Championship players

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

I don't believe the current team would last a season in Div 1.
Mind you I would love to be given the opportunity but have we got a sustainable "off field set up" ? .....unlikely at present.

[Paolo69]

Blimey the way most people are talking, if we go up we're jumping straight into the Champions League rather than the Championship. We'll need to reinforce for sure but none more so than we did this season IMO.

[dalumpimunki]

Ferry is too small and weak to be a force in the championship. It's his only real flaw but in such a key postition in that high quality league he will be found wanting. If we go up then i hope the board finds some serious money. I won't hold my breath but we will need it.

Martin Ling and Micky Hazard coped.

[Arriba]

Martin Ling and Micky Hazard coped.

Utterly ridiculous comparisons

[Paolo69]

Utterly ridiculous comparisons

Hazard maybe, not Linger though. Spent most of his career at at a lower level - before, during and after he played for us.

[dalumpimunki]

Utterly ridiculous comparisons

Were they not light and weak?

[dalumpimunki]

Hazard maybe, not Linger though. Spent most of his career at at a lower level - before, during and after he played for us.

Erm....... Ling was a first team regular for most of the five years he spent at Town between '91 and '95, with about 150 appearances to his name. I might be wrong but I seem to remember those years being spent in the top two divisions.

The "he spent a lot of his career in the lower leagues" argument is bollocks is that player then goes on to actually play successfully in a higher league.

[GoSWINDON]

I like Ferry , he is a good player ( at this level ) but i dont think being small and weak would be the problem , he just isn't good enough and nowhere near the talent of Hazard and Lingo , IMO

[dalumpimunki]

I like Ferry , he is a good player but i dont think being small and weak would be the problem , he just isn't good enough and nowhere near the talent of Hazard and Lingo , IMO

My point exactly. Being small and weak doesn't stop someone playing top class football. Shaun Taylor could have tucked Ossie Ardiles under one arm and wandered around all day without noticing he was there, but I know which one was capable of playing top flight football.

[GoSWINDON]

I agree with Fodders and Thompson being able to adjust to the Championship . I love Flint and if he keeps  his head down and finds his true potential he could also . Rafa has got quality but inconsistent , Alan Mac ....100% commitment  but not sure at a higher level, i dont think Williams has enough self confidence ( thats a guess ) and Collins?  maybe . the rest would struggle i think .

Just read that back and it's not very helpful just my opinion.

[BruceChatwin]

Ferry is too small and weak to be a force in the championship.

 

 

Look at Leon Britton: very similar in stature and style and gradually worked his way up league by league from the 4th division to the Prem. Probably Swansea's most important midfielder in one of the best teams in the top division (and he's smaller and weaker than Ferry!)

[Flashheart]

Why is size more important in the Championship. Is it full of big lumps or something?

[BruceChatwin]

Blimey the way most people are talking, if we go up we're jumping straight into the Champions League rather than the Championship. We'll need to reinforce for sure but none more so than we did this season IMO.

I agree. People seem to have an almost mythological view of the quality of the Championship.

The kind of performances we put in against Tranmere, Stoke, Carlisle, Villa second half etc., certainly good enough to win games in the Championship from the quality of some of them I've seen. We've also brushed aside Brighton and Burnley easily enough this season and outplayed Leicester the season before.

I think a lot of footballing success is built around attitude.

On the one hand, footballing quality (which has to realistically be bought) is an attribute that can overcome a bad attitude (e.g. Man United keep on winning ugly on their way to the title), but equally, a good attitude (something that can be taught/ implemented) can overcome a gap in quality, as we've shown with results against higher division teams this and the previous season.

If we got promoted it would be this latter attribute we'd be most reliant on if we wanted to survive, as we're never going to be able to compete with other teams on transfer fees and wages etc.

[GoSWINDON]

I agree. People seem to have an almost mythological view of the quality of the Championship.

The kind of performances we put in against Tranmere, Stoke, Carlisle, Villa second half etc., certainly good enough to win games in the Championship from the quality of some of them I've seen. We've also brushed aside Brighton and Burnley easily enough this season and outplayed Leicester the season before.

I think a lot of footballing success is built around attitude.

On the one hand, footballing quality (which has to realistically be bought) is an attribute that can overcome a bad attitude (e.g. Man United keep on winning ugly on their way to the title), but equally, a good attitude (something that can be taught/ implemented) can overcome a gap in quality, as we've shown with results against higher division teams this and the previous season.

If we got promoted it would be this latter attribute we'd be most reliant on if we wanted to survive, as we're never going to be able to compete with other teams on transfer fees and wages etc.

 Beating a team/teams in higher divisions happens all the time in cup competitions , playing them every week is an entirely different kettle of fish. I would of thought most clubs in the championship would have a good  attitude , so it would come down to how good the players are.

[BruceChatwin]

Beating a team/teams in higher divisions happens all the time in cup competitions , playing them every week is an entirely different kettle of fish. I would of thought most clubs in the championship would have a good  attitude , so it would come down to how good the players are.

I agree that you can't read too much into one off results in cup competitions.

But Blackpool, Hull, Reading, Derby, Burnley and Stoke are all excellent examples of 6 clubs recently promoted to the Premiership who managed to out compete their rivals over the course of a full season despite ostensibly weaker squads/ budgets. 

The primary attribute of most of those teams was not the transfer value or individual quality of their players, but a better team-ethic, a positive attitude and a collective willingness to work hard.