Would it be the end of the world

[Rabbit 0]

Well i, like all of you am looking forward to a good season...

I said many times last season that i did`nt think we were good enough to stay up, but coming back down we would be in a much stronger postion than we were 2 seasons ago. We`ve got a good squad, good manager and we are much better off money wise, i also think that no matter where we are in the league come the Jan window, we will add to the squad.

There are many good teams in this league, we all know who will be up there with us ( myself i think Leeds are the team to beat ), but what if we miss out this season, would it be the end of the world, by that i mean would people want to start jumping ship, and we would have to think about getting rid of the high earners ?

We`ve got loads of goals in us, lets face it Hucks ran this league ragged 2 seasons ago, and will do so again, Leon will score 15-20 goals and god knows how many Ashton will score, and when everyone is fit we`ve got a pretty good midfeild, BUT its the back line i`m worried about, we just seem to find it very hard to keep a clean sheet...

[Northern Canary 0]

well i think Hucks would stay for a start so our strike force would still be very good. McKenzie could also possibly stay.

The ones who would definatley be sold are Ashton and Green. Between them they would raise at least 8 mil. Then we would be in a position like leeds have been this summer, we would be able to put together a quality squad by spending money. IMO if we dont go up this season we will go up the next

[Saint Canary 0]

Well, it would not be the end of the world but it would mean serious questions would have to be raised about Worthy and the players.  We have the best Goalkeeper in this division, one of (if not) the best young defender and the two best attacking players in Hux and Ashton.  I would not swap AJ for either of those.  If we do not get promoted with this squad there is something wrong.

[Robert N. LiM 4,244]

I think this is a defining season for NCFC, much more so than last year, when I certainly didn''t think it would be the end of the world if we got relegated.

If we don''t go up this year:

Green and Ashton will definitely leave (I could see either going in January if we''re not in contention)

Leon would also be a worry if he had had a good season, and if I were Hucks I think I''d at least consider a final shot at the Premiership before I got too old.

Promising youngsters like Shackell and Jarrett might also be tempted.

Even if it is only Deano and Greeno that go, I can''t see us improving the squad that much with the money we get for them. If, as you say, we get 8million, are we really going to attract decent players when our big names are going in the other direction? We might be able to buy 8 players for a million each, but none of them will be much better than what we''ve already got.

So, in short, I think we have a better chance of going up this season than next. I also have a sneaking suspicion that finishing outside the top six could be the end of the Worthington era and the start of some serious, long-term rebuilding.

Whether not going up is the end of the world, I''m not sure. Am I the only one who''s enjoying some aspects of being back amongst real football teams and real fans, not multi-national brands, arrogant players and fans and snide remarks in the national media? Obviously I want us to get promotion, but this league is a lot better than the Prem in a lot of ways.

[Northern Canary 0]

whats wrong is that if we get hit by injury we will not be able to put out a proper 11

[Barry Brockes 145]

It''s a bit like the time just before an exam or an interview when you suddenly think of all the things that could go wrong. My biggest concern is that most teams coming to FCR will defend in large numbers, put ten men behind the ball and put two men on Hucks. Whilst I totally agree that the overall squad is much stronger than at this stage the season before last I''m not yet convinced that we have addressed one of the major shortcomings we''ve had for several years which is lacking the guile and skill to be able to unlock massed defences. I hope Marney will be the answer but then again I hoped Bentley would be last year and he didn''t really deliver on a consistent basis. I also hope we stamp our authority on games from the first minute on a more regular basis and don''t play, particularly at home, as though we''ll be happy to be 0-0 at half-time. That''s another trap we''ve falen into in the last few years and given opponents the confidence to think they might get something from the game instead of feeling at half-time that they''re on a damage limitation exercise. Despite that I think our quality will shine through and we''ll be ok. The bookies are more often right than wrong!  

[westoncanary. 0]

You only have to look at Ipswich, Leeds & Forrest to see what failure to get promotion could mean.  I know we are (?) in a better financial position than some clubs, but 2 seasons in Div 1 would be difficult to bear.

