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Championship expectations
Comments
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swordfish said:MillwallFan said:DOUCHER said:Woodwork said:DOUCHER said:Woodwork said:DOUCHER said:BigDiddy said:KiwiValley said:Can we just start the year in minus six and not bother with the Milwall games?.3
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jimmymelrose said:I only disagree with the above in that Stoke and Swansea are on a slippery slope whereas as Sheffield Wednesday are building. I also think that Pompey and Oxford have momentum but definitely Hull and maybe Preston don’t.
There are many posters here expecting mid-table which for me is akin to asking a young (working class) fan what he wants for his birthday this summer and he replying ’I reckon I’ll get the season ticket to the executive box and lounge’ He’s hoping that there’s some big money tucked away somewhere that so far there’s been no evidence of. He should be considering that he lives in a small terraced house whilst most of his friends at his school live in a detached house with a new car on the drive.
I’m sure we’ll add, and I have faith they will be good signings, but at the moment, I look at the XI that started the play off final, and it’s going to be a big jump for most of them
i think Ramsay and Small should be okay. I hope Jones and Gillesphey can hold their own. Edwards will definitely put the required work rate in
of the midfield three, Coventry has been immense this season, but he won’t have the time on the ball as much as he did this season. Docherty I’m not so sure about as I don’t think he particularly tore it up this season in league one, and Berry may have age and injuries to work against
TC will be up against much better defenders and will have to find another level, and for however great Godden has been, he’s the wrong side of 30 and I expect may have to play more of a sub role based on the fact we need better - I’m not knocking him, it’s just that Coventry a competitive championship team felt it was right to release him which was our gain, but he’s going to have to dig deeper as well3 -
At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level4
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Crispywood said:At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level
Not saying we will finish above them as they will most likely spend a fortune, but if both clubs played a championship season now I think we’d do better than them0 -
Chris_from_Sidcup said:Woodwork said:Chris_from_Sidcup said:Woodwork said:DOUCHER said:Woodwork said:DOUCHER said:BigDiddy said:KiwiValley said:Can we just start the year in minus six and not bother with the Milwall games?.
Having just looked it up, there wasn't a single big club that entered it.
The 4 semi-finalists were Millwall, Reading, Lincoln (all in the old division 3 at the time) and Chester (division 4). One of the semi finals had an attendance of 1.058, and the attendance for the final was 3,142.Should have had a European place tbf.
But like i said, no big clubs played in it.
I am saying that the 1983 Football League Trophy should have come with a European place, as it featured top flight clubs, including the First Division (top flight) runners-up, Watford, and a decent Norwich City side. And because top flight games played in it, it is considered a ‘major’ trophy.0 -
cabbles said:jimmymelrose said:I only disagree with the above in that Stoke and Swansea are on a slippery slope whereas as Sheffield Wednesday are building. I also think that Pompey and Oxford have momentum but definitely Hull and maybe Preston don’t.
There are many posters here expecting mid-table which for me is akin to asking a young (working class) fan what he wants for his birthday this summer and he replying ’I reckon I’ll get the season ticket to the executive box and lounge’ He’s hoping that there’s some big money tucked away somewhere that so far there’s been no evidence of. He should be considering that he lives in a small terraced house whilst most of his friends at his school live in a detached house with a new car on the drive.
I’m sure we’ll add, and I have faith they will be good signings, but at the moment, I look at the XI that started the play off final, and it’s going to be a big jump for most of them
i think Ramsay and Small should be okay. I hope Jones and Gillesphey can hold their own. Edwards will definitely put the required work rate in
of the midfield three, Coventry has been immense this season, but he won’t have the time on the ball as much as he did this season. Docherty I’m not so sure about as I don’t think he particularly tore it up this season in league one, and Berry may have age and injuries to work against
TC will be up against much better defenders and will have to find another level, and for however great Godden has been, he’s the wrong side of 30 and I expect may have to play more of a sub role based on the fact we need better - I’m not knocking him, it’s just that Coventry a competitive championship team felt it was right to release him which was our gain, but he’s going to have to dig deeper as wellPeople saying Stoke City… they have some decent players & good financial backing. They appointed a manager with good pedigree. To finish above them with the current squad would take some doing imo.Vulnerable clubs are Portsmouth, Preston and Hull City. Imo. Oxford will be fine under Rowett. Imo.1 -
Crispywood said:At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level
Wrexham are not much better and their aging team will be another year older. Although of course they will spend money.
I wouldn't say we're worse than Preston either. Ok they beat us narrowly in the cup, but i felt we had the better of the game and we had Mitchell playing instead of Ramsay and Ahadme up front instead of Godden.
