The penalty on Tuesday night

[One Martin Thomas]

Putting aside the penalty. I mean it was a penalty and it is a lottery if you score or save them. The point about our keepers is one we have to address. Like our central defenders. There is an argument that they are good enough. I tend to think that if we want to go up we need an improvement in these areas.

Agreed. Betts, Button and Ream are not quite there in terms of quality.

[toshes mate]

Putting aside the penalty. I mean it was a penalty and it is a lottery if you score or save them. The point about our keepers is one we have to address. Like our central defenders. There is an argument that they are good enough. I tend to think that if we want to go up we need an improvement in these areas.

Agreed. Betts, Button and Ream are not quite there in terms of quality.

And yet our second half, last twenty three games, seasonal performance was good enough to win a top two place.  And so how do you argue that one through?

[Twig]

Putting aside the penalty. I mean it was a penalty and it is a lottery if you score or save them. The point about our keepers is one we have to address. Like our central defenders. There is an argument that they are good enough. I tend to think that if we want to go up we need an improvement in these areas.

Agreed. Betts, Button and Ream are not quite there in terms of quality.

And yet our second half, last twenty three games, seasonal performance was good enough to win a top two place.  And so how do you argue that one through?

You make a good point, and of course our performance since Christmas is very relevant, but I do think you have to be careful. Firstly if you follow that argument through to it's logical conclusion it seems to say we don't need any new signings an it's ok to start next season with Martin up front and Parker/Petsos as the only cover in central midfield, etc. Surely we're not saying that. Secondly you cannot ignore the fact that our performance in the half season up to Christmas was thoroughly sub-par, as was our performance over two legs against arguably the easiest possible draw we could have got in the play-offs.

We didn't get promoted this year ipso facto something needs to change if we want to get promoted next year.

As it happens re. Ream, I agree he's not quite good enough defensively but I think the chances of club in our league and with our budget signing a player who's both defensively excellent and as good as Ream in possession (passing, ball control etc.) are slim to zero, so IMO Ream is good enough overall.

And it's the same with Button.  Perfect no, still has potential to improve certainly.  Are there areas of greater priority, absolutely.  For me Maik Tayor is not a bad yardstick if we want to take our keeper with us into the prem and retain him.  From memory Maik  was a bit older than Button, I think there is a fair chance that Button could reach that sort of standard.

[toshes mate]

The fact we did perform so well with a potentially dead-weight (or deadbeat?) striker, a questionable 'keeper, a sub-standard central defender, and other criticisms of playing staff from time to time, according to some on here, confirms my suspicion that there is a huge gulf between amateur and professional football brains.  The fact we got beat by Reading should be engraved in our memories for reasons more to do with our expectations of success rather than our panic inducing failure.   I don't, and never would advocate standing still, plus the fact it'll be unavoidable if we sell key players, but you need to be careful what you wish for in terms of change.  Sure we fell short at the last but we were so very close to success it was good while it lasted.  A top two finish next year is not impossible with a few carefully chosen additions to the squad which also take account of the outgoing personnel, and I am sure SJ knows what his agenda is outgoing and incoming already.  What nobody knows is what'll change between now and September because anything can happen and probably will.

[clarkey]

It should not have been a pen...bad decision

Always assume if you give a penalty away then they will score, a save is a bonus. Make sure you score all of yours.

Our problem was finishing. In the first game Martin should not have started, in the second we just got unlucky and failed to create a really clear chance that a top striker would have done and then taken

That is our priority, our midfield is the best in the league , our defenders have got better and better our wing backs are brilliant. Very close to a good team indeed

[Riversider]

The fact we did perform so well with a potentially dead-weight (or deadbeat?) striker, a questionable 'keeper, a sub-standard central defender, and other criticisms of playing staff from time to time, according to some on here, confirms my suspicion that there is a huge gulf between amateur and professional football brains.  The fact we got beat by Reading should be engraved in our memories for reasons more to do with our expectations of success rather than our panic inducing failure.   I don't, and never would advocate standing still, plus the fact it'll be unavoidable if we sell key players, but you need to be careful what you wish for in terms of change.  Sure we fell short at the last but we were so very close to success it was good while it lasted.  A top two finish next year is not impossible with a few carefully chosen additions to the squad which also take account of the outgoing personnel, and I am sure SJ knows what his agenda is outgoing and incoming already.  What nobody knows is what'll change between now and September because anything can happen and probably will.

As you say, "a few carefully chosen additions"
But for me the first addition we carefully choose, after a striker, should be a new goalkeeper
...which I think is all the OP saying

Correct.