Promotion

[1889]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad? Our current team would find it a serious struggle to stay in the Championship and I honestly think it would be a step too far for some of the players.

I'm struggling to think of any, with the possible exception of McDonald, Maguire, Long and Collins who would hold their own in a top Championship team.

 

[BladeFisher]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad? Our current team would find it a serious struggle to stay in the Championship and I honestly think it would be a step too far for some of the players.

I'm struggling to think of any, with the possible exception of McDonald, Maguire, Long and Collins who would hold their own in a top Championship team.

Cross that bridge IF we get to it.

 

[SwissBlade]

Don't worry about who invests in us, just hope that everyone else is backed by Cypriots!

 

[Grecian2000]

Not something that will worry me until we are actually promoted to be honest.

No speculating on what I might do should we get promoted, no looking at "magic numbers" or predictors, no thinking about record runs of cleansheets, I'll just keep wearing the lucky pants and hope to God it pays off.
Although, I can't even remember why I think they're actually lucky pants, it's been that long since we had any.

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

I can't even remember why I think they're actually lucky pants, it's been that long since we had any.

Are they your only pair perhaps?

 

[beightonblade]

No worries..................

I have it on good authority that IF the Blades are promoted a consortium of MEGA rich Blades are goin g to club together and give McCabe 30 bob to fo00k off !

The only doubt is the freehold !

 

[mattbianco1]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad?.

I wonder if the Nigerian is only willing should we go up? Just a guess?!?!

 

[broomhillblade]

I have a feeling that the salary cap rules will be applied to the Championship next season (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). If this is the case then the playing field may be relatively level. Teams will have to get rid of their big-salary players, one way or another. Our attendance figures would be among the highest in the championship, which should help turnover.

 

[blade too long]

thats like worrying about going out with a better looking woman

can I afford her
can I perform to a high level

but you wouldnt turn it down , just give it a go

 

[UnitedBlade]

I have a feeling that the salary cap rules will be applied to the Championship next season (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). If this is the case then the playing field may be relatively level. Teams will have to get rid of their big-salary players, one way or another. Our attendance figures would be among the highest in the championship, which should help turnover.

SCMP probably will start to take effect in the Championship. However there are two additional clauses Acceptable Deviation (£3M) and Shareholder Equity Investment (£5M) which allow losses. Leeds, Leicester and Forest (if they all stay down) would take advantage of that.

And then when you realise there could be 10 clubs with parachute payments, it will definitely not be a level playing field. The Championship has become a two tier league (we tried telling the pigs this but they wouldn't listen they thought they were going to get successive promotions)

Clubs in next year's Championship that will have parachute payments (assuming the bottom three come and Hull don't go up and Wolves don't go down)
Wigan £16M
Reading £16M
QPR £16M
Bolton £16M
Blackburn £16M
Wolves £16M
Birmingham £8M
Blackpool £8M
Burnley £8M
Hull £8M

SUFC will struggle but we have no option to try to survive and build in the absence of any further investment.

Obviously we need to get there first but then we should probably expect a season like the pigs have had.

 

[Kempy]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad? Our current team would find it a serious struggle to stay in the Championship and I honestly think it would be a step too far for some of the players.

I'm struggling to think of any, with the possible exception of McDonald, Maguire, Long and Collins who would hold their own in a top Championship team.

This is something I have given a lot of thought to, in-between the realisation that I should probably stop thinking about it in case it pisses the football gods off.

IF (Big fucking IF may I add) we get promoted this season investment will be needed big style. The current team wouldn't find it a struggle to stay in the Championship, they simply would get relegated. Can anyone honestly give me one performance this season of which you could say if we play like that against a championship side we would hold our own?

Let's take a look at our best 11 (IMO) at this time. (including injuries):

Long - A talent, no doubt. He is a decent player however at this level still makes many mistakes and is not at this current time good enough to be a championship keeper, in the future? Without a shadow of a doubt I think he will play in the prem.

McMahon - Too slow, makes rash decisions. Is prone to have some awful games where his marking goes to pot. However I think he would get into a team expecting a relegation battle in the championship.

Harry - Simply put to slow, reading of the game is fantastic for his age. However he is simply not good enough for the championship at this stage. To be a championship CB he would need a pacey partner to make up for his shortfalls in experience and pace.

Collins - shinning light in terms of reform of the last two seasons. A good solid league one cb, championship? Your having a laugh, gives everything every game but he has found his level at league one.

*- Despite what many say about harry and how much Collo looks better, they are not championship cb's and will get raped left right and centre by pace and or an experianced head at championship level.

LB - Lack of a name because IMO they are all shite. LJF is actually my favourite despite many opinions on here. In simple terms we have a lot of crap LB's of which non are championship level. Too many problems to list.

