Just read TS tipping premier league again , I just hope he relises the trouble we are in and as supporters we will be happy to still be In championship next season , lets stop talking crap and get on with saving our skin . You only have to look at the amount of money little piggies are pumping in to get there we will never compete with that on our gates .
you need money investing in the team for promotion to the Premier League, and i am glad our chairman wont break the rules to get there, Bournemouth did and got a way with it, along with QPR.
Invest £20 million to get to the PL with a guaranteed £160 million return first season( so i have heard) 8/1 return is a good return in my opinion.
I am quite happy in the championship thankyou, hoping for mid table obscurity. Not like thats going to happen this season, eh.
Well its all hard to believe, but who would have though Wigan, Bournmouth and Barnsley could get to the Prem. But its all there in the history books. I guess you have to have targets and ambition in any walk of life otherwise whats the point of doing anything, particularly in sport, taking part is about competing and winning, if thats not the aim then its all a bit of a sham.
Agree Towdlad but look how it ends up for clubs of our size Barnsley, Wigan, Blackpool and wait for Bolton, just not worth it , we have to admit we are boxing above our weight and we love it in the championship lets stay there .
I remember when we held the record for number of consecutive season in old second div believe it was about 21years thats what we should be looking for at moment stability both on and off the field to ensure a future for our club.
You are right about stability Len and I'm also kind of enjoying the Championship rollercoaster ride.....sort of anyway, but NYS the stadium of dreams eh? he he
The only way a club of our stature could get in the Prem is by violating the fair play rules and being backed by a Billionaire.
I'd rather be relegated than administration,
I dont think this is quite correct.
I think one can see how it is possible to get promoted without being anywhere near that scenario.
Having watched championship football it is very conceivable that a very ordinary and functional side with real team spirit could easily find themselves in a play off spot.
Week in and out over the last 2 seasons the margins are clearly quite small. It is only on days where highly resourced teams play to their absolute best that we have been outplayed and one thinks that there is no way an ordinary or average team even with great spirit can live with that. This happens maybe a handful of times. Watford and Middlesbrough I can recall as examples.
Take our team as an example. We have maybe 3 players who can hold their own in a mid-table team and maybe in a very good team would blossom. These players arent difficult to come by as such. The investment would only need to be more lucky or astute or improved by a rational percentage up to fair play-which we get nowhere near-for us to be competitive in mid table.
Whilst it's correct that similar sized clubs to us such as Blackpool, Barnsley & Bournemouth have made it to the Premiership, the gulf between the PL and the the Championship is growing and growing. The new financial structure that comes in next season for the PL also means those teams coming down will be more flush than ever before, making it even harder for decent sized clubs in the Championship to compete for promotion never mind us!! I doubt I'll ever see the Millers in the top flight and I'm okay with that. Can't blame TS for having the ambition to get there, I just don't see it as being achievable for us.
Nicely said Doink and 100% right. The only way to progress sustainably is to grow the club organically over a period of years. How 'big' a club like ours in a town like ours can become that way is open to debate, but there are at least twenty teams already in the Championship and for that matter some in League One who are from much bigger towns/cities with much bigger set ups and followings. Quick fixes with overseas investors splashing the cash usually end in tears at any level, whether it be Rushden & Diamonds at the lower end or Portsmouth at the top end as examples. Look at Norwich's huge resources next to ours and look how they are struggling in the Premier League. Like you I doubt I will ever see us there, and like you I am very comfortable with that. It would probably be the ruin of us. I am not envious of Bournemouth - I fear for them. If that is unambitious, I am alright with that too. We can realistically aim over time to become established in the Championship with a 16,000 stadium and a regular 12,000 to 15,000 crowd in and sustainable at that. Those are difficult enough goals but just about achievable all being well. That is more than good enough for me.
Ambition is fine but it has to be realistic and backed by a viable plan.
At the moment our club is miles away from being able to challenge for promotion to the Premier League, indeed just staying in the Championship will be an unbelievable achievement.
Tony Stewart keeps insisting that we have a competitive budget but successive managers don't seem to agree with him and both have said we are struggling to compete financially with other clubs at this level.
The chairman has also said "It's not about big bucks, it's about smart bucks." I'm not sure what that statement means but it seems to imply that clever investment is required to make us competitive and it's hard to see where that's going to come from given the size of our club and the constraints surrounding it.
As I said, ambition is fine but right now most supporters would settle for initially staying in the Championship and then establishing ourselves at that level. That alone will probably require significant investment and astute management so let's hope TS and the Technical Committee have a clear plan to achieve it. UTM.
