ARTICLE: A season to forget

[ClaretTony]

A look back at the 2021/22 season

See link
https://www.uptheclarets.com/a-season-to-forget

[FCBurnley]

A season to learn from and hopefully never repeated

[gawthorpe_view]

The season to me felt like a re-run of the 75/76 relegation.
An aging squad, short on goals, quality and ideas, a couple of false dawns, but overall the feeling that the squad just ran out of steam making relegation inevitable.

[summitclaret]

A good summary thanks, of frustrating season. Vydra only starting in 5 of his 22 appearances is shocking management when a defender is our second highest scorer.

[BOYSIE31]

A season everyone saw coming with the ever growing age of the squad except the manager

Look at the goalscorers with Mee and Collins on par or better than our midfield and other strikers

[beddie]

An accurate summary. The Vydra incident against Norwich at home was laughable, you’ll not see a more obvious foul than that one. I’m still of the belief that referees will always give preference to keepers, similar of course to the Ben Mee incident by the Leeds keeper, I think it was last season, that day it was Rob Jones. I intend to try and find out what the refs instructions are in incidents like that.

[warksclaret]

A good summary-not so many high points as you point out CT, but maybe Cornet's 9 goals, and so many good ones, is one of the other highlights

[Herts Clarets]

"He suggested that we couldn’t keep playing with the same players, season after season, and continue to survive in the Premier League."
And that in a nutshell nails exactly what we all felt was inevitable. If you stand still in football, or indeed any other business, you will fall behind as all your competitors will be making improvements and moving forwards.

I worry for the coming season, as our better players are either out of contract and will leave or will attract offers from higher placed/paying clubs than us. We have had a chronic lack of goals throughout the side, yet have extended the contracts of 2 of the main culprits in Barnes and Rodriguez. The bright spark that was Cornet appears to have burned brightly for a short time but will no doubt soon be illuminating crowds at another ground, the hugely disappointing Weghorst has made it clear he is not willing to play Championship football and Vydra is out long term with an ACL injury.

Couple this with the lack of manager/coaching staff, concerns over the repayment of loans and the lack of experience in running a football club from Pace and co, all in the garden is not rosy. I would love to be proved wrong, but at the start of last season when we had the same inadequate midfield and forward line, I felt this was the season our time in the Premier League would come to an end. Though my prophecy of "we will not be relegated whilst Sean Dyche is Manager" ultimately was fulfilled, i can't help feel that he contributed to our demise along with Messrs Garlick and Pace.

Let's hope we see some improvement in the non too distant future.

[Silkyskills1]

Excellent summary, CT. In full agreement with gawthorpe view that the season was very reminiscent of the 75/76 season. So many disappointing results with the last one obviously hurting most of all. However, I was more concerned than disappointed after the opening day defeat to an, at best, average Brighton. My concerns increased a few weeks later with a numbing home display v Arsenal who didn't have Viera and Henry playing. A valiant effort at the end but we just ran out of personnel, a bit if luck but above all quality on the pitch.

[bfcjg]

Very accurate summary, 3 teams will always go down,and invariably smaller clubs are more likely, it was the manner we did it and with some investment it shouldn't have happened especially with the promoted teams not being all that.
Grrr.

[CleggHall]

Yes a very fair summary of a disappointing season with a predictable outcome. The list of goalscorers says it all, thank god for Cornet. A couple or so poor refereeing decisions didn’t help but lack of signings of younger, energetic players in midfield killed us along with Dyche’s obstinacy. Thanks Sean but one season too far.

[Selby Claret]

"a Patrick Bamford goal four minutes from time earned them a point."

Despite all the problems of this season, this single moment was the difference between survival and relegation in the end - maddening really!

[mdd2]

"a Patrick Bamford goal four minutes from time earned them a point."

Despite all the problems of this season, this single moment was the difference between survival and relegation in the end - maddening really!

And relegation with 37 points-not seen that in many a season from 38 games.

