Relegation was good for us - Discuss

[OzzieMandias]

It certainly done Andy Carroll the world of good.

 

Also allowed Hughton time to grow into his job. He never would have had that in the Prem.

[Guest jonnyameobi]

seemed a good thing to me, you look at the squad and on paper you would suggest the current squad is weeker than the one that went down. just shows what a bit of team moral can do

[JH]

It certainly done Andy Carroll the world of good.

 

Most of the players who stayed have benefitted from it.

 

Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals since March then Rooney has, and he's been in this league less time - how can that not be good?!

[Guest je85]

I'll give you an answer come May.

 

Best answer in the thread.

[Guest malandro]

It certainly done Andy Carroll the world of good.

 

Most of the players who stayed have benefitted from it.

 

Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals since March then Rooney has, and he's been in this league less time - how can that not be good?!

So has Marlon Harewood.

[Cronky]

It certainly done Andy Carroll the world of good.

 

Most of the players who stayed have benefitted from it.

 

Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals since March then Rooney has, and he's been in this league less time - how can that not be good?!

 

Let's offer Man U a swap deal. They can only say no.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

It certainly done Andy Carroll the world of good.

 

Most of the players who stayed have benefitted from it.

 

Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals since March then Rooney has, and he's been in this league less time - how can that not be good?!

 

Let's offer Man U a swap deal. They can only say no.

 

Yep.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

No, relegation was bad. The positive events that have followed do not change this. It is like saying a heart attack was good for you because you improved your fitness levels to improve your health after it occured. Imo, the club has moved laterally and maybe even negatively from September 2008. Many of the underlying issues still exist.

[David28]

I think relegation was a good thing, after all.

 

It should have never ever have been allowed to happen, though, and who knows, with KK in charge, with a scoring Owen, who knows where we would have ended the 08/09 season we started so well against Man U, Bolton and Coventry?

 

But after the Keegan disaster happened, the Kinnear spell, I guess relegation was a good thing for the club.

 

Only the players who want to be here are still here, the rest moved on. A manager that is trouble tested is leading us very well at the moment and with that transfer window now, I couldn't have asked for much more in our first season back in the Premier League (I know it's still early days, but still)

 

 

So, I think, the club should have done the same that it does now, without relegation (reduce wage bill, get rid of over paid "stars") but relegation made it happen faster.

[Cronky]

I think momentum in football is very important, and our momentum is now upwards. For the three or four seasons before relegation, we were fighting a downward momentum, and I don't think that would have changed easily. So if only for that reason, we're better off now than we were before relegation.

 

Villa and Liverpool may have better squads, but their momentum is downwards, and they'll struggle to turn that around.

[Guest firetotheworks]

The experience was like feeling sick in a way. You felt progressively more queasy for 4 years and eventually knew what was coming. Then when it happened it was horrible, but now it's over, you feel a lot better for doing it.

[Kaizero]

The experience was like feeling sick in a way. You felt progressively more queasy for 4 years and eventually knew what was coming. Then when it happened it was horrible, but now it's over, you feel a lot better for doing it.

 

This.

[chicago_shearer]

The experience was like feeling sick in a way. You felt progressively more queasy for 4 years and eventually knew what was coming. Then when it happened it was horrible, but now it's over, you feel a lot better for doing it.

 

So you go out again, make all the same mistakes and end up being sick again 24 hours later.

 

The one irrefutable positive to come out of relegation was getting rid of some stupidly expensive and overrated players that would otherwise probably have clung on to the free ride for the rest of their careers.  Everything else is uncertain.  The wheels could come off very quickly. 

 

The club recovered from relegation as well as they could possibly have done.  Whether the right lessons have been learned is at least a year or more away from being known.

 

 

[mrmojorisin75]

The experience was like feeling sick in a way. You felt progressively more queasy for 4 years and eventually knew what was coming. Then when it happened it was horrible, but now it's over, you feel a lot better for doing it.

 

This.

 

Aye true, before Ashley stumbled into proceedings I always felt we were headed that way myself, amazed we escaped at times.  Ashley's utter ineptitude just capped it all off and made it seem worse than it should have been.

[cp40]

to anyone who thinks relegation was good- ask yourself if you would feel the same if we hadnt been promoted.

 

 

[Guest Micktoon]

to anyone who thinks relegation was good- ask yourself if you would feel the same if we hadnt been promoted.

 

 

 

If me granny had bollocks she would have been me grandad

[Guest firetotheworks]

to anyone who thinks relegation was good- ask yourself if you would feel the same if we hadnt been promoted.

 

 

 

We were, that's the point.

 

If we hadn't been, this discussion wouldn't exist.

