Who doesnt mind not getting promotion this season?

[OldNick]

We all want Saints to play in the PL, but to me going up with this squad I could only see nother humiliation next season. I suggest we would get less points than last!!.

If we approached promotion like Sunderland who got basically a whole new 1st team, who were equipped for the rigours required then I would be more keen, but knowing SR it will be a load of potential players and not hardened players ready for the fight

[AlexLaw76]

If we dont go up this season, fully expect more better players to be sold and our transformation into Stoke City will be complete

[leesaint88]

Personally I couldn't give a toss if we go up or not. Whilst it would mean the squad being stripped even more next season, at least it might bring some atmosphere back with people who genuinely want to be there. 

[saintant]

Not bothered about promotion. More interested in seeing an evolving team heading in the right direction. 

[Toussaint]

11 minutes ago, leesaint88 said:

Personally I couldn't give a toss if we go up or not. Whilst it would mean the squad being stripped even more next season, at least it might bring some atmosphere back with people who genuinely want to be there. 

I don't agree, lots of empty seats aren't good for atmosphere

[Toussaint]

15 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If we dont go up this season, fully expect more better players to be sold and our transformation into Stoke City will be complete

That's the reality, if we don't go up this season then we probably have less of a chance next season, then after that its a long hard road. 

[warsash saint]

If it means no VAR, no tourists, no soulless stadiums, a thrashing every week, then I am happy to stay in the Championship for a few years

[VectisSaint]

I always want Saints to win every game, but realistically I think promotion this season would simply lead to another disaster. To me the ideal situation would be to finish 3rd and lose in the play-off final (with the proviso that Skates finish below us and do not beat us in the PO final having finished 4-6th). We would need to massively strengthen if this team were to get promoted, there are very few, if any genuine PL quality players in the squad.

[Lighthouse]

The aim always has to be promotion asap. People say they hate being in the PL, they don’t - they hate losing. Every year that goes by in this league, the more we have to offload our valuable assets and high earners and if you’re not careful, you end up leaving the Championship through the wrong door.

When people say they’d rather be in this league, what they means is they want the Adkins season over and over again. The Poortvliet and final Burley seasons were no more fun than last year.

[OldNick]

2 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

The aim always has to be promotion asap. People say they hate being in the PL, they don’t - they hate losing. Every year that goes by in this league, the more we have to offload our valuable assets and high earners and if you’re not careful, you end up leaving the Championship through the wrong door.

When people say they’d rather be in this league, what they means is they want the Adkins season over and over again. The Poortvliet and final Burley seasons were no more fun than last year.

I respectfully suggest, we aint got no saleable assets at present!! If we did so they would already be gone 

[Lighthouse]

2 minutes ago, OldNick said:

I respectfully suggest, we aint got no saleable assets at present!! If we did so they would already be gone 

90% of this league would bite your hand off for Armstrong, Azaz, Fellows, Archer, Charles, Roeslev, THB, Downes and Stephens. A large number of other players would also be in demand at top half clubs. The fact that none of them are currently playing anywhere near the ceiling of their ability doesn’t mean nobody else would want them.

[SaintNewForest]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If we dont go up this season, fully expect more better players to be sold and our transformation into Stoke City will be complete

As opposed to going up and getting walloped every week again? Is there a decent solution here? 🤣

[Sheaf Saint]

I don't want us to get promoted again while we are still owned by SR. They will only completely fuck up the necessary recruitment again and we'll just have another season like 24/25. 

If that means staying in the Championship for a few more years and losing some of our current assets then so be it. I feel so utterly disconnected from this team right now that I wouldn't miss any of them. 

Until we have ownership that has even the slightest clue about how to build a TEAM, I don't want us anywhere near the PL. 

[OldNick]

11 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

90% of this league would bite your hand off for Armstrong, Azaz, Fellows, Archer, Charles, Roeslev, THB, Downes and Stephens. A large number of other players would also be in demand at top half clubs. The fact that none of them are currently playing anywhere near the ceiling of their ability doesn’t mean nobody else would want them.

Exactly Championship players for championship teams. They are not worth a great deal.Iam sure had a chamionship come in for the majority of those we would have sold them. 

[Zorba]

Mind it or not, we will not be promoted this season. We got promoted despite RM last time due to having a superior squad left over from the PL and the pot luck of the play offs. I can’t see another promotion until SR piss off and take their fantasy football philosophies with them.

[OldNick]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

I don't agree, lots of empty seats aren't good for atmosphere

that is very fair. If we compete and win games I feel sure the attendances will stay decent for a few years. I suggest if we went back up the throng for S/Ts will not be the same as last time

Edited 2 hours ago by OldNick

[Lighthouse]

2 minutes ago, OldNick said:

Exactly Championship players for championship teams. They are not worth a great deal.Iam sure had a chamionship come in for the majority of those we would have sold them. 

I’m not really sure what you’re getting at there. We are able to afford players like that for a couple of seasons thanks to the parachute payments but life beyond that isn’t pretty. We will find ourself in a position where we’re forced to sell our better players to recently relegated PL teams to balance the books and the replacements will be Smallbone levels of quality.

[Saint_Jonny]

I'd take 10th, winning more home games than we lose or draw and restoration of team and fan morale before pushing on next season.

