Purely hypothetical based on the fact we’re already down according to many people.

Where would this squad finish in the Championship next season? With the amount of players out of contract, 1 or 2 players maybe leaving - probably not many beyond Tarks our players aren’t that good. I’d go for the low end of top 10.

Hard to say with so much uncertainty on who will leave & who we could replace them with.

I personally feel a few of them owe us to stick around.

If we keep hold of the core I’d expect us to be fighting for the automatic promotion places.

Champions

Confident we'll come back up top 2. If you think top 10 at best, you don't watch the Championship.

Well after watching two top position Championship teams today, I would hope, no expect, us to be in contention for promotion if they reflect the standard of top teams.

BERNIEU wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:03 pm

Confident we'll come back up top 2. If you think top 10 at best, you don't watch the Championship.

Watch it regularly. It’s easy to get dragged down to other teams levels in that league.

If we keep playing to draw games rather than win them, then mid-table at best.

Top by miles

Milltown1882 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:05 pm

Watch it regularly. It’s easy to get dragged down to other teams levels in that league.

I strongly disagree. I've watched a lot of games this season and teams in the playoffs are very poor.

In fact, Fulham look similar to when they were in the Prem and got relegated - and they are by far and away the best team down there. Bournemouth don't look good and they are big favourites to finish second.

Aside from Fulham, the top 6 have all lost more than 11 games each already. We lost 5 last time, all season. The answer to the question depends on a few things though, namely who we retain, what business we do and who the manager might be. Worth mentioning that Norwich seem to be the masters of that league and will surely be favourites too with Dean Smith.

BERNIEU wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:09 pm

I strongly disagree. I've watched a lot of games this season and teams in the playoffs are very poor.

In fact, Fulham look similar to when they were in the Prem and got relegated - and they are by far and away the best team down there. Bournemouth don't look good and they are big favourites to finish second.

Fulham are there because they have Mitrovic who is scoring goals at an outrageous level. Bournemouth have Solanke who could be on for 30 goals. We have strikers that don’t score goals.

BERNIEU wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:03 pm

Confident we'll come back up top 2. If you think top 10 at best, you don't watch the Championship.

Look at WBA, toothless like us. We're miles off that Fulham team atm

We only lost ten altogether in our last TWO seasons in the Championship.

Milltown1882 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:11 pm

Fulham are there because they have Mitrovic who is scoring goals at an outrageous level. Bournemouth have Solanke who could be on for 30 goals. We have strikers that don’t score goals.

Jay Rod scored 22 last time he was in that league, Vydra scored 22 last time. Weghorst scored 1 in 2 in a better league than Champ level. Now this was seasons ago and the former 2 may not resign anyway but your point doesn’t really make sense as neither Mitrovic or Solanke could score in the PL either.

We’d finish mid-table

We probably won’t be able to keep hold of Tarks,Weghorst and Cornet when we go down, and with an ageing squad, I’m not sure we’ll finish in the top 6

Edit… or Pope

I'd guess 5-9th, could easily be lower.

I look at that Huddersfield home game, against largely a second string. We created nothing

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:12 pm

Jay Rod scored 22 last time he was in that league, Vydra scored 22 last time. Weghorst scored 1 in 2 in a better league than Champ level. Now this was seasons ago and the former 2 may not resign anyway but your point doesn’t really make sense as neither Mitrovic or Solanke could score in the PL either.

Good points, but you'll get people saying Jay is older now and won't do it.
Vydra to be fair ain't signing a new contract. He's off.
Weghorst I think will stay.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:14 pm

I look at that Huddersfield home game, against largely a second string. We created nothing

We got beat by Lincoln and stayed in the Premier League.

I said earlier, I think a lot will depend on Dyche's appetite for the challenge. We'd only need to step off it by a few percent and suddenly things can go downhill quickly.

Our recruitment would need one hell of a shake up and we'd need to sign a couple of goal scorers. We had Ings/ Vokes and Gray/ Vokes in our last two seasons.

