Championship 24/25

[Norbert Rassragr]

If you don't have the football on in Coventry, it's dead. Still out, but in another pub in Coventry. At least that shows not every town and city is full of plastic Man City and Liverpool fans.

[chaddyrovers]

Isidor scores. Keeper should do better. 

Coventry scores. Rudoni

[chaddyrovers]

Ballard deserved his MOTM award. 

Rovers tried to sign him before he joined Sunderland on permanent deal

[47er]

30 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Rovers tried to sign him

Wish I'd a quid for every time I've read that!

[norwichblue]

Happy for Sunderland. It was a fantastic away performance. A proper Eustacing.

Cannot stand Coventry. Only Burnley and Preston are ahead of them in my Championship shit list. Awful supporters.

[arbitro]

Sunderland got their tactics spot on and the old fashioned 4-4-2 worked perfectly as the front two dropped deep when Coventry had the ball rather than pressing high up. Coventry really didn't have an answer and whilst they might point to possession and other stats being well in their favour it showed there are many ways to win football matches not just the possession based style which many managers and coaches obsess over.

[Cherry Blue]

33 minutes ago, norwichblue said:

Happy for Sunderland. It was a fantastic away performance. A proper Eustacing.

Cannot stand Coventry. Only Burnley and Preston are ahead of them in my Championship shit list. Awful supporters.

I'm with you on coventry. Their keeper wilson still heavy in my memory.  Awful,  unbelievable, unprofessional cheat.

[Mattyblue]

I imagine there were plenty of plastic club shirts in Cov pre Mark Robins getting it right on the pitch…

Edited Saturday at 07:35 by Mattyblue

[chaddyrovers]

4 hours ago, arbitro said:

Sunderland got their tactics spot on and the old fashioned 4-4-2 worked perfectly as the front two dropped deep when Coventry had the ball rather than pressing high up. Coventry really didn't have an answer and whilst they might point to possession and other stats being well in their favour it showed there are many ways to win football matches not just the possession based style which many managers and coaches obsess over.

very good overall game but I like the Sunderland's head coach approach to the game. 

Will be interesting what Lampard does second leg on Tuesday, I would be tempted to go 4-4-2 and play Simms and Thomas-Asante up front

[London blue]

42 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

very good overall game but I like the Sunderland's head coach approach to the game. 

Will be interesting what Lampard does second leg on Tuesday, I would be tempted to go 4-4-2 and play Simms and Thomas-Asante up front

manager*

[KentExile]

20 minutes ago, London blue said:

manager*

"Sunderland AFC is delighted to announce the appointment of Régis Le Bris as Head Coach."

Edited Saturday at 12:44 by KentExile

[London blue]

28 minutes ago, KentExile said:

"Sunderland AFC is delighted to announce the appointment of Régis Le Bris as Head Coach."

Oh I recognise that technically I'm incorrect but I just can't hear it said.

I guess I'm getting old, I'm fine with it. He's their manager.

[KentExile]

3 minutes ago, London blue said:

Oh I recognise that technically I'm incorrect but I just can't hear it said.

I guess I'm getting old, I'm fine with it. He's their manager.

"manager" & head coach" are different roles with different responsibilities,  Yes, one has essentially replaced the other in recent years, but that doesn't mean that the jobs are identical

 

[London blue]

I know the responsibilities are different and that one that is good at one isn't necessarily good at the other. 

I don't care, it's my prerogative to be obstinate.

[davulsukur]

BBD not even made the Sheff Utd squad. Shows what other clubs are up against now. 

Top 2 is a closed shop for clubs with parachute payments and now looks like the play offs are as well. 

[USABlue]

1 hour ago, davulsukur said:

BBD not even made the Sheff Utd squad. Shows what other clubs are up against now. 

Top 2 is a closed shop for clubs with parachute payments and now looks like the play offs are as well. 

Luton?

[USABlue]

Would they have hammered us 6-0 nowt.  They look good when they are firing on all cylinders.  They looked a class above at times against us.

[roversfan99]

3 hours ago, davulsukur said:

BBD not even made the Sheff Utd squad. Shows what other clubs are up against now. 

Top 2 is a closed shop for clubs with parachute payments and now looks like the play offs are as well. 

He missed the game v us with a virus so im not sure if hes fully over it but your point is a valid one in general.

Sheffield United finished on 16 points in the Premier League. Theyve come down and accumulated 92 and not even got promoted automatically because 2 other parachute payment teams both hit 100 points, before swatting aside 6th in a humiliating and uncompetitive semi final.

