Pre-season was announced last year on 29th May with first game taking place on 11th July so quite a while to go yet. First signing announced on the 22nd of June so would say we need to have made signings by mid June to be in with a chance next year.
More interestingly, they announced next years kit on the 3rd of May. Whats happening with that?
Totally depends who stays... JBG, Bauer, Tex, Kashi, Solly and Cousins stay and we walk the league, but the likelihood of any of them staying, never mind all of them, is slim to none
I was wrong last time when I said we'd stay up. But this time I can't see how we'll go down. The Championship is one of the most difficult, brutal leagues in the world. League One isn't.
Totally depends who stays... JBG, Bauer, Tex, Kashi, Solly and Cousins stay and we walk the league, but the likelihood of any of them staying, never mind all of them, is slim to none
Personally I think you're giving them all too much credit. I think JBG, Tex, Kashi, Solly & Cousins are better than league one, Bauer I'm not too sure about.
I think JBG can play in a higher placed Champ team like a Derby, not sure he would do much in the Prem. Cousins more than holds his own defensively in the Championship, but def hasn't got the skill or finesse to make the step up. Kashi looked great at the start but we only saw him for a month. Solly is class and but for that injury I think he would've been a prem player. Tex has looked assured since he's come in. However, as you say IF all of them stay, I don't think the current players around them are good enough to mount a promotion challenge
I was wrong last time when I said we'd stay up. But this time I can't see how we'll go down. The Championship is one of the most difficult, brutal leagues in the world. League One isn't.
At least we can revenge the defeat by Colche.......what's that? They went down with barring Aston Villa, the worst goal difference in the top 4 divisions? We're cattle-trucked!
Not feeling confident at all. You just never know what will happen with RD and KM in charge. RD once repaired his shoes with duct tape. What has he got in mind to repair the club he has broken?????
Yeah we'll stay up. There are some dreadful teams in League 1, actually going down another level is hard to do - hats off to Blackpool, but we're not actually in freefall like them.
Our owners have the same care for the football side of owning our Club, so don't count your lucky chickens just yet. We aren't done falling yet, especially considering we are in a battle with our owners, if he fights fire with fire we drop lower.
All ownership/instability issues aside, things would have to go so, so wrong for us to end up with a manager and squad not capable of staying up in League 1. If Roland completely gutted the team, and because of the long contracts he doesn't necessarily have to - then fine, it'd be a big leap into the unknown. The squad depth at Championship level was a big problem and cost us massively under Luzon, but go a level down and the young stand-in players are less exposed - I wonder how competitive our best prospects in the U21s like Lapslie would be in League 1. I guess the main risk is that we're left with players like Sarr/Tucudean starting and they might still just be completely pony another level down... but there are a fair few players to sell and release before you get through to them.
To clarify the 'not in freefall' comment that's the main difference between us and Blackpool last season I think - momentum. They went down on 26 points without a win since January. On the other hand we've had 2 teams finish below us, have picked up a bit under Riga at the end of the season and if the season had started post-Fraeye; I think the consensus view is that we'd have been alright.
Right now I'm predicting upper mid-table, but there's still plenty of time to completely screw things up from where we are now - but it would be a real test of Meire's incompetence to take us down again as we've got much more going for us that Blackpool did. It'd make her press conferences look like the minor leagues. History lesson though... Portsmouth went down from the Champ with 40 points in 2011/12.
I have nothing to input this early on (season's not even finished yet) other than I can't believe I've read "No signings have been made" as one of a number of reasons for why we might get relegated again.
It's the 17th May!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"No signings have been made" in and of itself is not significantly alarming. But read the rest of the post and you'll see how it's exacerbated by not having a manager to choose whom to sign; not having a fully-functioning scouting set up in order to evaluate potential signings; and having zero competence at negotiating signings.
Not signing anyone this month isn't much of a problem. But it becomes hugely - and increasingly - significant when the rest of the club prevents proper signings being made.
I'm not bothered about whom we have or haven't signed yet. But I'm terrified we will still be in no better position before the window closes. At the end of January.
No way will we stay up. What decent players we have will leave to be replaced with another bunch of foreign duds. Colchester beat us quite easily a few months back and they were bottom of league 1. Anyone who thinks otherwise us deluded. Roland and km in charge it will another crap season.
I think if Meire is in control of Contracts and player Recruitment then going down again is a distinct possibility. Let's face her and Roland haven't got a clue about how to run a club and their recruitment of Players and "Managers" has been disastrous which is why we went down. If they are still in charge I will be off down the bookies !
Hey guys, based on one game under Fraeye at his most traumatic that we lost to a team that ended up relegated from League One, I've put the house on us losing at home to the Met Police in 2019
I will wait and see what the bookies say, and then go with that. I thought they were off their rockers having us as favourites for relegation last year. What do I know...
