Manager/Coach Karl Robinson.

So far, we have had three poor starts and a couple of fortunate runs to scrape into the play offs.
'Fortunate runs' Really?
In the league ,over 46 games you finish where you deserve to finish. Generally fortune evens itself out.
So whichever way you look at it, we deserved to be in the play offs 2 seasons in a row. No luck about it.
 
but the quality in League 1 the last few years especially has been bonkers good, and the money spent by some other teams has been ridiculous
This gets spouted every single season so I don't buy that argument, there is ALWAYS a few big teams with a couple of quid to spend in this league, there's nothing new on that front.

I also don't think anyone truly knows where we stand in terms of wage bill, I'd hazard a bet that our wages this season and last are in around the playoff places.
 
History shows us that a playoff finish three years in a row is a difficult proposition. It should not be the sole arbiter as to the success (or otherwise) of the club, team or manager.
 
'Fortunate runs' Really?
In the league ,over 46 games you finish where you deserve to finish.
So whichever way you look at it, we deserved to be in the play offs 2 seasons in a row. No luck about it.
Yes, fortunate. We won enough games to get into the play-offs so, we were fortunate. Unfortunately, we also had bad starts so didn't get into the automatic spots. And, having achieved the lofty heights of the play-offs, failed to go any further - unfortunately.

Generally fortune evens itself out. & No luck about it. Last time I looked in a dictionary, fortune was defined as: chance or luck as an arbitrary force affecting human affairs. Hey ho. "you make your own luck" Ernest Hemmingway. Something for KR?
 
The debate about how well (or not) KR has done is an interesting one and I think a healthy proportion of Ox fans would probably come down on the 'he has done a decent job but this year is critical' side of the argument.

He probably has 'out performed' his budget in terms of league position. However as an owner would you not aim to recruit a manager who was capable of outperforming his budget? In pretty much every walk of life you are asked to squeeze out more from less resource, it's just the way it is.

You also need to look at the number of transfer windows a manager had had when judging, KR has had 7. So plenty of time to shape the squad as he sees fit. I know there has been a churn due to player sales, but the last couple of seasons will have seen squads with KRs DNA all over it.

KR will have known the player sales model we have put in place as part of an overall part strategy, so selling a good number of our prized assets hopefully has not come as a surprise to him but it must be difficult when a number of players are sold in windows. So although we only had 1 noticeable departure this summer I do have some sympathy for KR here. I also think he deserves a lot of credit for the way some of our players have improved, it's Ok recruiting well but those players still need developing (e.g. Atkinson) and he has also improved players like Long. Sometimes I think managers get a bit of a hard time with player development, i.e. it must be down to the coaches (or player) when the likes of Long improve but then the managers get the stick when others go off the boil or don't develop as planned! So I think KR deserves praise here.

It's also been very stable behind the scenes, and the support / facilities we have at this level seem pretty good. It hasn't always been like that for KR, but again for a period of time now KR has had the developed training centre etc.

Where I feel KR has underperformed is in terms of squad balance and tactics. I think our squad is more balanced than in previous years, but I still think we seem over stocked in certain areas and under stocked in other (e.g. full back). I think this has caught us out in previous seasons and may well do so again this year. I also get the hunch we take more gambles than most teams on players with injury records, I get that is why we have been able to get certain players but it just feels like we gamble more than most. I also think KR has left himself open to criticism with some of his tactics, particularly with his substitutions. Quite often his substitutions seem too predetermined and fixed, other managers seem more likely to make subs at half time etc. I think tactically we have been poor in the playoffs, Wycombe were there for the taking and it felt like men against boys at times when we played Blackpool.

For me a minimum is a strong playoff performance this year, if we finish in the play-offs but get done by a poor referee decision or are just unlucky with a deflection etc then KR will still have done well.

If we don't make the playoffs, or play poorly again in the playoffs then I think we should role the dice and take our chances. It would be a case of thanking KR for some exciting seasons and cup runs but will be the time to move on.
 
Yes, fortunate. We won enough games to get into the play-offs so, we were fortunate. Unfortunately, we also had bad starts so didn't get into the automatic spots. And, having achieved the lofty heights of the play-offs, failed to go any further - unfortunately.

Generally fortune evens itself out. & No luck about it. Last time I looked in a dictionary, fortune was defined as: chance or luck as an arbitrary force affecting human affairs. Hey ho. "you make your own luck" Ernest Hemmingway. Something for KR?
How in earth can winning enough games to get into the play offs be fortunate?
We deservedly were in the play offs 2 seasons in a row.
 
"If we don't make the playoffs, or play poorly again in the playoffs then I think we should role the dice and take our chances. It would be a case of thanking KR for some exciting seasons and cup runs but will be the time to move on."

If we fell to lower mid-table this year, I'd stand by him for another season. No problem. No question

He's done well for us. I'm proud to support Robinson's Yellow Army. I think this thread is a joke (probably crafted by panic buyers with connections to Russia via the Daily Mail).

