Does anybody think our current squad would cope in the Championship?

[Lambo 0]

Of course it doesn''t, they preach at everyone for showing the slightest bit of optimism yet do the same thing just to the extreme at the opposite end of the scale.

Nobody has said how we''ll do as far as i can see, i''m happy with the new players we''ve got in personally, and now i wait to see what Gunn will do with them.

[CaptnCanary 0]

Another way to think about it is whether we would be happy with the signings made had we scraped to survival last year? I don''t think many people would be happy at all. The only plus side is we actually own the players so if we do do well we could actually get some consistency going. There is alot to be said for the winning mentality. Alot of newly promoted teams, who have that mentality, tend to punch above their weight in the championship for a year - but then settle back into relegation battles and they get used to losing more games. So if we did go back up we would have to strengthen with quality players to have any chance of staying up for long.

[Lambo 0]

The difference is though we probably would be looking at and be able to attract other targets if we''d stayed up.

Some people fail to realise we''re a league 1 club now and arn''t going to be attractive to some players we would have been last season.

People expect us to sign Championship players whilst we''re in League 1, we need to build a squad that will get us out of League 1 then once we''re back in the Championship start building a side of championship players.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="First Wizard"]I believe this squad won''t even cope with League 1, let alone anywhere else![/quote]
If we won''t cope with league one...you''re essentially saying this squad will be relegated? I''d be willing to place any bet where the money goes to the academy that we won''t be relegated...as would many people i think Wiz....[:)]
[/quote]

No, I not saying that at all, bottom 6 is more likely, anything about that will be a minor miracle imo!

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="First Wizard"]

[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="First Wizard"]I believe this squad won''t even cope with League 1, let alone anywhere else![/quote]
If we won''t cope with league one...you''re essentially saying this squad will be relegated? I''d be willing to place any bet where the money goes to the academy that we won''t be relegated...as would many people i think Wiz....[:)]
[/quote]

No, I not saying that at all, bottom 6 is more likely, anything about that will be a minor miracle imo!

[/quote]

 

Given your prediction record this close season, Wiz, I take that as the surest sign yet that we''ll win the league at a canter![:D]

[nutty nigel 7,513]

It''s difficult to answer the question given that we don''t really know that much about the players Gunn has assembled. But as has been pointed out we had good players under Roeder but a poor team. If Gunn, Butterworth and Crook can mould these players into a team there will be a lot more smiling faces in the stands this season.

I reckon when we find out if they are good enough in League One we can make more of a judgement about a higher standard. But I do believe the gap between the leagues is ever widening and that is entirely down to the amount of money spent at the top and by clubs attempting to get there. It will end in tears eventually and roll on the day when all football clubs get their identities back.

 

[First Wizard 0]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="First Wizard"]

[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="First Wizard"]I believe this squad won''t even cope with League 1, let alone anywhere else![/quote]
If we won''t cope with league one...you''re essentially saying this squad will be relegated? I''d be willing to place any bet where the money goes to the academy that we won''t be relegated...as would many people i think Wiz....[:)]
[/quote]

No, I not saying that at all, bottom 6 is more likely, anything about that will be a minor miracle imo!

[/quote]

 

Given your prediction record this close season, Wiz, I take that as the surest sign yet that we''ll win the league at a canter![:D]

[/quote]

Totally agree Beauseant, as a predicter, I''ve been ruddy woeful!................lets pray, as you say, that its a sure sign of glories to come.

I know it was only a friendly, so its hard to tell, but based on the first 45 minutes against United, most league 1 teams wouldn''t be able to live with us!

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="First Wizard"][quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="First Wizard"]

[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="First Wizard"]I believe this squad won''t even cope with League 1, let alone anywhere else![/quote]
If we won''t cope with league one...you''re essentially saying this squad will be relegated? I''d be willing to place any bet where the money goes to the academy that we won''t be relegated...as would many people i think Wiz....[:)]
[/quote]

No, I not saying that at all, bottom 6 is more likely, anything about that will be a minor miracle imo!

