Latest Championship Predictions

[Google Bot 3,995]

And how gutting would that be?! 😞

Not really thought about that scenario until now, but if we did fail to make playoffs it'd be a really tough pill to swallow if it were by goal difference, or a point or something.  Especially when you can think back across the season at so many wasted points. 

[NFN FC 1,142]

It'd be bittersweet. 

As much as I'd like to earn promotion, I don't want us to be in the PL. It's sh1t.

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

3 minutes ago, NFN FC said:

It'd be bittersweet. 

As much as I'd like to earn promotion, I don't want us to be in the PL. It's sh1t.

It certainly is, when you get battered most weeks. 

[cambridgeshire canary 7,932]

Only a 1 percent chance huh?

[Google Bot 3,995]

4 minutes ago, NFN FC said:

I don't want us to be in the PL. It's sh1t.

It's actually been one of the better seasons, too.  Could become even better if Man City got put into League 2! 🙂

[Google Bot 3,995]

1 minute ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Only a 1 percent chance huh?

Automatic (1st/2nd) is 1%, it's 41% for playoff position.

[NFN FC 1,142]

32 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

It certainly is, when you get battered most weeks. 

Yes that but also the VAR, the w@nky pundits, the ridiculous billion budget squads etc. 

[Capt. Pants 5,151]

11 hours ago, NFN FC said:

It'd be bittersweet. 

As much as I'd like to earn promotion, I don't want us to be in the PL. It's sh1t.

Best Premier League season for years. The fact that we haven't been even broadly competitive in our last 2 visits shouldn't detract from our desire to get there.

We have gifted so many goals this season and as soon as we play anyone any good we choke. It doesn't bode well for the play-offs even if we get there.

[jaberry2 796]

We'd get hammered in the premiership as it stands. Even the lower teams are spending vasts sums of money which we simply dont have at the moment, unless this shift in share holding creates a decent sized transfer pot. 

[Google Bot 3,995]

11 minutes ago, jaberry2 said:

We'd get hammered in the premiership as it stands. Even the lower teams are spending vasts sums of money which we simply dont have at the moment

To be fair, Brentford are fishing in the £15m player pool, bringing in a few each season.  We're spending £10m+ in Championship, Threw £8m at Gibson, and taking the cheaper splatter-gun approach, yet we spent near £50-60m last season when all totalled up.

I think it is achievable, but you've got to go at teams and have core positions in place... i.e. Defensive midfielder is an absolute no brainer.

Trouble is, I feel we focus too much on flair players when it should be some ****esters that we bring in.   Barnes a perfect example of that at the weekend.   We just lack leaders and character still, you won't do much in the prem league with a team who losing week by week becomes a habit.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Google Bot

[dylanisabaddog 6,196]

11 minutes ago, jaberry2 said:

We'd get hammered in the premiership as it stands. Even the lower teams are spending vasts sums of money which we simply dont have at the moment, unless this shift in share holding creates a decent sized transfer pot. 

We would probably need to spend £200m to create a team capable of survival. I'd rather finish 7th

[jaberry2 796]

1 minute ago, Google Bot said:

To be fair, Brentford are fishing in the £15m player pool, bringing in a few each season.  We're spending £10m+ in Championship, Threw £8m at Gibson, and taking the cheaper splatter-gun approach, yet we spent near £50-60m last season when all totalled up.

I think it is achievable, but you've got to go at teams and have core positions in place... i.e. Defensive midfielder is an absolute no brainer.

Trouble is, I feel we focus too much on flair players when it should be some ****esters that we bring in.   Barnes a perfect example of that at the weekend.

Brentford seem to have their player acquisition/scouting on point, which we certainly havent. The question remains even if we did have a decent pot of cash can we source the right type of player this time around to kick on?

[Google Bot 3,995]

4 minutes ago, jaberry2 said:

The question remains even if we did have a decent pot of cash can we source the right type of player this time around to kick on?

