Can we compete (4 Viewers)

[SkyBlue Snowflake]

We will do mighty fine in championship , top ten finish without a doubt, exciting plans for the championship

 

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[hill83]

Nobody knows either way but let’s argue about it for a few months.

 

[hill83]

WE WILL WIN THE LEAGUE

 

[hill83]

WE WILL BE RELEGATED WITHIN 13 SECONDS

 

[Magwitch]

Millwall as an example have a £17 m wage bill. It’s inconceivable we’d be able tk have anything like that level of payment

Brentford finances are a mess - don’t seem why Millwall have such a high revenue though as wages seem relatively under control though I think they have added £3m to the wage bill since this was published

Wages don’t win football matches,

Having seen us give Birmingham the run around, twice, I’m not worried at all about a higher division and that fuelled with what I believe will be changes to football finances I think we will be okay.
I don’t know what our football clubs financial position is cash flow positive is the last I heard from our chairman and I know we are throwing money away every home match due to playing in Brum also don’t know what our annual wage budget is.
I’m sure season will start behind closed doors for possibly a few months but will that effect us that much not exactly taking a fortune at the gate presently or I should say before season was suspended. But we surely have a bit in the pot from the transfers of McCallum, bit more from Maddison and maybe some from a Wilson transfer, certain we will cope.
There are going to be some clubs in the championship with real financial problems, we won’t be one of them.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

What I would say is that the losing culture has been eradicated from the club albeit at a lower level. Finishes of 8th, 6th and hopefully 1st which gives some hope.

I don’t have the facts to hand but it does seem if you spend years in the Championship paddling water it’s harder to get back up then if you get relegated after one or two seasons. Ipswich are a good example who spent 15 seasons in the Championship compared to Rotherham who spend 1 or 2 but are always challenging when they return to League 1

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

Wages don’t win football matches,

Having seen us give Birmingham the run around, twice, I’m not worried at all about a higher division and that fuelled with what I believe will be changes to football finances I think we will be okay.
I don’t know what our football clubs financial position is cash flow positive is the last I heard from our chairman and I know we are throwing money away every home match due to playing in Brum also don’t know what our annual wage budget is.
I’m sure season will start behind closed doors for possibly a few months but will that effect us that much not exactly taking a fortune at the gate presently or I should say before season was suspended. But we surely have a bit in the pot from the transfers of McCallum, bit more from Maddison and maybe some from a Wilson transfer, certain we will cope.
There are going to be some clubs in the championship with real financial problems, we won’t be one of them.

We didn’t really give Birmingham the run around. Also, you can take little from them matches as a sign of how a team will do over a 46 game season otherwise our League 2 team is better than this one because we beat then Premier League Stoke

 

[covcity4life]

We didn’t really give Birmingham the run around. Also, you can take little from them matches as a sign of how a team will do over a 46 game season otherwise our League 2 team is better than this one because we beat then Premier League Stoke

We played well in both matches so its fair to take some confidence from those games

 

[Ring Of Steel]

We played well in both matches so its fair to take some confidence from those games

That kind of sensible talk is not relevant for here, you’d be better off finding some figures & graphs which prove we will be thrashed by everyone.

 

[Grendel]

We didn’t really give Birmingham the run around. Also, you can take little from them matches as a sign of how a team will do over a 46 game season otherwise our League 2 team is better than this one because we beat then Premier League Stoke

Exactly you only have to look at our own cup defeats against lower league opponents as well over the years

 

[clint van damme]

We played well in both matches so its fair to take some confidence from those games

we did. But equally all 3 promoted teams from last season are in the relegation places and likely to be relegated.
I think we'd struggle, though as others have said, maybe everything that's going on at the moment could act as somewhat as a leveller.

If we did go up and managed to stay up by the skin of our teeth I'd be delighted.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

What I would say is that the losing culture has been eradicated from the club albeit at a lower level. Finishes of 8th, 6th and hopefully 1st which gives some hope.

I don’t have the facts to hand but it does seem if you spend years in the Championship paddling water it’s harder to get back up then if you get relegated after one or two seasons. Ipswich are a good example who spent 15 seasons in the Championship compared to Rotherham who spend 1 or 2 but are always challenging when they return to League 1

As I have nothing better to do. Clubs who spent 5 or more consecutive seasons in the Premier League of recent times with never challenging for anything:

Sunderland 9 seasons. Now 7th in League One. Back to back relegations.

