Championship - 2023/24

Fired by Xmas, Ranieri in

 

Xisco got us promoted because he was lucky?! Some of you people are absolute loons.

 

I thought sacking Moore was harsh, but then thought, they want a change from a manager who the players like. Xisco seems a similar appointment.

If I was them I would have gone for Nathan Jones, he works well with a squad of players from the lower divisions, rather than Premier league players.

Anyway of the two recent appointments, I am going to say Farke at Leeds sacked before Xisco.

 

I think the thing that might save Xisco is if expectations aren't going to be sky-high at Hillsborough, I don't know what the chairman is thinking, but I bet everyone else connected to the club would snap your hands off for 21st place come what May, it will be promotion or bust for Farke

 

I don’t think that’s the case. The Championship is not like the Premier League with regard to staying up after promotion, unless you are a traditionally smaller club like a Rotherham or Peterborough. Sheff Wed will rightly classify themselves as a very big club at this level and will see no reason why they shouldn’t have a shot at the playoffs this season.

 

He lived up to his name eh!

 

Yes you don't see too many players named "Less/Fewer" do you ?
Less Ferdinand & Ian Feuer (ex L**** keeper) the only 2 that spring to mind.

 

It might not be quite as much of a glass ceiling, but it's still very hard to crack the upper echelons of the Championship having come up from League 1. Wednesday were relegation strugglers a few years ago (even allowing for the 6 point deduction they'd have barely stayed up), and while I can't pretend to know their squad from that season inside out, I do know that their current squad is full of players who are certainly very good at League 1 level, but aren't superstars at Championship level, and I doubt there's a huge pot of money to charge their way up the league. As for a 'big club', I don't dispute that historically, but what does that matter in 2023? There's a whole generation of fans who won't have ever seen them play in the top flight, and those fans have also seen them play in League 1 for 6 seasons, with them having had such a tumultuous time of late, I would have thought they'd have been a bit more realistic about their chances these days

 

For a promoted club, momentum is everything. Start the season in great spirit, everyone fighting for eachother, a couple of early wins and the confidence and togetherness can push you on like Sunderland last season, us under GT 2nd time, ...I think Plymouth will be a very tough game and I fancy Ipswich to make the POs. Not sure about SW, they have momentum, much will depend on the first 5 games.
EDIT - snap Skyla !

 

The last two seasons (2005/06 and 2012/13) though when Wednesday had just come up from League 1, they really struggled and needed a strong second half to survive with something to spare (actually they needed to win their final game in 2012/13 to be sure of staying up as a freakishly high points total was needed to avoid relegation, but as it turned out they already had enough points). This time I imagine they have quite a bit more money to spend, but based on what I saw in the play-off semi 2nd leg and what I've heard of them, despite getting 96 points and that amazing comeback, without a radical change to their football style (and I can't see Xisco being the person to do that) they've got midtable at best written over them next season. Much of their players are aging and one of their key players Bannan may only be a bit part player next season. Similar to what H-D said, it's quite rare that clubs promoted from the third tier challenge again the following season, 20 or so years ago it seemed that one club would do that every other season on average.

On Xisco, it does seem a strange appointment (not saying bad) - Darren Moore may not be a great manager as suggested by the fact it's taken him until nearly 50 to achieve success at a club he'd already taken down, but at least he's more tactically aware than Xisco and unlike him has some experience of squad building, which Xisco will almost certainly have to do at Wednesday. Also I'm not sure what they expect from the team with this appointment - either way I'm quite sure they're not going to be challenging (I'd fancy Ipswich to do it much more, Plymouth are a bit of an unknown quantity). His record at Huesca isn't encouraging but then again they haven't improved at all since he left and plenty of managers have achieved success after shaky starts to their careers and a dodgy stint or two at other clubs.

 

Hilarious unveiling of Xisco today. The Sheff Wed owner went off on a very long rant about Carlton Palmer, leaving poor Xisco sitting there looking very embarrassed and unable to get a word in!

 

Really impressively **** that Carlton Palmer's spelling isn't the most embarrassing thing about this whole affair!

 

This is your best ever post, and not a single like.

Let that sink in.

 

It’s a cruel world.
I preferred my “Pjanic seen in the streets of London” post after we were linked but each to their own.

 

QPR getting decimated - if we don't start with a win we can all give up

 

"Spice Girl and Watford fan Geri Halliwell-Horner was left ‘gutted’ by the sHatters’ promotion to the Premier League last season according to her husband Christian Horner."

We all were Geraldine love. We all were.

It was a bleak day for supporters of football, fair play, honesty and simple justice all across the globe.

But what goes up, must come down. Sooner or later we'll get to enjoy their season of misery and chaos as they get whupped week in and week out and plummet back down again.


https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/...utons-promotion-to-the-premier-league-4212038

 

I actually think the pundits at that level generally do a much better job of covering the FL teams than those covering the PL clubs outside the big few.

 

Both Fridays and Ebbtide chip shops will have closed by the start of the season. I make that the nearest fish and chip shop to the ground is now Sea Breeze on Bushey Hall Road. It’s going to be a strange old season.

 

I’m still getting over the closure of Dom’s.

 

I'm gutted about EbbTide. Been going there for years now.

 

Very sad news with Ebbtide - cracking chippy.

 

Deeney to join Xisco as a coach?

 

Swansea have had a £2.5million bid for Blackpool striker Jerry Yates accepted.