BERNIEU wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:14 pm

Good points, but you'll get people saying Jay is older now and won't do it.
Vydra to be fair ain't signing a new contract. He's off.
Weghorst I think will stay.

Admittedly Weghorst could have that impact. However we’re playing to the complete opposite of his strengths at the moment so I just can’t see what would change in the Championship. Given our financial situation if we didn’t bounce straight back up it could be extremely worrying times.

Milltown1882 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:16 pm

Admittedly Weghorst could have that impact. However we’re playing to the complete opposite of his strengths at the moment so I just can’t see what would change in the Championship. Given our financial situation if we didn’t bounce straight back up it could be extremely worrying times.

I think we'll play the ball a lot more on the ground in the Championship. I think he'll be superb for us.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:14 pm

I look at that Huddersfield home game, against largely a second string. We created nothing

First half we were better team, second half we had a midfield 4 of centre mids and no recognised striker. Plus that was a one off cup game. Bournemouth just lost to Boreham Wood at home but are looking likely to finish 2nd, what are your thoughts and logic of that?

With this squad and tactics just above halfway.

ksrclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:16 pm

I said earlier, I think a lot will depend on Dyche's appetite for the challenge. We'd only need to step off it by a few percent and suddenly things can go downhill quickly.

Our recruitment would need one hell of a shake up and we'd need to sign a couple of goal scorers. We had Ings/ Vokes and Gray/ Vokes in our last two seasons.

If they were to stay you'd think that both Cornet & Weghorst would be a level above the vast majority of other Championship strikers.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:11 pm

Look at WBA, toothless like us. We're miles off that Fulham team atm

I've been noticing West Brom's inability to win games at that level, and depending who stays or goes, and who we sign we could easily get dragged down to mid-table mediocrity very quickly, this squad simply isn't used to winning games, and no matter what league you're competing in that's a hard habit to break.

Norwich will be strong in the Championship, and unlike us they aren't carrying any debts that I'm aware of, and with Dean Smith at the helm, and a few savvy signings I'd currently make them favourites for the title.

Now you can't always tell a lot from one off cup ties, but our losses to Bournemouth and Huddersfield recently, where we were thoroughly outplayed in both ties doesn't suggest this present squad will sweep all before them next season.

Assuming we do drop it's vital we start fast and try and get the feel good factor back ASAP.

We should be in contention for a play-off berth minimum, but top 2 might be a stretch as it stands, especially if a few of our better players leave.

Spijed wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:24 pm

If they were to stay you'd think that both Cornet & Weghorst would be a level above the vast majority of other Championship strikers.

I fancy Weghorst to stay. Cornet, not sure. I hear he's a £20m release fee and could see someone like Fulham interested. But I do think we need to keep one of Cornet or McNeil, otherwise we need to shell out for a left midfielder.

Those people who are saying we shouldn't offer any of the 10 players who are OOC, new contracts, need to think of the money involved in making this number of new signings. 10 new players would be £100+ million. Surely the smarter thing to do is get players such as Jay and Lennon on a new deal and concentrate more on replacing Tarky, Mee and Vydra.

tiger76 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:26 pm

I've been noticing West Brom's inability to win games at that level, and depending who stays or goes, and who we sign we could easily get dragged down to mid-table mediocrity very quickly, this squad simply isn't used to winning games, and no matter what league you're competing in that's a hard habit to break.

Norwich will be strong in the Championship, and unlike us they aren't carrying any debts that I'm aware of, and with Dean Smith at the helm, and a few savvy signings I'd currently make them favourites for the title.

Now you can't always tell a lot from one off cup ties, but our losses to Bournemouth and Huddersfield recently, where we were thoroughly outplayed in both ties doesn't suggest this present squad will sweep all before them next season.

Assuming we do drop it's vital we start fast and try and get the feel good factor back ASAP.

We should be in contention for a play-off berth minimum, but top 2 might be a stretch as it stands, especially if a few of our better players leave.

Yeah i'm not sure why people expect us to suddenly start winning every week after 2 years of not winning every week, who else has done that? Newcastle is the only one I can think of, who have bounced straight back up from relegation after being in the PL for more than 1 consecutive year.

