Reason we get relegated from the championship

[welovebooth]

According to bet888 the average weekly wage in the championship is 35k a week.

With the top earners on around 70k a week.

Now we all know rufc just can't compete anywhere near that.

But just think how close we was to staying up last season.

When we do stay up what a achievement it would be.

So when we do get promoted and people are saying warne needs to go our team is good enough to stay up.

Just have a little think what we are up against.

I can now understand why Tony Stewart won't release the purse strings. Would it really make a difference?

Yes teams defy there odds and stay up etc. But they happen rarely

[Wardy]

Luton Town currently third

[millertop]

Look what happens to them that pay over the odds

Stick to your guns TS

We got relegated last time due to mistakes

[Masbroughstreet]

Look what happens to them that pay over the odds

Stick to your guns TS

We got relegated last time due to mistakes

We got relegated last time due to playing a quarter of a season in a month. Although we'll never know for certain I think we'd have found another 2 points from somewhere if that hadn't been the case.

[millertop]

We got relegated last time due to playing a quarter of a season in a month. Although we'll never know for certain I think we'd have found another 2 points from somewhere if that hadn't been the case.

That had an effect But we also made mistakes which did cost us imo

[Masbroughstreet]

That had an effect But we also made mistakes which did cost us imo

Of course we made mistakes, every team makes them. I just personally think the congested fixtures at the end had the biggest impact,

[MillerBill]

Luton Town currently third

and they're no where near that so called"average 35k",much nearer 10k.

[LittleSquirt]

Luton, Blackpool, Barnsley, Millwall show you don't need to be a massive club, generating income from 20k+ crowds and paying massive wages to survive in the Champ. Coventry even did it with behind the scenes turmoil and playing all their games away from home with near enough the same squad they got promoted with.

On the flip side, Derby, Birmingham, Sheff Weds etc and all the other 'big clubs' now in L1 also show you can struggle paying massive wages. Big club, big wages doesn't mean success. Ask Sunderland, who can't even get out of L1.

You probably do need a massive budget to compete at the top, but to just survive in mid-bottom half, it is possible to survive.

The style of play is a major factor. As is the mentality. To not be scared, to go for it. Ours changes in the Champ. Where we would go for another goal in league 1, in the Champ we retreat into ourselves and start playing it into the corner after 65 mins to protect what we have. We then invariably end up loosing it because our best form of defence is to attack. Its our best form of defence in L1, but we abandon it in the Champ. It didn't work the first time and the writing was on the wall last pre season when Barker said you have have to change your style in the Champ, so abandoning all the good thing that got us there and playing negitively and 1 up front and protecting a draw after 65 mins. And so it didn't work the second time around either. As we have found recently, it doesn't work in L1 either. We have been too respectful and too cautious in the Champ. How many times have we heard them say, 'i'd have taken a point' instead of trying to win the game.

I remember playing Forest and Birmingham, in the second half of the season and Warne bigging them up as a big club, better players, bigger budget etc. No, they are 3 points ahead of us and we have two games in hand. That means they are no better than us. In fact we are better as they have an unhappy squad and disgruntled at their position. We had a decent spirit and a happy camp.

The players we had that have gone on to excel in the Champ - Ajeyi, Vaulks, Crooks, Ward, even the loans like Rodak, Iverson, Giles show that we did have some decent players. But did we use them as effectively. Maybe not always.

Several of our current squad have already proved they can play Champ football. We can sign players on 20k a week, but we'd still approach games the same.
Our best signing in the summer could well be a backroom addition to provide a positive influence on the mentality and style of play.

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

I'm all for staying in the championship after a promotion, & would like to a few additions to
the squad.
With a left back top of the list, this position over some seasons has cost us points.
Championship football & the extra money it brings into the club is good, but I wouldn't want
the club staying in the championship if they were losing money by being there.
We are a club in league one who have kept the books in a good condition, playing good
football, with home support in the region of 9,000.
The club has lost money by not having enough seating for away supporters, with a allocation
of just over 2,000 to the away clubs, which would treble in the championship against the big
sides, & derbie games.
I thought not having a larger away supporter end was the mistake, when building the stadium.
Hopefully the team will get back on track, & get automatic promotion.
Number one priority then is to try & sign Michael Smith down to a new contract.

[flourbasher]

Another factor for me was signing a 'name' striker who didn't contribute anything
At the time most of us were very pleased but if he had weighed in with just say ten goals (one in four or five games isn't particularly prolific) we would have done it
With hindsight the flaws were there as he hadn't got any English league experience worthy of note at the time

It's a gamble but hopefully we'll get that one right this time...when we go up