Championship 2021-2022

Particularly as up until 1979 we had only spent 3 seasons in the top 2 divisions

 

Very good point. For half a century, after joining the Football League when the 3rd Division South was formed, promotion to the Second Division was the 'Holy Grail' for Watford.

 

I find it an easy fixture to get to, and if an evening kick off, it’s not a bad drive back to Watford unlike many. The stadium from an away fans perspective is superior to the majority in terms of ease, view and facilities.

 

It's as if GT managed to flip a switch and turn us from being a lower-division club, which we always had been up until that point, into being an upper-division club.

Of course, there's always the possibility that one day the switch might be flipped back again...

 

Maybe, but if you look back through history there are very few clubs who have made that transition, either way, once the southern clubs caught up with the original northern clubs which started the professional game. Of course there are a handful who have flashed up and down the divisions, particularly since the introduction of the play-offs, but you can broadly categorise virtually all clubs as 'belonging' in either the top two or bottom two divisions. We frequently see lower clubs - the likes of Peterborough and Doncaster - make it briefly into the Championship only to settle back into League 1 or 2 after a year or two. The change in status that GT achieved for Watford is certainly his greatest achievement.

 

I recall one club who seemed to do a Watford in the 1970s-90s (though it took them much longer to reach the top flight) after being mostly in the lower divisions, before going back down there. That club was Oldham, who had an impressive spell in the upper divisions, having some great cup runs, and pulling off possibly the greatest escape from relegation in the history of the PL. But they seem to be an anomaly.

 

The only other club who I can think of who historically were lower league and is now in the upper part (but for only a short amount of time), is Muff. In fact us and Muff are two of only 4 clubs to have spent every season of Division 3S for its whole existence (Swindon is one of the other two but I don't know the other). Muff had a brief spell in the old Division Two in the late 80s, with Luther in their team, but since 2013 they have been top half. Whether it will continue long term is another matter.

 

...and look where they are now !

 

Southend is the other one, had to wait until 1972 for their first promotion and that was from Div. 4!

https://www.fchd.info/SOUTHENU.HTM (warning - not mobile-friendly)

I imagine like with us and the other clubs you mentioned the only people who supported them back then were those who lived in and around the area, not those looking for glory or who were attracted to their fascinating history (like me with Watford).

 

Indeed, it really wouldn’t surprise me if they dropped out of the FL (clubs of a similar or bigger size like Oxford, Scum, Notts County, Bristol Rovers and Leyton Orient have done it) as they have been in decay for a long time.

 

Wow. Wouldn't they get another points penalty for that? Could be a double-whammy

 

I feel sorry for Wycombe Wanderers. This should have been sorted last year. Hopefully this whole affair spurs them to promotion.

 

They would've been hopelessly out of their depth this season had they got a reprieve (as most small clubs are after surviving the first season, and just as they were last season before the flattering finish), I imagine they're happy enough where they are, being positioned nicely in the top half of the table.

 

Doubt it. Being in the Championship is worth a few million quid more than being in League 1.

 

Pretty sure the group I work for will be the largest creditor, wonder whether they'll make a move to take over the club on the cheap.

 

Install you as new head coach to replace Rooney you reckon?

 

Is that the reason why Rooney is still the manager, because the only way he'll go is if he walks?

There was a similar situation with Bolton when Phil Parkinson was manager and had long since overstayed his welcome and was on the verge of taking them back down to League 1. Mind you even Pep likely wouldn't have been able to save that sinking ship...

 

Feel for the Derby fans, could have been us if Redhat hadnt been ousted. Hopefully after a reset they can come back.

 

It might end up ok for Derby, didn’t Villa's owners get them on the relative cheap? Burnley were bought by US investors for £200m, palace just had significant investment from some US backers… Derby may well have been a cheaper long term investment if the ability is there to get them in the PL within a few seasons. Basically they’ll be a bargain for someone.

They may well have been going down anyway with the FFP deduction so probably makes sense for them to do it now anyway.

 

Would have been us has Bas stayed, no question

 

Pretty sure Morris owns their stadium rather than the club. Think that knocks their value to an investor a fair bit.

 

Was that not just to get round FFP though? I’m pretty sure I read the ground (although technically owned separately) was included in the latest deal that collapsed. I’m pretty sure Morris wants out (and as much of the cash he’s ploughed in back) and will be happy to sell the ground alongside the club.

 

Think you might be right about the FFP angle actually. And if the holding co for the stadium has gone belly up too then he owns nothing anymore. The administrators will decide who to sell to instead.

 

L*ton 3 up after an hour. Drew 3-3

 

Glancing at the Championship results today shows how inconsistent pretty much all the teams there are, and while some people value the greater competitiveness, to me it just seems much of a muchness and makes me glad we're out of there and hope we can stay out come next May (good win for Derby though). I'm more interested in the results of the many fallen big clubs in the leagues below - Charlton are really struggling, Portsmouth lost at home to newly promoted Cambridge, Sheff Wednesday dropped more points in another winnable game and even Sunderland threw away a two goal lead at an average Fleetwood side. Just makes me glad we are where we are whatever happens in the next eight months...

 

LWL for Marco, chinks starting to show