The Championship

[TornadoShaunUK]

Mandaric has said he will back Pearson in January let alone next season if we get to the CCC. I think we'll go up this year, I couldn't care less how, I'm not as optimistic as some on here, if we're back up there next year I'd be happy with consolidating our place with a comfortable lower mid-table finish but who knows. I look forward to seeing if the current management and their playing staff can continue to do what they have been doing this year.

I don't think the jump in quality between the leagues is necessarily something that will be our undoing. Good teams are capable of adapting or fitting in to their surroundings. Pearson and indeed alot of our players have experience of playing in the Championship and at higher levels. You only need to look at Bolton, Wigan and Fulham who have become established Premiership sides of late, and even teams like Hull who have made a good fist of things going up to the next level.

 

[Boy Genius]

Also, I think Mandaric will open his wallet should we go up.

I doubt it Alex, I would think MM would use bank transfers and the such, which means his wallet will stay shut.

 

[alex]

I doubt it Alex, I would think MM would use bank transfers and the such, which means his wallet will stay shut.

Ah, good point actually BG. Nice.

 

[Boy Genius]

Ah, good point actually BG. Nice.

no worries Alex.

I am about to torrent Custom Blue as well

 

[Steven]

no worries Alex.

I am about to torrent Custom Blue as well

I have managed to get my hands on some fake merchandise. :icon_wink

Alex : Happy New Year to those underneath

:icon_eek:

 

[Macky]

I said before and i'll say it again, relegation to league 1 was the best thing to happen to this club in the last 7 years. I make no apologies for believing that. As the old saying goes, its better to take one step back and then 2 steps forward.

I've never heard of that old saying before, is it one of those really, really new old sayings?

 

[WALSHIESTACKLE]

I'm sure Pearson has had a positive effect on the players and is a vast improvement over the joker you had last season.
However, confidence comes from winning, and the opposition you have in front of you currently are allowing you to win by odd goals (9 games in all) where in the Championship those will be draws or losses.The Jacks ran away with league one last season and, after a good start in the Championship, are getting bogged down mid division now teams have figured them out.
Will your same group of players who folded badly last season be able to raise their game when results go against them and after Milan has refused to open his wallet and strengthen the squad?

Good point to a certain extent. I can't see that too many Championship teams would have effectively 9 man defences against us though which would make it easier to show how talanted the team is. In effect it should allow us to create more than we can at the moment where a lot of teams seem to have been happy to lose by the odd goal.

 

[alex]

no worries Alex.

I am about to torrent Custom Blue as well

Good luck in finding any....

 

[alex]

I have managed to get my hands on some fake merchandise. :icon_wink

:icon_eek:

Hahaha - nice work Steven. Good verb that, 'work'....

 

[Macky]

Good luck in finding any....

Maybe he meant that he was about to create one?

 

[Boy Genius]

Maybe he meant that he was about to create one?

 

[RHYDAL]

I don't know, but I hope we find out.

You confuse me though, you now say we have a poorer team, yet you wonder if the same group of players who folded badly last season will be able to raise their game.

I said poorer because you sold your cash cows last season and brought in 'gamble' players (I'm thinking Kerrea Gilbert as an example). It would be difficult to say this seasons team is stronger because they face weaker opposition and so there is no yardstick for comparison.
I was, in fact, referring to the nucleus of your team which remains from last season who are flourishing in L1, but floundered badly in the Championship, and whom I suspect will continue to form the backbone next season. Fryatt being the prime example, Howard being another.
Was it just poor management that made them play indifferently and cause relegation, or are they shining now because they have found their level? I suppose only time will tell.

 

[Melton Fox]

or are they shining now because they have found their level? I suppose only time will tell.

Who knows, but if that is the case, then I'd rather stay here and keep winning, than put up with that shit last season all over again.

As you say, only time will tell. Oh, and the Blue Mongies who seem to know we're now ace and will easily win the Championship next year.

 

[spionfox]

Was it just poor management that made them play indifferently and cause relegation, or are they shining now because they have found their level?

Poor management certainly contributed and the managerial merry-go-round didn't exactly help either.

We're not fooling ourselves by thinking we have a top championship side already, but we have the foundations in place if NP is allowed to build on them in the summer.

 

[Steven]

Was it just poor management that made them play indifferently and cause relegation, or are they shining now because they have found their level? I suppose only time will tell.

Sadly very largely. When Fryatt can make statements like he knows what he is doing at training from week to week now to me just begs the question - what the fu<k was going on last year?

Second as far as being able to cut it in the Championship I am sure Fryatt can as I can remember some key goals he scored when he first came here which helped us to stay up. :icon_wink

 

[Micky]

It may well be, but last season the problem wasn't the player's abilities, it was their attitude and their Manager.

We may have players with less ability, but their attitude is unrecognisable and we have a manager who can get the best out of them.

I'd rather have this bunch of players playing to 95% of their ability with Nigel Pearson in charge, than last season's players playing to 25% of their ability with Ian Holloway in charge.

As I said at the time, If relegation meant getting rid of Holloway, then it was a fair price to pay. The worse thing for us last season would have been survival in the Championship and Holloway still in charge.

IMO I think the current squad has more ability than the squad we had last season. Dyer is a better winger than we had last season. Tunchev is potentially the best centre back we have had for years. Fryatt is developing and has improved a great deal - he is playing against poorer opposition but he has made vast strides. Powell and berner are better options at left back than we had last season.

Who would you take from this lot that started the last game of last season...? I wouldn't want any of the ones that have moved on.

Henderson

Stearman, N'Gotty, Worley, McCauley, Mattock

Bell, Oakley, Weso

Hume

Hayles, Howard

 

[Melton Fox]

Who would you take from this lot that started the last game of last season...? I wouldn't want any of the ones that have moved on.

Me neither, but as much for attitude as ability.

 

[alex]

Stearman has been excellent at Wolves from what I hear.

 

[Motown Fox]

Stearman has been excellent at Wolves from what I hear.

Still has cock-ups though. Should have been a penalty for that push on the Blackpool player on Monday night

 

[Matt_B]

I said poorer because you sold your cash cows last season and brought in 'gamble' players (I'm thinking Kerrea Gilbert as an example). It would be difficult to say this seasons team is stronger because they face weaker opposition and so there is no yardstick for comparison.
I was, in fact, referring to the nucleus of your team which remains from last season who are flourishing in L1, but floundered badly in the Championship, and whom I suspect will continue to form the backbone next season. Fryatt being the prime example, Howard being another.
Was it just poor management that made them play indifferently and cause relegation, or are they shining now because they have found their level? I suppose only time will tell.

I was about to agree with your point but then my dad pointed out, the only players from last season are howard, oakley, fryatt and king, and fryatt and king weren't regular starters, so we have an almost entirely new team.