Doyle- Oh god no, past it, no pace, gives away sill fouls, not comanding enough for a Captain. Put Robson in his position and I may say he could do a job but not with someone as slow as Macca. We get raped for pace and our midfield goes missing in league 1..... in the championship we would get destroyed.

Macca- Quality pass, crap on his own. Needs a strong athletic midfielder (not doyle) to do the donkey work and a pacey player upfront to open up the pitch to pass to. If we don't sort those positions out for him as well as a winger or two.... then there is no point of him being in the team as he is too light weight for the championship.

Flynn- League 1 midfielder. He is not a winger, too slow and too weak for championship.

Murphy- Could do a job IF and only if the lad bulks up, if he doesn't then no, he is far too weak on the ball at this level let alone the next.

Kitson- Not sure, past it maybe? Experience is needed and what he adds, I personally would have him as a rotation player.

Miller- The only player I am of dead cert could do a job in the championship. From what I have seen he is an overlooked gem of a player. Movement excellent, runs at players, exciting, sniffs out goals, quality finish, pace. God I hope this injury does not effect him and he comes back fit and healthy!

In other terms I don't think any of our squad at this time is good enough to survive or even replace many players in the first team of current championship relegation battle teams bar miller. Without many changes we will sit rock bottom and plummet straight back down. Please don't give me crap about how good our defence has been this season, in sight of what we have had in the past our defence is awful. The current team simply put has no where near enough attacking capabilities in terms of penetration, pace, skill, delivery to stay up in the championship (let alone at the minute get promoted from league 1). Our midfield on many days currently is woeful and will be made to look like school boys without 2-3 new players. The lb and rb currently do not attack enough nor are decent enough at defending, and the whole team and back 4 suffer from a severe lack of pace.


I have overlooked a few i.e. Robson as he has not played in CM yet where I would play him so it is hard to tell. I imagine many will disagree with this quick assessment, however an easy way to look at it is: Take a look at the bottom 5-6 teams in the championship now and man vs man we lose out every time. Not only that but how boring is it to watch us play? We are currently trying to grind out results against poor teams as we have no penetration or decent attacking sense. If we can’t do this in league one then we have no chance in the championship. There is a bigger gulf between these two divisions then many think.

 

[Gavlar]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad? Our current team would find it a serious struggle to stay in the Championship and I honestly think it would be a step too far for some of the players.

I'm struggling to think of any, with the possible exception of McDonald, Maguire, Long and Collins who would hold their own in a top Championship team.

yep i think we will struggle with the current squad. then again, footie is a funny ol game, i thought charlton would go down this yr and they've done ok. we're pretty solid at the back, but will need a big reshuffle in midfield and attack if we're gonna stay up. could have done with keeping blackman aswell.

 

[blade too long]

of the promoted clubs , huddersfields done best , you never can tell , wednesday came up with Milans millions and they are dicing with death

 

[Selly]

What worries me is, if we do finally get promotion, where is the investment going to come from to strengthen the squad? Our current team would find it a serious struggle to stay in the Championship and I honestly think it would be a step too far for some of the players.

I'm struggling to think of any, with the possible exception of McDonald, Maguire, Long and Collins who would hold their own in a top Championship team.

There's your problem. We won be anywhere near being a top championship team IF we go up....

 

[Kempy]

of the promoted clubs , huddersfields done best , you never can tell , wednesday came up with Milans millions and they are dicing with death

and udders sold Jordan Rhodes for millions and made some decent signings?

 

[boo radley]

If all the above concerns ring true then any other team from league one would struggle a lot more than us and it would make a mockery of promotion from this league in the future and football clubs would begin to die and go out of business.

 

[Kempy]

If all the above concerns ring true then any other team from league one would struggle a lot more than us and it would make a mockery of promotion from this league in the future and football clubs would begin to die and go out of business.

You said it first

 

[boo radley]

You said it first

sounds quite depressing though don't you think?

 

[Princess Annes Dog]

Just got this awful feeling that we'll lose in the play-off semi final this year. Don't think we've got the strength to get through via the play off route, and I'm far from convinced that we're good enough to get enough points to go up automatic.

Should the unthinkable happen and we get promoted I honestly think we'd be fooked. The first team would need a complete rebuild, the squad as it stands would be nowhere near good enough and McCabes track record suggests that he'd be quite happy to let the manager take the rap for his tightness and wouldn't give a shit if we proved to be the laughing stock of the league.

We'll do nowt whilever McCabes at the helm, it's that simple. The man doesn't give a shit about football, he's shown that year in year out so don't worry about it mate, you can't do owt about it and the bloke who can won't.

 

[grafikhaus]

All this speculation is the inevitable result of years of mismanagement and transfer kamikaze - the chickens have come home to roost. Since the Burnley play-off defeat in 2009, we've maintained good (nay, incredible) levels of support, have received - and wasted - a small fortune in transfer fees, parachute payments, Tevez pay-off etc. A truly scandalous level of fiscal and managerial incompetence.

