Are we ready for possible promotion?

[McRamFan]

One game at a time, otherwise it's a waste of energy planning for what you don't know.

[BaaLocks]

Are we ready? Impossible to say but you take it when it's given to you. - not doing so it akin to a boxer electing to get knocked out in an eliminator bout because they are worried they won't beat the champ. You just can't do it. Bournemouth, Brighton, Stoke, Swansea, Leicester, Wigan - there are many teams that have gone up with no expectation of survival but have managed to consolidate (even if only for a few seasons). There are many others that have come straight back down but it is not guaranteed.

Compared to 2008? It's so easy to say that we were a mess going up but it wasn't the promotion squad that killed us it was the lack of genuine summer activity. Bad results against Pompey and Birmingham set the scene for the season and a couple of morale crushing defeats against Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and United then put us into terminal tail spin. But it wasn't Howard and Oakley that got us relegated it was Fielhaber, Davis and Carroll.

Can we be ready? I think the bottom end of the Prem is weaker now than it has been for years. Watford and Wolves have both shown how you can prosper and even teams like Huddersfield have hung on for a season. My other point would be that if we do go up I think we would be seriously capable to retain our loans for next season - Tomori and Mount would benefit from stepping up to a lower end Prem team and that would be us. To 86 Points note in another mail, with us having first pickings that makes it sensible.

Do I think we will do it? Bump this on May 27th and I will happily eat my slice of humble pie but I think not. In Villa and/or Leeds we face the two teams that have seen right through us this season. We might, just might, get past one but even that the odds would be against us. Nowt wrong with dreaming - and I do - but I won't be betting on it.

[Day]

Is this team ready to compete in the Premier League? Of course not, but neither are Norwich or Sheff Utd, they will use the transfer window same way as we would if this turns out to be our year.

Amazes me people still think there is some kind of perfect promotion, the fairy tale season that guarantees you and easy entrance into the Premier League, survival and beyond.

We've seen teams walk the league and come crashing back down, we've seen teams scrape through in 6th to go on to survive. What happens in the Championship, stays in the Championship it's as simple as that.

I don't care what happened in 2007, it's history, go down the A52 if you want to live in the past, that was then and this is now, are we supposed to sit here and be worried because over 10 years ago we thought Robert Earnshaw and Kenny Miller were going to keep us up?

Forget that nonsense! 

Take us up there now and if we don't build the right team, come crashing back down, that's fine, we'll have a great big parachute to ease the landing and we move forward, it's what clubs do, it's what Fulham will do next year.

Let's smash Swansea tonight, then give Bamford something to roll around the floor in tears over in the semis and ask Lampard to start the bounce at Wembley.

We're ready now, let this year be our year!

[BathRam72]

7 minutes ago, David said:

Is this team ready to compete in the Premier League? Of course not, but neither are Norwich or Sheff Utd, they will use the transfer window same way as we would if this turns out to be our year.

Amazes me people still think there is some kind of perfect promotion, the fairy tale season that guarantees you and easy entrance into the Premier League, survival and beyond.

We've seen teams walk the league and come crashing back down, we've seen teams scrape through in 6th to go on to survive. What happens in the Championship, stays in the Championship it's as simple as that.

I don't care what happened in 2007, it's history, go down the A52 if you want to live in the past, that was then and this is now, are we supposed to sit here and be worried because over 10 years ago we thought Robert Earnshaw and Kenny Miller were going to keep us up?

Forget that nonsense! 

Take us up there now and if we don't build the right team, come crashing back down, that's fine, we'll have a great big parachute to ease the landing and we move forward, it's what clubs do, it's what Fulham will do next year.

Let's smash Swansea tonight, then give Bamford something to roll around the floor in tears over in the semis and ask Lampard to start the bounce at Wembley.

We're ready now, let this year be our year!

Bamford has a 2 match ban for his antics. So it would be wonderful to see him crying on the floor at Elland road

[Day]

1 minute ago, BathRam72 said:

Bamford has a 2 match ban for his antics. So it would be wonderful to see him crying on the floor at Elland road

If we beat Leeds at Elland Road in the semi’s and make it to Wembley, that day will only be second to the day my ex left me as the greatest day in my life ?

[Carnero]

40 minutes ago, MackworthRamIsGod said:

We could get promoted, buy players we know could compete in the championship, get relegated (if we didn't stay up) and use the money to secure ourselves for the next 4 years.

AKA "The Burnley Way".

[cannable]

1 hour ago, Wolfie said:

More ready than Sheff Utd IMO. I expect they'll be another Cardiff.

I'd argue that we're more likely to be successful in the Prem with our style of play, as we've struggled against lower quality cloggers in this league. Given a bit more freedom to play, we could do OK.

How can you make both of these two points when Sheffield United play a swashbuckling and, arguably, revolutionary 3-3-1-2 with overlapping centre-halves? 

[Van der MoodHoover]

13 minutes ago, toddy said:

Would it not be better to have anither season in the championship, let FL off load who are not required for the future.

Compete and win the majority of championship games and build a side capable of promotion, then add one or two quality additions in the summer of 2020 ready for the prem.

 

As the championship and premier league are so different, i dont think another season would make any material difference.