Are we that much worse than Oxford?1 -
NabySarr said:Crispywood said:At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level
Not saying we will finish above them as they will most likely spend a fortune, but if both clubs played a championship season now I think we’d do better than them1 -
ShootersHillGuru said:NabySarr said:Crispywood said:At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level
Not saying we will finish above them as they will most likely spend a fortune, but if both clubs played a championship season now I think we’d do better than them
That said, we can't be easily the worst Championship team having never played any games in it yet. Weakest squad on paper? Maybe, but again, yet to be proven. Do we need to strengthen? Of course, but we will, so let's wait and see where we and others are when the season begins before making predictions.
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This board was held up in a Welcome to Wrexham episode. Decent wedge but not Championship levels. I hear that they now have a new partner in Kaleen Allyn to fill that gap?
Either way, when you consider the expertise that exists throughout the English Pyramid, you have to wonder how two know nothing Yanks turn up out of nowhere and wipe the floor with pretty much everyone else. They appointed Shaun Harvey former EFL CEO as adviser and Phil Parkinson early doors and from what I could make out were prepared to push the boat out to buy in a striker or two when required.
I dunno about circus, but there is a bit of the magic circle about it.
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The Wrexham money is partly because they can get sponsors that other clubs at that level can’t. Interesting to see how that fares in the Championship. I wrongly thought L1 would be their ceiling so have got no idea what will happen to them next season6
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ShootersHillGuru said:NabySarr said:Crispywood said:At this moment in time we easily have the worse team in the championship. Stoke and Preston are in for massive rebuilds but they have good managers whether such a big turnaround in a short time is risky we have to see. Wednesday Hull and QPR have incompetent ownership they will be right down there this season. Oxford and Portsmouth probably the 2 other weakest sides in terms of quality and budget not sure how likely Derby will be down the bottom with Eustace. We would to improve half our starting XI to stand a chance at this level
Not saying we will finish above them as they will most likely spend a fortune, but if both clubs played a championship season now I think we’d do better than them3 -
I think people and the bookies might be overestimating Wrexham this season.
The hollywood hype and decent investment has carried them this far but the Championship is a different level, they have a small stadium and even their celebrity owners are not mega-rich at this level.
I think they will finish bottom 10.2 -
They have an even smaller stadium next season, the temporary stand is being taken down ready to start building a new permanent stand which will take a while.0
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Covered_End_Lad said:I think people and the bookies might be overestimating Wrexham this season.
The hollywood hype and decent investment has carried them this far but the Championship is a different level, they have a small stadium and even their celebrity owners are not mega-rich at this level.
I think they will finish bottom 10.
There's a lot to be said for momentum and i think their small stadium works in their favour, as it'll be a tough place for a lot of teams to go to.2 -
I think Parkinson is one of the best Managers to have in charge of your club at League One level, and is what got them over the line, he's never really had a solid run of it in the Championship with a club.
Lasted less than half a season at Hull
Got relegated with us when we were a mess
Barely survived with the mess that was Bolton, then relegated with them the next.
This is really his first opportunity so will be a minor question mark I think.3 -
Reckon Wrexham will go down personally. Phil Parkinson is just not a good enough manager at this level and they'll get found out against the better sides. Momentum can only take you so far.
The Plymouth champions from 2022/23 were a much better side and stayed up by just 1 point in 23/24, and have course just been relegated. That Plymouth team had far more quality and a better style.
Ourselves, Wrexham, Preston, Hull, Stoke and probably Oxford, that's your clear favourites to go down.
We do have one of the worst squads on paper, you can go through every champ side and find that out for yourself.
The only thing we have going for us mainly, other than a handful of good players is Nathan Jones, a manager very accustomed to this league, a manager that navigated Luton town to a championship play-off semi, and got Luton mid-table the year prior and earned himself manager of the season.
That's our x-factor this season. Without him we would probably be buggered.9 -
Braziliance said:Reckon Wrexham will go down personally. Phil Parkinson is just not a good enough manager at this level and they'll get found out against the better sides. Momentum can only take you so far.
The Plymouth champions from 2022/23 were a much better side and stayed up by just 1 point in 23/24, and have course just been relegated. That Plymouth team had far more quality and a better style.
Ourselves, Wrexham, Preston, Hull, Stoke and probably Oxford, that's your clear favourites to go down.
We do have one of the worst squads on paper, you can go through every champ side and find that out for yourself.
The only thing we have going for us mainly, other than a handful of good players is Nathan Jones, a manager very accustomed to this league, a manager that navigated Luton town to a championship play-off semi, and got Luton mid-table the year prior and earned himself manager of the season.