Yeah the Bournemouth and Huddersfield ties aren't promising.

It's hard to shake that relegation hangover, easier to shake after 1 solitary season in the PL.

We're heavily reliant on a great summer window, and who can be confident of that? with the debts over our head and judging by the previous dud windows.

RVclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:19 pm

First half we were better team, second half we had a midfield 4 of centre mids and no recognised striker. Plus that was a one off cup game. Bournemouth just lost to Boreham Wood at home but are looking likely to finish 2nd, what are your thoughts and logic of that?

That was our strongest available team. We also lost to Bournemouth. We are toothless

tiger76 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:26 pm

I've been noticing West Brom's inability to win games at that level, and depending who stays or goes, and who we sign we could easily get dragged down to mid-table mediocrity very quickly, this squad simply isn't used to winning games, and no matter what league you're competing in that's a hard habit to break.

Norwich will be strong in the Championship, and unlike us they aren't carrying any debts that I'm aware of, and with Dean Smith at the helm, and a few savvy signings I'd currently make them favourites for the title.

Now you can't always tell a lot from one off cup ties, but our losses to Bournemouth and Huddersfield recently, where we were thoroughly outplayed in both ties doesn't suggest this present squad will sweep all before them next season.

Assuming we do drop it's vital we start fast and try and get the feel good factor back ASAP.

We should be in contention for a play-off berth minimum, but top 2 might be a stretch as it stands, especially if a few of our better players leave.

Been a couple of times this season to West Brom and going in midweek for their game against Fulham. It’s incredible how quick an atmosphere can turn toxic. We’ve been booed multiple times this season, if things aren’t going well after the first few games in the Championship Turf Moor ain’t gonna be a great place to be.

If you asked me a month ago I would have said promoted easy.
But now I can't believe how poor the team actually is now.
I don't think it will be easy to get confidence back into this shot shy group of players. To go from a defensive team who plays hopeful balls forward to a team who would have the ball a lot more and need to break sides down.

Our record against the lesser sides this season is shocking. Brentford were no better than a championship side.

Somewhere between 7th and 14th

we need at least one winger of quality and we need at least 2 midfielders that move the ball quickly, beat a man and can pick a pass that isn't into a corner..........there in lies the bigger problem. The expectancy on a top two finish will put Dyche under the biggest pressure he's probably faced since joining Burnley

If we have the same midfield personnel as now and use them tactically in the same way as we currenty do, I would be happy to see a mid table finish.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:33 pm

That was our strongest available team. We also lost to Bournemouth. We are toothless

What does having a lot of players out and playing our strongest side from the players remaining (many out of position), have to do with our chances in the Championship next season?

Big job in the Summer needed.......Dyche will be damaged too, unlike last time

Wokingclaret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:47 pm

Big job in the Summer needed.......Dyche will be damaged too, unlike last time

On the other hand he could be extremely confident having promoted us twice before.

We’ll struggle to keep players.
We’ll need to sell to keep the club afloat.
Dyche will want out.
Think we could we’ll be in a relegation battle unless we can hang on to key players.
We have no Ings

claretandbluesky wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:53 pm

We’ll struggle to keep players.
We’ll need to sell to keep the club afloat.
Dyche will want out.
Think we could we’ll be in a relegation battle unless we can hang on to key players.
We have no Ings

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:32 pm

Yeah i'm not sure why people expect us to suddenly start winning every week after 2 years of not winning every week, who else has done that? Newcastle is the only one I can think of, who have bounced straight back up from relegation after being in the PL for more than 1 consecutive year.

Yeah the Bournemouth and Huddersfield ties aren't promising.

It's hard to shake that relegation hangover, easier to shake after 1 solitary season in the PL.

We're heavily reliant on a great summer window, and who can be confident of that? with the debts over our head and judging by the previous dud windows.

The recruitment under ALK has been pretty decent on the whole, the problem is we've let the squad grow old, and that's tough to turn around in a couple of windows, Bournemouth are now looking like making a PL return, but it's taken them a couple of seasons to get their affairs in order, and unlike us they've got a wealthy backer, and have brought in good sums for the likes of Ake to finance their rebuild.

