Is the Championship bigger now then it was when we were last there? (3 Viewers)

jto123

Well-Known Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it the case that every midweek game in the championship can now be viewed on Sky through the red button?
 

Paxman II

Well-Known Member
Like every league there are some strong teams and some weak teams. I think we will hold our own quite well by retaining much of our present squad and just adding a couple or so of players in key areas of strength. This may be well researched loanees as much as thinking we could buy one or two. MR's and AV will know what they need and i'm confident they will get what they need to make us competitive. Can't see us going down and if we start back at the Ricoh from around Xmas with bumper crowds it could all come together very nicely.
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
There may well be a couple of tonkings heading our direction along the way, I just hope people keep perspective and don’t immediately start calling for public lynchings- always optimistic but it’s not going to be easy competing with that lot week in & week out

Needs to be remembered that we'll make about £10-15 million in total next season, whereas Villa's wage bill alone was £71 million when they last went up. Financially we are going to be the weakest or close to it so recruitment will need to be bang on and we'll have to be greater than the sum of our parts, which we were this season.
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
For me the Championship is the most enjoyable league in football.

Do i want Cov to be in the Prem, of course i do. But i'm going to love every minute of the Championship.

After a quick look, about half the teams we will be playing were there last time we were in it as well

Completely agree with this- I wrestle with the idea of being in the Premier League with the lack of atmosphere, stratospheric prices, kickoff times and the whole thing of it as an "experience". On one hand I clearly want us back at the top, on the other I wouldn't fancy sitting among the 10,000 "new" CCFC fans and.. well hard to explain really. I guess if the time came then we'd all be bloody delighted, but right now I don't get the obsession with the Premier League in terms of what makes it great going to matches.
 

Tommo1993

Well-Known Member
When I’ve seen televised games, the standard seems better than I remember. Even more so at the top end. The P/O’s in last few years have been ridiculously good standard.

Feel it would be very naive to think our current squad would compete top half, but I wouldn’t complain at finishing 21st either.
 
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robbiekeane

Well-Known Member
On one hand I clearly want us back at the top, on the other I wouldn't fancy sitting among the 10,000 "new" CCFC fans
Never really understood this point of view.
People complain about lack of attendance and then complain about success luring fans back. I'd personally love nothing more than a sold out stadium week in week out. The more fans that can be enticed back the better.
 

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Reminds me of the Leicester fans whinging about new fans in their title season, they soon got over it.
 

Winny the Bish

Well-Known Member
Norwich (inevitably)
Villa (possibly)
Brighton (possibly)
Bournemouth (possibly)
Fulham
Derby
Birmingham
Sheff Wed
Forest
Middlesbrough
Qpr
Stoke
Blackburn
Bristol City
Leeds (who may go up)
Brentford (always in/around playoffs)

That's like a second Premier League and I may have missed out one or two other big hitters!

Don't give the Championship any more ideas. They're already interested in breaking away from the EFL and becoming 'Premier League 2'
 

EAst ender

Well-Known Member
Excuse the outsider posting on this thread but it's almost identical to a thread on out forum from 5 years ago.
Like you, we won L1 relatively easily and hoped to compete in the top half of the Championship with, pretty much, the same side and had been away from the 2nd tier for 8 long, long seasons.
Woah, were we in for a shock! The step up is appreciable now as is the speed, maybe not as tough as the EFL - Prem step but not far behind. There are some very good side at this level, as you'll find out. Strikers rarely miss, let's put it that way.
Interestingly, very few that have been promoted from L1 seem to survive. yes, the Blades went straight through and Millwall are now extremely competitive but have a relatively small squad. The Barnsleys, Charltons, Lutons and to some extent Wigans that came up are really struggllng to avoid a return to L1.
Some smaller clubs, like Brentford, PNE and to some extent ourselves have managed it and seem to be prospering now (Brentford really do play lovely football, regardless of personnel) but the majority of promoted teams do struggle.
Don't get me wrong, there's no perfect way to survive and I'm not saying you'll go back down but be prepared for a much higher standard than L1 plus it's incessant, Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday. Injuries really bite and, sadly, money does talk up here.
Be prepared for average players costing £5M as the norm. Yeah, i know!
Prem 2? In all but name, it probably is in all honesty.
It'll undoubtedly be tough but you'll love it.
Enjoy!
 
