Happy Relegation Day

Remember, its only football and the owners and most of the players dont give a sh1t about you.

At least we wont have to put up with close ups of people crying in The Emirates away end.

Arsenal 4-0 Watford.

 

4th relegation for me today. How many for everyone else?

 

4th- first one was in my first season 95/96

 

3rd.

Got a shock yesterday when I saw that Bolton had been relegated to League 2. Hadn’t realised. They were a regular Prem club early 2000s and had a couple of seasons in Europe. Could the same happen to us?

 

7th i think

 

Yes, but it won't.

 

4th for me today as well. Was just a little too young to remember the late 80’s exit from the top flight.

I think I was most disappointed with 95/96 as the other two Premier Leagues ones had been in the bag for ages. Depending on how it pans out today this could be the most heart wrenching. Unless we’re 2/3 down after 15 minutes that is, which I think is quite likely.

 

I found the Aidy season the most gut-wrenching. I know we were out of our depth, but can remember lot's of decisions going against us and injuries etc. Always felt like fate was against us that season.

I had also bought into the Aidy propaganda.

 

2nd for me after 2007. Seeing as I've been supporting since 2001 with Vialli in charge...2 relegations in 19 years isn't too bad...yes I'm trying to make myself feel better!

 

Today might be my 5th. It really does not get any easier to deal with though.

 

Enough of this defeatist attitude.

Sure, it could be the end for us, and then you can have as many threads like this as you like, but hang on a minute, put yourself in Arsenal's shoes.

They have their biggest match of the season in only 6 days time. They need to win the FA Cup in order to qualify for Europe, which is huge for a club like Arsenal. These top 6 clubs revolved around European competition, and without it they starve. They cannot attract the players they want, they lose prestige and revenue. The club will put everything into winning the cup next week, so do you think they will "leave everything on the pitch" in order to beat Watford, which is a nothing game for them? I certainly don't.

Arteta will of course say he's going to go strong, but he maybe referring to being strong minded and taking the game seriously, rather than his best possible team. Why risk his best players in a game like this, against a side fighting for their lives and may have one or two players who could step over the line and injure one of his stars due to sheer frustration. That could happen and Arteta will be judged on winning the FA Cup, not on how he performs against Watford. Why risk his best team? Not going to happen.

Villa can't complain either if Arsenal field a weaker than normal side. They benefited from the exact same thing when Arsenal made 6 changes to their line-up after beating City.

So it's not all over. Watford will be motivated to levels we've not seen all season. Arsenal will be a little less motivated and I think the combining of these things should give Watford an advantage.

Villa are in the driving seat on the final day. But how will that play out? Can they hold their nerve when they don't know whether to stick or twist. Do they go for the win, knowing they may not need to and risk losing because of it? No, I think they will be in two minds. They will try to contain West Ham and frustrate them, which they've been quite successful in doing lately. I believe their game may stay 0-0 for quite a while, but they will panic if we take a shock lead at Arsenal, I'm sure of it.

It's only going to take 1 goal to put us back into a good position. 1 goal, that's all. So when it's that tight, there's no reason to be defeatist.

 

Fair enough and I admire your optimism. I guarantee you though once the Arsenal team is announced we will all be disappointed.

 

7th for me (if it happens).......first was the miserable season to end all miserable seasons - 71/72.

Strange feeling today, having lived and breathed WFC for 50 years, I am just as interested in how England are doing in the test match as our game at an empty Emirates.

 

Even if it's their best team, which it won't be, why would they give everything to win the match? They won't. Arsenal are a team that has to be at it, in order to get good results. They have plenty of poor days at the office and I don't see why today should be any different.

Do they owe anything to Bournemouth or Villa? They actually put in a substandard performance against Villa, so they've already done them a huge favour.

Arsenal are clearly a good side, and on their day can beat the best. I was hugely impressed with them when they beat City, but they are 10th in the league below Sheff Utd and Burnley. Should we really fear this side, when they have nothing to play for and have one eye on the cup next week?

 

Seven for me too, albeit I don't remember a lot about the first two.
I must admit to share your thoughts on the test match at the moment, however I will be hoping for a miracle come 4pm.

 

Seen four relegations, today will not be the 5th. Come on you Golden Boys

 

5th - my first season attending was the Bassett season.

 

I believe this will be my 5th. Started going in 73. Maybe the guys, even older than me can help me out with that.

 

3rd One for me. 2000 & 2007. This one will hit the hardest though, I was only a child during the previous two.

 

We’ve actually gone 13 years without experiencing relegation, which in modern football terms is quite a long run I think.

The fateful date it last happened was 21 April 2007.

And who sent us down?

Our bete noir of course. Even in those days we couldn’t beat them, it seems.

 

Yep number seven for me too. Worst one was sinking in to division 4 with a lame 2-3 defeat to bloody Walsall in 1975.

The worst wfc performance I've ever seen. We needed a win to stay up and it was obvious that the players had an attitude that makes pererya look like a workhorse. Win, lose, draw - didn't seem as though they much cared.

Good job there were no message boards then. Useless strolling bunch of lazy no good bastards. Hopeless to a man. Sell the lot of 'em and play the kids instead. At least they might show a bit of heart and loyalty to the club.

And the names of those villains that will forever disgrace our club's name? Well they included:

Rankin, Scullion, Bond, Garner, Mayes, Joslyn and that useless lanky deadbeat Ross bloody Jenkins.

 

Citeh

 

Same for me...people, understandably, bemoaning how bad this season has been cannot understand just how interminably dispiriting that season was being absolutely outclassed every week in what is now the Championship...to be followed 3 years later by relegation to the bottom division. Bonsor’s ‘bargain basement’ transfer policy came fully home to roost...sound familiar?

 

And that's exactly why we're in this mess, because we won't be. The players couldn't give 2 sh*ts. Away to West Ham proved that.

 

Happy if we stay up, happy if we get relegated.

 

i really admire your optimism hornetboy, kudos to you.

I feel our goose is cooked personally. This will be my third relegation.

 

The happy clappers prime themselves for one last clap this season. They hope for the motivation to back up their ludicrous claims that 'we'll be fine' which they spouted earlier in the season. History will either be written with 'told you so's' or rewritten with 'told you so's'.

Rage, rage against the dying of the clap.

Maybe our team will surprise us all.

 

I started in GT's first season, which I suppose makes it my 5th relegation if Carpster is right (I'd lost count).

I'm not counting 1971-2, when I was at the Vic to cheer on Norwich getting promoted to Division 1 for the first time ever while Watford dropped back to where they belonged. Now we belong a bit higher, as a Prem/Champ yo-yo club.

 

The final showdown for the happy clappers vs bed wetters

 

Yep, 5 for me too.

 

This will be my 5th. First one was from the top division under Bassett and then Harrison.

Then to League One under GT/KJ and LB.

And the two so far from the Prem.

This would be the first that’s gone to the final day.

7 promotions too, so I’m still in credit!

 

I confidently predict for today there will be a bigger implosion on this forum if we stay up than if we go down.

 

I strongly echo this. It would also be my 7th. For me football is not the TV sport it is to some so, since the restart and not being able to go to games, I have felt quite divorced from our relegation fight. I also know that, if we get relegated, I will not be able to go to games at least in the early part of the Championship season so that will not seem quite real either. I look forward to the time when I can feel I am participating, however minimally, in the team’s efforts to bounce back to, or stay in the, Premier League again.