Is this club Premier League Ready?

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Who said we weren't investing in players?

Just about everyone, as it happens

 

[Fat Langers]

Just about everyone, as it happens

I'm pretty sure we will. It's unsustainable otherwise and what a waste of time and money for everyone involved! Including us! We should of just stayed at the Withdean. I understand that all of us wanted some really good signings before we started the season. And I was hoping for more! But I also understand that it's not just the players that have to be right but everything that comes with it. If we had the best players and still at the Withdean, would we of been ready?! Hell no!!! And at the moment I see it the other way round. Amazing ground, fantastic training facilities, good sponsor etc and now we need the players. Now we are ready to put that part of the plan together. And I believe it will happen.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

The hardware is all in place, the finance too - if we weren't hampered by the decision to play by FFP rules, I don't believe there'd be a problem paying competitive fees and wages.

The human resources? That remains to be seen, even at basic administration level - the ticketing mess this summer suggests that there's plenty of room for improvement.

But the biggest doubt is in the football management, by which I mean the Bloom - Burke - Hyypia chain. Is there a mismatch between ambition, available resources, scouting and recruitment? Gus said that FFP would mean that we had to be smarter than richer clubs. Is there much evidence of that?

The problem is that the process is opaque and we can only judge it by the talent that eventually ends up on the pitch.

As Mao said when asked about the success of the French Revolution, "too early to tell."

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I'm pretty sure we will. It's unsustainable otherwise and what a waste of time and money for everyone involved! Including us! We should of just stayed at the Withdean. I understand that all of us wanted some really good signings before we started the season. And I was hoping for more! But I also understand that it's not just the players that have to be right but everything that comes with it. If we had the best players and still at the Withdean, would we of been ready?! Hell no!!! And at the moment I see it the other way round. Amazing ground, fantastic training facilities, good sponsor etc and now we need the players. Now we are ready to put that part of the plan together. And I believe it will happen.

I also believe it will happen, but only after the powers-that-be have had one helluva wake-up call.

 

[sparkie]

Infrastructure, PLR.

Squad, League1R.

 

[Garfunkaal]

Stadium - Check
Training Facilities - Check
Fanbase - Check
Season Ticket Holders - Check
Catchment area - Check



Squad - Uncheck..

 

[Guy Crouchback]

Stadium - Check
Training Facilities - Check
Fanbase - Check
Season Ticket Holders - Check
Catchment area - Check
Squad - Uncheck..

This.

As for the squad--fans who watched the entire game can certainly evaluate it better but, judging from the audio commentary and the extended highlights, I have a feeling that people who talk about our squad being "League 1 ready" greatly exaggerate.

 

[dingodan]

We are PL ready!!

In all departments but the squad.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I'm staring to believe the powers that be, think that a training complex and a stadium, give you some divine right to go up....We are Prem league ready off the pitch, but we are a million miles away from it on the pitch.

That. As a team we are REGRESSING. Palace got it right. Get the ****ing squad. They have a shit stadium and facilities yet they had the squad.

The ONLY time a swanky stadium and traimimg facilities will sway a player is if the money on the table is the same as being offered elsewhere. This is FACT.

 

[glasfryn]

This.

As for the squad--fans who watched the entire game can certainly evaluate it better but, judging from the audio commentary and the extended highlights, I have a feeling that people who talk about our squad being "League 1 ready" greatly exaggerate.

I sort of agree with you but will wait until August is over before saying anything rash .....but it does not look good at the moment

 

[Baaaald]

We are in every way other than the most important which is the team!

 

[BensGrandad]

off the field yes on the field no.

 

[Surrey_Albion]

We have enough Fairweather supporters to be in the prem so I say yes

 

[GT49er]

Build it and they will come.....and beat us 1-0

Like yesterday

 

[e77]

Yes in all but playing ability. Which is admittedly the main part of the jigsaw.

I sometimes think the club fighting the following over the last 20 odd years:

Archer/Belotti selling off the Goldstone
Return to Withdean
Falmer campaign
Extending Amex and building training ground

has made it forget that it is actually in the business of winning football matches. I suppose one would argue it has been done the right way round (the alternative being throw all the money in the squad for one season and then build then infrastructure with parachute payments) but I think as a club we need to forget secondary things like this hotel and concentrate on the core product.

 

[El Turi]

I'm not convinced we've got one single PLR player in our squad so we are miles off at the moment.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I worry about the problems we've had between coaching staff and the board since Gus's head was turned a year and a half ago. I'm yet to be convinced that B, B and B are capable of operating in harmony with the coaches, and without that we are not PLR. I think we needed Sammy Lee, so having walked it makes no sense to carry on without a similar replacement.

Sami is going to need help, particularly if we don't splash some cash before September.

 

[Brovion]

I never liked it as I knew it was just an excuse to jack up all the prices. Now though I do worry a bit that 'premier league ready' is a tad hubristic, a bit like the Palace epithet "Team of the Eighties" (which in fairness was given to them) but which nevertheless we all found intensely amusing when the promptly got relegated from the top division (and were briefly below us in the league for a while).

IF (capitals and in bold) we do struggle this season we can expect jibes about how we'll be the most 'premier league ready' team in League One.

 

[Ernest]

After yesterdays shambles on and off the pitch we are far from being PL ready, still next season in League 1 we will be able to say we are Championship ready

 

[Foolg]

Well everything is certainly priced for the Premier League.

Given, as just highlighted on another thread, our catering is more expensive than every single Premier League ground.