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SlowerThanPlatt

Well-Known Member
Excuse the outsider posting on this thread but it's almost identical to a thread on out forum from 5 years ago.
Like you, we won L1 relatively easily and hoped to compete in the top half of the Championship with, pretty much, the same side and had been away from the 2nd tier for 8 long, long seasons.
Woah, were we in for a shock! The step up is appreciable now as is the speed, maybe not as tough as the EFL - Prem step but not far behind. There are some very good side at this level, as you'll find out. Strikers rarely miss, let's put it that way.
Interestingly, very few that have been promoted from L1 seem to survive. yes, the Blades went straight through and Millwall are now extremely competitive but have a relatively small squad. Th Barnsleys, Charltons, Lutons and to some extent Wigans that came up are really struggllng to avoid a return to L1.
Some smaller clubs, like Brentford, PNE and to some extent ourselves have managed it and seem to be prospering now (Brentford really do play lovely football, regardless of personnel) but the majority of promoted teams do struggle.
Don't get me wrong, there's no perfect way to survive and I'm not saying you'll go back down but be prepared for a much higher standard than L1 plus it's incessant, Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday. Injuries really bite and, sadly, money does talk up here.
Be prepared for average players costing £5M as the norm. Yeah, i know!
Prem 2? In all but name, it probably is in all honesty.
It'll undoubtedly be tough but you'll love it.
Enjoy!

Do you know what your budget was for the first season in the Championship?
 

junglej13

Well-Known Member
Excuse the outsider posting on this thread but it's almost identical to a thread on out forum from 5 years ago.
Like you, we won L1 relatively easily and hoped to compete in the top half of the Championship with, pretty much, the same side and had been away from the 2nd tier for 8 long, long seasons.
Woah, were we in for a shock! The step up is appreciable now as is the speed, maybe not as tough as the EFL - Prem step but not far behind. There are some very good side at this level, as you'll find out. Strikers rarely miss, let's put it that way.
Interestingly, very few that have been promoted from L1 seem to survive. yes, the Blades went straight through and Millwall are now extremely competitive but have a relatively small squad. Th Barnsleys, Charltons, Lutons and to some extent Wigans that came up are really struggllng to avoid a return to L1.
Some smaller clubs, like Brentford, PNE and to some extent ourselves have managed it and seem to be prospering now (Brentford really do play lovely football, regardless of personnel) but the majority of promoted teams do struggle.
Don't get me wrong, there's no perfect way to survive and I'm not saying you'll go back down but be prepared for a much higher standard than L1 plus it's incessant, Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday. Injuries really bite and, sadly, money does talk up here.
Be prepared for average players costing £5M as the norm. Yeah, i know!
Prem 2? In all but name, it probably is in all honesty.
It'll undoubtedly be tough but you'll love it.
Enjoy!
Useful insight. This might have been covered on some of your other posts but I notice Bristol City have made great use of loaning out their players to Leagues 1 and 2 I notice. Obviously we know about Walsh, but I saw a list of about six players who've gone out and done well.
 

