Relegation 2022/23

[Tony’s Carp]

If the team with the fewest amount of goals scored in the top four/five divisions gets relegated and expects to magically start turning teams over 5 and 6 each week, I hope we have a pre-season trip to realityland arranged first.

There was some discussion yesterday of what our squad might look like post relegation and the thing that struck me is that few of our forwards will be coveted by PL teams but if we retain an attacking core of DCL (would anyone take the risk?), Maupay, Simms, Gray, McNeil, Dobbin then maybe add one or two young talented loanees from top clubs, it’s actually a very good set of options for that level.

The midfield would need a serious revamp with Onana, Doucoure, Iwobi and Gana all possible / likely departures but even after likely departures the defensive and attacking options look good enough.

 

[blue to the bone]

Just looked at a end of season predicted points site that has us 18th with 34 points
depressing

If they got all results right they would be multi millionaires. They are as clueless as everyone else

 

[Papa Shango]

If the team with the fewest amount of goals scored in the top four/five divisions gets relegated and expects to magically start turning teams over 5 and 6 each week, I hope we have a pre-season trip to realityland arranged first.

Yeah exactly, we struggle to beat Championship teams in the cups let alone the league.

I'm sure some people think the Championship is filled with postmen and civil servants playing part time. It's an incredibly tough league.

 

[d0rk]

it’s actually a very good set of options for that level.

It is, but it's no guarantee. Watford and Norwich retained much of their PL squads and have been struggling to stay in the playoffs.

On the other hand, Burnley sold something crazy like 18 players and bought 16 new. They're top scorers in English pyramid at the moment, but they're still not turning teams over by those crazy margins of 6-0.

Championship is nowhere near as easy as posters on this board make out.

 

[MikeH72]

There was some discussion yesterday of what our squad might look like post relegation and the thing that struck me is that few of our forwards will be coveted by PL teams but if we retain an attacking core of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (would anyone take the risk?), Maupay, Simms, Gray, McNeil, Dobbin then maybe add one or two young talented loanees from top clubs, it’s actually a very good set of options for that level.

The midfield would need a serious revamp with Onana, Doucoure, Iwobi and Gana all possible / likely departures but even after likely departures the defensive and attacking options look good enough.

It’s not a “very good” set of options for the Championship at all. It’s probably enough to ensure we’re not relegated from it, but it’s still a completely bang average squad for that level. We wouldn’t get promoted with this current squad imo.

 

[Colonel Getafe]

There was some discussion yesterday of what our squad might look like post relegation and the thing that struck me is that few of our forwards will be coveted by PL teams but if we retain an attacking core of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (would anyone take the risk?), Maupay, Simms, Gray, McNeil, Dobbin then maybe add one or two young talented loanees from top clubs, it’s actually a very good set of options for that level.

The midfield would need a serious revamp with Onana, Doucoure, Iwobi and Gana all possible / likely departures but even after likely departures the defensive and attacking options look good enough.

I'd flip a coin at best with our forward line. DCL has 6 goals since start of last season and is never fit, absolutely cannot accomodate a 3rd year of that in a very competative league. If we could get £15-20m+ sell and reinvest. Maupay scored 37 in 85 in the Championship which is encouraging, yet could easily still look like a fish up a tree and struggle to get 5. Gray and McNeil should do fine, Simms has shown he can bag a few at a lower level, Dobbin maybe maybe not.

For me, the forward line has been neglected for quality attackers too many times and should be a priority. No idea who we'd want or who we'd get but I'd like to see 3 maybe 4 first team level strikers capable of contributing 15+ goals each if we're going to bounce back first time round. Midfield, who knows. Dacs may get his 1 year option activated, Gana we could be stuck with, Iwobi I think would stay, Garner should be ok.

 

[Colonel Getafe]

Championship is nowhere near as easy as posters on this board make out.

We wouldn’t get promoted with this current squad imo.

100% agree. The team with the fewest amount of goals in top four/five divisions are not suddenly swashbuckling their way to a shoe-in easy promotion playing functional football every week. Not without numerous quality additions to the side.

 

[Swartzy]

For a game like Brentford I fear it will be exactly the opposite - fan expectation will just build tension and our flakey team will implode

Brentford could be another Brighton. But it could also be a massive psychological boost if we could pick up a win here.
They are on a great run, 'But this is our turf there heading too now'. And that's the kind of attitude I want to see in this team on Saturday.

We get an early goal, then I want to see a second early goal, no sudden trying to shut the shop early.

 

[Tony’s Carp]

It is, but it's no guarantee. Watford and Norwich retained much of their PL squads and have been struggling to stay in the playoffs.

On the other hand, Burnley sold something crazy like 18 players and bought 16 new. They're top scorers in English pyramid at the moment, but they're still not turning teams over by those crazy margins of 6-0.

Championship is nowhere near as easy as posters on this board make out.

I agree some people definitely underestimate the championship but I see a lot of people swing the other way and overestimate it. We’re talking about a division where Maupay scored 20 plus, and where Akpom has banged in over 20 already. It’s a tough league for sure but there’s a massive step down in terms of the defensive quality we’d face.

I think the existing striker / winger options are good enough, and even with a few high earners departing the defensive options would be fine, the key would be the midfield and finding players with a bit of creativity who can unpick teams that would mostly be sitting in against us. Garner would be a big player for us.

 

[Colonel Getafe]

Yeah exactly, we struggle to beat Championship teams in the cups let alone the league.

I'm sure some people think the Championship is filled with postmen and civil servants playing part time. It's an incredibly tough league.

Spot on. Better teams than us have gone down and not bounced right back; some not for many years. We'll be the "big scalp" in the second division, every team will want to beat us and probably try that little bit harder than with other fixtures.

There is still a lot of physical and mental fragility in this side, I wonder how many players will be ready for the fight one level down. Then add in an incompetent board who don't know what they're doing at the best of times in a league they have no experience of and it is not a pretty picture as some may make out.

 

[allezlesbleus]

But it’s looking increasingly likely with every week that goes by that we will.

Although relying on narrow wins is a very risky strategy, I think the last few games have shown an increasing likelihood that we are going to narrowly save our skins!!

A team that had one win from Palace until Dyche came in has played with more energy, created more chances and got 7 points on the board. All that while suffering from the same self induced problem of no striker in 5/6 of those games. IF they repeat that in the two batches of six games to come we will have 36 points which won’t be enough. But it means we just have to find the equivalent of one more decent result to pull it off. Not a good situation, obviously, but far from impossible!!!

 

[Tony’s Carp]

It’s not a “very good” set of options for the Championship at all. It’s probably enough to ensure we’re not relegated from it, but it’s still a completely bang average squad for that level. We wouldn’t get promoted with this current squad imo.

There’s no guarantee of anything in terms of getting promoted but, as modest as our squad is at PL level, ability wise there isn’t a squad in the championship I’d trade ours for, not even Burnley.

 

[Cool_Blue]

It’s not a “very good” set of options for the Championship at all. It’s probably enough to ensure we’re not relegated from it, but it’s still a completely bang average squad for that level. We wouldn’t get promoted with this current squad imo.

I think we’d finish about 14th. Seriously.

 

[MikeH72]

There’s no guarantee of anything in terms of getting promoted but, as modest as our squad is at PL level, ability wise there isn’t a squad in the championship I’d trade ours for, not even Burnley.

Burnley would batter us if we played them right now mate.

 

[Tony’s Carp]

I think we’d finish about 14th. Seriously.

Bristol City are currently 14th. Who other than Alex Scott gets in our squad let alone our team? This is what I mean by people underestimating the gulf between PL and Championship.