The au revoir to Championship Thread

[Muzzle]

Last time we were in the old division 3, it took it around 15 years to come back

 

[mistermagic]

Don't forget to close the door on your way out.

 

[Ciderup]

We did it in 2 last time Muzzle.
Clear the decks, rebuild and go again. You won't be down there long bud but you DO need to get shot of every single player that was on our pitch yesterday and get some that care. Your squad yesterday were a disgrace to your club, they really didn't give a shit!
2-3 years, I reckon. There are some decent clubs down there in the Blades, Coventry, Bradford, Wigan and probably Charlton dropping with you so it won't be easy.

 

[Rammy]

You won't be down there long bud

That's what Sheffield United thought....

 

[Ciderup]

That's what Sheffield United thought....

They're the formula NOT to follow Rammy.
Go down there and expect to win is plain wrong. Just because they're a 'big' club, it guarantees nothing. The Blades have made that mistake. We did for a while too but Cotts worked it out, reputations are a negative in L1, not a positive!

 

[Muzzle]

Next manager is key in this, or else we will be gone for a bit

 

[Aaron-Bcfc]

Next manager is key in this, or else we will be gone for a bit

As long as your finances are secure enough I wouldn't worry too much if you initially do badly. We were only gone for 2 seasons and spent about 40% of that in the relegation zone.

 

[JoshBCFC]

As long as your finances are secure enough I wouldn't worry too much if you initially do badly. We were only gone for 2 seasons and spent about 40% of that in the relegation zone.

Mainly because we had an incompetent manager.

My advice to Bolton would be to get rid of pretty much everyone and start a completely new squad, full of players who actually care. We eventually did it once Cotts came in and we came back up. Big problem is though, whether you can afford it.

 

[Gerry Gow]

Next manager is key in this, or else we will be gone for a bit

Steve Cotterill is available...

 

[mossypne]

We were there for a long 4 years. Very difficult league to get right.

 

[Etienne Vermeer]

Division Three is utter shite and anyone half decent will run away with it.

 

[Ciderup]

Steve Cotterill is available...

I think he would be a very good appointment in all honesty. He just can't seem to manage at Championship level.

 

[Reaper]

Bonjour to Aston Villa!

 

[Walkley_Owl]

Bonjour to Aston Villa!

I'd arguably wait til I weren't saying au revoir.

 

[blade1889]

They're the formula NOT to follow Rammy.
Go down there and expect to win is plain wrong. Just because they're a 'big' club, it guarantees nothing. The Blades have made that mistake. We did for a while too but Cotts worked it out, reputations are a negative in L1, not a positive!

We don't expect to win just cos of our 'name' and never had that attitude

 

[Ciderup]

We don't expect to win just cos of our 'name' and never had that attitude

Fair enough 1889, my poorly made point does sound like that, apologies. I think every reasonably sized club (ourselves included) has a period where they think promotion back to where they have come from is going to be easy, it most certainly is NOT.
I used the Blades as they're the biggest club in L1 by a mile and it wasn't a criticism of your club (which I have a lot of time for) but more a warning that being a big club doesn't mean a thing in that division.
I hope I've made my point a bit better now.

 

[Jockney]

I think you'll find that being a big club in that division makes a significant difference, as shown by how quickly the bigger sides return to the Championship after relegation.

 

[blade1889]

Fair enough 1889, my poorly made point does sound like that, apologies. I think every reasonably sized club (ourselves included) has a period where they think promotion back to where they have come from is going to be easy, it most certainly is NOT.
I used the Blades as they're the biggest club in L1 by a mile and it wasn't a criticism of your club (which I have a lot of time for) but more a warning that being a big club doesn't mean a thing in that division.
I hope I've made my point a bit better now.

For sure when we got relegated I was thinking along the lines of what I think some are suggesting here...that we could go down, have a big clear out and use it as a bit of a spring board. But that quite clearly hasn't happened

 

[Ciderup]

I think you'll find that being a big club in that division makes a significant difference, as shown by how quickly the bigger sides return to the Championship after relegation.

Not as easy as you thought though Jockney, that's my point. City / Blades / Millwall would all be classed as bigger clubs at L1 level but none of us found it easy to get back up. Eventually, we do but it's not as easy as some would think.

For sure when we got relegated I was thinking along the lines of what I think some are suggesting here...that we could go down, have a big clear out and use it as a bit of a spring board. But that quite clearly hasn't happened

A perfect example of my point.
We all do it and I'm sure Bolton will as well but it's proved to be plain wrong as you say!

 

[Jockney]

Not as easy as you thought though Jockney, that's my point. City / Blades / Millwall would all be classed as bigger clubs at L1 level but none of us found it easy to get back up. Eventually, we do but it's not as easy as some would think!

Suppose it depends on what you classify as soon. For the past fifty years we have never spent more than five seasons at a time at that level. League One is terrible and a little quality with a whole lot of organisation can get you a very long way.

 

[Bobbin']

Suppose it depends on what you classify as soon. For the past fifty years we have never spent more than five seasons at a time at that level. League One is terrible and a little quality with a whole lot of organisation can get you a very long way.

I think it takes some clubs longer than others to work that out. I think the culture shock when relegated to L1 is far greater than when relegated to the Championship and the danger with it is whether you're a big club or not, if you don't get it right in the first couple of years you're suddenly not the big draw for players that you were when first relegated, which makes it tough when there is such little quality at that level in the first place.