jto123

Well-Known Member
Excuse the outsider posting on this thread but it's almost identical to a thread on out forum from 5 years ago.
Like you, we won L1 relatively easily and hoped to compete in the top half of the Championship with, pretty much, the same side and had been away from the 2nd tier for 8 long, long seasons.
Woah, were we in for a shock! The step up is appreciable now as is the speed, maybe not as tough as the EFL - Prem step but not far behind. There are some very good side at this level, as you'll find out. Strikers rarely miss, let's put it that way.
Interestingly, very few that have been promoted from L1 seem to survive. yes, the Blades went straight through and Millwall are now extremely competitive but have a relatively small squad. Th Barnsleys, Charltons, Lutons and to some extent Wigans that came up are really struggllng to avoid a return to L1.
Some smaller clubs, like Brentford, PNE and to some extent ourselves have managed it and seem to be prospering now (Brentford really do play lovely football, regardless of personnel) but the majority of promoted teams do struggle.
Don't get me wrong, there's no perfect way to survive and I'm not saying you'll go back down but be prepared for a much higher standard than L1 plus it's incessant, Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday. Injuries really bite and, sadly, money does talk up here.
Be prepared for average players costing £5M as the norm. Yeah, i know!
Prem 2? In all but name, it probably is in all honesty.
It'll undoubtedly be tough but you'll love it.
Enjoy!

Interesting stuff. To be fair I think most Coventry fans accept it is a huge step up and that survival is all we want from next season. After spending a few years in the lower leagues, I think we have been dealt some humble pie. The Premier League is an aim, but we realise this might not happen for at least five years.
 

EAst ender

Well-Known Member
Useful insight. This might have been covered on some of your other posts but I notice Bristol City have made great use of loaning out their players to Leagues 1 and 2 I notice. Obviously we know about Walsh, but I saw a list of about six players who've gone out and done well.
We've had 22 out on loan at various levels this season jungle. We buy em young (and cheap) coach them, then send them out to gain experience. Some make it, some don't. It's the only way we can do it. Even the ones that don't make it are usually sold at a profit, Mo Eisa is an example, maybe Walsh will become the next one. The thing is, some clubs, like Brentford, PNE and ourselves, are very good at this now. It's why we're building a Cat 1 training centre to take the pace of our current cat 2 facility. All money, money, money sadly.
 

EAst ender

Well-Known Member
Interesting stuff. To be fair I think most Coventry fans accept it is a huge step up and that survival is all we want from next season. After spending a few years in the lower leagues, I think we have been dealt some humble pie. The Premier League is an aim, but we realise this might not happen for at least five years.
You might do a Sheff Utd and steam straight through jto, I don't know but I would be happy to survive next season as a minimum.
 

EAst ender

Well-Known Member
Christ, ours is likely to be about half of that a push! People think we can do a Sheffield United or what you guys have done but the numbers just don’t add up
£9M would be one of, if not the, lowest in the division I should think. Certainly pre covid it would have been. It might be the ideal time to gain promotion, we don't know how things will play out which has to be to your advantage.
The other thing is you'll have far longer than other teams as you already know what division you're in next season. Most of the Championship can't guarantee that.
 

skybluegod

Well-Known Member
Not sure how big the club is even a consideration for most players when they’re making a move, just a meaningless platitude they say in interviews to get the fans on side. The pay packet and location are more important

Interesting opinion... Don't necessarily disgree although something I have figured out is that the right company is much better than having the best pay. Obviously it's a much smaller scale for the average Joe, but in general I would assume that football isn't much different? Depends on the type of character we are going for I guess. And I'm not talking about the different between 5k and 25k a week obviously that makes the choice easy.
But if a club offered 3k a week Vs 5k a week, I would say the fact that they were a household name, who gives talent an opportunity may be very appealing to most.
 

Cov kid 55

Well-Known Member
On a slightly different note, I’m thinking of buying a season ticket for next season. I know we won’t know any details for next season yet, including whether fans will be allowed to attend matches, but what is the normal cost of a season ticket?
 

Skybluefaz

Well-Known Member
Completely agree with this- I wrestle with the idea of being in the Premier League with the lack of atmosphere, stratospheric prices, kickoff times and the whole thing of it as an "experience". On one hand I clearly want us back at the top, on the other I wouldn't fancy sitting among the 10,000 "new" CCFC fans and.. well hard to explain really. I guess if the time came then we'd all be bloody delighted, but right now I don't get the obsession with the Premier League in terms of what makes it great going to matches.
Don't you live in Ireland? Do you fly over to all the home games?
 

