I notice on the Leeds thread and others that a lot of us are talking hopefully about the thought of promotion this season. My own thoughts about returning to the Premiership are that you must try to do so with a squad that has a chance of surviving and growing there, rather than dropping back down as Burnley look like doing this year. I firmly believe that Roland and his management team have a good plan to invest in the Academy with a view to building a squad that can take us back with real prospects of competing at the top again. I understand that it is natural to want promotion, it's a lot more fun being able to enjoy the excitement of a challenge, of success, but lets not forget that although one season in the Premiership would give us a nice pot of money, it would mean paying Premiership wages in the Championship plus everything that goes with it. I believe that the people now running our Club are possibly the best ever. Lets understand their thinking, get behind them, and enjoy the ride together.
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On the downside, the focus is always not getting relegated, which gets a bit draining. Also all the nonsense with agents, stupid salaries, mercenary players and so on is depressing, though as our good friend Monsieur Delort has shown, you can get that at this level anyway.
Play offs
Winners Losing finalist Losing Semi- finalists
2008 Hull City Bristol City Crystal Palace, Watford
2009 Burnley Sheffield United Reading, Preston North End
2010 Blackpool Cardiff City Nottingham Forest, Leicester City
2011 Swansea City Reading Cardiff City, Nottingham Forest
2012 West Ham United Blackpool Birmingham City, Cardiff City
2013 Crystal Palace Watford Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City
2014 QPR Derby County Wigan Athletic, Brighton & Hove Albion
The winners are nearly all still in the Prem having either stayed up or using the money as a springboard for another promotion later
Sheff Utd, Preston, Bristol city are in league one and Blackpool look certain to join them.
Wigan, Birmingham and Brighton not doing well and Forest, who missed out twice still not gone up.
Sure if might be painful ala Burnley but they will come down with a lot of extra money to invest in their academy, ground and first team squad.
Yes because the money generated will safe guard the club for a few years (if the owner uses it wisely)
And I because I do not want to get beaten every week or see ticket prices rise
Yes because the money generated will safe guard the club for a few years (if the owner uses it wisely)
And no because I do not want to see us get beaten every week
Look at a team like Burnley who look certain to come back down...
They haven't spent millions on their playing squad but they have invested millions in a new training complex. Long term that will attract better players to their club
In the long run of course I would love to see us back up there, but not at the cost of not spending what we don't have and ending up in financial bother again. If we do go back up, don't spend too much but be competitive and create a legacy with the extra money earned. EG: new facilities at the training ground. New away stand.
Probably my realistic compromise would be a yo yo club, each time getting stronger and stronger.
It would be interesting to know what RD's plans are and if the premiership would also bring new owners.
And yes for the £120m and to see quality football in a sold out stadium again. The Championship is simply no comparison.
The Football League though are proving to be the real winners... As you can see from the competition across all Divisions this season, FFP has brought the three League's closer together in terms of competitiveness; Charlton have started sniffing round the top half again; Rochdale, sit fourth in League One whilst every season in League Two you see a team from last years Conference fighting amongst the top.
Sky ridicule the Football League for housing clubs that just have the aim to play in the holy grail that they've created which is the Premier League, its probably true that all teams / players want to play there but whilst they ridicule, the armchair fans will also ignore us all and just think.. bless 'em with their 10,000 stadiums with terraces... At the end of the day its as @Kap10 says, the lower down the Divisions you go the more it becomes a Sport rather than a Business which is what has ultimately been forgotten about Football and like @Kap10 we all HAVE to aim for the Premier League but I wouldnt care if we didnt make it.
I've said for years that Football will one implode, when that happens Sky may turn away, the money would be pulled out and its in the Football League where teams will want to be because rules will have been set out in stone by people with a bit of sense over greed to ensure that clubs survive within their means (rather than having debts of £500m)
Probably go down but with a stronger squad, bigger crowds and more money. Repeat again until you are in a position to consolidate - see West Brom, Hull and Swansea.
Wouldnt any of us swap with chuff Prem teams like Palace and Burnley at the moment...
We are ready for promotion when we win promotion, who knows what the situation will be like in 3 seasons time, if we have the chance this season without over spending then we should go for it.
It doesn't happen by accident.
Having said that, I dont think we are currently good enough to finish in the top 6...but open minded enough to think the season may change where it proves people wrong.
We might come 6th and win the play off final... and I would take it due to how much money it would make us in return...even assuming a 1st season relegation.
Look at QPR...You would think with the finances and quality they have in their squad equips them well for premier league survival...money does not always talk.
Do I think we are ready to be promoted? No, we have a very young, paper thin squad, which would need a lot of investment in January and then again in the summer if we wanted to compete.
However, I'd rather us stay mediocre mid table in the Championship than going back down to League One again.
Plus matches being moved around for TV reason and making games impossible to get to.
Premier League is overrated for me IMO.
Maybe we should get 60 points then declare?