Youve got a horrible mix of promoted sides getting embarassingly low points tallies in predictable relegations and relegated sides being miles too good for the Championship. 

[Exiled_Rover]

4 hours ago, USABlue said:

Would they have hammered us 6-0 nowt.  They look good when they are firing on all cylinders.  They looked a class above at times against us.

No.

Bristol City are a poor side. 

[davulsukur]

9 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

He missed the game v us with a virus so im not sure if hes fully over it but your point is a valid one in general.

Sheffield United finished on 16 points in the Premier League. Theyve come down and accumulated 92 and not even got promoted automatically because 2 other parachute payment teams both hit 100 points, before swatting aside 6th in a humiliating and uncompetitive semi final.

Youve got a horrible mix of promoted sides getting embarassingly low points tallies in predictable relegations and relegated sides being miles too good for the Championship. 

I thought I read that he was available for selection for last nights game but having brushed aside Bristol City in the first leg, they had the luxury of resting him again. Nice for some, to be able to rest a £10m player.

Good summary that.

Birmingham sound like they are going to be chucking some good money around this summer, Wrexham maybe also? Sunderland will likely spend a reasonable amount, albeit not to the level of the parachute payment teams.

We're in with the rest, this group of 15 or so clubs that can finish anywhere from 7th - 24th. Bristol City won the tallest dwarf competition this year but could easily find themselves 18th next season. One of us could "do a Luton" but the chances are getting less and less. This group will start getting smaller over the next few years as other clubs start to circumnavigate the rules and investing more and more into their squads, coupled with teams with parachute payments not getting back up at the first time of asking.

As always, in the medium to longer term under this ownership, we'll be in trouble and a few clubs like us will drop down to league 1, where the cycle will start again.

[DE.]

Assuming Sunderland progress they've been solid this season, despite putting their feet up at the proverbial beach about a month before the season ended. Won't matter if they can flick the switch and start playing well again though - aside from the fans who wasted their time and money going to watch those pre-playoff matches, obviously. Still, I'd expect them to give Sheff Utd a game in the final. 

Bristol City and Coventry were always going to be rank outsiders simply based on how low their points totals were. Sheff Utd and Sunderland can, at the very least, both legitimately claim they were better than the majority of the division over the course of a season. The other two were very marginally the best of the rest. If either somehow snuck up through the playoffs they would, much like in a hypothetical scenario where we go up under Venky ownership, be absolutely annihilated in the PL. If clubs weren't so desperately in need of the coin that the PL provides, staying in the Championship wouldn't be so bad. From a fan perspective at least, it's no fun getting completely wrecked every week. The Ipswich fans around me have been utterly miserable this season, arguing amongst each other as they see the team get battered repeatedly and paying a lot for the privilege. 

[rog of the rovers]

24 - 4th - Southampton

23 - 3rd - Luton

22 - 4th - Nottingham Forest

21 - 3rd - Brentford

20 - 4th - Fulham

19 - 5th - Aston Villa

18 - 3rd - Fulham

17 - 5th - Huddersfield Town

16 - 4th - Hull City

15 - 3rd - Norwich City

14 - 4th - Queens Park Rangers

13 - 5th - Crystal Palace

12 - 3rd - West Ham United

11 - 3rd - Swansea City

10 - 6th - Blackpool

09 - 5th - Burnley

08 - 3rd - Hull City

07 - 3rd - Derby County

06 - 3rd - Watford

05 - 6th - West Ham United

04 - 6th - Crystal Palace

03 - 5th - Wolverhampton Wanderers

02 - 5th - Birmingham City

01 - 3rd - Bolton Wanderers

00 - 3rd - Ipswich Town

99 - 5th - Watford

98 - 4th - Charlton Athletic

97 - 6th - Crystal Palace

96 - 5th - Leicester City

95 - 3rd - Bolton Wanderers

The last 30 years of Championship (Division One) Play Off Finals

3rd - 40%

4th - 20%

5th - 27%

6th - 13%

 

The common misconception of sneak into 6th and then go up in the Playoffs, hasn't happened since Blackpool in 2010!

 

 

[simongarnerisgod]

sunderland extremely negative  tonight and lucky not to be behind,on this evidence sheff utd will be comfy winners against either of these two

[roverandout]

Behind now

[davulsukur]

Haji Wright is all kinds of awful, or at least he has been tonight