[/quote]

[:D][Y]

 

Given your prediction record this close season, Wiz, I take that as the surest sign yet that we''ll win the league at a canter![:D]

[/quote]

Totally agree Beauseant, as a predicter, I''ve been ruddy woeful!................lets pray, as you say, that its a sure sign of glories to come.

I know it was only a friendly, so its hard to tell, but based on the first 45 minutes against United, most league 1 teams wouldn''t be able to live with us!

[/quote]

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="First Wizard"][quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="First Wizard"]

[quote user="hogesar"][quote user="First Wizard"]I believe this squad won''t even cope with League 1, let alone anywhere else![/quote]
If we won''t cope with league one...you''re essentially saying this squad will be relegated? I''d be willing to place any bet where the money goes to the academy that we won''t be relegated...as would many people i think Wiz....[:)]
[/quote]

No, I not saying that at all, bottom 6 is more likely, anything about that will be a minor miracle imo!

[/quote]

[:D][Y]

 

Given your prediction record this close season, Wiz, I take that as the surest sign yet that we''ll win the league at a canter![:D]

[/quote]

Totally agree Beauseant, as a predicter, I''ve been ruddy woeful!................lets pray, as you say, that its a sure sign of glories to come.

I know it was only a friendly, so its hard to tell, but based on the first 45 minutes against United, most league 1 teams wouldn''t be able to live with us!

[/quote][/quote]

 

Whoops, put smilies in wrong place! Let''s try again.

[:D][Y]

[Tetteys Jig 830]

theo - maybe

Rudd - will do in future

Semmi - didn''t do

Drury - probs still would

Wiggins - maybe

Doc and stef - yes

Askou and nelson - dunno

Whaley - yes, needed a change of scene, but good enough

Hughes - yes

Tudor jones and gill - probs not yet

Cureton - no

Holt - maybe, ashton managed the step up 2 leagues

Maric, martin - maybe

Cody - did do

Mcveigh - no

Hoolahan - yes

Lappin - in the right role, yes

[if I promise to behave 0]

Tonight''s friendly against Palace might give us some clues; not so much the result, as they may field a more settled side than Gunn can; but in terms of tactics and how our players perform individually. Expect a few passes to go astray, as players may not read each other too well, but watch how they tackle one to one and sort out set pieces.

[Snoots 0]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"]This team would get stuffed in the Championship I reckon. If we stayed up and made exactly the same signings (perhaps bar two or three) then I would be very worried indeed.[/quote]

You have absolutely no way of knowing. This is yet another pointless thread which encourages idle speculation from people who apparently have nothing better to do.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

actually it''s what makes the thread interesting, it has divided opinion and raised interesting points.

[Shack Attack 0]

It an interesting question but one that we probably won''t be able to answer fully for a little while yet. The one positive aspect of so many signings is that we will be less reliant on loanees which should in turn make for a more settled side. Many of the problems we have faced over the last few years have been caused by the sheer number of changes that have been made to the side on an almost weekly basis. Glenn Roeder happened upon a fairly decent side a couple of times during his tenure but couldn''t resist the urge to bring in his latest Premiership loanee the following week. Hopefully Gunny won''t be in a position where he feels he has to give a loanee a game and this may lead to a more settled side.

There a plenty of examples of clubs building a squad over time with unknown/cheap/lower league players and allowing that team to grow together as they rise through the divisions. Reading were probably the best example in recent years with players such as Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Kitson, Ingimarsson and Sonko combining to grow and improve together as a team. Maybe we could do the same [:^)]

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

I think a comparison between this squad and that which won the Championship would show similarities. The challenge would be to come up with the same commitment and consistency through the whole season. In recent years too often there has been a collection of individual players rather than a team.

The lack of loanees, good competition for places, and good tactics could all make a difference this year. Having Holt (and hopefully Maric) for the whole season could make all the difference as well. I think this squad will have a chance in League 1. If promotion did happen, it would also provide the basis for a Championship team. Cureton and Dejan would probably have moved on by then and there will be a bigger budget for new players, the young players will be a season older and I would be reasonably optimistic if quality players were then brought in to fill the gaps.

[Costa-Canary 0]

A settled squad is one of the key issues for me,we have had far to many short term loans for the last two years. I believe this squad is better than last seasons and would not have got relegated