We're expecting the out of contracts to leave this summer regardless of which division we are in. We can't give some of the not-out of contracts away - again doesn't matter what division we are in if nobody wants them. So the only unknown is whether we have good championship players to try and shift on top.

Personally i think the last group is the smallest in number.

[Dethorn]

I would say lets go and find out - but I worry that almost all areas need some kind of strengthening.

Players I think could cut it in the prem - Bogle, Johnson?, Waghorn, Marriott, Lawrence?, Olson? (? emphasises could????)

Outside chance of holding their own - Carson or Roos, Keogh, Forsyth, Bryson, Bennett, Davies?

Not good enough/too old - Cole, Huddlestone, Wisdom, Lowe, Josefzoon, Nugent

Loanees - Mount, Wilson, Tomori, King

Really do not have a clue, - Evans, Holmes, Sibley, Bird, Ambrose, MacDonald

 

If i was in Franks place that would scare me - but I do think that in Frank we have someone with the pulling power, the work ethic, the contacts and the intelligence to give it a bloody good shot. It could be the making of him.

For what it is worth I cannot see us going up, but then again I was hoping for a draw at Bristol City 

[StockholmRam]

18 minutes ago, David said:

If we beat Leeds at Elland Road in the semi’s and make it to Wembley, that day will only be second to the day my ex left me as the greatest day in my life ?

I could retire from football altogether. Nothing in the future, winning the prem and champions leagues and seeing Forest do a Bolton would make me happier than dumping these self entitled muppets out of the playoffs. 

[GenBr]

Go up, don't spend any money, get 12 points this time, win £100 mill for finishing bottom, get another £40 + mill in parachute payments, build a stronger team, this time go up as champions and then win the Prem. 

We would likely stuggle even if we did spend all our money trying to build a new team. If we did go up I'd try and save the money to build a stronger side for the Championship (even if it measn we have to yoyo for a few seasons) and not financially ruin the club like Sunderland have done.

[Wolfie]

32 minutes ago, cannable said:

How can you make both of these two points when Sheffield United play a swashbuckling and, arguably, revolutionary 3-3-1-2 with overlapping centre-halves? 

....:with a small and old squad, which was my point. We have no idea how their style will fare in the Prem. I was making the point that we play better when playing better opposition. 

[EssendonRam]

2 hours ago, toddy said:

No you can't but you can prepare.

Do you remember 2008?

I died in 2007. Was dead for 45 minutes apparently. Then comatose for over a month.

Awoke on the Thursday before the Saturday home match against the then 19th placed West Ham...The nurses reluctantly let me wander around the hospital at midnight on the Saturday night trying to get reception.

So, yeah, I remember...and, even when I was dead or in a coma, I had more life in me than our season ?.

But, as others have said, you take promotion whenever you can.

Fulham are the wrong comparison to make. Others have been promoted in a worse position than us and survived. They’re the precedent we follow.

[toddy]

3 minutes ago, EssendonRam said:

Fulham are the wrong comparison to make. Others have been promoted in a worse position than us and survived. They’re the precedent we follow.

I used Fulham as the example as they won the play offs last summer- and had to also add a dozen new players to the squad.

which is what we will also have to do.

[BaaLocks]

27 minutes ago, GenBr said:

Go up, don't spend any money, get 12 points this time, win £100 mill for finishing bottom, get another £40 + mill in parachute payments, build a stronger team, this time go up as champions and then win the Prem. 

We would likely stuggle even if we did spend all our money trying to build a new team. If we did go up I'd try and save the money to build a stronger side for the Championship (even if it measn we have to yoyo for a few seasons) and not financially ruin the club like Sunderland have done.

Oft quoted model - my only issue with it is that I can't recall one team even getting anywhere near to executing on it. Can you?

[Day]

1 minute ago, toddy said:

I used Fulham as the example as they won the play offs last summer- and had to also add a dozen new players to the squad.

which is what we will also have to do.

Did you think Fulham were ready for the Premier League last year? (Before the summer)

[WharfedaleRam]

As long as we have a manager who doesn’t question whether he’ll be here next season (whilst still on the pitch at Wembley), we have to say we’re ready don’t we? Sure, we’ll need to invest in new players and retain or attract new loanees, but as others have said, the club will benefit significantly, we’ll (hopefully) enjoy the ride and assuming business is conducted in a sensible, professional manner, our future will be guaranteed for future years (whether in the Premiership or not).

[toddy]

1 hour ago, David said:

Is this team ready to compete in the Premier League? Of course not, but neither are Norwich or Sheff Utd, they will use the transfer window same way as we would if this turns out to be our year.

Amazes me people still think there is some kind of perfect promotion, the fairy tale season that guarantees you and easy entrance into the Premier League, survival and beyond.

 

Wolves.....

[Day]

Just now, toddy said:

Wolves.....

But that’s not realistic is it unless we manage to get a super agent on board. 

If that’s the type of promotion season you want we may as well give up now.

[toddy]

2 minutes ago, David said:

Did you think Fulham were ready for the Premier League last year? (Before the summer)

No, as they had to get a dozen players in..... but I think they were a better side last season in teh championship than we currently are.