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We have massively underestimated The Championship

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It really isn't much of a division really. When we've had our strongest eleven out, we've generally created a decent amount of chances. With someone like McCormack, Rhodes or even Murphy in the team, we'd have probably won at least 3 or 4 by now. That's with all the sales and lack of investment to an already shite team.

Unfortunately, our owner once again misread the situation and failed to supply us with probably the key missing piece.
 

It's a shit league. Nothing I've seen so far this season suggests otherwise. The problem is that we are worse than I expected as well because let's face it if this team was playing in the PL we'd be losing 4 or 5 nil every week.
 
I agree. Few people should have been surprised with the result yesterday - Sheffield United are better than us. The only result that can be considered slightly disappointing is the Barnsley result.
Wouldn't say they were better than us but they did their homework. 2 banks of four plus two willing runners up front. That's sadly enough to get a result at our place these days
 
Here's a number of factors:

Grayson apparently knows how to deal with The Championship. So far you'd wonder considering the way we've been playing.
I would probably say that's down to the players as much as him to be fair.

Speaking of the players, we were quite optimistic when a new bunch came in - eager to make their mark on the game and on the club - good stuff.
However, what seems to have happened is that collectively as a club, from Ellis Short and Martin Bain, right down to the manager and players, is we have completely underestimated the championship.

The majority of teams currently in the Championship have at one point been in the Premier League.

Cardiff City
Leeds United
Wolves
Ipswich Town
Sheff Utd
Middlesbrough
Derby County
QPR
Sheff. Wednesday
Nottm Forest
Fulham
Hull City
Barnsley
Reading
Norwich City
Aston Villa
Sunderland
Birmingham
Bolton

These are the only ones which haven't.

Bristol City
Burton
Brentford
Preston
Millwall

It is a notoriously hard league to get out of. Some former Prem teams have fallen further than this. Blackpool, Wigan, Portsmouth etc.

I don't want soundbites about how the players are hurting, I want to see results.
We've just been relegated. That means for every club in the Championship, we're one of the teams to beat because we still have relegation hangover.
We need to come out swinging against Notts Forest tomorrow or I can see there being an absolute shitstorm from the fans against Hull next weekend
I underestimated fuck all mate....I knew we were shite

The outpouring of theories on what is going wrong is weird. It isn't about team selection, it isn't about tactics, it isn't about the manager, it isn't about formation, it isn't about where the away fans are in the ground, it isn't about fans leaving early, it isn't about interviews in the Echo.

And it isn't about underestimating the Championship.

It's about the financial mess that Ellis Short has put this club in, and the way he is recovering as much of the cost of his mistakes as possible, so that he can sell the club, no matter what the consequences are.
He did that because he doesn't give a fuck what happens to SAFC, but he wants to take as much money out of it as he can.


He has long since passed the likes of Vincent Tan in a league of shite owners. This bloke is on a par with Venky's, and heading into Oyston territory the way he is destroying the club for his own personal gain.

In a nutshell...this is EXACTLY what is happening. He is basically asset stripping.
 
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You lot even didn't have a pre-season because of your owners antics. The manager was brought in late on and the club had no real plan in plan or philosophy in place. That's why your recruitment has generally been poor (no transfer budget too) and why your players are blowing out of their arse a month into the season. Lee Cattermole looked like he was playing in a testimonial against us.
 
As a 3rd party looking in id say its going to take you at least another 2 seasons maybe 3 to mount a promotion bid , the problem you have at the moment bar the board obviously are the playing staff
Rodwell, Kone , Gibson, oshea, Ndong, Oviedo , etc , etc are simply not mentally tuned in to the championship they may make the odd decent appearance here and there but over a season they will be found wanting as they don't have it to play at this level they cant compete with the intensity and harrying of the teams in the league there is a lot of dross yes but every game is a battle , they cant play Saturday /Tuesday and most ordinary premier league players are like that once they drop to the championship
to make any challenge in this league you need to be well run , you need to make canny signings , have decent scouting, a good manager (which Grayson is ) but he needs time, because a few of your "star " players will have at least another 2/3 years on their deals to go , you have to get rid of them and that's not easy, ( a case in point is rodwell as there wasn't a queue of clubs out to get him ) and that's something the supporters have to get their heads around your going to get beat of your sheff utds and then maybe get a win against forest , win one lose three could be the order of the day for the next couple of seasons
ive seen it with my club QPR when we went down we had Fer, Austin, Green, Sandro, caulker all at the club with those names you would of thought we would be in the play offs but we wasn't it was terrible football and we have had 3 years of that only now we are slowly getting there we have got rid of the high earning deadwood but we have bought championship rejects, league 1 & 2 players with the odd experience head thrown in and a few lads from the youth team , that's the way your side is going to have to go , Grayson isn't stupid he knows players like Vaughan , Williams , Mcgeady, Grabban are stop gaps to plug the holes in an already poor squad , give it 2 years and you will see changes its just keeping patient through the dross of it all
 
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