago was that because of our 'excellent' January, all we'd need in the summer were 4 or 5 quality signings for this to be a promotion winning squad next season. Another false dawn and another glimmer of hope dashed that we were actually starting to turn the corner. I don't doubt Ryan's ambition or desire to turn things around, but he's young and learning on the job and has, and will continue, to make mistakes. His first mistake of extending McCall's contract was quickly rectified, and he dropped lucky with T&S who credit to them, did a fantastic job of getting us out of the mess we were in. However, as has become apparent over the last few weeks, there are question marks around whether they have the ability to get us out of the right end of this league. That in my opinion was Ryan's second mistake, there was absolutely no need to give them an 18 month contract, an announcement they had the job until the end of the season would have sufficed, but now he finds himself in a position where he has to think about whether to stick or twist again.
He certainly has a lot to think about because anything less than automatic promotion being the target next season will simply not be good enough. Does he have the managers in place to achieve that? With the way our season has just petered out, are we going to be able to convince targets that City is where they need to be next year, particularly when one of our biggest January signings has already decided this club is not the place for him and has already jumped ship? How is he going to convince people to buy seasons tickets based on the negative, clueless performances of the last few weeks?
Good luck Ryan, you're going to need it.

 

2/10 ......although my usual glass half full has been kicked over and is well and truly empty, we dust ourselves down and go again next season.
I hated watching Stuart unravel in the first half of the season, his delusional rantings were hard to listen to as he steered the club he loves to the abyss of non-league.
Green shoots for me in terms of Sparks appointment & some of the noises coming out of VP. Despite people’s views on here I think T&S more than deserve a transfer window to show what they can do, and I don’t get all the talk of the league been unusually weak this season...it was pants last season it’s pants this season and it will be pants next season! So, hopefully we’ll all get season tickets & put ourselves through the wringer all over again next season then come on here and moan about it!!

 

1 star. Dire start, play off form middle and a really poor ending it seems. Even with an improved squad

 

A generous 2. Relegation was avoided but the bare minimum should have been the play offs. Too many more seasons of this shit and the club might wither and die as fans give up.

 

TBH I cannot give more than 1. Massively underachieving yet again.

When it came to shit or bust for the play offs we just capitulated. No desire in the players-maybe most know they are off in the summer so probably don't give a shit about the club anymore. No tackling in case they get an injury.

Disgrace to the shirt but where does a mid table 4th division club attract the "right type" of player with a reducing budget?

I fear we are stuck in this division for a long time yet unless Turnbull becomes Paul Daniels and pulls a few rabbits out of the hat.

I will probably buy a ST next year as I do miss VP but I am not holding out much hope of being entertained that much.

I so hope I am wrong.

 

My worry is that too many more seasons of mid table mediocrity in league 2 and an uninterested distant owner, albeit one who they say pays the bills, and this club might get in to a situation it will be hard to get out of. I like a lot of what Sparks says but he needs to be successful, only an unbelievable mid season run saved us this season.

 

1 star is the only plausible rating for this season.

Those eight who went with 3 star need to give their head a shake.

Here is how I would categorise this from 1-5:

1 Star: Bottom half finish.
2 Star: Top half, narrowly missing out on the play-offs.
3 Star: Making the Top 7.
4 Star: Going up in second or third.
5 Star: Champions.

 

Tell you what for any business/football club, the write ups in this thread are very damning. As a club in regression, losing around half its season tickets within the Rupp era, this football club is in a real downward trajectory.