The introspectivity (?) is boring I know - but I keep biting.
What are you actually correcting? You do realise that the same things are said year after year, right? And the only people hearing it, are forum members. And that it makes no difference to the team performance. And it is miserable and depressing. Right?
Mate. What are you worried about?! Didn’t you see the hashtag? “#comebackstory”? Hand over your membership dollars and pretend the last 5 years won’t have a lasting impact.
At the start of this year, I felt that we would finish on the borderline of the 8, probably just inside. And we’re very close, so I’m not too disappointed with this year. I feel like I have received pretty good value, for all the $$$ and emotions that I have invested.
I also believed that 2017 would be better than 2018. We started this season with lots of experienced players as depth, and I still believe that those experienced players are superior to the kids, especially over a long season…furthermore, as it turns out, we have had an amazing run this year with injuries, which would be unlikely to repeat in 2018…so I still think finals will be harder in 2018. And because of that, I have been happy to strive in 2017 to make it, and just play the best players for current performance.
So…for me…only a remarkable draft/trade period will shift me from this expectation: that finals will be a stretch in 2018. I’m OK with that. It will be more of a development year, getting senior games into the likes of Langford/Lav/Begley/Mutch and perhaps a draft pick if ready. That can be exciting to me, if those players simply show signs of improvement.