Let's look at another dimension. If we go up, we wouldn't get relegated, we'd get fucking humiliated. Sure, Charlton are doing OK (managerial stability, and don't forget they 'walked' Div. 1 last year), Huddersfield (Rhodes money, sensible re-investment) should make them safe and Wendy (Mandaric not prepared to trust Jones with any money in JTW, dead man walking, expect Pearson to replace him when Leicester realise they're not going up)

In other words, teams a lot better set up than us are struggling.

However, if we blow it again, 2-3k off crowds next year, our 'better' players sold and the downward spiral continues. In other words, pray we go up, re-form (and I personally think DW should go whether we go up or not) and hope investent comes from somewhere - anywhere - 'cos this lot are taking the piss.

 

[Kev Gee]

Without investment & a serious overhall of the squad we will come straight back down.

McCabe wont put another penny in, so who will?

 

[TopBoy]

I have to agree with everybody on here and say we'll really struggle to stay up if do go up. Last seasons side (with Ched) would've held it's own okay but this season's side is light years away from Championship standard. I get to watch Peterborough quite often and despite them having been in the bottom 3 all season with piss poor crowds their starting 11 would batter us.

 

[Ted Danson]

All this speculation is the inevitable result of years of mismanagement and transfer kamikaze - the chickens have come home to roost. Since the Burnley play-off defeat in 2009, we've maintained good (nay, incredible) levels of support, have received - and wasted - a small fortune in transfer fees, parachute payments, Tevez pay-off etc. A truly scandalous level of fiscal and managerial incompetence.

Let's look at another dimension. If we go up, we wouldn't get relegated, we'd get fucking humiliated. Sure, Charlton are doing OK (managerial stability, and don't forget they 'walked' Div. 1 last year), Huddersfield (Rhodes money, sensible re-investment) should make them safe and Wendy (Mandaric not prepared to trust Jones with any money in JTW, dead man walking, expect Pearson to replace him when Leicester realise they're not going up)

In other words, teams a lot better set up than us are struggling.

However, if we blow it again, 2-3k off crowds next year, our 'better' players sold and the downward spiral continues. In other words, pray we go up, re-form (and I personally think DW should go whether we go up or not) and hope investent comes from somewhere - anywhere - 'cos this lot are taking the piss.

So youd want to get rid of a manager who gave us a fantastic season last season with us one of the highest scorers in the world and then got us promoted in his second season? even if we finish as champions? maddness!

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Or to look on the brighter side. None of last year's promoted teams are likely to go down.
Charlton are 15th and Huddersfield 16th and even Wednesday aren't in the bottom three
(personally I think they'd have done better if Jones hadn't made such wholesale changes too quickly).
Therefore there isn't such a massive gulf and a similar finish of lower-mid table shouldn't be beyond us.

We have a team who struggle to break teams down but do well when the other team has to take the initiative.
In the Championship, we'd be likely to encounter the latter situation much more often than the former.

We undoubtedly need to strengthen the squad but the "dead wood" on unaffordable contracts have all gone now.
Our turnover in the Championship would be higher and Wilson should be able to add a few quality players without breaking the bank (or the rules).

 

[Kempy]

sounds quite depressing though don't you think?

Yup, couldn't agree more Boo. I think that is partly why this season has felt so god damn boring despite being realistically in an excellent position. The boring crap we have to watch on the pitch also doesn't help but this feeling that IF we actually do go up we will most likely fall flat on our ass and come straight back down as we don't have the money/investment to compete.

Without sharp enforcement of SCMP and cutting the stupid parachute payments in at least half, we are only going to see more and more clubs going into administration and the game getting more corrupt and more crap by the year. Let’s be honest can you see SCMP style rules actually getting enforced in the prem? My arse will they.... Might as well start shutting off relegation/promotion in a few years unless shit gets sorted.

 

[Wapping Blade]

Or to look on the brighter side. None of last year's promoted teams are likely to go down.
Charlton are 15th and Huddersfield 16th and even Wednesday aren't in the bottom three
(personally I think they'd have done better if Jones hadn't made such wholesale changes too quickly).
Therefore there isn't such a massive gulf and a similar finish of lower-mid table shouldn't be beyond us.

We have a team who struggle to break teams down but do well when the other team has to take the initiative.
In the Championship, we'd be likely to encounter the latter situation much more often than the former.

We undoubtedly need to strengthen the squad but the "dead wood" on unaffordable contracts have all gone now.
Our turnover in the Championship would be higher and Wilson should be able to add a few quality players without breaking the bank (or the rules).

