This potentially getting promoted 'too soon' debate...


I share the concerns about going up now, just getting used to the idea of winning games regularly, but in reality you can’t guarantee safety in the PL in any scenario.

Hopefully whenever we go up we don’t make any expensive desperation signings which are like a millstone round our necks if we go back down
 
I’d love us to get promoted and then see us battle it out next season to stay up, but tbh after that first season back in the Prem I’d really hope we could do something a bit more than just survive again, something like a cup run or something as honestly I hated the constant battle against relegation we had for 10 years or so. We did get a couple nice cup runs together but honestly the Stadium atmosphere felt toxic by the end when our only aspiration was to survive only to do the same the following season, was like mental torture tbh, far away from the atmosphere the stadium has now.
 
When we go up, we will make signings, whether it’s now or later. It will still be a tough season.
The money we will make even if it’s just one season in the Prem, plus parachute payments, will set us up for a long time to challenge again.
There is never an argument to stay down.
Did anyone enjoy League 1 ?
 
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How many fans would not want 200 million for finishing bottom?
Yes, strong chance to be relegated again...but then a chance of staying up... the financials rule out any other argument.

It won't just be a case of having an extra £200m though. Our wage budget would be extortionate in comparison to what it currently is, for starters.
 
It’s all a bit hypothetical. Had we gone up after the first season in league one, we’d probably still have Donald in charge and it feels the club is in a better state now than it would have been under Donald. There’s pros and cons to both promotion and staying down but it’s impossible to tell what the best overall outcome is for the longer run fate of the club. Overall, the brilliance of a Wembley winning outing and the money from promotion make promotion seem like a good thing before even kicking a ball in the pl.
 
I’d love us to get promoted and then see us battle it out next season to stay up, but tbh after that first season back in the Prem I’d really hope we could do something a bit more than just survive again, something like a cup run or something as honestly I hated the constant battle against relegation we had for 10 years or so. We did get a couple nice cup runs together but honestly the Stadium atmosphere felt toxic by the end when our only aspiration was to survive only to do the same the following season, was like mental torture tbh, far away from the atmosphere the stadium has now.
Speakman's role will be vital to get the right players in, there is no reason why we should have years of struggle. The first year may be tough, but these young players will keep improving, and along with the right additions I'm excited to see what they can achieve.
My fear is that if we don't go up we will lose some of them.
 
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Isn't it great when one set of football fans think they can tell another group of football fans how they should think?
Fuck off man.
 
This is just what we tell ourselves if we get beat! I do think certain players would end up benefiting from another season in the Championship but the club as a whole should benefit far more from promotion, there's also no guarantee we'll end up 2 games away from the Premier League next season like we are right now.
 
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I want us to go up but I’m realistic that I think it would be a miracle to not finish bottom next season. It would be more than worth it though for the money and the chance to cement ourselves as a top 25 club
 
I trust kld will have a promotion plan in place to make us competitive should we win promotion
 
I cast my mind back to losing to Charlton at Wembley in 1998. Utterly devastating at the time, after a great season. But hindsight suggests staying down a further season then storming to the title stood us in better stead going into the Premier League.

I wonder if potentially going up this year, despite the blatantly obvious financially lucrative benefits, might be similar? We now already have more than a nucleus of a very good side. Another season in the Championship with most of these players (with Ekwah, Hume, Cirkin, Hume, Neil, Ba, Michael potentially and others) gaining another full season of experience, along with bedding in hopefully two or more new strikers, might mean we go up stronger.

The 'danger' is that going up now and potentially coming straight down again might result in this exciting young team (that could spend several years developing and improving) being dismantled sooner. Yes we would be in the Championship with loads of money, in a 'better' state to have another go, but who knows?

All hypothetical anyway since we might get knocked out tonight or lose at Wembley, or we might go up and stay up!

Part of me just feels that should we not go up this month, next season could see us having a storming season with this current crop (with reinforcements) being much stronger and being better equipped for the top flight when we get there.

Of course, we could miss out now and be floundering mid-table in the Championship next year and be thinking we could have had £100+ million when we had a great chance. Who is to say how tough the Championship will be next season and we could rue a rare opportunity to 'sneak' promotion this year and regret it for years?

Or a meringue?

In the end, I can't help willing the Lads to get promoted and face what comes, but I have a niggling feeling we could miss out on seeing this team storming it next year with these current players ramping up another few notches. I suppose we should/can trust the recruitment team to utilise any Premier League income and potential parachute payments (should the worst happen) and we could do a Burnley in two years from now...

All ifs and buts but curious to know the thoughts of the wise SMB. I would wager the majority thinking 'F**k it, let's get up and worry about it later and have a good f**king go!'

If you could guarantee promotion next season it may be a valid debate but you can't so it isn't
 
I think some people get carried away by the "quality" in the squad. They're a great bunch with a lot of talent who are playing well. Theyre good players, but the PL is a huge step up. They're a good side at this level, they've shocked everyone (myself included) but how might they handle the PL? I don't know.

But it's the "never say die" element that's most encouraging for me. If they can keep the attitude, and (like you say) add a little experience, I genuinely think we can comfortably stop up.

But we need to be there, and personally... I'm prepared to say I was wrong by thinking consolidation and a slow build was right.

Haway the lads!!!!
Everyone was saying the championship was a huge step up from league 1.
I thought we were certs for relegation when we went up under Reid & Keane. We held our own comfortably.
 
Fuck that, let's get up and see how the lads do. We'll be favs for relegation but so what, might even take a few drubbings but the experience the young uns would get would be amazing and I think they'd do alright overall.

We could build a team for five years in the Championship and the ame thing could happen. Just a big gap between the Leagues that's hard to bridge.

Best thing you can probably do is get the team experience playing up there and continue to build even if you drop back down. Fulham got there eventually and night have a few seasons now.

At the end of the day if youre not a top 6/7 club you're just making up the numbers until you do have a bad season and go down so may as well enjoy the ride. Reckon at least this squad would go out, try and win and do their best which would be far better than the last squad we had int he Prem.
 
Let's just enjoy the ride sure this team could win a few games in the top league think we would surprise a few with 40000 makems screaming them on
 
Speakman's role will be vital to get the right players in, there is no reason why we should have years of struggle. The first year may be tough, but these young players will keep improving, and along with the right additions I'm excited to see what they can achieve.
My fear is that if we don't go up we will lose some of them.
Fully agree, wrt speakman the bloke has been vital already in getting us from league one to playoff challengers, through 3 managers during his tenure and while building a young vibrant team. Think he deserves a new contract himself if we go up already tbh, same for the scouts!

I just don’t think I can take 10 years of struggle again haha. Rather be a yo-yo team than the constant escape artists at the bottom of the premier league trying to not to lose more than 60% of all matches in a season simply to survive.... depressing when it’s all you can aspire to each season like we had for so long before.

Still.... got to get there first and then try to get the momentum going :)
 
What's the worst that could happen? Play against some of the best teams in the world, travel to top rate stadiums, have a few laughs but end up relegated and have two years of parachute payments? As long as the mix is right even then you can use the money to build..like Burnley and Sheff.Utd - and come back even stronger in a few years time. Our problem the last time was we allowed Moyes to bring in a bunch of has beens looking for one last big payday who were never going to be of use in the championship so we ended up sliding out of that league like a hot knife through butter. Hopefully if this should happen again - and who knows, we might even survive and thrive in the Premier. - then if we learn from that past experience we will soon be back better than before. Considering where we were 18 months ago this is a golden opportunity.
 

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