A question to all you who keep saying that promotion this season will be too early for us................ WHY? I just can`t see that if you win promotion that generally makes you one of the top three sides in the league, (aside from playoff places) you have proved you are better over a season and deserve it, how is there a better preparation? Do you think that we have built/bought a third of a premiership side and will add another third this season and the final third of the team building next season and then we will be ready? It canât be that our side is to young because if you look at Arsenal there average age is almost school boyish and they donât seem to struggle in the prem! Or is it an experience thing, in that case where do you gain experience from? If you want premiership experience then surely you need to buy it or experience it yourselves So to all you who have said itâs just too early for us to get to the premiership can you explain your reasoningâs for this?
the fact that we already have a premier league setup (training, ground etc) means it dont think it applies so much as to the likes of teams like Blackpool. Swansea etc. If we get there this season (come on, we have only played 3 matches) then im sure the investment will be there to make a go of it. Dont buy into the "too early" thing for us either though mate.
Saint Dawg - Just ignore the "Sorry Mid Table Brigade" They probably have no style or aspirations in their own personal life. Through em the odd bone of advice (they probably won’t take it) and maybe they can pull themselves out of their own mire and in turn realise the clubs potential and rightful place in the Premiere league. This is a great city which in turns deserves a great team.
I’m enjoying the moment but I also know that in 1988-89 after a start like that we then only won seven more games (thanks to the echo for that stat) but on a couple of occasions teams have been 10, 12 and I think that once Man U were 18 clear and I think it was Leeds in the old first division who pipped them to the title that year so at this stage of the game anything can happen, and it no doubt will
Totally agree. It is never too early. The worst that can happen is you come back down with 4 years of parachute payments. We have young players like Lallana, Cork and Schneiderlin who are destined for the PL and the longer it takes us to get there the more likely it will be they move on. Of course we would need to strengthen but NA and NC would come up with what is required.
squad being the right word, and if I know anything you build a squad around a team and that way the squad and club gets stronger but keeps all thats good
Lets put this question another way..........When will it be the right time for promotion? If you do not think we can cope now when will we be able to cope? Just think about that before you answer. I can almost visualise the hands going up and saying we will have to bring in better players.......Ok what better players were available that we as a club could afford? Would you have wanted the club to pay 50 mil for Torres or 30 mil for Carole.....With the wages that go with it....... The reality is you have to use the bulk of the players that got you there. The reality also is you are never 100 percent ready. You go with what you can afford and with the players mostly that got you there. Can you sustain your promotion, that is still a matter of conjecture. Staying an extra year in the Championship is not going to help one jott. There is no settling period either you have got it or you haven't. If you have the talent to be promoted and the right manager with a couple of close season signings you should be ready........
While I agree with getting to the prem ASAP my worry is that if we did get relegated we would be cherry picked of our best players like Lallana spiderman and cork who would of proved there prem prowess and would surely get snapped up. That really is my one and only worry though.
It's far too early to be promoted because its August. Conventon has it that you wait until the end of the season. On a more serious note I think the line of thought is that the squad as a whole was a league 1 squad that was meant to carry us into and sustain us in the championship. That squad needs to develop and be strengthened in order to carry us into and then again sustain us in the prem. The thinking being that the process may take two seasons whilst younger squad members develop and weaker squad members are dropped and replaced. The concern would be that promotion with an understrength squad would simply drop back down again or require drastic re-inforcement disrupting a settled well drilled team, again risking a poor season. I am not arguing in favour of, or against this argument, and I dont think anyone would in anyway turn down the opportunity of back to back promotion to the prem but if there is a note of caution to such an acheivement hen that would be it.
why would they be more likely to be "cherry picked" if we get reagated then if we dont win promotion?
Because they will of played infront of prem clubs for an entire season proving they can compete at that level.
I think a lot of our players would be good enough for the Premier League with not too many additions. Davis, Fonte, Fox, De Ridder, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Guly, Lambert and Connolly could all do a job in the Premier League IMO.
It won't be a disaster not to go up this year, but you have to aspire to promotion. What are you supposed to do throw the last few games because we're not ready! It's hard to get promoted and there is no certainty that you will be promoted in year 2. Play each game on it's merits and grab every opportunity, then see where we are in May. It's nice to be in the position to be discussing this rather than the relegation topic which would have reared it's ugly head if we had lost three.