But would our crowd accept a "consolidation" season in the Champ, i.e. as long as we avoid relegation we're OK and look to strengthen from there?

 

[UnitedBlade]

Or to look on the brighter side. None of last year's promoted teams are likely to go down.
Charlton are 15th and Huddersfield 16th and even Wednesday aren't in the bottom three
(personally I think they'd have done better if Jones hadn't made such wholesale changes too quickly).
Therefore there isn't such a massive gulf and a similar finish of lower-mid table shouldn't be beyond us.

We have a team who struggle to break teams down but do well when the other team has to take the initiative.
In the Championship, we'd be likely to encounter the latter situation much more often than the former.

We undoubtedly need to strengthen the squad but the "dead wood" on unaffordable contracts have all gone now.
Our turnover in the Championship would be higher and Wilson should be able to add a few quality players without breaking the bank (or the rules).

Yes, we'd have to aim to finish "comfortably" in the bottom half, that's the trick.

Breaking into the top ten or pushing for the playoffs would seem to be a pipe dream without substantial funds and someone willing to overhaul the whole squad

 

[grafikhaus]

So youd want to get rid of a manager who gave us a fantastic season last season with us one of the highest scorers in the world and then got us promoted in his second season? even if we finish as champions? maddness!

Well, Ted it's all about perspective. I never wanted DW based purely on his record. How he got through an interview with McCabe baffles me. To address your points:

1. I think DW last year flattered thanks to the once-in-a-generation goalscoring by Ched.
   
2. See 1.
   
3. Promotion? Champions? Highly unlikely.

I think your points are all based on supposition. The problem is, of course, who next? Football, despite its riches, has a highly arcane way of choosing the top man. Previous performance seems not to matter. One look at the regional footie programmes illustrates the pool (or should that be pond?) of 'talent' that's out there. On Sunday we had Phil Brown & Dean Windass keeping their faces in the public eye, hoping for another shot at failure. Brian Laws did the same. Then there are the 'good 'onest pros' who've got their mystical 'badges'. There was also an excellent piece on Donny with the impressive Rob Jones (and, for some reason, Brian Flynn - hardly the cutting edge of football knowledge).

It's a tough one. I expected Warnock to do far better at Leeds (very good article here about how the Championship has changed). Then there's Gary Johnson at Yeovil in an article that mentions us. It's a bit of a lottery, but I can't believe the same people keep going round, riding their luck and get replaced.

I stand by my point. As others have said, even if we somehow scrape promotion, the entertainment value is zero under DW. (Blackwell had a far better points-per-game ratio but it was equally dire). Ditto Stoke even after 5 PL years under Pulis, the fans are bored and he looks like walking. Possibly the team plays in the manner that the manager adopted as a player?

The fans have been extremely patient so far, but boring football + no end result is a recipe for change.

 

[Ted Danson]

To me though DW has proved he would prefer us to play entertaining football but this season he has lost the playing staff with the ability to play this way and so we have been grinding out results however we can. I cant see how we can expect any more from a manager and I cant see how we could expect any other manager to do any better with the resources available to us.

Also the last line of your post 'The fans have been extremely patient so far, but boring football + no end result is a recipe for change.' if we get promoted then surly it would be boring football with an end result so surely that isnt a recipe for change?

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Or to look on the brighter side. None of last year's promoted teams are likely to go down.
Charlton are 15th and Huddersfield 16th and even Wednesday aren't in the bottom three
(personally I think they'd have done better if Jones hadn't made such wholesale changes too quickly).
Therefore there isn't such a massive gulf and a similar finish of lower-mid table shouldn't be beyond us.

We have a team who struggle to break teams down but do well when the other team has to take the initiative.
In the Championship, we'd be likely to encounter the latter situation much more often than the former.

We undoubtedly need to strengthen the squad but the "dead wood" on unaffordable contracts have all gone now.
Our turnover in the Championship would be higher and Wilson should be able to add a few quality players without breaking the bank (or the rules).

By my reckoning, we would need to bring in just FIVE quality players to have a squad well capable of holding their own in the Championship:-
First Team:-
Long
New RB, Maguire, Collins, New LB
New RW, McDonald, New CM, Murphy
Kitson, New CF

Reserves:-
Howard
McMahon, Higginbotham, Kennedy, Hill
Flynn, Robson, Doyle, McFadzean
Ironside, Miller
Others:- Willis, Whitehouse, De Girolamo

Sell/Release:- Coyne, Westlake, Lescinel, Williams, Chappell, Tonne, Creswell, Porter

That should be achieveable given that the increased turnover should increase the budget available for wages.
Unlike other years, we also have a number of players who we can offload without too much trouble.
I'd like to think that IF we do go up, Wilson would be able to sign the type of players we were forced to lose in the Summer and revert back to the more progressive, attacking style of play he was able to pursue last season.