What to do for the EFL return?

[bpsaint]

For a cautionary tale take a look at West Brom today, they have just taken out a loan from MSD holdings to pay off existing loans and secured it against their training ground and stadium, loans that were originally taken out to cover the shortfall from tv rights to pay the wages. MSD is the firm that lent Derby County money also securing the funds against club assets nearly resulting in their liquidation.

Considering we’ve already got an outstanding charge against the club despite our Premier League TV income and apparent billionaire owner, you would be fucking delusional if you think relegation would be anything but a complete and utter disaster for us.

[The Cat]

1 hour ago, bpsaint said:

For a cautionary tale take a look at West Brom today, they have just taken out a loan from MSD holdings to pay off existing loans and secured it against their training ground and stadium, loans that were originally taken out to cover the shortfall from tv rights to pay the wages. MSD is the firm that lent Derby County money also securing the funds against club assets nearly resulting in their liquidation.

Considering we’ve already got an outstanding charge against the club despite our Premier League TV income and apparent billionaire owner, you would be fucking delusional if you think relegation would be anything but a complete and utter disaster for us.

They've won 6 out of the last 7 though. Imagine Saints doing that!

[SotonianWill]

Too many people online saying can’t wait for championship football citing the likes a lambert and co. Delusional if you think it will be anything even resembling that, at best it will be mid table mediocrity 12th. This team is so unlikeable and relegation is not going to change that. 

[Nordic Saint]

Get Jose Fonte in as manager so the youngsters will be improved, we develop a winning mentality and, hopefully, pick up our first major trophy for more than half a century: the Championship.

[The Kraken]

22 minutes ago, SotonianWill said:

Too many people online saying can’t wait for championship football citing the likes a lambert and co. Delusional if you think it will be anything even resembling that, at best it will be mid table mediocrity 12th. This team is so unlikeable and relegation is not going to change that. 

I can’t speak for others, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never said I “can’t wait” for championship football. I’d probably prefer it if we stayed in the Premier League. But, unlike around 2005, relegation doesn’t bother me. We are never going to win the Premier League. Massive success is defined as breaking the top six, which with Newcastle’s riches will likely become a top seven. It’s a bit of a closed shop.

It’s not good going down, nobody should pretend it is. But its also not a disaster. Going to league One would be very bad, some time in the championship is just meh. We’re fucking shite in this league anyway so you get what you deserve.

[SotonianWill]

2 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

I can’t speak for others, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never said I “can’t wait” for championship football. I’d probably prefer it if we stayed in the Premier League. But, unlike around 2005, relegation doesn’t bother me. We are never going to win the Premier League. Massive success is defined as breaking the top six, which with Newcastle’s riches will likely become a top seven. It’s a bit of a closed shop.

It’s not good going down, nobody should pretend it is. But its also not a disaster. Going to league One would be very bad, some time in the championship is just meh. We’re fucking shite in this league anyway so you get what you deserve.

At times I think about whether the football experience would be better. But then I think about the bragging rights over pompey, and the thought of potentially being in a lower division than b’mouth. 

Overall I don’t care too much, a loss for example dosent annoy me as much as it used to, football is not the same. 

[Turkish]

Back where we belong! 

[Kenilworthy]

6 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

I can’t speak for others, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never said I “can’t wait” for championship football. I’d probably prefer it if we stayed in the Premier League. But, unlike around 2005, relegation doesn’t bother me. We are never going to win the Premier League. Massive success is defined as breaking the top six, which with Newcastle’s riches will likely become a top seven. It’s a bit of a closed shop.

It’s not good going down, nobody should pretend it is. But its also not a disaster. Going to league One would be very bad, some time in the championship is just meh. We’re fucking shite in this league anyway so you get what you deserve.

Breaking into the top six might be a closed shop. But winning a trophy is feasible while Saints remain in the PL. In the past 40 years also-rans like Norwich, Coventry, Oxford and Wigan have won silverware when in the top division. With relegation that possibility disappears. In the same period just one team - Sheffield Wednesday - have won a trophy as a lower division team. For me that is good enough reason to want to stay up.

[The Kraken]

Just now, Kenilworthy said:

Breaking into the top six might be a closed shop. But winning a trophy is feasible while Saints remain in the PL. In the past 40 years also-rans like Norwich, Coventry, Oxford and Wigan have won silverware when in the top division. With relegation that possibility disappears. In the same period just one team - Sheffield Wednesday - have won a trophy as a lower division team. For me that is good enough reason to want to stay up.