[barracuda]

Good read - and fair

However, (and time will tell) we may look back and think - yep that was as good as it got. And all we (generally speaking) did was complain, bitch and moan. We might want to remember that season as part of the good times rather than forget it

[ClaretTony]

Good read - and fair

However, (and time will tell) we may look back and think - yep that was as good as it got. And all we (generally speaking) did was complain, bitch and moan. We might want to remember that season as part of the good times rather than forget it

That’s what makes it even more difficult to take, the thought that it was as good as we could get and that could be us done as a Premier League club. Somehow, the previous two relegations were easier to take, probably because we’d never expected anything else but we’d now got used to staying up and staying up comfortably.

[dougcollins]

'Feeble' is probably the kindest word you could use for the Norwich away performance. All the words I can think of are unprintable.

Not a great surprise it ultimately led to SD's demise.

[ClaretTony]

'Feeble' is probably the kindest word you could use for the Norwich away performance. All the words I can think of are unprintable.

Not a great surprise it ultimately led to SD's demise.

I look at that and then Watford away - two awful performances. At Norwich, Cornet misses a sitter at 0-1 then at Watford we get the goals. But for much of those two games, they were as bad as each other.

[Cirrus_Minor]

A season with a few ‘wudda, shudda, cudda’ s but we never really got started. Never really seemed to click and for once Dyches habit of turning things around never happened. We had quite a few games when we had the chance to take advantage, but never did, and this includes the last game.
The players never seemed to be ‘in the groove’ apart from a few small runs here and there. Seemed to suggest unrest in the camp, was this due to Dyche or the new owners? Who knows?
We did lose the bast manager we have had for donkeys years, he will take some replacing. I remember many times saying to people that they should enjoy the fun while it lasts, I hope they did because it may be a long time before we see it again.

[boatshed bill]

Performances to forget,
but hopefully lessons to be remembered.

[Nonayforever]

Good article, and yes a season to forget, and also a season that many could see coming.
I think the goal scorers table says everything about Dyches mindset.
Problem is, that its actually got worse before, hopefully it gets better.
Any way, onward and upwards. I will still be supporting the team irrespective of league.

[boatshed bill]

Good article, and yes a season to forget, and also a season that many could see coming.
I think the goal scorers table says everything about Dyches mindset.
Problem is, that its actually got worse before, hopefully it gets better.
Any way, onward and upwards. I will still be supporting the team irrespective of league.

I'm looking forward to the coming season.
Some great fixtures in a less money-dominated league.
Let's hope the board sees this as a chance to re-invigorate the squad.

[Nonayforever]

I'm looking forward to the coming season.
Some great fixtures in a less money-dominated league.
Let's hope the board sees this as a chance to re-invigorate the squad.

Yes, I'm looking forward to next season.
Reinvigorate the squad and also the fans !
The season was dull as ditch water, we need something to look forward to.

[tiger76]

Sad as this relegation ultimately is, it can't come as a complete shock to many, we only avoided the drop last season due to Fulham, Sheff Utd and West Brom being so rank, and we yet again failed to strengthen in the ley areas, namely CM & RM, that allied to our sudden habit of throwing away leads, and not being able to turn up in the key games, and I'm afraid this is the end result.

A huge pity Sean's tremendous reign ended in the manner it did with that shocker at Norwich, but something hadn't felt right for months prior to that, and although the timing was a surprise, I don't think SD being fired was a bolt from the blue.

Now the question is how do the club respond to this setback, because given the severity of our debts we can't afford to spend too many seasons outside the riches of the top flight, however we also face a major rebuild, with many familiar names likely to depart.

A crisis or an opportunity, we can only hope that the manager and squad see it as the latter, and they can quickly overcome this disappointment, and get us competing near the top of the Championship sooner rather than later, a few fresh faces may lift the spirits of our fanbase, as no doubt VK finally being unveiled as our new manager will give the whole club a welcome boost.

[dougcollins]

We started this season's run before last season had ended. It was always on the cards.