However even with a great summer window, the manager will need time to get the new players gelling, and the games come thick and fast in that league, yes we managed to have a terrific 2nd half of the campaign back in 2016, but our squad was arguably better then, and most certainly younger, plus we brought in Andre and Joey who made a vital difference.

If Cornet & Weghorst both fly the nest, which has to be a possibility, then we're left with Barnes, Jay & Vydra, and the latter 2 will probably go elsewhere, so we'll need 2 new strikers, and probably 2 new midfielders, defence will be solid enough, the concern for me is where the goals are coming from.

On the plus side we might see more of the development squad getting a shot, but I have no idea whether any of them are up to the demands of Championship footy.

Sheff Utd are another good example, they really struggled in the early months of this season, and it's only recently they've mounted a late bid for the play-off's.

Spijed wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:24 pm

If they were to stay you'd think that both Cornet & Weghorst would be a level above the vast majority of other Championship strikers.

They won't

Don’t think we’d be troubling the top half of the table but nowhere near relegation.

tiger76 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:54 pm

The recruitment under ALK has been pretty decent on the whole, the problem is we've let the squad grow old, and that's tough to turn around in a couple of windows, Bournemouth are now looking like making a PL return, but it's taken them a couple of seasons to get their affairs in order, and unlike us they've got a wealthy backer, and have brought in good sums for the likes of Ake to finance their rebuild.

However even with a great summer window, the manager will need time to get the new players gelling, and the games come thick and fast in that league, yes we managed to have a terrific 2nd half of the campaign back in 2016, but our squad was arguably better then, and most certainly younger, plus we brought in Andre and Joey who made a vital difference.

If Cornet & Weghorst both fly the nest, which has to be a possibility, then we're left with Barnes, Jay & Vydra, and the latter 2 will probably go elsewhere, so we'll need 2 new strikers, and probably 2 new midfielders, defence will be solid enough, the concern for me is where the goals are coming from.

On the plus side we might see more of the development squad getting a shot, but I have no idea whether any of them are up to the demands of Championship footy.

Sheff Utd are another good example, they really struggled in the early months of this season, and it's only recently they've mounted a late bid for the play-off's.

Imo if we keep Dyche, we won't go back up. Not because Dyche is a poor manager but because many of our better players don't suit the Dyche football, the feeling around the place has been bleak for 2 years and it's near impossible to turn around. The whole thing has gone stale and we have no idea how to win games of football, we've forgot. That suddenly doesn't all change once you're relegated and hit with financial cuts.

if there is some kinda clause in the contract of Dyche, the potential of a ''new manager bounce'' must have crossed minds of the owners. It's the perfect Allardyce script.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:32 pm

Yeah i'm not sure why people expect us to suddenly start winning every week after 2 years of not winning every week, who else has done that?

Norwich, walked the Championship in between losing every week in the PL

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:23 pm

Norwich, walked the Championship in between losing every week in the PL

The Farke Norwich team didn't survive 2 consecutive years in the PL, Chris Hughton's Norwich is one of them though,8 years ago. They went back up with Alex Neil in charge

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:25 pm

The Farke Norwich team didn't survive 2 consecutive years in the PL

yet they WALKED the championship..........we aren't in a great place but we aren't anywhere near as bad as you are making out imho. Losing to Hudders and Bournemouth proves the square root of nothing. Bournemouth lost to Boreham, Leicester got destroyed at Forest etc etc.

Things will need to change and with the OOC players we have the ideal opportunity to do that.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:23 pm

if there is some kinda clause in the contract of Dyche, the potential of a ''new manager bounce'' must have crossed minds of the owners. It's the perfect Allardyce script.

Dyche already had a very healthy existing contract. Think about it. Would he sign a new one if it meant he could be easily let off at the end of this season? It only makes sense that he renewed if both (a) a higher wage and (b) long term stability, were in his favour.

Relegated. Sunderland mk 2.