[Saint Canary 0]

[quote]whats wrong is that if we get hit by injury we will not be able to put out a proper 11[/quote]

Name another club in this division that wouldn''t struggle with injuries?

[FatMan Fat 0]

I don''t know if "disaster" is the right word if we fail to go up this year.

For sure, if we fail to secure promotion the implications to the Club will be immense. Faced with no more parachutes payments we would have to cut the wage bill which would mean us selling those better players who had not already left from their own choice.

Equally, we would not have the money to attract the type of player that would give us a chance of promotion. Accordingly we would again sink into the doldrums of many seasons in the Championship until a set of circumstances saw us once again challenging for promotion, or we fall down to Division 1. It is quite rare for a team to stay in our current league for more than 10 to 12 consecutive seasons.

So, if we fail to secure promotion this season it will not be a "disaster" but we better get used to Championship Football and mid-table mediocrity for several seasons thereafter.

[Northern Canary 0]

[quote]Name another club in this division that wouldn''t struggle with injuries?[/quote]

thats a fair point. but it takes two injuries for us not to have enough players in a certain position. I think the quality will pull through though

[sxcanaree 0]

In short No.

in long....

The club has a very astute board and management. when the club needed the backing of fans to raise capital following the ITV digital collapse they had a five year plan of getting into the premiership by the 06/07 Season, which they achieved two years early. Whilst this was great in terms of revenue, reputation etc. etc. it meant that ultimately the club were not ready for premiership football hence the prudence and limited resources available - it does however mean that the five year plan would have been revised during the past year.

The Board have gone on record and said that their budgeting for 04/05 was to be relegated in bottom place and built their spending on this - this was not a lack of ambition this was realism. For the second time in two years they then took a major gamble and spent every penny they had available (and more) on buying the player who I still think was the buy of the Season in the premiership and certainly will be the most feared player in the championship. This time it did not pay off but it did mean that the club has had to be prudent this summer in its spending. -  Now both the players that are coming in and the even clubs that are selling the players to us are betting on Norwich going back up (several of the contracts have extra payments if we win promotion "in the next two years").

This means the club will not need to sell any of the players next year either - the question is will they want to go? 

I think not, as there is a dearth of good English players in the Premiership which will mean that although Erikson may deign to visit only one or two championship games next Season (probably us v Palarse for one) by the end of the Season Greeno and Diver will not be the only players in the championship in contention for an England berth - it is worth noting that last Season the Championship was the fourth highest supported league in Europe. 

If we are not in contention by December or do not get promoted it will probably be the players "doing a Francis" that will put us there so if those players want to go then it will probably help the team if they do - remember there is always one club with a late surge that gets into contention - we''ve been there done that before, Palace did better and Wolves did worse a mid season boost sometimes does the trick.

Ultimately I believe the club is budgeting for minimum play-offs maximum automatic promotion as champions this season with promotion pencilled in as the lowest position for 06/07 but even then I think two years down the line it will not be the end of the world.

I am getting bored with the predictability of the Premiership - Loads of Money, Great Football, the odd upset but Manure, Arse and Chelsea will fill the top three places, the three promoted teams plus the new "usual suspects" who have managed to cling on for the past couple of Seasons Fulham, Pompey, WBA will fight relegation and the others will simply collect a pile of cash for losing to the top guys and beating the bottom six - loads of foreign nationals in the teams because the media get more excited over the arrival of a player they hadn''t heard of yesterday but "must be good because Steve Bruce has just made a bid for him" than a quality signing of a British player.

It is my hope that the championship will bed down into one of the most competitive and exciting domestic leagues in the world over the next couple of seasons. - Certainly there are more better supported clubs in the league now as the premiership is now dominated by clubs which are the toys of "fan owners" - not like Delia and Michael who put their heart and soul into the club but rich guys who have made fortunes and are not running the club as a business, Middlesborough, Birmingha