[dinotheprehistoricgeordie]

I think relegation was worth it purely for the chance it gave Carroll to step up as our new number 9. I doubt he would have got the same chance had we stayed in the prem. Also the 19 goals he scored in the championship have really given the lad a confidence boost that is paying dividends now.

[ohmelads]

The one thing a season down there gave us that survival wouldn't is it has given players a second chance who may have been moved on otherwise. Players like Enrique and Coloccini have a much better relationship with the fansand are showing more confidence. Similarly, Carroll got the games he needed to develop a lot more quickly. He might not have got half as many games in the Prem. And last but not least, Hughton has learnt his trade and cut his teeth as a manager. He has been afforded the time to stamp his own authority on the squad and earn respect from fans and players. Someone needed the time and circumstances to do that and in the Premier League there is far more pressure.

 

For Hughton and Andy Carroll in particular, relegation was a major opportunity and one they took with both hands. I hope both can make the step up and lead the club forward from here.

[Guest Chris P]

The best thing for me is watching CH in interviews. Last season he was professional concise and looked like a man who was serious about his job.

 

This season you can see he's buzzing. He's absolutley fucking loving it and long may that continue

[pedro111]

I agree with melandro and Baba. There is no way that it was a good thing and that all the positive changes that happened post relegation could have happened in any case had we survived on the last day at Villa Park.

 

Sure there have been some massive positives from going down like Andy Carroll etc but had we stopped up we may by now have had an even better striker than him and the team may have been another year down the road in terms of squad progression. Oh, and we might not have been as financially crippled as we seem to be today.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I would say... yes, but only because we came back up at the first attempt.

 

If we had failed to get back up this season, we would have lost most of our decent players and could have found ourselves in the Championship for the next 5-10 years... which wouldn't be good for anyone.

 

Yes, the positive change could have happened if we hadn't gone down, but let's face it, it wouldn't have.

 

We needed a catalyst to change the way the club was going, and jettison some over the overpaid wasters who were milking our club.

 

It also gave Chris Hughton a chance as manager, which would likely not have happened in the Prem. We would have appointed some Premier League name manager like Curbishley or O'Leary probably.

[Guest sittingontheball]

It's only a positive if we learn from it. We have to make sure the errors and general complacency do not return.

 

Ashley is lucky more fans didn't stop going, which I guess happens to most teams in this situation. With the credit crunch and other teams tightening their belts, it possibly happened at fortunate timing because it means other teams aren't racing away with expensive squads of better players.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I agree with melandro and Baba. There is no way that it was a good thing and that all the positive changes that happened post relegation could have happened in any case had we survived on the last day at Villa Park.

 

Sure there have been some massive positives from going down like Andy Carroll etc but had we stopped up we may by now have had an even better striker than him and the team may have been another year down the road in terms of squad progression. Oh, and we might not have been as financially crippled as we seem to be today.

 

It quite obviously wouldn't have.

[merlin]

Relegation is rarely good for a club. As well as playing a league with less quality, you lose out financially, your better players move on and your reputation as an established Premier League club disappears. Most stay there too unless they have a significant amount of cash or simply get lucky as we did.

 

Positives have come from the relegation. We've developed an excellent team spirit getting rid of many of the wasters on high wages in the process but you can't seriously tell me you need the unnecessary torture that is relegation to achieve both of those objectives? Looks at sides like Everton who, in my opinion, have an excellent team spirit and a low wage bill. Did they need relegation or just a bit of common sense in the board room?

 

Which to brings us to how we were relegated. Numerous errors by the board, multiple managers, an under-performing team devoid of any confidence, fan protests, the list goes on. Was it worth it? It could of been so easily avoided with a bit an ounce of sense from the leaders of the club but instead we had to endure possibly the most painful seasons in living memory, not to mention the subsequent year playing our trade in the Championship.

 

So aye positives came out of our relegation but it shouldn't off been required for them to come about. The biggest thing that will hopefully come from our relegation is learning from our mistakes because next time we might not be so lucky with an instant return. This season is far too young to be handing our premature pats on the back.

 

A really good post, prophet. I agree with all you have said. Relegation should not have been necessary to

sort out the club and it has undoubtedly set back the club's reputation. We do not know how many players

may have been put off from joining the club because we are a 'newly promoted' side - this will definitely apply to young foreign players. It is a good thing that the team spirit seems to have benefited from going

down but that will soon dissipate if we start to struggle or any of the new players don't fit in with the

squad. We are painfully lightweight up front and heaven help us if Carroll is out for a long period so I will be disappointed if we don't get another forward in before the window closes today.

 

The team did well to come straight back up and everyone at the club deserves a pat on the back for that, but relegation wasn't a necessity. We might not be as lucky if it happens again......