I think a big mistake a lot of clubs make is 'oh, this will be a chance for our youngsters' but really a physical league like L1 is not ideal to be chucking in just kids, you have to get the balance right like Millwall have done, a mixture of youngsters out to prove themselves and experienced heads. I agree though, get that balance right and have an organised side and L1 is quite a straight forward league to navigate.

 

[Ciderup]

Suppose it depends on what you classify as soon. For the past fifty years we have never spent more than five seasons at a time at that level. League One is terrible and a little quality with a whole lot of organisation can get you a very long way.

Genuinely surprised at that mate!
The rest i totally agree with WTGR to L1.

 

[Ciderup]

I think it takes some clubs longer than others to work that out. I think the culture shock when relegated to L1 is far greater than when relegated to the Championship and the danger with it is whether you're a big club or not, if you don't get it right in the first couple of years you're suddenly not the big draw for players that you were when first relegated, which makes it tough when there is such little quality at that level in the first place.

I think a big mistake a lot of clubs make is 'oh, this will be a chance for our youngsters' but really a physical league like L1 is not ideal to be chucking in just kids, you have to get the balance right like Millwall have done, a mixture of youngsters out to prove themselves and experienced heads. I agree though, get that balance right and have an organised side and L1 is quite a straight forward league to navigate.

Agree whole heartedly apart from the last bit. Many of us have struggled at that level. I don't think it's straight forward at all.

 

[Walkley_Owl]

We've had two year stints in our last two trips to La Liga 1 with the first season of each being utter toss bag shite, the second being promotion back to this level, both stints helped "bottom us out" for differing reasons.

 

[Luke_ciderhead]

I hope we never get stuck down there again. We were fortunate to find Cotterill and get out within two years last time, but the time before that it took us eight long and horrible years. Never want to go through that again.

 

[Bobbin']

Agree whole heartedly apart from the last bit. Many of us have struggled at this level. I don't think it's straight forward at all.

Don't get me wrong, it took us three years and it's by no means 'easy'. I know it's obvious to say but I meant if you can get those three elements and a striker that can get you 20+ goals then you'll do well to not finish in the top six. The level of quality is so low it's just about getting the basics right.

When we won the division we were not a brilliant 'footballing' side but we were a well oiled, disciplined side and just did the basics better than everyone else, we lost only 5 games and ended up with over 100 points, this was in a league with the likes of Sheff Wed, Sheff Utd, Huddersfield etc in it.

 

[SF_]

We decided to spend an extra two years in L1 and flirt with L2 for a laugh by appointing Graham Westley.

 

[Ciderhead]

I think a big mistake a lot of clubs make is 'oh, this will be a chance for our youngsters' but really a physical league like L1 is not ideal to be chucking in just kids

Agree with this post generally but just on this point, this may have been the case in years gone by but nowadays the Championship is much more physical than the level below, it was very noticable upon coming up. For all the lack of quality down there you get a lot more time on the ball and there's more teams looking to "play football" if you will, rather than the mostly attritional stuff up here.

It's a much better breeding ground for young players. If I was a big Prem club I'd prefer to send my young starlets out there, at least at first. It's a gentler learning curve.

Obviously you don't want a team all of kids, as you say you need a bit of balance, but one of the best things about going down is it gives you a chance to get rid of all the deadwood and start phasing in some of your young talent who might not otherwise get a chance. They'll then be much better developed and suited to it should the time come you make it back up.

We don't have a huge amount but someone like Joe Bryan benefited massively from our time there, playing regularly in our promotion season, when he probably wouldn't still be at the club if we'd remained fighting relegation in the Championship

 

[Walkley_Owl]

Don't get me wrong, it took us three years and it's by no means 'easy'. I know it's obvious to say but I meant if you can get those three elements and a striker that can get you 20+ goals then you'll do well to not finish in the top six. The level of quality is so low it's just about getting the basics right.

When we won the division we were not a brilliant 'footballing' side but we were a well oiled, disciplined side and just did the basics better than everyone else, we lost only 5 games and ended up with over 100 points, this was in a league with the likes of Sheff Wed, Sheff Utd, Huddersfield etc in it.

You also time wasted from minute one at ours

 

[Bobbin']

Agree with this post generally but just on this point, this may have been the case in years gone by but nowadays the Championship is much more physical than the level below, it was very noticable upon coming up. For all the lack of quality down there you get a lot more time on the ball and there's more teams looking to "play football" if you will, rather than the mostly attritional stuff up here.

It's a much better breeding ground for young players. If I was a big Prem club I'd prefer to send my young starlets out there, at least at first. It's a gentler learning curve.

Obviously you don't want a team all of kids, as you say you need a bit of balance, but one of the best things about going down is it gives you a chance to get rid of all the deadwood and start phasing in some of your young talent who might not otherwise get a chance. They'll then be much better developed and suited to it should the time come you make it back up.

We don't have a huge amount but someone like Joe Bryan benefited massively from our time there, playing regularly in our promotion season, when he probably wouldn't still be at the club if we'd remained fighting relegation in the Championship

Completely agree that it's a great opportunity to bring on your young players but you can't rely on them alone to carry you to promotion.

You don't win anything with kids