Well we were nearly there if you think about it. Take away Kuszczak's and Ankergren's 2 calamities and we'd have finished 2nd ?
Gus wasn't far off, I am convinced there is someone out there who can get us promoted.
If Gus doesn't fancy it, I don't think there are many who'll miss his budget moaning, and the constant job speculation he does nothing to silence.
I think the major thing that contributed to their awful seasons was the instability if first team management.
West Ham proved last season with stable management you can challenge to go straight back up.
Reading didn't over spend this season and I can't see them firing Adkins early season either. With their parachute payments, they will be challenging to go straight back up.
Prem clubs should have clauses in all the player contracts so that wages drop if they are relegated. Some players should have automatic release clauses. I think the parachute payments are compensating for bad club management.
Next season all the teams in the Championship will have the same budgetry restrictions, so the playing field will be level. We have 30K attendances and huge matchday revenue, surely that will put us in the ascendency.
I asked Paul Barber at a recent Q&A if that was possible IF we got promoted. His answer was that players wouldn't sign contracts at all if that was put in.
I agree that in a perfect world, it would happen, but when clubs are in competition for the best players, their agents are going to pick the best terms for them.
How is this "Financial Fair Play" when relegated Premier League teams get such a massive advantage, regardless of how much money their club fairly makes?
With FFP, Parachute payments should be shared equally amongst ALL championship teams - this is the only way it would be literally financially fair...
I've not read the rules so this is maybe a very simplistic view but I thought FFP was at least partly based on wages/income ratios.
With the biggest gates in the Championship, plus decent other income streams and sponsorship, presumably our total income stacks up well against other Clubs? According to the Telegraph this morning we may have the 4th smallest budget in the Division. Whilst there are obviously other wages to pay, surely this should put us in a better position than many other Clubs to avoid the FFP problems to which GP alluded on Monday night?
I asked Paul Barber at a recent Q&A if that was possible IF we got promoted. His answer was that players wouldn't sign contracts at all if that was put in.
I agree that in a perfect world, it would happen, but when clubs are in competition for the best players, their agents are going to pick the best terms for them.