How big is the gap between Championship and League 1?

[Hackney Canary 0]

[quote user="gazzathegreat"]We know we can do well in the Championship. It''s all about ability, stability and planning... [/quote]A-bloody-men. We can do well in the championship. But as Gazza suggests with that word ''stability'' it''s not just a matter of hoovering up some tired old premierships has-beens, or drafting in some young thrusters from the big clubs who want to do well as long as the sun''s shining but go missing when the shit starts to hit the fan. It''s about building the core of a squad of players who want to be here for the long haul, who are hungry to succeed, and who don''t think they''re too good to show a bit of dog. In my view, we''re beginning to do that. Maybe some our players don''t have the intrinsic quality that you immediately associate with high-end championship/bottom-end premiership players, but I get the impression that they''re developing a lot of heart and character and belief by playing in a winning side. It''s not always about which team has the ''best'' players, but about which team believes in itself and can look around the pitch when things aren''t going so well and see players in every position who know what they''re doing and see leaders in all the main areas of the field. Forster''s had a couple of wobbles, but has Lambert''s confidence and is starting to repay that with performances of increasing stature. We''ve got Declan Rudd waiting in the wings,who embarrassed no one when he played earlier in the season. In defence, Jens and the Doc are looking pretty good. I know we all have our doubts about the Doc, but he''s playing well at the moment and until we have someone demonstrably better he''ll do for me. Jens is looking more and more like a rock each week. More importantly than that, they''re developing a belief in one another. Alongside them, we''ve got Eileen (no frills, but solid, solid, solid: dependable as you like). Russell Martin looks (early days) like he''s cut from similar cloth. In midfield, I think Rusty has been immense in recent weeks - and I''ve been one of his biggest critics. He wants the ball, seems to have discovered his passing range and isn''t afraid to track the length of the field and back if that''s what it takes to keep the opposition quiet. Hoolahoops has been excellent. Yes, he gives the ball away from time to time (it''s the nature of the game, I''m afraid; if you don''t like it, go and watch some rugby league, with its proscribed turnovers) but he always goes looking for it again and never never hides. He''s making us tick. Then we''ve got Horse. Enough''s been said about him without me weighing in, but he appears to have a little of everything we were looking for in a striker: big, strong, hardworking, hard running and knows where the back of the net is. These are all players who, in my view, have something to prove. Askou, like a lot of young Scandinavians, really wants to prove he can cut it in the UK; Hoops has been talked about as a talent for a fair while now and it hasn''t quite happened for him - this might just be his time; and Horse has been knocking around for a fair few years and fancies a crack at really making a statement at a higher level before he''s too old. Say what you like, but that''s the spine of a competitive team, a team with growing self-belief. Around that, we''ve got Chris Martin. I know he comes in for some stick on these boards for being arrogant and lazy, but I think that''s wide of the mark. I''m not sure if anyone''s commented on it yet, but that was a hell of a ball he put in for Holt''s goal on Saturday - and he''s scoring goals himself. Korey Smith''s done everything we could have asked for. Then there''s Stephen Hughes, who I still fancy to have a role to play this season. These are decent players - they''re not great, but they''re decent and they''re working bloody hard. I''m not saying we will go up (we''re in decent position, mind) but if we do, we are not going to need an entirely new team to survive. And with a few judicious additions (a left midfielder would be nice, although I think Lappin has done very well; another goalscorer; another centre back) we could thrive. So, how big is the gap? A lot of people on here seem to have already made up their minds: it''s too big. I don''t think they know what they''re talking about. The truth is that the gap''s as big as we allow it to be, but one of the best ways to go about bridging it is to develop a trusted nucleus and I think we''re getting there. We can''t ask for anymore at this stage. The rest will come next season, if - and it''s still a bloody big if - we go up.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

I also don''t think that the gap is that great. Far more important to have a settled side where the players know each other''s games and can keep possession and create chances without conceding many at the back. Yes some new players would need to come in, but the nucleus is there, IMO.