While I understand the thinking behind this I think a league cup would be preferable in some ways. No club South of London has won both domestic pots I believe so we'd be the first. That'd be a nice record to have for a club with a terrible trophy haul. Also more fans would get to witness it as the allocation is larger.
I've seen a few posts where people have said that relegation wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to the club. Here are a number of reasons why I think it would be, 1. It's a ****ing miserable experience for everyone involved especially the regular supporters. That feeling permeates throughout the club and takes a big effort to get over. The fanbase will disappear overnight. 2. Although a lot of ex Premier clubs do get promoted back the next season, you never know what players will be available and may require a complete rebuild. 3. Following on from above, the players that leave will most probably be anyone who is decent. Not that a relegated team has that many decent players but we will be left with the worst of the worst. 4. Using the last time we were in the lower leagues as a measure to how it was a great time doesn't necessarily mean it would be repeated. Coming back up was a great time but it was built on regular success from League 1 onwards. Going down to League 1 was a different matter that seems to be forgotten. 5. Finances. What will the owners do? It could be crucial to the future of the club if we were to be sold and what a new owner's objectives would be. 6. The PL may not be to everyone's liking but I liked seeing Saints play against teams that included big star internationals and occasionally beat them. We've seen some brilliant performances from Saints against top PL teams in recent years and that will be lost. You must surely want to see the team play at the highest level possible? Some of the above are admittedly unknowns but they are also quite possible and that's what relegation brings. At the moment it looks like a distinct possibility and it's going to be ****e. PS Ticket prices didn't go down by a significant amount the last time, so could be PL prices for Championship quality, although you do get more games to endure.
I'd be happy with option a) if it means win the cup, get relegated and bounce straight back up, storming the Championship with a youthful team playing free-flowing attacking football. But it's just as likely to be win the cup, get relegated, finish midtable, get into financial difficulties, see all our good players get poached, spend years in the wilderness. For every this-season's Fulham, there's a Sunderland/Sheffield Wednesday/Stoke/Ipswich/Coventry...
I think, even if we lost some of our better players, we'd actually still have a good squad for the Championship. I also don't think Sport Republic would want to sell off the back of relegation (not straight away anyway, maybe if we didn't get promoted for a few seasons?). So you'd like to think there would be good investment to get back into the Premier League. Parachute payments, for now, still apply, so I don't think relegation would be as bad as some fans think. Equally, it wouldn't be as simple as some other fans think.
I remember winning the FA Cup whilst missing out on promotion in 1976, and no one cares about the failed promotion bid now, but everyone remembers Bobby Stokes’ finest hour. So Cup, 100%
I’ve no idea where Baku is, and I’ve never been to Barnsley either, but that prospect has a certain anti-glamour that appeals to the contrary bastard in me
Capital of Azerbaijan Which for some bizarre reason is in UEFA comps despite being further east than Baghdad.
I can remember these events much more than when we went up or down. It's the random nature of the FA Cup that still holds good for me, until that ball comes out no-one knows who might beat us or better still we might beat them. Let's get to Wembley, again!
I've always said stay up in the past and I think I'd still lean that way but I'm not so sure now. On balance, I think SR's signings may work out in the longer-term if we stay up. But if we went down I fear we'd lose our better players and the best young prospects and be left with a bunch of average at best players with a poor mentality.
Tough one as going down will be financially very difficult but for me, cup. Ps. I just got it back to 22-22!
Yep cup for me too. Just about hanging in the league year on year gets slightly monotonous. As long as we go straight back up!
People say it's the memories, the over confident Utd fans, yellow and blue, Alex Stepney's slow motion dive, Bobby Stokes' offside goal, 1-0! cries David Coleman, Peter Rodrigues receiving the cup from Liz, open top bus ride. Marvellous times. But as the years pass you won't remember what you had for breakfast. Then the fixture list for next season becomes more important, away to Rotherham on the opening day just doesn't have the same appeal. I know it's easy for me to say because I've experienced it, or at least I think I have, but give me the PL any day.
Relegation has been on the cards for years. Sell your better players and not replace with the same quality if not better and the likelihood is relegation and that’s where we’re at,let’s be honest we’re not very good. If we didn’t get relegated this season next season it’ll happen so for me,being too young in 76 to appreciate the win,79 Forest,disappointment,ZDS, disappointment,Arsenal 2003,disappointment,Man Utd 2017 disappointment. Cup win for me all day long.
