Championship Planning

[Interpolic]

Did our big earners wages get cut when we were relegated last time? I doubt it. Keep them and play them.

 

If they want money off the books get rid of Gini, Cisse, Janmaat, Sissoko and Colo first.

Last time we were left with the players nobody else wanted to buy and got lucky there was enough quality left, would imagine it will be the same this time in the sense we can't pick and choose who leaves if there are no takers.

[Fenham Mag]

Would try and get Bamford in or another proven Championship striker.

[Wallace]

I wonder how many club staff will lose their jobs this time round seeing as the club operates on a skeletal staff anyway.

 

 

[TRon]

Todays media now going with the story that Townsend and Shelvey will be sold too as the club didn't think relegation clauses on their wages would be needed.

 

Club is so inept its incredible.

 

With their England hopes, you'd think they'd want out for sure?

I can understand them wanting to leave.

 

I can't understand how our club didn't even consider relegation clauses in their contracts though.

 

I should think those responsible for making those decisions might be getting released from their contracts instead.

[Disco]

I wonder how many club staff will lose their jobs this time round seeing as the club operates on a skeletal staff anyway.

 

 

 

Can't be many left who aren't Sodexo / zero hours contract bar the central finance/marketing/board lot. Youth coaches and that?

[Ronaldo]

You can't really have expected the club to anticipate the possibility of relegation when we were 18th, like.

[sbnufc]

#NUFC could be forced to sell Jonjo Shelvey (80k p/wk) and Andros Townsend (55k p/wk) if they get relegated, according to the Daily Mail.

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

55k doesn't sound like a high earner in the PL.

[triggs]

55k doesn't sound like a high earner in the PL.

It is for a team about to be relegated

[mozy]

They can’t start preparing transfers for the Championship just yet because they could yet pull of the miracle.

 

 

[STM]

The sentence is moronic anyway.

[LucaAltieri]

The problems we have stem less from talent and more from character. Colo is the poster boy for this. We need leaders, not just skillful players. No shuffling of the tactics or replacing fringe individuals is going to help us.

 

We bounced back last time because of the likes of Nolan, Løvenkrands, Raylor, Smith, and Jonas. None of them were suddenly fantastic players. They were just even keeled and competitive.

 

Then players like Carroll, Simpson, and Guthrie stepped up and started to show some promise. Responding to the reaction of those around them.

 

The players we have on the books don't demonstrate any of those qualities. We have players with promise who can potentially step up in the Championship and perhaps also keep it going if/when we make it back to the Premier League but what we're lacking is the kind of player that can inspire them to do that.

 

Too many bottlers.

 

The spine of any team needs to be strong, confident players. CB, CM, CF. You can get by if one of those is a little weaker, but we have none. Shelvy can be that CM on his day. But we have forwards lacking in confidence and a defence that shits the bed every week.

 

We have the talent. We have the talent to stay up, really. We just need to bring in the personalities. We're lacking the character.

[Ronaldo]

Smith and Raylor barely contributed to our Championship season, man. Smith was shit throughout and Raylor was rightly on the bench. Simpson was OK that season, no more. 

[tmonkey]

Tempted to think we'll come straight back up if we retain enough talent. Appreciate that many clubs who get relegated don't do that and we won't have the experienced core we had last time, but my recollection of the Championship last time we were there was it being full of utter dross. Most teams had zero pace/talent in midfield, mediocre keepers/defenders, and absolute garbage up front - the type of league where Harewood and Lovenkrands (when they were no longer Premiership standard) were good players. I don't think it'd take much to have a team that stands out as the best.

 

Can see the likes of Haidara, Lascelles, Elliott, Dummett, Armstrong, Aarons, Saivet, Riviere, etc, doing very well in the Championship. If we add a few experienced players to that (e.g. Williamson, Routledge type signings) in addition to whoever remains because noone else wants them (probably a couple from Colo, Mitrovic, De Jong, Shelvey, Marveaux, Gouffran, Colback, possibly Saylor), it could very easily be another season of us stomping teams weekly as we'll find that the crap Premiership players we're currently lumbered with are genuinely decent to good players by Championship standards.

