Promotion???

[secondalibi]

I must be living in a different world to everyone else, because I really don't understand why everyone seems to desperate for us to get promoted back to the Championship this season, when we are clearly not equipped to cope in that division. In fact it is clear to me that we are at the moment, just an average League 1 side. IF, and i say a big IF, we somehow managed to squeeze into the play-offs this season, what would the point be in going up? Have you people not seen what has happened to Derby in the Premiership this season??? becuase that is what would happen to us in the Championship next season. It would be the same thing as last season, if not worse. We simply do not have enough money to buy the players that are needed to cope with life in the Championship. What we need this season is consolidation and I think that we will finish about mid-table. The only time in the near future when we will be ready for the Championship is when (and IF!) the new stadium get built. That though could be someway off. I would be thinking totally differently if were top of League 1 now with a 10 point lead and running away with it, but we are not. We have been pretty poor all season, yet we are still only 4 points off the play-offs, which just tells you how poor this league actually is. Don't get me wrong I want the team to succeed, but we seem to have fans who are never happy. We were spolit with two consecutive promotions, but it just had to slow down. Sadly, we were totally out of our depth last season, purely because we went up too soon and we just weren't ready. Time to be realistic folks, these things take time. Please be patient.

- G

 

[Grayson]

Said something very similar a few days ago. Totally agree.

 

[Beefy]

We were totally out of our depth last season. We probably would be next season. But I'd love for us to be in Derby's position right now.

We shouldn't expect to go up as we're clearly not one of the biggest clubs at this division but if we don't aspire for success in both the short term and the short term then what's the point of it all? We may as well all give up and start doing something more productive with our time.

 

[secondalibi]

We were totally out of our depth last season. We probably would be next season. But I'd love for us to be in Derby's position right now.

We shouldn't expect to go up as we're clearly not one of the biggest clubs at this division but if we don't aspire for success in both the short term and the short term then what's the point of it all? We may as well all give up and start doing something more productive with our time.

Don't get me wrong, I still have high hopes that we can move on and succeed in the future and fully believe that we will, it just might take longer than some people are willing to wait. The new stadium would be a massive step forward. 10 years ago I would have laughed if anyone had said that Wigan would be in the Premiership, it is proof that it can be done and that is the sort of dream that we can try and look forward to, however distant it might seem.

- G

 

[Bluesmanager]

Forget Wigan, 5 years back I'd've blooming well ripped your arm off if you told me we'd have been to 2 cup finals and in the Championship for a year. People need to get off the high horse and realise we aren't going to win the league (hell, the way we're going at the minute I'll settle for 10th), so there's no point in moaning.

 

[Tilly hates yellow boots]

Aim for the top or be content with middle table.....i would perfer to aim high....even if it is for another season in the championship then relegation.

 

[Beefy]

Don't get me wrong, I still have high hopes that we can move on and succeed in the future and fully believe that we will, it just might take longer than some people are willing to wait. The new stadium would be a massive step forward. 10 years ago I would have laughed if anyone had said that Wigan would be in the Premiership, it is proof that it can be done and that is the sort of dream that we can try and look forward to, however distant it might seem.

- G

I think the long term plan is more along the lines of Reading, ie get the new stadium, grow the fanbase steadily over a number of years and then get to the level of success that you'd want without having to break the bank in one go. But that doesn't mean that we should turn our noses up at Promotion. The long term plan may never come to reality and history shows us that we've only ever spent seven out of more than 100 years in the second tier of English football. I'd love there to be an 8th next year. Maybe it isn't the rational thing to want but since when has being a football supporter been rational?

 

[Richard_Cadette]

We were hardly embarrassed last season, and lookig at the three clubs who got promoted last season from this league, Bristol Crity are joint 2nd, Blackpool are on a decent run and approaching mid table and Scunthorpe are in a similar position to us, but with everything to play for - How could you say they are better prepared for the Championship than we were, or are now?

I just do not understand this attitrude of not wanting to achieve the highest possible position, it's so backwards it's not true!

If we got promoted this season, with as you say a squad you don't feel is good enough to stay in the Championship, who is to say that 4, 5 or 6 players brought in during the summer would not alter that and make a mid table side? You cannot possibly say that if we got promotied this season we would come straight back down, because unless you have the kind of foresight which is able to predict what the Lottery Numbers are tomorrow, you simply have no idea what players would be in our squad for next season.

We are again looking at spending £250,000 on a player - that is a massive amount of money for this level, and more than some teams are spending in the Championship. We averaged 10,000 last season, and no, whilst no one on here is deluded enough to think that makes us a big club, or a gimme to get to the Premiership, it is entirely possible for a club with that kind of average gate, and with our kind of resources, to survive in the Championship - others are proving this, just like we did for 6 years not so long ago.

If you are happy watching the dross that is League One week in, week out, then good luck to you sir, but personally, I want my team to strive for better than that, and I would swap what we are watching right now, for a chance to avoid relegation from the Championship every day of the week.

 

[Beefy]

So we DO agree on something :)

 

[Grayson]

It's the expectation that we should get promoted that annoys me. Everybody strives to come top of the league at the campaign's start, or at least should do, but for some reason a lot of our fans appear to expect us to be going up most of the time.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

So we DO agree on something :)

Now we've got that out of the way, we can go back to normal now! :)

 

[Reg Martin]

I think the long term plan is more along the lines of Reading

Although Reading have benefited from a wealthy financial backer, they are historically a club of very similar size to ours. In fact between 1962 and 1999 they didn't average over 10,000 but gates have since climbed steadily and this is 3rd season running they've averaged more than 20,000.

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm

So it can be done though I do wonder whether there is similar sort of potential untapped support around for Southend

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

If you are happy watching the dross that is League One week in, week out, then good luck to you sir, but personally, I want my team to strive for better than that, and I would swap what we are watching right now, for a chance to avoid relegation from the Championship every day of the week.

