OK, OK, I know we are only 1/4 the way through the season and promotion is a long way off yet. However as we appear to be 'taking each game as it comes', and assuming things continue pretty much as they are and either we go up automatically or negotiate the play offs, then are we ready to go up? Or is it more of a case of being ready to leave the Championship from the top end? If we do go up, what needs to be changed? Whole sale changes or just slight tweaks? (please no predictable 'get rid of Adam/NP/Barmby' etc from the usual culprits). With the present youthful squad could we survive, or would we need older heads like we had in our first Premier League season?
If we go up then were ready, in this league it is getting tougher every season to get out of it so we should grasp each chance as it comes, none of this lets wait a couple of seasons bollocks. Id rather be a yoyo club than a mid table championship side.
I'd say we need quite a few players. Rosenior koren Stewart chester would do good but most would struggle
wait till the plastic illegally trading clubs are forced in to Murdoch's full time Euro-League then take promotion into a real first division in a few years time
If we did go up, fingers crossed, ther are two ways of doing it. Buy a load of mercenary's on big wages or do like West Brom keep basically the same team and go for it. Maybe yo-yo a few seasons before establishing ourself. I would keep this team together and go for it, they are all young enough and will improve for the experience. Though a proper centre forward would be nice.
We weren't ready last time - but we made the step up - I don't think there's any such thing as truly ready, unless you're one of the clubs smashing the financial-fair play rules. Can you imagine any situation where a promoted side would not start bringing in players after promotion to the PL? I guess the proper question is, with 4/5 decent additions would City stand a chance of staying up. When you look at some of the individual performances this season (and last), i.e. Chester, Rosenior, Stewart... if we can secure Brady and Waghorn in January - then yes - I think that we could be a handful of signings away from a team that could challenge for PL survival.
IMO if we go up we should spend very wisely on just a few players, I'd rather the players that get us there play there. If we come straight back down so be it.
Just keep on our current strategy of identifying and signing promising young players with sell on potential, mixed with the odd experienced player. Just we'll be able to attract players a class above our present signings. I'm sure NP and the team will stick to that.
I'm not thinking about this until January/February if we're still where we are now. But i think/hope we'll have learned lessons from last time, not spend beyond our means and if this means doing a West Brom for a few years then so be it, the clubs financial security would have to be the main priority. However, aside from the top 6 sides there isn't a great deal between the sides in the premier league, look at swansea beating stoke today for example, so we shouldn't go up worrying about coming straight back down if we did go up.
you're better off with higher end Championship players than foreigners who can't adapt to the english game
The problem we had with the sacking of Phil Brown was that we effectively threw away everything we learned in those two seasons. As a club we will have to learn all that again. Neither Nigel nor his management team, nor the owners nor Adam Pearson have ANY experience of top flight football. If we went up again I am of the firm belief we should create a strategy around the assumption of coming straight back down.......BUT that we use the experience as a platform, both financially and in terms of teams and playing strategy, for a more asserted assault in the seasons thereafter.
The Premier League is the best league in the world without a shadow of a doubt and any team coming up from the Championship need at least 5 or 6 good signings to ensure survival. I think in Basso, Chester, Rosey, Koren, Stewart, hopefully Brady and Waggy we have a start on a capable team, it'll be tough but if we're top two on April 28th or win at Wembley on May 19th then we're ready for the Premier League because we'll have earned our place. Too early to worry about that though, got another 36 league games to try and win.
Erm......nor did anyone else when we went up. But I feel that the current set-up is better suited to handle it than was the PB/Duffen/Bartlett axis....less likely to go 'super nova' and self-destruct.
If we went up we'd need quite a few new signings imo. But I trust that in the Allams, NP and AP we'd have a strong management team that will sign players fairly cheaply and on good wages. We don't want to throw away all of our money to try and go for it only to have it thrown back if we got relegated. With the squad now, plus about 6/7 new signings we have the makings of a team that could survive and if not survive, become a yo-yo club for a bit.
Think thats about right. I know this is all fantasy at this stage of the season and bound to be laughed at, but I remember the promotion season when we were beating teams for fun and I really fancied something was going to happen. Don't get that feeling yet of course but what the hell. Rather go up for one season and have some fun, but keep most of the cash and if we go down have another go. No one had a financial plan last time (or experience) as it came out of the blue; but we must have learned the serious lessons now surely?
When we get promoted, I'd be all in favour of us using it as an opportunity to try different systems and give some youth and second stream players a chance of a game. Just take the money, bare our arse to the Prem and prepare for the next season of proper football...repeat ad infinitum ala the Baggies.
having seen two seasons of premiership i can say there are only four or five excellent teams. the rest are nothing more than top end championship quality.