There's a real good feel around the club that I think some of posters on here take for granted.
 
The debate about how well (or not) KR has done is an interesting one and I think a healthy proportion of Ox fans would probably come down on the 'he has done a decent job but this year is critical' side of the argument.

He probably has 'out performed' his budget in terms of league position. However as an owner would you not aim to recruit a manager who was capable of outperforming his budget? In pretty much every walk of life you are asked to squeeze out more from less resource, it's just the way it is.

You also need to look at the number of transfer windows a manager had had when judging, KR has had 7. So plenty of time to shape the squad as he sees fit. I know there has been a churn due to player sales, but the last couple of seasons will have seen squads with KRs DNA all over it.

KR will have known the player sales model we have put in place as part of an overall part strategy, so selling a good number of our prized assets hopefully has not come as a surprise to him but it must be difficult when a number of players are sold in windows. So although we only had 1 noticeable departure this summer I do have some sympathy for KR here. I also think he deserves a lot of credit for the way some of our players have improved, it's Ok recruiting well but those players still need developing (e.g. Atkinson) and he has also improved players like Long. Sometimes I think managers get a bit of a hard time with player development, i.e. it must be down to the coaches (or player) when the likes of Long improve but then the managers get the stick when others go off the boil or don't develop as planned! So I think KR deserves praise here.

It's also been very stable behind the scenes, and the support / facilities we have at this level seem pretty good. It hasn't always been like that for KR, but again for a period of time now KR has had the developed training centre etc.

Where I feel KR has underperformed is in terms of squad balance and tactics. I think our squad is more balanced than in previous years, but I still think we seem over stocked in certain areas and under stocked in other (e.g. full back). I think this has caught us out in previous seasons and may well do so again this year. I also get the hunch we take more gambles than most teams on players with injury records, I get that is why we have been able to get certain players but it just feels like we gamble more than most. I also think KR has left himself open to criticism with some of his tactics, particularly with his substitutions. Quite often his substitutions seem too predetermined and fixed, other managers seem more likely to make subs at half time etc. I think tactically we have been poor in the playoffs, Wycombe were there for the taking and it felt like men against boys at times when we played Blackpool.

For me a minimum is a strong playoff performance this year, if we finish in the play-offs but get done by a poor referee decision or are just unlucky with a deflection etc then KR will still have done well.

If we don't make the playoffs, or play poorly again in the playoffs then I think we should role the dice and take our chances. It would be a case of thanking KR for some exciting seasons and cup runs but will be the time to move on.
I think in previous seasons this may be true (however players like Barker came in on large contributions last season), a few in the game have suggested this season 'you have a hell of a budget' and would 'be a failure if Robinson didn't get you promoted'.

This season feels different and critical. Feels like theres little to hide behind. Its obvious money has gone into the squad - paying fees for McGuane/Seddon plus (most probably) hefty fees for Kane/Whyte/Holland.

Just as we are always assessing squad options, it would be prudent to do similarly with the Head Coach role. It may be that everything goes to plan this season - great! But no harm in planning for life after KR (be that the club or KR moving on).
 
"If we don't make the playoffs, or play poorly again in the playoffs then I think we should role the dice and take our chances. It would be a case of thanking KR for some exciting seasons and cup runs but will be the time to move on."

If we fell to lower mid-table this year, I'd stand by him for another season. No problem. No question

He's done well for us. I'm proud to support Robinson's Yellow Army. I think this thread is a joke (probably crafted by panic buyers with connections to Russia via the Daily Mail).

There's a real good feel around the club that I think some of posters on here take for granted.

Fair enough..

I think there are some interesting points on this thread. I completely disagree with your comment 'If we fell to lower mid-table this year, I'd stand by him for another season. No problem. No question' but that's your view and you are entitled to it. This is a forum where you get a range of opinions, be boring if we all thought the same..
 
Fair enough..

I think there are some interesting points on this thread. I completely disagree with your comment 'If we fell to lower mid-table this year, I'd stand by him for another season. No problem. No question' but that's your view and you are entitled to it. This is a forum where you get a range of opinions, be boring if we all thought the same..
We already are a mid table team😂😂 look at the table the proof is there played 9 w3 d3 l3 gd0 can you get anymore mid table
 
I'd certainly agree with this. Usually, League 1 features one or two bewildered giants wondering what on earth they're doing down here as they line up against Accrington and Fleetwood for their first matches of the season. They soon find their way back up again in good time. Even recent memory has seen future and former PL winners in Leicester and Blackburn in League 1. However, we are going through a glut of larger sides who have fallen on hard times and are taking their time to get back up again. Sunderland haven't got their act together yet (possibly this season?), Portsmouth are still in a form of recovery after their plummet to League 2, Charlton seem stuck in a low gear and Ipswich are in the infancy of a new owner. Throw in former basket-cases-on-their-way-back with Wigan and Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday who at least have a decent manager at the helm and Rotherham who are old hat at the promotion game and you have a seriously competitive division. Maybe we're underappreciating the job KR is doing slightly in competing against sides with bigger budgets and lofty ambitions. Sunderland will be looking beyond the Championship in all likelihood. We're likely to be thrilled in the journey to get there.