That's our x-factor this season. Without him we would probably be buggered.2 -
cabbles said:I’d bite your hand off at 4th bottom right now.
over the course of our history, I think our average position is mid table in the 2nd division (now Championship).
for me 4th bottom would be an achievement because football has changed so much over the last 30 years since the mid 90s when we were last a stable championship/div 2 team. The money sloshing about now is obscene, and given the fact we’ve had 11 seasons in league one since 2009, we’re not a big club in that division anymore, despite history showing it’s where we belong (on average).
the 19/20 season was harsh. Duchatelet had given up and Bowyer and Gallen had to rely on getting fortunate with the likes of Cullen rejoining and a coup in Gallagher signing on loan, but ultimately the team/squad just didn’t have enough. There were mitigating circumstances, Lyle Taylor getting injured for a chunk of the season didn’t help as he was out talisman, and then of course his decision not to come back post Covid. Losing Gallagher was a blow, and it also came at a time when Taylor was out, so all of a sudden, Bowyer is naming youngsters and we had a lot of damaging results, conceding stupid last minute goals as well.But, there were some decent performances that season. We started very well, the momentum of the playoff final. The draws at WBA/Fulham away, and then when Taylor came back from injury just before Covid, a draw at home to Fulham and win at Forest
We almost did it but ultimately fell short, and I expect nothing different this season.You’ve also got to look at the dynamic of the division. Ipswich and Soton coming down from the Prem. Wrexham and Brum with their stupid money. Sheff Utd. There are going to be some big teams, with much better players than us playing quicker football than we’re used to. Even the teams that aren’t big spenders, have recent experience of being in the Prem, Swansea, Stoke, MBoro, Blackburn (at a push). They may not have been prem clubs for a while, but their fanbases remember, and will likely be as agitated as were at being in the championship for a while now
their expectations may have been tempered some what, but these are all teams that are more established in the champ than us. Even getting points of these will be tough
we don’t know how the summer will pan out, but looking at it now, I’d say we’re potentially fighting with Oxford, Pompey, Sheff Wed, and a few others to stay out that bottom three. That’s all I want personally0 -
se9addick said:Andyessgee90 said:Unlikely to happen but us v Millwall playoff final at Wembley. We don’t lose at Wembley. They don’t lose to us. Take a 0-0 and win on penalties.0
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Chris_from_Sidcup said:Covered_End_Lad said:I think people and the bookies might be overestimating Wrexham this season.
The hollywood hype and decent investment has carried them this far but the Championship is a different level, they have a small stadium and even their celebrity owners are not mega-rich at this level.
I think they will finish bottom 10.
There's a lot to be said for momentum and i think their small stadium works in their favour, as it'll be a tough place for a lot of teams to go to.It's teams like Oxford and Preston who we could compete with like-for-like.0 -
I’ve always thought Wrexham would keep getting promoted until they hit the Championship and that’s where the rapid growth would slow down.That’s unless they get significant further investment of course.
It’s one thing to spend a couple of hundred thousand and league 1 level wages on league 1 quality players to get you out of the national league and league 2. Followed by a few million on top league 1 and aging championship players to get out of league 1.
I don’t see how they can possibly do that in the championship because the fees and wages to bring in top Championship and aging premier league players would be outrageous.I think we’ll see a bit of a change in strategy from them now which will see them signing top league 1 and decent championship players.10th - 20th would be my prediction for them next season based on that.3 -
Avoid relegation and don’t leave it until the last day.6
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The phrase Jones uses is no trap doors.
We have done this once and had to suffer another 5 seasons of turgid league 1 tripe.
All I want is to move on, happily slowly but just no league 1 ever again9 -
fenaddick said:The Wrexham money is partly because they can get sponsors that other clubs at that level can’t. Interesting to see how that fares in the Championship. I wrongly thought L1 would be their ceiling so have got no idea what will happen to them next season1
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objectivecafc said:The phrase Jones uses is no trap doors.
We have done this once and had to suffer another 5 seasons of turgid league 1 tripe.
All I want is to move on, happily slowly but just no league 1 ever again2 -
A lot of teams finishing mid-table by the sounds of things, and I really don't see it.
Sheffield United, Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich, Norwich, Boro, Coventry, Birmingham, West Brom. I'd be surprised if any of those finish outside the top12.
Then you've got the likes of Swansea, Millwall, Watford, Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City who are consistent championship sides.
That's 15 sides before we even look at sides like Pompey, Oxford, QPR, who stayed up fairly comfortably in the end.
I think 21st would be an incredible achievement. This league is hell like league1, just way more exciting cause of the magnitude.2 -
Typical the year we finally come up we get thrown into what’s probably the most difficult championship in years realistically there’s only maximum 6-7 teams who are likely to be in the relegation scrap2
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Crispywood said:Typical the year we finally come up we get thrown into what’s probably the most difficult championship in years realistically there’s only maximum 6-7 teams who are likely to be in the relegation scrap1
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Listened to the Football Weekly podcast a bit earlier. They think CAFC will be just fine in the Championship next season and said those that will be in for a battle had wished Orient had come up rather than us to relieve the pressure. Odds will change for the better over the next 6 weeks or so…12