Harder to get there or stay there?

[Himleywolf]

What really bugs me is after all the years of hard work, graft, heartache etc etc, we go and chuck it all away in the matter of a few weeks.
The big question to me is staying or getting there, which is more difficult?
To me staying is much easier, there has always been poor teams in the Prem, Burnley, Hull, Portsmouth etc, it wasn't that hard to stay in front of them, even this season we should be above the likes of Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn, QPR, Villa if we hadn't completely imploded.

But next season in the Championship is as we know from experience a tough place to get out of, there must be at least 10 teams who at the start of the season have a chance of promotion.

Lets hope we can do a Newcastle rather than a Burnley or Hull.

 

[Tring Wolf]

I actually think it's easier to stay there than get there. This season especially should have been the one where we kicked on and really looked to establish ourselves.

Even a point a game would have kept us up comfortably. A real missed opportunity but hey. Time to dust ourselves down, learn from our mistakes and hopefully come back stronger.

 

[Hrothgar]

Both equally hard I'd say!
Can't agree though with your comment "even this season we should be above ......etc" because there really is no justification for that belief as far as I can see- I'm sorry to say that frankly we are pretty much where we deserve to be, hard though it is to accept!

 

[Tring Wolf]

Sorry Hrothgar, I didn't articulate that very well. I just meant that in terms of points tallies, I don't think there will be many seasons where the number of points required to stay up will be as low as this years.

Completely agree we have been really poor and fully deserve to be where we are.

 

[Big Nosed Wolf]

It's not easy to stay in the GL but it is much harder to get there. As the club found out for the best part of twenty years.

Mick did an outstanding job getting the club there and he took three years.

Which is why I don't think many realise just what a catastrophe this season has been.

The club were there and this status has been disgracefully thrown away.

 

[SourCream&OnionUtd]

Harder to stay there than get there, no doubt. Blackpool and Swansea both won a place on shoestring budgets. As in, shoestring by Championship standards.

 

[Himleywolf]

Can't agree though with your comment "even this season we should be above ......etc" because there really is no justification for that belief as far as I can see- I'm sorry to say that frankly we are pretty much where we deserve to be, hard though it is to accept![/QUOTE]

Over the last 10 weeks i agree we are where we deserve to be but until then relegation wasn't really an issue to me, don't forget during Dec & Jan we were unbeaten away for 5 games including draws at Spurs and Arsenal.

 

[Surrey Wolf]

harder to get there, we all know the chumpionship can be a graveyard for aspirational teams

 

[cooper_J]

Good question! I'd say definitely harder to get there.

For me, the Championship is one of the most interesting leagues to watch. You hardly ever get the favourite running away with the league (Newcastle aside in recent seasons) and there are always underdogs in the mix in the play offs. Who'd have backed Southampton, Norwich, Swansea, Blackpool etc to go up in recent years?

Of course the flip side of that is it is going to be very, very hard to get promoted. So many competitive teams and it is much more of a level playing field. Anyone can beat anyone.

I'm bracing myself for a few years of treading water and bemoaning the fact we didn't know how good we had it (until the start of 2012).

 

[Himleywolf]

One way of looking at it is that we are trying to finish above 3 teams in the Premier and 20+ in the Championship, a bit of a scary thought.

 

[wolfjc]

are record shows that it is definitely harder to stay in the prem though doesn't it! we are a typical yo yo team!

 

[wolvo_boi]

are record shows that it is definitely harder to stay in the prem though doesn't it! we are a typical yo yo team!

Bit of a crap yoyo then. We have been up then down, stayed down for 5 years then stayed up 3 and then down . . . i wouldnt be impressed if i had brought that yoyo.

 

[doog]

One way of looking at it is that we are trying to finish above 3 teams in the Premier and 20+ in the Championship, a bit of a scary thought.

I have always used to say this, but the truth is you only have to finish higher than 3 teams in your first PL season.
If you try making a habit of it the law of averages says you will come undone, just ask mick.
After the first season you should be able to attract better players, and should be looking to strengthen and keep away from the danger zone.

Though getting out the championship is the hardest I believe.

That's why I can not understand...why wast an opportunity to stay up, and that's basically what they did by sacking Mick with Thirteen games to go and then gambling with putting a novice in charge.

Now the hard work starts, and it don't always go how you want it to.
Lets just hope they now have some kind of a plan and we get better promotion luck this time.

 

[Surrey Wolf]

are record shows that it is definitely harder to stay in the prem though doesn't it! we are a typical yo yo team!

what a load of rubbish, we've languished in footballs 2nd tier for most of the last 25 yrs

 

[Oaky65]

Were more like a child trying to use a yoyo for the first time.

It comes back up once or twice then stays down dissapointingly

 

[Space Wolf]

After the first season you should be able to attract better players, and should be looking to strengthen and keep away from the danger zone.

Bingo. We haven't done enough in the two seasons since we stopped up and that's why we're going down.

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Good question!

Both equally difficult for very different reasons.

Agree with cooper that the "glory years" of recent times have been the last 3. Which is a stinging indictment of football.

 

[Deleted member 3751]

Look at our stats, 2/4 attempts at staying there have been successful, 2/20ish attempts at getting there. I'd definitely say it's easier to stay there.