Looking at other boards and updates on other clubs in general there is a lot going in, some of which makes little sense on the face of it. The trees spending £15M on a 21 year old with little experience. Norwich on a spree of sell, sell, sell. Going to end up with a bundle of cash but little else. Derby and villa needing to shed salaries and generate cash to stay clear of FFP. Fulham having to spend ****loads of cash just to hold on to last seasons players. Swans needing to reduce wages to balance the books given their significant reduction in income. A big task ahead of US, but not in a bad situation all in all.
Whilst the Premier League is an unforgiving place, the Championship could be much worse for some. If the FFP stuff is applied to the letter, there could be some serious financial carnage next season and beyond. Some major casualties that we wouldn't have dreamt possible a few years ago could be in extreme difficulties.
I will be more than happy if we get our passing game back and finish in the top 10 of the Championship, play-offs would be nice, but not expecting anything in that way next season..............
I think you need to get your "winning" game back Phil, bollucks to the passing game - the Championship rarely takes prisoners. At least you won't have to worry about FFP - yet!......
About 3/4 of the Championship play the "passing" game. Most do little damage with it. Thats a significant reason why we went up. Stoke look like they are really going for it. I dont like Stoke but the way their fans have reacted to relegation to relegation compared to Swanseas is world apart. They will probably win the league. How Forest are paying that sort of cash without breaking FFP I dont know.
They must be going to sail pretty close to the wind or are trying to do a Wolves but in the end may end up like Villa. The only thing to justify spending like that is they got over 15 million off Middlebrough for Assombaloga last season - maybe that's being used?
Well Sparks theyve got a good manager in Karanka. Leeds have got Biesla. Lots of sides showing ambition.Only 3 can go up. Swansea look as though they are going for the cheap option - which we did - but we had a proven Championship manager. Theyve brought in a guy from the Swedish league!!!!! It will be tough down there with the toxic atmosphere their crowd generates. Stoke are going for it. I dont rate Rowett. But its safe to say they will be fairly direct with him and have made some good signings. It will be interesting to see what Derby are spending. Lampard is going to find it tough there.
You won’t win much in the way of games if you let the opposition have possession, controlling games the way we used to is fundamental to winning, you will find that out this season, if you can’t keep the ball, you will be slaughtered.....
We will need to keep the ball better. We will still be the most direct team in the top flight since Wimbledon were relegated. Its simple tactics. If the ball is in our box get it out of there and get it in the final third as quickly as possible. I saw several sides who would have been bullied and unable to cope with those tactics last season in the PL. One has been relegated though. The closest side to our style is Burnley and they didnt do too bad. Im just looking forward to upsetting a few. If we stay up great. If we go down we will go down with a fight and not demanding the board , the manager , the Trust and everyone else gets sacked. We definately wont be humiliating our own side with chants of "we are fecking sh!t" that came out of the Liberty stands.
Phil - you're missing the point. We're talking about you in the Championship, not us in the Premeir League. I agree we'll have to improve our squad but not necessarily our style. Lesser teams to try to play the big boys at their own game could well come unstuck. You'll need to adjust to life in the Championship which calls for a different mindset. You could come unstuck like Reading under Stam trying to play their way out of it. Wolves achieved it by spending whereas you'll be selling. Fulham already had the squad and the addition of Mitrovic in January made the difference. Don't get me wrong, good football is pleasing on the eye but winning football is far better in the end whatever it takes.
There were loads of teams easier on the eye than us last season. Little end product though. Possession counts for nothing when you have more shots on goal than the opposition which we did game after game last season. Stoke and Bristol City will be 2 direct sides. Diffrence is recruitment. Wurzels signing average players like Marley Watkins doesnt make me think they can challenge.
It's a question of balance Sparkey, I'm not advocating possession for the sake of it, but it is a very important ingredient, Martinez had it with an offensive edge, Rodgers killed it to death, Laudrup tuned it with a more direct approach, Monk killed it off and we fell apart, struggling for two seasons in the PL, and down. The Championship may have a number of teams that failed with the possession passing game, but we succeeded with it, and should again, if we get it right, Potter has been employed for that very reason, though he will no doubt favour a counter attacking style in the mix as well. Your going into a steep learning curve, Warnock doesn't have a great record in the PL? How long will he last?
I think you're going into a steep learning curve as well Phil, as is potter. We're going up with largely the same squad that got us there with some additions. There will also be some tweaking to our approach. You'll be giving major surgery to your squad, changing style, personnel and coaching staff. As for Colin, I think he'll still be with us even if we get relegated. Only drubbings week in week out will change that. From a financial point of view, we have a modest wage bill and a significant income increase. On the other hand, for you........... It's certainly not going to be plain sailing for us, but realistically, it's not going to be plain sailing for you either. How long will potter last?
The is a big difference in mentality in the 2 sets of supporters. By and large as a fan base we back the players , team and manager. Potter loses a few and they will go into meltdown. Warnock will get backed.
The championship will be as difficult as ever next season. There are on paper 15-16 clubs with serious shouts at promotion. Should be interesting watching from the sidelines but being objective Swansea have only an outside chance.
Probably 15-16 clubs in with a shout of promotion. A similar number at risk of relegation which means a big overlap. Reading nearly imploded last year. Who of the three failed playoff contenders could it be this year? Who had a near miss in achieving a play off spot last year that could struggle this? If rowett can get stoke to shrug off the disappointment of relegation, they look best equiped to go back up. Leeds seem to have made a good appointment as manager but can he turn the team around? Was the first half of brizzle s season overacheivement or the second half underacheivement? The more I see of Norwich the more I think investors are cashing in. The bulk of their squad is going. In other news, we've got a premiership season to look forward to.
I think what DragonPhilJack is saying is true, and what we are saying is true. Giving up a lot of possession will hurt us against some teams. But, it won't hurt against all teams, and really we just need to do better than 3 others. I think that means we just need to add a bit more creativity into the squad, hold the ball a little more in the middle of the pitch and we can do alright. We may get thumped 4-0 some times but who cares if we finish 17th. However, the Championship is full of teams trying to play the right way. In the end only 2 or 3 actually can do that. We got promoted because we knew we couldn't play that way and finish top 6. If Swansea try to play Premiership style to appease their fans, I don't see a top 6 finish. If they go out and get some guys with passion and commitment who can stick to a game plan, which is the right game plan, then they can. I think if I supported Swansea, I would just want some wins after the last couple of seasons. Wouldn't care how I got them.
Brizzle seem to be following norwich in their sales strategy. Loads of cash and no players. Swans still think the current sales of players will line the yanks pockets without thinking of the income hole they need to fill. Fulham doing a lot of talking about the big money signings they're going to make without any action. They don't seem to want to engage in the conversation though. Looking around the boards, I'm quite satisfied with the recruitment progress we're making.
After Murphy and Cunningham coming on board, what we've heard this week makes me very satisfied with our recruitmant process. Hoilett re-signing yesteday as well was the icing on the cake.