Covstu

Well-Known Member
Is a huge jump from League one to championship and not many coming up survive. When we were last in the league players were not being brought for 15m which they are now. We need some serious investment to get a team to survive in this league, whilst we are all on a high I know we will be optimistic but in reality it’s going to be tough, just hope our fans stay patient rather than jump on their backs as that’s positivity is one big thing we had this season.
With a lot of L1 and 2 clubs struggling to survive, their decent players will be ripe for the picking but we will still have to spend wisely. Exciting times ahead but we need to be on the money with signings
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
Don't you live in Ireland? Do you fly over to all the home games?

Yes that’s right, did that for about 5 yrs and used to meet up with some GMKers, a few are on here now. Not always fly though, sometimes ferry. Then moved back for a while, now over here in Ireland again & it’s perfect- work for U.K. company who require me there on average once per fortnight so they pay flights, so I just fly back on Sunday night, the 9pm. Won’t be able to get to all games but there’s always someone who would use the ticket.
 

Skybluefaz

Well-Known Member
Yes that’s right, did that for about 5 yrs and used to meet up with some GMKers, a few are on here now. Not always fly though, sometimes ferry. Then moved back for a while, now over here in Ireland again & it’s perfect- work for U.K. company who require me there on average once per fortnight so they pay flights, so I just fly back on Sunday night, the 9pm. Won’t be able to get to all games but there’s always someone who would use the ticket.
Jesus, good commitment.
 

MusicDating

Euro 2016 Prediction League Champion!!
£9M would be one of, if not the, lowest in the division I should think. Certainly pre covid it would have been. It might be the ideal time to gain promotion, we don't know how things will play out which has to be to your advantage.
The other thing is you'll have far longer than other teams as you already know what division you're in next season. Most of the Championship can't guarantee that.
That's certainly the hope because as SlowerThanPlatt said, recent history shows that the relegation places in the Championship are usually taken up by those with the smallest budget.
 

EAst ender

Well-Known Member
That's certainly the hope because as SlowerThanPlatt said, recent history shows that the relegation places in the Championship are usually taken up by those with the smallest budget.
You'll just have to disprove that theory then MusicDating. No reason why it applies to you just because it has applied to others. Look at Burton, they survived for a while but were always going to drop as they are a smaller club. No reason why you, as a far bigger club can't prosper up here. Just survive that first season.
The one that surprised me this year is Barnsley. After going up and back down, then up again, they knew what to expect but look like going straight back down again. I thought they would make a better attempt this time.
 

Ring Of Steel

Well-Known Member
That's certainly the hope because as SlowerThanPlatt said, recent history shows that the relegation places in the Championship are usually taken up by those with the smallest budget.

Yes, however we also just had a small budget and won the league at a canter having statistically our most successful season ever, with the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich, Portsmouth etc all in there with us.

No doubt it will be a slog, under no illusions & I'm not arrogant about it at all, but this is not new for us, we're coming at this well used to being financial minnows & having to act accordingly.
 

ccfcricoh

Well-Known Member
Budget is interesting when you look at it, although i can never be sure on accuracy of online numbers of what clubs budgets actually are etc!

Just chucked this together:

upload_2020-6-15_17-5-59.png

So the lowest 3 budgets are the lowest 3 teams, perhaps no surprise there. But if you can break out of that lower 3 it really does open up, with teams from Nottm Forest down to Millwall all massively improving their league position compared to budget.

Half of the current top 12 are teams in the lower half of the budget table.

Take the above numbers with a pinch of salt but either way, fingers crossed we can break that bottom 3 mould and push on, I'll take 21st now i think, and i think a budget of c20m can see you competing with the right manager and scouts!
 

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