Of course this is completely unrealistic because football doesn't work like that. Fans with all the patience of Tommy Robinson in an Indian takeaway will be outraged and demanding blood long before a 10th place finish.

[Turkish]

I want to see a profit from transfers sales and continued investment in off field revenue generating activities

[S-Clarke]

You can't truly waste a season at this level when you have the 'finanaces' we currently have to our name, and we have spent a fair bit to ensure we need to be in the conversation right up until the end.

Failure this season would mean another turnover next summer, you'll see more of our 'better' players go and more proven lower league players arrive for less money.

I know you can somewhat compare it to Leeds when they stayed down after we beat them, but they had such a ridiculous squad for this level anyway - and even after losing Rutter/Summerville and those sorts, they were still able to field a team full of PL quality. (they had returning loans such as Aaaronson, Wober and the such which helped maintain their level).

Staying down this year increases our likelihood of us just becoming also-rans, because we don't have the buffer of quality that Leeds had.

[Lighthouse]

44 minutes ago, Zorba said:

Mind it or not, we will not be promoted this season. We got promoted despite RM last time due to having a superior squad left over from the PL and the pot luck of the play offs. I can’t see another promotion until SR piss off and take their fantasy football philosophies with them.

We’ve still got a significant number of players left over from last year’s campaign. Surely if we just play THB, Downes, Stephens etc. we’ll get promoted by default, in spite of Still?

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, leesaint88 said:

Personally I couldn't give a toss if we go up or not. Whilst it would mean the squad being stripped even more next season, at least it might bring some atmosphere back with people who genuinely want to be there. 

The atmosphere is gone for good mate. Modern football has permanently killed it if it can't even come back for a derby game V Pompey. 

[die Mannyschaft]

I'd live another Wembley play off final, decent day out out and anyone can win.

Top 2 places are too far off with points to make up and Saints will take 6-10 game to find best 11 and style & system so 6th with a large amount of luck and a goalkeeper, 2 x Strikers in window.

Not bothered at the moment as we got no idea how to play football and lucky to not be in bottom 3.

The boring negative play to draw football has made fans fall asleep,  dull the atmosphere and possibly reduce the attendance next season if in championship or Leaque 1. 

[trousers]

4 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

I'd love another Wembley play off final, decent day out out and anyone can win.

Top 2 places are too far off with points to make up .... so 6th

I hate to go all MLG on you but the current difference between 2nd ("too far off") and 6th ('achievable') is 2 points....

Edited 1 hour ago by trousers

[die Mannyschaft]

14 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

The atmosphere is gone for good mate. Modern football has permanently killed it if it can't even come back for a derby game V Pompey. 

Too many players just come in to do a job then go, left on bench, dont play or loaned out no real connection with Saints except the long standing players. Add modern football and it has killed the game. Stupid hand ball, pen rules not yellow cards for holding means less goals. Players sitting down on pitch faking injury to stop an attack is a highly valued skill in coaching manual 

[Greedyfly]

The idea of being in the Championship to rebuild is a foolish notion.  You are still way better off, being utterly pissed on in the Prem, than you are languishing in the Championship from a business sense.  I like the championship as it goes, but I also don't want to be here for more than a season.

[HarvSFC]

A lot of people say the Premier League isn't fun, but that's because we've been mismanaged leading to crapness for a few years now. The Premier League was good between 2012-2017. High quality players playing for the club and it felt like we were building something before it all went to pot. Smaller sized clubs like Bournemouth and Brighton have had good times up there for a number of years now as well. Get it right off the pitch and we can be a competitive Premier League side again, mixing with the big boys. Unfortunately, under SR the off the pitch stuff is the failure that leads to the dross on the pitch.

Edited 1 hour ago by HarvSFC

[Matthew Le God]

4 hours ago, OldNick said:

We all want Saints to play in the PL, but to me going up with this squad I could only see nother humiliation next season. I suggest we would get less points than last!!.

If we approached promotion like Sunderland who got basically a whole new 1st team, who were equipped for the rigours required then I would be more keen, but knowing SR it will be a load of potential players and not hardened players ready for the fight

The longer we stay down the harder it will be to be promoted. Our parachute payments will be lower in the 2nd seson and disappear completely in the 3rd season. We'd lose any decent players next summer without promotion. 

If we went up, it wouldn't be us using most of the current players in the Premier League. We'd likely sign a lot of new players. 

Edited 5 minutes ago by Matthew Le God

[Football Special]

I'd prefer a year in league one 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

55 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I want to see a profit from transfers sales and continued investment in off field revenue generating activities

When things are tough, you've got to jettison superfluous activity, and focus on your core business. And that's player trading.

[trousers]

23 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I'd prefer a year in league one 

Might be the only way of attracting another Markus to buy the club... In which case, bring it on...!

Edited 55 minutes ago by trousers

[Toussaint]

22 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I'd prefer a year in league one 

Your wish could feasibly be granted 

[benjii]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

90% of this league would bite your hand off for Armstrong, Azaz, Fellows, Archer, Charles, Roeslev, THB, Downes and Stephens. A large number of other players would also be in demand at top half clubs. The fact that none of them are currently playing anywhere near the ceiling of their ability doesn’t mean nobody else would want them.

Sounds like we need a better manager.