Championship Teams

[Trevor Hockey - Canary]

There's a tap in for someone here.....

That bite took a bit longer than I anticipated. J.

 

[Le Cynique]

What I don’t get is this insistence that previous form can be revisited, despite many, many other things changing. Form is temporary, as we’ve seen with Lundstram, and McB and Brewster played in a strong Swansea team who played to their strengths rather than either hoofing it up the field in the case of the former or leaving him on the bench in the case of the latter.

Sure, I’d love to be wrong and for all the factors to magically coalesce and give us an amazing season in the second tier, but it takes a lot (as I’ve said before) for this to happen.

 

[mattbianco1]

I dont watch any championship games but what gives a lot of blades the feeling we will blitz the league next season is the championship really that bad this year

I don't think we'll blitz it but if we went into the championship with no incomings or outgoings and proper crowds back. We're top 8

 

[dillis]

We haven’t had a fully fit team all season ffs! Are we all forgetting this. No fans has killed us as well. The squad we have at the minute should be enough to get us top two and we will definitely strengthen. The championship is a piss poor league at the moment.

 

[Robboblade1889]

We haven’t had a fully fit team all season ffs! Are we all forgetting this. No fans has killed us as well. The squad we have at the minute should be enough to get us top two and we will definitely strengthen. The championship is a piss poor league at the moment.

Bang on the money! All this bollocks about Chris Wilder changing is absolute bollocks, then only consistent thing about this club over the past 5 years is our manager. He’s made mistakes the team has made mistakes we have had horrendous injuries to unreplaceable players along with loss of form to key players. His interviews that we all loved are now being picked apart by the wilder out clique. People are rewriting history and diluting what he has done for this club.
I hope and pray he doesn’t walk because I think we will have a few people humble pie next season. If these people get their way and he does go then I hope they own what happens after that because if he leaves then I think we are in trouble and will struggle to return.

 

[Nosworthys Throw]

People are comparing us with Norwich but Norwich were clearly a good functioning team last season but just not good enough for the Premier League. Plus I remember them starting the season with a fair few injuries to a team they basically didn't strengthen. I don't think we're the same. We're not playing as a team. We're making mistakes regularly and we struggle to score. Unless we make several good signings, I can't see it. I'm not confident about that the money will be there or that our team is capable only the recruitment side.

They won 5 games last season with a -49 goal difference. We're on 3 with -28 so far

I must be mental to draw such a comparison, especially as they were clearly a good functioning team but they just had a couple of injuries, oh and they didnt strengthen so they werent quite good enough for the Prem.

If only we had problems like theirs.....

 

[Sheff de party]

Pre-season. Fans back. Jack O’Connell, John Egan and Chris Basham playing together. Bogle. Flat 3 in the bin.

We have no chance of holding onto Egan in my view. The only thing missing from his game is dealing with the ball over the top and that can be coached.

 

[Revolution]

Bang on the money! All this bollocks about Chris Wilder changing is absolute bollocks, then only consistent thing about this club over the past 5 years is our manager. He’s made mistakes the team has made mistakes we have had horrendous injuries to unreplaceable players along with loss of form to key players. His interviews that we all loved are now being picked apart by the wilder out clique. People are rewriting history and diluting what he has done for this club.
I hope and pray he doesn’t walk because I think we will have a few people humble pie next season. If these people get their way and he does go then I hope they own what happens after that because if he leaves then I think we are in trouble and will struggle to return.

Just so we have it on record, if we are crap next season with Wilder in charge will you admit you might have been wrong?

 

[Robboblade1889]

Just so we have it on record, if we are crap next season with Wilder in charge will you admit you might have been wrong?

If we aren’t doing the business next season up to Xmas then I would imagine he would be the first to admit it had to come to an end. We have a top top manager he has proved that time and time again, judging him on this season alone with the backdrop of everything that has gone off is completely wrong.
There are a number of factors out of his hands which have contributed to this season but people like yourself don’t what to listen to any of that.

 

[TopBoy]

I've watched loads of Championship games this season, in fact prefer watching it to the Prem. The quality I've seen on offer is very poor indeed, our current (fit) squad would finish top 6, our best starting 11 would finish in the top 2.
Derby v Forest on Friday night was woeful, with neither team capable of stringing more than a few passes together.