On the flip side……You take an arbitrary 40 year period and change it to a 50 year period, then you can add Saints and Sunderland winning the FA Cup as lower league sides.

But yes, I do agree. As a PL side we’ve often got an outside chance of doing well in a cup and that goes away drastically with relegation. That’s a downside, no doubt.

[SambaMaverick]

2 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

Breaking into the top six might be a closed shop. But winning a trophy is feasible while Saints remain in the PL. In the past 40 years also-rans like Norwich, Coventry, Oxford and Wigan have won silverware when in the top division. With relegation that possibility disappears. In the same period just one team - Sheffield Wednesday - have won a trophy as a lower division team. For me that is good enough reason to want to stay up.

I'd settle for just winning games at this point. I'm tired of the Premier League rat run, I'm tired of going to St Mary's. 

[Kenilworthy]

11 hours ago, The Kraken said:

On the flip side……You take an arbitrary 40 year period and change it to a 50 year period, then you can add Saints and Sunderland winning the FA Cup as lower league sides.

But yes, I do agree. As a PL side we’ve often got an outside chance of doing well in a cup and that goes away drastically with relegation. That’s a downside, no doubt.

I took the 40-year period because it was in 1980 that a second division team (West Ham) last won the FA Cup. The 1970s were a wonderful era when the FA Cup really did have some magic. The big difference is that in 1976 relegation had not seen us stripped of the world class players we had in Channon and Osgood. The second division was still regarded as decent football by the media and often featured on MOTD. As we shall soon find out, relegation will see us stripped of the passable Premier League quality players we have now.

[SotonianWill]

22 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

I took the 40-year period because it was in 1980 that a second division team (West Ham) last won the FA Cup. The 1970s were a wonderful era when the FA Cup really did have some magic. The big difference is that in 1976 relegation had not seen us stripped of the world class players we had in Channon and Osgood. The second division was still regarded as decent football by the media and often featured on MOTD. As we shall soon find out, relegation will see us stripped of the passable Premier League quality players we have now.

The problem is in the last year, saints haven’t exactly utilised their premier league advantage. we’ve signed players with a lot of potential, however in the form of a loan, these players could easily have been signed by a championship side. Relegation wouldn’t change our signings as it stands we’d still be able to get the same players. 

[Bad Wolf]

I've been thinking about how our players simply aren't very good (Other than KWP, I can't imagine anyone looking at many of them if we go down) and it's made me compare it to the team we had in 2005 and make me wonder how on Earth that team got relegated by finishing bottom. We had a seriously good attack and world class keeper. That team had absolutely no business being relegated.

Just something to ponder.

[STEVEADAMS]

On 27/12/2022 at 19:13, HarvSFC said:

Relegation has a ripple effect on the whole club. A club that is known for its academy hasn't actually produced anything of note for a good number of years now because we were bringing through the players who had joined us in the Championship and League One years, and proved not to be good enough in the long run. We've finally got a good Under-18s again, how many of those want to come through at a Championship club? Will they look to leave at the first opportunity like Dibling did? And they probably won't come back like Dibling.

Best case scenario if the players like Dibling and Jimmy Jay-Morgan do develop like we hope then we get a season out of them in the Championship, like we did Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain in League One and half a season out of Walcott. All players who left at the first opportunity because we weren't a Premier League club. 

There's a far bigger picture to relegation than hopefully winning a few more matches.

Exactly hundreds of staff will lose their jobs and the entire club affected by cutbacks and who knows where we will end up again. How anyone can remotely want this is beyond me after all it took to get to the PL

[AlexLaw76]

On 01/01/2023 at 14:10, Bad Wolf said:

I've been thinking about how our players simply aren't very good (Other than KWP, I can't imagine anyone looking at many of them if we go down) and it's made me compare it to the team we had in 2005 and make me wonder how on Earth that team got relegated by finishing bottom. We had a seriously good attack and world class keeper. That team had absolutely no business being relegated.

Just something to ponder.

similar things were said when Hughes was tanking (bar Tadic)........then a decent manager came in and turned things around.

Much of our best 11 will be sold when we go down, yet you suggest they are not good enough

Highly likely, the following players wont be at Saints next season, who would likely start most games now...

KwP, ABK, Salisu, JwP, Lavia, Adams, S.Armstrong, Livramento

Edited 3 January, 2023 by AlexLaw76

[hypochondriac]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

similar things were said when Hughes was tanking (bar Tadic)........then a decent manager came in and turned things around.