I'm really not sure Webber likes the type of players that we need, if i'm honest.  I think he puts too much weight on the character being 'right' for the club, which is why we look so naive when the wheels are falling off mid-game - a squad full of nice guys.

When you look across the signings there's so many attacking/flair hopefuls that we bring in.  This just needs to be balanced up with a bit of experience or steel.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Google Bot

[jaberry2 796]

2 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

I'm really not sure Webber likes the type of players that we need, if i'm honest.  I think he puts too much weight on the character being 'right' for the club, which is why we look so naive when the wheels are falling off mid-game - a squad full of nice guys.

When you look across the signings there's so many attacking/flair hopefuls that we bring in.  This just needs to be balanced up with a bit of experience or steel.

Yes agreed. As much as Webber & Co have done well to improve us off the field, its questionable whether he can actually is the right person in order to keep a position in the premiership.

[Capt. Pants 5,151]

11 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

We would probably need to spend £200m to create a team capable of survival. I'd rather finish 7th

I'd rather we spent £200m. I'll let the money men at the club worry about that.

Who knows after this season we may need to spend £50m plus just to finish 7th in the Championship, especially if Pukki goes.

[Google Bot 3,995]

5 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

Who knows after this season we may need to spend £50m plus just to finish 7th in the Championship, especially if Pukki goes.

I think that's the problem if you sit static.  If we resorted to being a mid-championship club we'd probably be losing more money across the seasons than actually investing into assets off the back of the Prem league TV money.

Buying £15m+ players should come with an increased probability that they'll hold their worth.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Google Bot

[The Bristol Nest 612]

I don't like us losing every week in the champs or the prem. We have to be the best we can be in whichever league we are in. 

Remember league 1? Great fun. Two years ago, the same. Last season and this , not so much.

[GenerationA47 868]

1 hour ago, Google Bot said:

I think that's the problem if you sit static.  If we resorted to being a mid-championship club we'd probably be losing more money across the seasons than actually investing into assets off the back of the Prem league TV money.

Buying £15m+ players should come with an increased probability that they'll hold their worth.

All correct but just add also “losing money and our better players”

[Channon’s Windmill 428]

Think that prediction is pretty fair, I think we will fall short of the playoffs, but only just. 

[Don’t be Krul 454]

Good. This squad is nowhere near good enough for promotion and IF we went up I'd have a quid on us getting the lowest PL points tally ever

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lake district canary 4,878]

You have to take the rough with the smooth. I'm starting to think it would be better if we stay down this season and build towards a promotion team next season or even the one after. Wagner needs to rebuild and establish more young players to play the high energy game he likes and that will take time. 

People like to set targets, like top six, or top two or whatever, but really the process is what matters - get that right and promotion will come as a matter of course. That process should see the emergence of a system that gives us good football, a competitive look - and then league success as it develops.

Too much "expectance" of success too soon is counterproductive and only likely to lead to disappointment. The PL can wait, it's not all that anyway.

[Capt. Pants 5,151]

If we don't have EPL money or parachute payments then alternative finance will become an issue.

Support from the home fans is tenuous at best, I was quite alarmed how quickly it got sour on Saturday.

Really interesting and pivotal period in the club's history. There are many clubs who have spent more than us and gone backwards. We shall see!

[Google Bot 3,995]

19 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

I'm starting to think it would be better if we stay down this season and build towards a promotion team next season or even the one after.

Trouble is you've got the potential of Everton, Southampton, Leeds, West Ham or Bournemouth coming down plus whoever else doesn't make it up this season.

I think you have to just go for it every season.  Otherwise it's probably goodbye to Sarge, Aarons and Pukki for sure. 

We're a club that's become accustomed to this £100m TV money every other season and parachute payments keeping things afloat.

I wish it wasn't about the money, but it is.  If it were more purely about the sport and us rebuilding a team - then I would otherwise completely agree.