Stoke 9 seasons. Now 17th in the Championship.

Wigan 8 seasons. Now 20th in the Championship. 2 relegations in 3 seasons.

Swansea 6 seasons. Now 11th in the Championship.

Then you have us and Southampton who also spent long periods and had to go down to the third tier before a revival

 

[covcity4life]

we did. But equally all 3 promoted teams from last season are in the relegation places and likely to be relegated.
I think we'd struggle, though as others have said, maybe everything that's going on at the moment could act as somewhat as a leveller.

If we did go up and managed to stay up by the skin of our teeth I'd be delighted.

Thibk we all would

It might be more of a unknown season tho so noit wrong with dreaming. Its what footy fans do

Ppl called us relegstion fodder this seaosn and we won the league

Same could happen next year!

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

We played well in both matches so its fair to take some confidence from those games

We played good football just weren't wise enough or strong enough, we were outmuscled by Birmingham from experienced pro's like Juckiewicz, im sure Robins and Vivesh know this and would add to the squad accordingly, for a league 1 team against and experienced championship set up we were no way disgraced and held our own

 

[Deleted member 2477]

It isn't Sisu's reluctance to splash millions on the team that brings them criticism. It is the way that they have cynically used the club to try and get their own way that makes most fans dislike and not trust them. I'm not going into it all again but their history is there for all to see.

I think the majority have now started to have a more realistic view of the owners. Four years a go almost every supporter despised Sisu and wanted them out of the club. Given the past two seasons and the truth coming out about the council, wasps and the trust many of us whilst still not agreeing with Sisu and Fisher over the way they have treated fans historically can now see that Sisu have actually levelled the club financially and put things in place to get us where we are now and hopefully back in the championship.

at this moment in time I am happy to keep going a long with Sisu at the club as there are other clubs aka Sunderland, Birmingham, Blackpool etc who have been taken over and found a pot of shit at the end of the rainbow instead of the promised gold

 

[covcity4life]

We played good football just weren't wise enough or strong enough, we were outmuscled by Birmingham from experienced pro's like Juckiewicz, im sure Robins and Vivesh know this and would add to the squad accordingly, for a league 1 team against and experienced championship set up we were no way disgraced and held our own

We jave championship targets lined up. Lets hope we can get most of them

 

[Mcbean]

we will be favourites to go down for sure - gonna get an early bet in for playoffs

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

We played good football just weren't wise enough or strong enough, we were outmuscled by Birmingham from experienced pro's like Juckiewicz, im sure Robins and Vivesh know this and would add to the squad accordingly, for a league 1 team against and experienced championship set up we were no way disgraced and held our own

The thing I noticed much different from our level was that every set piece they looked a threat

 

[clint van damme]

Thibk we all would

It might be more of a unknown season tho so noit wrong with dreaming. Its what footy fans do

Ppl called us relegstion fodder this seaosn and we won the league

Same could happen next year!

I'm not sure how many people called us relegation fodder this year to be honest and if they did that was very pessimistic.
I don't think anyone predicting a relegation battle in the Championship is being unduly pessimistic at all. Of course. we could be a surprise package, stranger things have happened.
And please don't say we've won the league until it's confirmed!

 

[lord_garrincha]

And if we do get promoted, a higher level of player will more likely want to come.

Maybe we can finally allocate £17k pw to Kelvin Wilson.

 

[SeaSeeEffCee]

Any club would struggle upon being promoted in this current climate. I don't think it's an insult towards us to suggest that we might find it difficult.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

And if we do get promoted, a higher level of player will more likely want to come.

Maybe we can finally allocate £17k pw to Kelvin Wilson.

Mowbray spent all summer chasing him and he’s played 6 games in 4 years since. What was more bizarre was that he released Reda Johnson to try and bring in someone as injury prone

 

[Brylowes]

I honestly believe we’re a far better team than many think we are ‘including players and supporters,
Once the realisation dawned on the players there was no looking back, you could see the belief and
Confidence growing as the season progressed.
With a couple of savvy editions to the first team and a general strengthening of the squad depth and
overall quality, I can’t see any reason why we won’t ‘at least compete’ and with a fair wind succeed.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

I honestly believe we’re a far better team than many think we are ‘including players and supporters,
Once the realisation dawned on the players there was no looking back, you could see the belief and
Confidence growing as the season progressed.
With a couple of savvy editions to the first team and a general strengthening of the squad depth and
overall quality, I can’t see any reason why we won’t ‘at least compete’ and with a fair wind succeed.