If we end up with too many u21s in the team we will go down. Wouldn't surprise me for example if we start the season with two senior strikers with Umerah, Kennedy and Hanlan expected to provide cover.
My first proper season down at The Valley was 2011/12 season (I was 11 years old then) when we got promoted and I couldn't think football could get much better, we was basically winning game in game out, when we went up I could never see us returning there ever because our team had pure fight in it with a lot of heart, likes of Yann, Morrison, younger Jacko and most importantly Chrissy Powell but this time around I can't see these bullsh!tters running our club buying players that know how to play in the hardcore English Leagues, we will be lucky to get play offs in my opinion.
The squad at the moment is good enough to compete in League One. But we should expect Gudmundsson and Ghoochannejhad to leave. Lookman as well probably. Tucudean won't want to play even if he does come back. Johnson, Diarra and Jackson are either worn out or too good for League One. Henderson and Vetokele prone to loss of form too much. If Pope goes to Celtic that leaves us with:
No goalkeeper
Defence based around Teixeira, Motta (will he stay?), Bergdich, Solly, Bauer, Sarr, Lennon, Fox, Holmes-Dennis
Midfield based on Kashi, Ceballos, Ba, Cousins, Harriott
Up Front Ahearne-Grant and.........?
Some of these are out of contract in June too.
So - prepare for the worst. If we avoid it, it's a bonus.
League One will be a doddle, just like the Championship, I think that we pretend to be looking British but continue to get in unknown coaches who do as our beloved leader says and players from obscure leagues in Europe and we cannot fail...
Even if we bought no-one in and sold all our players that are worth anything, I feel our youth would be more than capable of keeping us out of trouble.
The squad at the moment is good enough to compete in League One. But we should expect Gudmundsson and Ghoochannejhad to leave. Lookman as well probably. Tucudean won't want to play even if he does come back. Johnson, Diarra and Jackson are either worn out or too good for League One. Henderson and Vetokele prone to loss of form too much. If Pope goes to Celtic that leaves us with:
No goalkeeper
Defence based around Teixeira, Motta (will he stay?), Bergdich, Solly, Bauer, Sarr, Lennon, Fox, Holmes-Dennis
Midfield based on Kashi, Ceballos, Ba, Cousins, Harriott
Up Front Ahearne-Grant and.........?
Some of these are out of contract in June too.
So - prepare for the worst. If we avoid it, it's a bonus.
I think we could easily leave that division in either direction. We could go up or we could go down. It will all depend on the owner's ambition and the chief exec's skill in recruiting the right manager and squad.
It's too early to say but, as matters presently stand, I suspect that we'll finish mid to lower table. We can't, however, underestimate the impact of losing (at least) our two or three best players, the perception of Charlton as a big 'scalp' in League 1 and the generally parlous state of CAFC at present.
Unless the tide turns, I can see us being in relegation trouble in 2017/18, rather like our demise in the Championship in 2008/09.
Comments
More interestingly, they announced next years kit on the 3rd of May. Whats happening with that?
I think JBG can play in a higher placed Champ team like a Derby, not sure he would do much in the Prem. Cousins more than holds his own defensively in the Championship, but def hasn't got the skill or finesse to make the step up. Kashi looked great at the start but we only saw him for a month. Solly is class and but for that injury I think he would've been a prem player. Tex has looked assured since he's come in. However, as you say IF all of them stay, I don't think the current players around them are good enough to mount a promotion challenge
We're cattle-trucked!
To clarify the 'not in freefall' comment
Right now I'm predicting upper mid-table, but there's still plenty of time to completely screw things up from where we are now - but it would be a real test of Meire's incompetence to take us down again as we've got much more going for us that Blackpool did. It'd make her press conferences look like the minor leagues. History lesson though... Portsmouth went down from the Champ with 40 points in 2011/12.
Not signing anyone this month isn't much of a problem. But it becomes hugely - and increasingly - significant when the rest of the club prevents proper signings being made.
I'm not bothered about whom we have or haven't signed yet. But I'm terrified we will still be in no better position before the window closes. At the end of January.
The squad at the moment is good enough to compete in League One. But we should expect Gudmundsson and Ghoochannejhad to leave. Lookman as well probably. Tucudean won't want to play even if he does come back. Johnson, Diarra and Jackson are either worn out or too good for League One. Henderson and Vetokele prone to loss of form too much. If Pope goes to Celtic that leaves us with:
No goalkeeper
Defence based around Teixeira, Motta (will he stay?), Bergdich, Solly, Bauer, Sarr, Lennon, Fox, Holmes-Dennis
Midfield based on Kashi, Ceballos, Ba, Cousins, Harriott
Up Front Ahearne-Grant and.........?
Some of these are out of contract in June too.
So - prepare for the worst. If we avoid it, it's a bonus.
Sorry, I came over all Belgian for a moment!
Oh dear.
Unless the tide turns, I can see us being in relegation trouble in 2017/18, rather like our demise in the Championship in 2008/09.