Much of our best 11 will be sold when we go down, yet you suggest they are not good enough

Highly likely, the following players wont be at Saints next season, who would likely start most games now...

KwP, ABK, Salisu, JwP, Lavia, Adams, S.Armstrong, Livramento

Can't See livramento being highly likely to go given his injury. Could still fashion a decent championship team with some new faces and : 

Bazunu 

Livramento Lyanco bednarek/Stephens perraud 

Tella Edozie new signing Djenepo/larios

Armstrong new signing/Mara

Edited 3 January, 2023 by hypochondriac

[AlexLaw76]

12 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Can't See livramento being highly likely to go given his injury. Could still fashion a decent championship team with some new faces and : 

Bazunu 

Livramento Lyanco bednarek/Stephens perraud 

Tella Edozie new signing Djenepo 

Armstrong new signing 

If Tino has a strong end to the season, every chance he would be snapped up, for what would be a reduced fee

[Give it to Ron]

7 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If Tino has a strong end to the season, every chance he would be snapped up, for what would be a reduced fee

A big ask after such a long time out he will take ages to get match fitness. Do you think Jones will risk playing a young player who has been out so long?

I am not sure anyone wants us to go but with this board, management this season and strike force I can’t see anything else happening.

[Saint Garrett]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Can't See livramento being highly likely to go given his injury. Could still fashion a decent championship team with some new faces and : 

Bazunu 

Livramento Lyanco bednarek/Stephens perraud 

Tella Edozie new signing Djenepo 

Armstrong new signing 

Wouldn’t get close to promotion with that team! 

[John B]

On 31/12/2022 at 23:02, SotonianWill said:

Too many people online saying can’t wait for championship football citing the likes a lambert and co. Delusional if you think it will be anything even resembling that, at best it will be mid table mediocrity 12th. This team is so unlikeable and relegation is not going to change that. 

I do not disagree with what you are saying but we are on a continual downward spiral and eventually will be relegated without significant investment

 

I just feel we need to regroup and develop some of our younger players

 

Most relegated teams do well in the Championship

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Saint Garrett said:

Wouldn’t get close to promotion with that team! 

Obviously needs work but it's better than some teams who sell off everyone of worth. We have a few players who other teams wouldn't buy who could do a job in the championship. Could add Mara and Larios to that squad as well possibly. 

Edited 3 January, 2023 by hypochondriac

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If Tino has a strong end to the season, every chance he would be snapped up, for what would be a reduced fee

Of course it could happen but its not highly likely. 

[Dman]

Given Jones apparent strength is working with an ‘underdog’, i really don’t think he’s the right man even if we go down. 

As for the squad, we have a core of players whom should be good enough for the play offs, if we add in the right places. 

we have some players, Lyanco, Bednerak, AMN who’d I’d not even want in the championship. 

We should be able to generate some decent money, even if a reduced fee, for the likes of KWP, Salisu, ABK, DCC, JWP

At a minimum, we need an older experienced head and leader (think Cahill at Bournemouth) at CB and CM. 

Tella, Armstrong, Edozie, Adams should be more than enough up top for the championship. 

Even Djenepo and Diallo would be good enough squad players at that level. 
 

I think we’d need to bounce right back though or we’ll be right in the shit. 
 

Personally, I see us being more of a Swansea than Norwich. 

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Dman said:

Given Jones apparent strength is working with an ‘underdog’, i really don’t think he’s the right man even if we go down. 

As for the squad, we have a core of players whom should be good enough for the play offs, if we add in the right places. 

we have some players, Lyanco, Bednerak, AMN who’d I’d not even want in the championship. 

We should be able to generate some decent money, even if a reduced fee, for the likes of KWP, Salisu, ABK, DCC, JWP

At a minimum, we need an older experienced head and leader (think Cahill at Bournemouth) at CB and CM. 

Tella, Armstrong, Edozie, Adams should be more than enough up top for the championship. 

Even Djenepo and Diallo would be good enough squad players at that level. 
 

I think we’d need to bounce right back though or we’ll be right in the shit. 
 

Personally, I see us being more of a Swansea than Norwich. 

We do need to come straight back up. Haven't we got a shit load of debt with a massive interest rate due to start repaying in 3 years time? That'll coincidence perfectly with the end of the parachute payments. Presumably selling off some of the better players when we go down will enable us to fund a decent punt at coming straight by buying a few decent championship players, not more YHGTIers.