This weeks Late fan's View-optimistic

Optimistic for the future.

http://bathcityfansview.blogspot.co.uk

City can't afford to get promoted to the Conf Prem.

It will take another couple of seasons in Conf South before we find our feet again, especially with regards to finance and what is happening with TP, before we even consider the future.

Let's just stay safe, build on what we have, and then one day dream of getting into League 2! ;-)

Matt_1376 wrote:City can't afford to get promoted to the Conf Prem.

It will take another couple of seasons in Conf South before we find our feet again, especially with regards to finance and what is happening with TP, before we even consider the future.

Let's just stay safe, build on what we have, and then one day dream of getting into League 2! ;-)

I think that is exactly right - as someone else commented recently, from our division only Eastleigh seem to have the financial resources to get into the Premier and actually stay there. The Premier division is an increasing tough place - witness runaway Conf North winners and ex-Football League team of many years standing Chester, who lost their fight against relegation today and are back where they started after just one season. 7th place was an excellent result given our circumstances and we seem to have a platform for further improvement, but whether we could really cope with promotion remains a moot point.

I think you are right. BSP was quite a cultural shock when we were promoted last time and I would imagine is even more 'professional' now. We have the makings of a very useful, young squad and I can see us being possible winners of this league in a couple of seasons. Whether the club would be in a position to take advantage of playing at the higher level again is debatable, but if it's not I would fear a repeat of our 2nd disastrous season there.

On a personal level, I have no wish to see us suffer on and off the pitch again like that. Some seemed to enjoy it, but for me segregation, aggressive stewarding, frequent interferences with fixtures, ridiculously high entrance and refreshment prices and the arrogance shown by many of the clubs outweighed the higher quality of football. Conference Premier has little connection with non league football and I think it would be best if it became the 5th division of the FL. The present Conf N + S would then be the top levels of the non league game, doing away with the nonsense of a national league at such a low level. I see Southport travelled to Welling for a 5.30 ko yesterday, in front of 521, because of the demands of a tv company - madness!

Salisbury were away to Chester yesterday too, and that was a 5.30pm ko and the game was on BT Sport.

They did get an attendance of 3588, but also Chester got relegated back down to Conf North!

I think that most important thing to remember, should we go up again, is to have faith in the style of play that got us there and the players that play it. We went up and stayed up the first season with a passing game that was not only lovely to watch, impressive for any level and fairly obviously suited the players we had signed. Halfway through the relegation season, we panicked, jettisoned that and foolishly tried to outmuscle and outrun the professional players at Wrexham and Luton. It was never going to work - we didn't have the players for it and couldn't train them to change their style and certainly not to physically match the professional players. We may have still gone down but, at least, we would have gone down staying true to our style of play.

It is only in the last half of this season that we seem to - mostly - have got back to that style of play and succeeding with it. As we never signed the players to play a more physical long-ball game (fortunately as far as I am concerned), we should stick to the game that suits us better and, I believe, the supporters want to see.

What happened to the 70 points plus needed for the playoffs?

With fixture backlogs it was always going to be less!

3 points and a few goals more and we would have enjoyed a fun end to the season.

I want City to go as far and as high as they can..............

Doesn't anyone not?

We have a chance to play at the Rec? I seem to have missed this. what's that about?

Interesting that you mention three of the relegations since 1978, and yet you omit the relegation in 2004 that, for me, was more painful than the three you mention.

Also, you say that City could finish 6th or 7th, but after Easter Monday's results, the only way City could have finished 6th would have been if City and Hayes and Yeading had won by a combined margin of 14 goals.

pete mac wrote:
I want City to go as far and as high as they can..............

i wonder what hyde fans think after the end of their nightmare season. i'm not suggesting we would have done quite as badly next season if we had reached the play offs and then won them, but the team we have watched this season would be cannon fodder for most of the clubs in the prem...

Agreed Martin. That's why the building process is key......hopefully we can add something for next season......

yes, but my fear is that the club continue to go down the path of bringing in expensive ex pros - the answer is surely to gradually develop a younger squad which will win this league outright. i think it would have a better chance of remaining long term at the higher level (provided everything is also in place off the pitch).

Wise words Martin.   

I don't think it does any harm to have one or two ex pros on the pitch to steady the ship. Not saying we should pack the squad full of players on their last legs but it's not as if they've all been disasters. Some of the best players I've seen at the club have arrived on the back of extensive Football League career - Paul Evans, Scott Partridge etc. Scott Murray did a good job when he was here. Yes for every one of those you have the occasional flop but same as young players.

Look at it this way - Farnborough's squad had an average age of 20.5 against us last week and looking at their goals against column they needed someone with a bit of know-how out there to help out. I personally thought they were awful, one or two bright sparks but aside from that it was one of our easiest wins of the season.

Eastleigh won the league and have the likes of Chris Todd, Stuart Fleetwood and Ben Strevens to call upon. I won't be gutted if we sign someone the wrong side of 30 who can be someone for the younger players to look up to.

If you'd said the wrong side of 27, I would agree! Yes, we have done well out of some ex pros, but my point is that are probably draining the finances. If I'm mistaken fair enough, but I would guess Low, Burnell and Brown weren't on the lowest wages this season. A total of 53 appearances between them would suggest the club were not getting value for money.

Also, I think we do have someone for the youngsters to look up - Simpson. He has been here for ages now and never lets the club down. Taking the time that he has been here - which is also pretty much the time I have been watching City - he has been the most consistent player and is the one older player that I can't see anyone wanting to go anytime soon.

Also, comrade powell's point about 27+ is a good one. A player of that age should be experienced enough to inspire younger players.

I don't see why an ex league player couldn't play at this level until he was 35. But I think Martin's main point is about the wages ex league players command and so age is irrelevant. What our club doesn't need is players on ex full time wage levels.

Hence ideally we want players in their late twenties who haven't quite made it to full time status but still have ambition.

Yes, it was the wages point I was getting at as well. I doubt whether Simpson is on as great wages as he hasn't been full-time.