Bergen Blade
Well-Known Member
I think it's a good idea to learn from teams that have been in our position and gone on to do well in the next tier as well. But even if we do go up we can't assume that we'll follow in the footsteps of Southampton and Norwich.
Both of those had major clear outs from the squads that were relegated. I compared two Norwich sides, one in April 2009 (when they were relegated from the Championship) and one in April 2010 (their L1 promotion season) and found that only two players remained. Southampton needed one more season in league one to rebuild but it seems that was right for them as it allowed them to gain a momentum that saw them win another promotion as well.
Charlton and Sheffield wednesday both tried to bounce back without a major clear out (similar to our approach). Both of them had disappointing first seasons in League One, and Charlton chose to have a complete clear out last summer - to good effect. Megson made some signings in January 2011 and some of them came good this season. They managed to further freshen up their squad in the next two windows (signings and loans) and subsequently won auto promotion.
I'd like it to be known that the approaches that have led to the above mentioned teams' success is different to what we've tried to do this season. We have pushed the boat out as much as them in terms of money spent, but we have spent it on players already at the club. The question is if these players have it in them to keep improving, if we as a club and squad have enough momentum and potential to take on the Championship as well.