Was the football in the championship really that much better? It wasn't as if we got passed off the pitch, we got muscled out of it, particularly at set pieces, more than played-off it. There were glimpses of quality, but these were occasional rather than typifying the standard of play.

 

[Beefy]

Although Reading have benefited from a wealthy financial backer, they are historically a club of very similar size to ours. In fact between 1962 and 1999 they didn't average over 10,000 but gates have since climbed steadily and this is 3rd season running they've averaged more than 20,000.

http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm

So it can be done though I do wonder whether there is similar sort of potential untapped support around for Southend

Madjedski(sp?) is wealthy but how much has he dipped into his own pocket in terms of building the team? I genuinely don't know, but I was always under the impression that he was very reluctant to fulfill the wealthy benefactor role. He built the stadium which ultimately is what got them to where they are now.

Dave Whelan at Wigan has thrown a lot of money at the team to get them where they are today despite having low crowds even when they were being successful.

Ron Martin has a lot less money than either but like Majedski he's contributing the stadium (in order for his company to make money from the redvelopment of both Roots Hall and Fossetts Farm but he's a businessman and I have no qualms with that) and ultimately it's the stadium that will bring in the extra capacity to grow and the extra revenue streams that the Club needs.

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

I see your point, but dont think it would be as clear cut as us being like Derby now, because it is different. The money that needs to be spent to survive in the prem is different to the championship, plus we have the experience in the nucleus of our squad now, which did ok 2nd half of the season. So a few astute signings and we could be ok. However I dont think staying in league 1 for a season would not be a bad thing

 

[sufcintheprem]

I just do not understand this attitrude of not wanting to achieve the highest possible position, it's so backwards it's not true!

I agree that we should always try and achieve our best but the thought of, say 8 of the current eleven turning out every week playing as their typical performance this season would suggest fills me with horror.

I'm not the sort of fan that will get too down about our performance when we're still pretty much the best I've seen Southend. Watching us under Wignall was the only time where it genuinely seemed we were inr eal trouble. As a result, I don't expect too much from the team.

Still, though, I think we have to try and win as many games as possible. I suppose the problem these days is when you put yourself in such a precarious position to try and achieve that.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

Was the football in the championship really that much better? It wasn't as if we got passed off the pitch, we got muscled out of it, particularly at set pieces, more than played-off it. There were glimpses of quality, but these were occasional rather than typifying the standard of play.

Yes, the standard of football was much higher at that level than it was in League One, no question about it.

It was physical, no denying that, but play in the Premiership, and you will find it even more physical, that is part and parcel of football in the modern era, it is played by athletes, not just footballers relying on their skill.

But it doesn't really matter anyway does it? Surely you want to see your team competing at the highest level possible? It wasn't just about the quality of the football on show, it was the whole experience, looking forward to driving to much more glamourous clubs than the like of Hartlepool United away on a Tuesday night in January - pitting your wits against some of the biggest names and teams in the country, and on occasion, making them look rather silly.

Yes, it was tough, much tougher than League One, but that's the point isn't it?

I'm sorry, but as I said, playing for survival in the Championship is a much more desirable prospect than competing for mid table obscurity in League One as we are right now, and I would suggest anyone who thinks differently has a remarkable lack of ambition!

 

[Richard_Cadette]

I agree that we should always try and achieve our best but the thought of, say 8 of the current eleven turning out every week playing as their typical performance this season would suggest fills me with horror.

I'm not the sort of fan that will get too down about our performance when we're still pretty much the best I've seen Southend. Watching us under Wignall was the only time where it genuinely seemed we were inr eal trouble. As a result, I don't expect too much from the team.

Still, though, I think we have to try and win as many games as possible. I suppose the problem these days is when you put yourself in such a precarious position to try and achieve that.

But that was kind of my point though - if we got promoted this season, who is to say that 8 of the current crop of players in our team would figure next season? None of us know what would happen in the summer with regard to transfers, and I know for certain, I would much rather be sitting there in July wondering what players Tilly is going to invest in to try and help us compete in the Championship than wondering is it going to be another dissapointing season in League One.

 

[returningshrimper]

I think a lot of our fans come out with the same old cliches that you see on most other lower league teams boards..i.e new ground will mean we can push on etc etc yawn

We are a small club, and have to realise that only with the intervention of a "Whelan or similar" are we to establish ourselves at a higher level than we find ourselves at the moment. A new ground does not work miracles on a team, and I for one would much rather wee a 3/4 filled Roots Hall than a 1/2 full Fossetts Farm, based on some of the half empty new stadias I have visited this year, which although are modern, are absolutely soul-less.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

I think a lot of our fans come out with the same old cliches that you see on most other lower league teams boards..i.e new ground will mean we can push on etc etc yawn

We are a small club, and have to realise that only with the intervention of a "Whelan or similar" are we to establish ourselves at a higher level than we find ourselves at the moment. A new ground does not work miracles on a team, and I for one would much rather wee a 3/4 filled Roots Hall than a 1/2 full Fossetts Farm, based on some of the half empty new stadias I have visited this year, which although are modern, are absolutely soul-less.

How do you define small club then?

Is a club that can average over 10,000 during a season, and is averaging around the 8,000 mark now whilst being mid table in League One a small club?

Personally, I don't think it is, I think it shows that we are a club which is growing at a rapid rate of knots, and has that famous word 'potential'.

It seems to me that we are suffering from a self fulfilling prophecy, if we keep thinking we are a small club, then we won't amount to anything other than that.

I think we as a club, including the fans, need to lose the chip on our shoulder and start aiming for something which we have been starved of for years, and that is success on a consistent basis.