So, here it is. May 2023, Saints have dropped. What happens next? Who do we sell? What becomes of Sports Republic? What are our prospects of doing well in the Championship? Will we actually win a game of football? Last season's relegated clubs are currently in 1st, 4th, and 5th position in the Champ. Bodes well. While they each had to sell some of their 'star' players, they all managed to hold on to a fair number of their better players too. For me, the players we sell, are JWP for 30-35m, KWP for 30m, ABK for 25m, and Adams for 15-20m. That gives us a sizeable war-chest for the Championship, plus our academy looks very healthy at present. The likes of Lavia and Livramento we might be able to hold on to, because they have the buy-back clauses right, and the 'parent' clubs aren't ready to buy them back, and would likely be content for them to continue their development in the Champ. Anyway, over to you. Please let's not let this thread turn into a moan-fest about Jones, Sports Republic, and the players. And let's stop crying about Ralph going, or saying we did this wrong, or that. Let's be positive, and get on with the re-build!
Because currently all the other threads are full of negativity. I just thought if we prepare ourselves for the worst - see that it isn't all doom and gloom - then maybe we can stop with all the irrational fear of going down, and petty fighting with one another.
What is the point of this now? Why speculate on something that may not even happen. I'd say it's 50-50 on whether we stay up or go down so this seems odd to me.
Oh great, another wallow in negativity, just what we need. For ****'s sake you've just become a father, can't you look for the good things in life?
Er, I did. The main premise is relegation. Until that's mathematically certain I'll be hoping for the best thanks. I agree it seems quite likely given our form and position, but we have a new manager whose ideas haven't yet been fully implemented, plus a transfer window just about to open. I would suggest postponing accepting the inevitability of relegation until the end of January at least.
'What happens next?' I buy a season ticket We can watch majority of matches at 3pm on Saturday We can attend football matches for cheaper prices We'll have a stadium without plastics taking pictures of the opposition And we can watch football without it being ruined by VAR
Adams and Adam Armstrong would tear it up in the championship if we could keep them. Although I assume someone would come in for Adams.
See mods!!! I’ve even got Osvaldorama being positive!! Agree about Adarma. I think we have a whole load of players who are too good for the Champ, but not quite Prem quality. Aribo and current Stuie come to mind.
Much depends on whether our new owners are willing to go ****-or-bust gambling on an immediate return to the PL. If they are, we could have a great season ahead, but realistically the Championship is a tough league to get out of. It's also a far more competitive and passionate league league to play in, and the price of failure is pretty dire. Not sure I really fancy another drop into the wilderness of League One tbh, although the last visit was pretty good.
I doubt anyone in the PL would match our valuation of Adams, so if we don't have to sell he could be a 20 goal a season striker for us...
The fans that go to away games would get to go to different grounds, and the home-lovin' fans would see different teams. Our nearest away venue would probably be Reading, a short(ish) journey, for me anyway. We'd have a good chance of being in a promotion contest, and our season probably wouldn't be measured by getting to the number of points needed to avoid the drop. If/when we appear on TV, it wouldn't be a case of a Premier League top six team playing, against someone, but no need to remember who, as there's a Premier League top six team on the pitch. Fans would still be fans, and Saints would still be Saints. Edit: And our Season Tickets will entitle us to see four more home games
Imagine there would be interest in (in no particular order) KWP Perraud ABK Salisu Livramento (depending on how he performs post injury) Lavia JWP Adams How many of those we would lose is up for debate. Could add DCC to the list as well
If Norwich can hold on to Max Aarons, then we can hold on to Tino. I also don’t think many clubs would be willing to meet our valuation for the likes of Perraud or Salisu. The money we make from JWP and KWP (and maybe Lavia) should mean we don’t need to sell the others.
The last thing we need is to sell our best players. What we do need is for our so called owners to start backing the team properly. Rarely do the best teams spend money on out and out hopefuls. They’d soon get their money back in my opinion. Come on sports republic let’s put money where your mouth is!!!!
