Matt Lowton in The Times

[mr underhill]

There's no chance Adama will be playing in the Chumps League - not on his wedge

[supertom]

Well this is all entirely obvious. It's as clear as day. And like most here, my immediate thought is that Gabby Agbonlahor is the most responsible for these divides. He's coasted for too long, strutting around like he owns the place and doing almost fuck all to warrant his enormous wage packet.
As for Lowton, he was never good enough. He was reasonable on the ball for a right back but not good enough to play midfield and he was too lightweight and positionally suspect to be a decent defender at this level. Again, another example of a player who we bought in who was way out of their depth. Perhaps had he got into the right clique he'd still be here, like Westwood.

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If you believe the papers. Even then, I don't see why his contract wouldn't have a relegation clause in it, when you consider he's come from the Spanish 3rd division, it's not like the Championship would be below him.

[Dante Lavelli]

If you believe the papers. Even then, I don't see why his contract wouldn't have a relegation clause in it, when you consider he's come from the Spanish 3rd division, it's not like the Championship would be below him.

Agree.  We do not need to sell him, so if we did, it should be for a profit.  Same goes for Amavi, Ayew and Vertout.  I think Ayew + Grealish + Adama linked together by a player like Bamford should have enough attacking verve to walk the league.  The crucial bit is whether those players, and the rest, have the appetite for slumming it in a league they probably think is beneath them. 

It'd try and secure a few loans too to supplement the numbers as there will be a lot go games.

[SoccerHQ]

The sides who do well when relegated are in general very stable. Burnley and Hull kept their managers and the majority of their players last season. We are not in a position to do so on either count and will likely start pre-season with out 4th manager in 15 months, a turnaround of at least 8 or 9 players, an owner who wants to sell up, fuck knows what in the boardroom and five years of stinking negativity and endless defeats.

At this moment we look much more likely to do a QPR than a Hull or Burnley.

Yes and those teams are really yo yo clubs so they're more accustomed to going down and it not being a huge crisis, Norwich are another club in that category so I'd back them to finish above us if they come with us.

Relegation is going to be a massive culture shock to pretty much everyone at this club. For a start the fanbase, anyone 30 or under has only known top flight football, I think you're in that category Ads.

[Dante Lavelli]

I imagine the attitude the fans will have a huge influence on the team and club as a whole.  If we think we're too good for the league then we might struggle as a cloud will be over the club.  I don't think it will be a problem away from home, the away support will have a great time, but if the home support expects 4-0 wins each week then the team will never match their expectation.

Hopefully we'll be like Man City, their relegation rejuvenated the club in the 90's with the fans stoically and humorously getting behind the team, even in the old 3rd division.

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There's only really been three big clubs relegated in the last 20 years. One created a synonym for catastrophic financial mismanagement, although still made the Play Offs first time of asking, the other have a terrible owner and were as big a circus then as they still are now and walked the league with a lumux up top who scored less than our own big lamppost did the last time he was there. We are the third.

There's nothing mystical about the Championship. It's not harder than the top flight, it's just more frenetic as all the worst elements of English football are exposed by the absence of quality found in the top flight.

If we buy the right four players up the spine of the side; aggressive leaders, hopefully avec pace, then we will do well not to go up automatically.

Dante; the side will be lucky to have the most patient set of fans going watching them. I think those at home will be happy to see us win a few games for a change; the manner of the victory and scoreline likely won't come into it.

[pauliewalnuts]

Losing is engrained too deeply into our nature, too many of our players are disgustingly unlikeable money grabbing non-producers, the entire club stinks way too much of decline.

Anyone assuming this set up is bouncing back any time soon is living in cloud cuckoo land, I'm afraid.

Even if you ignore the on-pitch shambles, look at the fucking car crash in the non-football management.

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The side that kicks off at 12:00 on August 6th won't resemble the one we are seeing at the moment though. There will be new players and even a new manager seems likely.

Nobody is advocating a spine of Gabby, Westwood, Richards and Guzan. Hopefully they'll all be gone or consigned to watching us win a game against Preston from the Trinity Road.

[Jimbo]

We've needed the right four players, aggressive leaders with pace, up the spine of the side for six years. What makes you think we're suddenly going to find them in the coming close season? Why couldn't we find them to keep us in the Premier League? What will have changed about the club between now and the summer?

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Think back to how abjectly shite the Geordies were when they lost 1-0 to us and went down. Not an ounce of fight in them, it was an abject surrender like we have seen ourselves the last few weeks. They have a berk of an owner, they were a shambles, yet walked the league. Being better than 23 shit sides shouldn't be beyond even the dullest of minds running our club.

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We've needed the right four players, aggressive leaders with pace, up the spine of the side for six years. What makes you think we're suddenly going to find them in the coming close season? Why couldn't we find them to keep us in the Premier League? What will have changed about the club between now and the summer?

The league we are operating in. The best players down there when looking at moves will want to play for us, because we are the biggest outfit down there, paying the biggest wages and with more money than perhaps everybody bar Norwich and Newcastle. That's a massive difference than trying to cling onto life in the Premier League where even no marks are spending  £18 million on midfielders.

[Jimbo]

And Wigan were an abject pile of shit when they won the FA Cup against top four opposition. Why didn't we manage that?

[Risso]

Think back to how abjectly shite the Geordies were when they lost 1-0 to us and went down. Not an ounce of fight in them, it was an abject surrender like we have seen ourselves the last few weeks. They have a berk of an owner, they were a shambles, yet walked the league. Being better than 23 shit sides shouldn't be beyond even the dullest of minds running our club.

They had Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan who absolutely steam rollered the Championship.  We don't have anybody in that class.

[mike]

Think back to how abjectly shite the Geordies were when they lost 1-0 to us and went down. Not an ounce of fight in them, it was an abject surrender like we have seen ourselves the last few weeks. They have a berk of an owner, they were a shambles, yet walked the league. Being better than 23 shit sides shouldn't be beyond even the dullest of minds running our club.

I agree, it shouldn't, but unfortunately, it probably will be.