 

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic and that season for us was a fluke - certainly was surprised at how weak some of those teams who had somewhat recently been in the Premiership were. However, still certain that even after the exodus we'll still have a fairly decent squad that will just need some decent fillers and we'll be fairly competitive at the very least.

[STM]

Smith and Raylor barely contributed to our Championship season, man. Smith was shit throughout and Raylor was rightly on the bench. Simpson was OK that season, no more. 

 

I think he meant that those characters helped us form the nucleus of a good side because they were the only ones competitive enough from the spineless squad we had.

 

There weren't good players but they didn't have the roll over and die mentality of the current crop, despite being part of a relegation set up.

 

We need some good old furry balls next year.

[xLiaaamx]

Selling Janmaat Sissoko and Wijnaldum should cover the expenses.

 

Would desperately want to keep Townsend. Probably Shelvey too even though it's gone a bit pear shaped lately.

 

 

[TRon]

Tempted to think we'll come straight back up if we retain enough talent. Appreciate that many clubs who get relegated don't do that and we won't have the experienced core we had last time, but my recollection of the Championship last time we were there was it being full of utter dross. Most teams had zero pace/talent in midfield, mediocre keepers/defenders, and absolute garbage up front - the type of league where Harewood and Lovenkrands (when they were no longer Premiership standard) were good players. I don't think it'd take much to have a team that stands out as the best.

 

Can see the likes of Haidara, Lascelles, Elliott, Dummett, Armstrong, Aarons, Saivet, Riviere, etc, doing very well in the Championship. If we add a few experienced players to that (e.g. Williamson, Routledge type signings) in addition to whoever remains because noone else wants them (probably a couple from Colo, Mitrovic, De Jong, Shelvey, Marveaux, Gouffran, Colback, possibly Saylor), it could very easily be another season of us stomping teams weekly as we'll find that the crap Premiership players we're currently lumbered with are genuinely decent to good players by Championship standards.

 

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic and that season for us was a fluke - certainly was surprised at how weak some of those teams who had somewhat recently been in the Premiership were. However, still certain that even after the exodus we'll still have a fairly decent squad that will just need some decent fillers and we'll be fairly competitive at the very least.

 

I'm inclined to agree. Really our players should walk that league as the squad currently stands, our biggest competition will probably come from the teams that go down with us. The championship is shit, that's how Sunderland came back last time they were relegated as well.

[LucaAltieri]

Smith and Raylor barely contributed to our Championship season, man. Smith was shit throughout and Raylor was rightly on the bench. Simpson was OK that season, no more.

 

Raylor played half the season and Smith had 30+ appearances, if I remember right.

 

I did point out they weren't suddenly amazing players, even at championship level, their influence was more just having steady heads about the place. We miss that.

[Ronaldo]

We do not miss talentless cunts like Alan Smith in any way, shape or form, man. Raylor started 19 out of 46 games but it's nitpicking.

 

Carroll, Nolan, Harper, Jose, Routledge, etc, we miss.

[Guest neesy111]

We'd probably had done better in the championship if smith wasn't playing.

[cp40]

if we are coming straight back up, i will look forward to oct /nov  onwards, we will actually be enjoying football, and its on at 9pm on a sat night?

[sh74]

Martin Jol apparently linked to take over next season if we are relegated and turned us down.

[Ronaldo]

We'd probably had done better in the championship if smith wasn't playing.

 

Yep. We were so much better to watch when Routledge came and moved Guthrie into the middle with Smith benched.

[LucaAltieri]

Ok, ok. Take Smith off the list.

 

I still think our current lot are a bunch of bottlers, worse than the last relegation side in terms of character. Considering we had Joey Barton and Michael Owen at the time, that's some achievement.

 

Smith and Butt were bad and shouldn't have been anywhere near a Premier League first team, but there's a difference between being past your best and simply not playing to your ability.

[Guest neesy111]

We'd probably had done better in the championship if smith wasn't playing.

 

Yep. We were so much better to watch when Routledge came and moved Guthrie into the middle with Smith benched.

 

Aye, we absolutely creamed the league the last few months.