All that said, we know what our owners want and we're no mugs in the kind of player we can bring in. We can't outbid Sunderland but we can offer more than c. 12 of the other 24 sides. If we can do that, we can be competitive and certainly are with KR in charge. If the ambitions of the owners are to be met though, KR needs to show more. Heroic failure isn't good enough now after two enjoyable playoff campaigns that ultimately ended in us being in the also rans.

As said, no call for his head and if he was leading us to mid table finishes in the Championship, I'd be sticking a new contract in front of him. But he needs that extra something to make us great. Do that and his stock will be worth plenty. My fear is that this may be his peak.
Stop talking common sense, it's not welcome on this forum 😉
 
Are we sure that we *really* know what the actual budgets of all the L1 teams actually are? If we don't I am not sure how we will judge.

Happy to be corrected if anyone has a definitive list for this season (it would make interesting reading!).
 
Are we sure that we *really* know what the actual budgets of all the L1 teams actually are? If we don't I am not sure how we will judge.

Happy to be corrected if anyone has a definitive list for this season (it would make interesting reading!).
I’ve gone by what’s been reported ie a top six budget but this season less than last year
 
I’ve gone by what’s been reported ie a top six budget but this season less than last year
I think they said that this season our budget was around eighth to tenth. Some ITK may come along and scorn me, I’m just repeating what I saw. As someone said above, you want your manager to outperform his budget, but I don’t think you can feel *entitled* to get promoted if that’s where we are in terms of budget.
 
I think they said that this season our budget was around eighth to tenth. Some ITK may come along and scorn me, I’m just repeating what I saw. As someone said above, you want your manager to outperform his budget, but I don’t think you can feel *entitled* to get promoted if that’s where we are in terms of budget.
Well said
 
This gets spouted every single season so I don't buy that argument, there is ALWAYS a few big teams with a couple of quid to spend in this league, there's nothing new on that front.

I also don't think anyone truly knows where we stand in terms of wage bill, I'd hazard a bet that our wages this season and last are in around the playoff places.
I think they said that this season our budget was around eighth to tenth. Some ITK may come along and scorn me, I’m just repeating what I saw. As someone said above, you want your manager to outperform his budget, but I don’t think you can feel *entitled* to get promoted if that’s where we are in terms of budget.
I think that's about accurate. I have seen that figure said too, no idea the accuracy, but when you look at other teams in the league that spent big:

Ipswich 800k on Chaplin, 800k on Burgess, 800k on Edmundson, 500k on Harper, more fees paid for Burns, Fraser, Morsy and Hladky, PLUS wages that'll be in the 10k range for Piggot, Carroll, Evans, Edwards and Aluko
Sunderland fees for two highly rated young full backs, and Pritchard will be on a decent wedge of a wage
Wigan 630k on Kerr and some players on big wages (Wyke, Amos, Bennett)
Bolton all free transfers but Kachunga and John will be on big wages
Wednesday fees for Berahino and Gregory, and Marv, Hunt, Byers and Brown will be on close to 10k wages
Charlton 500k on Kirk, 200k on Lavelle and whatever the Clare fee was (250k?)
Lincoln paid fees for Robson, Eyoma, Bishop and Sorensen that would have added up to a decent wedge of cash
Wycombe paid fees for Vokes and Hanlan, and players like Vokes, Kaikai and Scowen will be on good money, Vokes especially.

Throw in the clubs who probably have a similar if not slightly higher budget than us like Rotherham, Pompey, Doncaster and MK Dons it shows where we really are in terms of budget for the season - around upper mid table at best. In this world of undisclosed fees its hard to know exactly where everyone stands, but I think this gives a good idea.

In comparison we paid fees for Seddon and McGuane that totalled maybe 500k? And brought in 2 free transfers and two youngsters. Our loan players will be half decent fees, but the same could be said for plenty of the loan players of all the clubs above too (which I haven't even mentioned). And on top of that besides Ipswich (£2.5m) we had the highest incoming fees of any club in League 1 with just over £2m for Atkinson and Clare to help fund our spends. We've got probably our best budget under KR, but League 1 is ridiculous this year and that budget comparatively is probably worse than the last 2 years, and if KR gets us into the playoffs again he's done a ridiculously good job once again.

*All fees quoted are taken from TransferMarkt*
 
Alot of clubs spending alot of money for league one. We've got a good squad and I feel we will be there abouts again. Especially if we aren't far away at Xmas Iam sure we will be backed . We will get the form improving soon 🙏
 
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