 

[Revolution]

If we aren’t doing the business next season up to Xmas then I would imagine he would be the first to admit it had to come to an end. We have a top top manager he has proved that time and time again, judging him on this season alone with the backdrop of everything that has gone off is completely wrong.
There are a number of factors out of his hands which have contributed to this season but people like yourself don’t what to listen to any of that.

1. A number of things have gone wrong that are not Wilders fault. Everyone knows that. Injuries being one of them.
2. You didn’t answer my question.

 

[BanderSerge]

Norwich have premier league quality players currently playing in the championship.

We have championship quality players currently playing in the premier league.

Norwich are a lot weaker this season than last, yet are still taking the piss in the championship. The premier league gulf to championship is ridiculous.

 

[jono_t2000]

Norwich are a lot weaker this season than last, yet are still taking the piss in the championship. The premier league gulf to championship is ridiculous.

Like Roygbiv said above.. they still have a handful of players on their books that have quality and flair at premier league standard.

 

[Silent Blade]

Burke's goal was really an own goal if Liverpool's second yesterday is anything to go by.

No, Burke's shot at OT was on target, Firmino's shot last night was off target

 

[BlairBlade]

They won 5 games last season with a -49 goal difference. We're on 3 with -28 so far

I must be mental to draw such a comparison, especially as they were clearly a good functioning team but they just had a couple of injuries, oh and they didnt strengthen so they werent quite good enough for the Prem.

If only we had problems like theirs.....

It would have been good to buy two or three of their players for this season.

 

[Revolution]

No, Burke's shot at OT was on target, Firmino's shot last night was off target

That's true, although there's a very good chance De Gea would have saved it without the deflection. No matter anyway.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Because if we didn’t think, we can rip the Championship a new arsehole.....What’s the point of it all?

 

[Silent Blade]

That's true, although there's a very good chance De Gea would have saved it without the deflection. No matter anyway.

Agree but without the deflection Firmino had no chance of scoring. Without the deflection it was still possible that Burke would have scored

 

[Carlton Blade]

People are comparing us with Norwich but Norwich were clearly a good functioning team last season but just not good enough for the Premier League. Plus I remember them starting the season with a fair few injuries to a team they basically didn't strengthen. I don't think we're the same. We're not playing as a team. We're making mistakes regularly and we struggle to score. Unless we make several good signings, I can't see it. I'm not confident about that the money will be there or that our team is capable only the recruitment side.

Norwich were absolutely awful last season. One of the worst top division teams of the last 70 years.

We are worse

 

[guancheblade]

2 of next seasons championship teams will come down with us, currently I don’t think we are better than either of the current bottom three. With a full side I think we are better than West Brom and presuming Fulham come down with us, I think we could run them close with a full side and a couple of creative, attacking additions.

A good indicator is to view how last seasons relegated teams fared this season. Norwich look like comfortably winning the league and although finishing bottom, were probably best placed to come straight back as they had planned for it all along.

Bournemouth and Watford looked really poor last year and also has a few years of premier league deadwood on stupid wages to get rid of too before rebuilding. Watford are in the running for autos and Bournemouth are in a play off spot.

A lot for us depends on what kind of summer we have. We’ve spent a lot of money over the last couple of years and currently we are decimated by injuries. I firmly believe our starting 11 come August will look very different to the starting 11 that was put out tonight. I think Wilder will attempt to build a squad around his bigger money signings and I think we might see an overhaul of our midfield and hopefully a return to a more creative number 10.

As it stands, I don’t think it’s sensible to suggest we will piss the league next year and I don’t think many people (if any) have explicitly said that. I certainly think we could be in the conversation for coming straight back up and so we should be but it’s so so important to get recruitment right this summer.

It will also be interesting to see the feeling on here if we are looking at a play off place rather than automatic promotion or even worse mid-table. At the moment, I really wouldn’t be surprised if we had something of a transition season next year. I think we have to be prepared for that as I fear the re-build job maybe bigger than anticipated, especially if we lost a few players in the summer.

So, what do I conclude from this arguably rather pointless ramble? Well, I think it’s too early to tell definitively what will happen next season. We could potentially have a really high quality championship squad next season but if we lose a couple of players and not everything goes to plan, we could end up needing a couple of extra pieces of the jigsaw.

The one good thing if Newcastle go down is that they will inevitably lose their best players (Lascelles, Saint Maximan, Wilson) and could end up being the weakest of the three teams to go down.

However, in this scenario I fear them ditching Bruce and poaching Wilder from us, who'd probably take JOC and Egan with him.

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

Sunderland lose
Burnley drew
Scum win