I think it is a massive step up when you consider our best player is not needed in another Championship clubs 18 at the moment. Chaplin has done better at Barnsley than here but they are bottom

 

[clint van damme]

Mowbray spent all summer chasing him and he’s played 6 games in 4 years since. What was more bizarre was that he released Reda Johnson to try and bring in someone as injury prone

I'll never be able to fathom out what the hell Mowbray was thinking about with that one.

 

[Ring Of Steel]

I think it is a massive step up when you consider our best player is not needed in another Championship clubs 18 at the moment. Chaplin has done better at Barnsley than here but they are bottom

It is a step up. The gap between us and a Leeds is very big. The gap between us and a Birmingham- as we saw with our own eyes- is small. If your expectation is to win the Championship you have a point, but I don’t know who is saying that- if your expectation is just survival then I’m saying we’d have a really good chance.

 

[cc84cov]

Liam Walsh is a priority I don’t feel Kelly can handle the level up consistently but defo a squad player we will need a striker also to play with Godden Ivan Toney maybe ? Or someone from the prem on loan,creative player to replace O’Hare altho I don’t see why we can’t go out and get him permanently

 

[ccfcway]

playing behind closed doors will be a real leveller for us. I think we will survive.

 

[steve cooper]

If we are talking about being relegated, or struggling in a division we haven't even been promoted to yet, than we might as well give up.
IF we do get promoted I'm certainly not going to be thinking about relegation before a ball has even been kicked.
Lets wait and see, if we do go up, what we can do.

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

Liam Walsh is a priority I don’t feel Kelly can handle the level up consistently but defo a squad player we will need a striker also to play with Godden Ivan Toney maybe ? Or someone from the prem on loan,creative player to replace O’Hare altho I don’t see why we can’t go out and get him permanently

I can assure you we will not be signing Ivan Toney. He would probably cost as much as our entire wage budget for the year

 

[cc84cov]

I can assure you we will not be signing Ivan Toney. He would probably cost as much as our entire wage budget for the year

Probably right the fee they would want is the issue

 

[Blind-Faith]

Liam Walsh is a priority I don’t feel Kelly can handle the level up consistently but defo a squad player we will need a striker also to play with Godden Ivan Toney maybe ? Or someone from the prem on loan,creative player to replace O’Hare altho I don’t see why we can’t go out and get him permanently

We’ve got more chance of signing Ivan Gurerro! But I’ll have a pint of your optimism please

 

[COVKIDSNEVERQUIT]

It will be difficult, but if crowds aren't being let in that could benefit us if we're at St Andrews as other clubs will be seeing significant reductions in gate and F&B income in comparison to us. So it becomes more about using the budget astutely and I have faith in MR to do that pretty well. Plus if other teams are in the same position out-of-contract players may become more affordable and players we had no chance of signing may now be within reach.

That's not to say I'm expecting us to be massively competitive but certainly gives us a better chance of staying above the drop line. We'll need to upgrade a few of the team probably (Fadz would struggle with Championship strikers IMO and as always a striker upgrade) but we've got the basis of a half-decent squad.

Oh you Dreamer you .

 

[Brylowes]

I think it is a massive step up when you consider our best player is not needed in another Championship clubs 18 at the moment. Chaplin has done better at Barnsley than here but they are bottom

But it takes much more than just good players to make a good team, belief, trust, chemistry,
Confidence, loyalty, determination, pride, competition, togetherness etc etc.
I think we seem abundant in a most of those areas, and if so ‘maybe our good players won’t
Necessarily Have to be as good as other Club's good players in order for us to succeed.

 

[Specs WT-R75]

Possibly no better time to be going into the championship! Hear me out... our budget is currently in the region of 4-5m, and revenue should double before we even consider how we work out matchday (it will be ifollow model initially). Compare that with the rest of the Championship who have massive wage bills and real headaches how to fund the next year. So if we are clever we should be able to keep the players we want and poach a few gems from L1 that don't get promoted. If we can keep Walsh and/or Ohare then I think we will have more than enough to compete.