2014-15 Championship- Go ahead and lump your other crappy leagues in here too I guess

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Jun 3, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
Three season ago we had 45 replies to this thread. Two seasons ago we had 67. We were at 105 last season. Let's keep this trending up.

The Championship is the European league with the 4th highest attendance- they drew 9.1 million fans last season. Still no respect. Cardiff, Fulham, and Norwich (Welcome back SJH!) suffer the fall from grace (parachute payments included) and rejoin the unwashed masses in the second tier of British football. Rotherham United (Rovrum to the locals) won a dramatic playoff final in Wembley this weekend to join Wolves and Brentford (back after 21 years) moving up the League.

To start, here's an interesting read (complete with delightful Vincent Tan photo) on how FFP may apply to teams in the Championship- essentially trying to prevent clubs from sustaining huge losses in an attempt to reach promotion.

:smith:

Norwich insist they're not in financial difficulties and don't have to sell, but already Arsenal's been kicking the tires on John Ruddy and there's supposedly an offer of £6 million for him, but it's unclear if the Canaries will accept it.

We also appointed Neil Adams fulltime manager after he relieved Chris Hughton with 5 games left last season. Uninspiring choice, to say the least, but maybe he'll surprise us. Gary Holt left his position as the manager at Falkirk to become Adams' coach with us.

fletcherpost · Jun 3, 2014

I will always have a soft spot for Norwich, cos i love Delia, and Stpehen Fry was the icing on the cake. I think they were unlucky last year, they haad enough talent to stay up but just not enough goals. I would think if they can get decent service to Hooper he will get goals. Dunno about the dutch guy...what a bust that was.

My favourite team in this league is Wigan. I just love Dave Whelan, he gets it, he's a proper football man. I think they have a good chance of promotion this year. But like very year it's gonna be competetive.

I'm with Dummy Hoy here, let's push this (thread) forward.

DLew On Roids · Jun 3, 2014

It's always good fun following the Championship:

1. The best teams change every year, so it's never boring.
2. There's a wider variety of styles.
3. There's almost no prawn-eaters in the stands.
4. Big, goofy English players, who used to be all over the First Division 25 years ago, still abound. If the Championship were the best league in the world, Andy Carroll would be its Ronaldo.
5. Permanent signs around the pitch for companies that sell things like steel and tractors. I really want a tiny I-beam of Rainham Steel.

dirtynine · Jun 3, 2014

Post-Poyet, Brighton had signed manager Oscar Garcia out of Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv. He lasted this past year and resigned. Now he's back in his old job with Maccabi. Weird.

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Jun 6, 2014

Norwich have signed Lewis Grabban away from Bournemouth. He's 26, and had 22 goals in the Championship last year, and we need goalscoring in the worst way, so this strikes me as a good move for the Canaries. He signed a 3 year deal.

DLew On Roids · Jun 6, 2014

Does this spell the end for Ricky van Wolfswinkel at Norwich?

Maybe you could spend 5 minutes cutting a highlight reel for YouTube. I bet it'd be at least as entertaining as the Aly Cissokho version.

dirtynine · Jun 6, 2014

And the new Brighton manager is... Sami Hyypia! I can dig it.

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Jun 6, 2014

DLew On Roids said:
Does this spell the end for Ricky van Wolfswinkel at Norwich?

Maybe you could spend 5 minutes cutting a highlight reel for YouTube. I bet it'd be at least as entertaining as the Aly Cissokho version.

I would think they'd move Ricky if they could find a taker, but there's little demand for a guy who scored one goal all of last season. His highlight reel wouldn't be lengthy.

DLew On Roids · Jun 6, 2014

AU CONTRAIRE.

Aly Cissokho | Fever for the Flava | 13/14 Season Highlights from Phantom Goal on Vimeo.
.

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Jun 30, 2014

Robert Snodgrass has moved to Hull City from Norwich for an "undisclosed" fee, likely £6-8 million. There were rumors that Celtic was interested in his services as well, but apparently he wanted to play in the Premier League so agreed to this move. Considering he was pretty much our best player last season, this one stings.

Jimy Hendrix · Jul 2, 2014

Almost started a new thread for this, but saw that there's a "crappy leagues" thread so figured I'd post this here. Mods, feel free to move it out if the USL Pro is too crappy even for this thread.

So, I am one of these "every four years" fans I keep hearing about, and I'd like to stay more involved in the game between now and 2018. I know the thing to do mostly is watch good soccer, pick a Euro team to follow, actually pay attention to the US team in non-World Cup years, etc.

That said, I am also intrigued by the idea of just picking up a cheap ticket to the nice little local stadium near the river and taking in a game or two. However, that nice little local stadium happens to host a USL Pro team, and not even a good one (Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who seem to be at the bottom of the standings this year).

So my question to those who know the sport better: Is it fun to go out for an afternoon or evening and watch not-good soccer? I get that it's basically the single-A of triple-A here, but is it pleasant in the same way that minor league baseball games are, or at that level of play is it kind of a slog to watch?

Titans Bastard · Jul 2, 2014

Jimy Hendrix said:
Almost started a new thread for this, but saw that there's a "crappy leagues" thread so figured I'd post this here. Mods, feel free to move it out if the USL Pro is too crappy even for this thread.

So, I am one of these "every four years" fans I keep hearing about, and I'd like to stay more involved in the game between now and 2018. I know the thing to do mostly is watch good soccer, pick a Euro team to follow, actually pay attention to the US team in non-World Cup years, etc.

That said, I am also intrigued by the idea of just picking up a cheap ticket to the nice little local stadium near the river and taking in a game or two. However, that nice little local stadium happens to host a USL Pro team, and not even a good one (Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who seem to be at the bottom of the standings this year).

So my question to those who know the sport better: Is it fun to go out for an afternoon or evening and watch not-good soccer? I get that it's basically the single-A of triple-A here, but is it pleasant in the same way that minor league baseball games are, or at that level of play is it kind of a slog to watch?

I've never been to a USL Pro game; the nearest clubs to Boston are in Rochester and Harrisburg. There used to be a team in Ludlow, MA but they dropped down to the USL's amateur league.

The level of play is low. Whether it's fun or not will depend on how much you enjoy the atmosphere and catching an actual game of live soccer. That Pittsburgh has its own stadium and doesn't play in a HS stadium may help. Only way to find out is just to go and see how it is. They are hosting LA Galaxy II (a full USL Pro franchise that's LA's reserve time, the first of its kind in the US) in August - might be a good time to check it out as "Los Dos" have some young and interesting prospects on their team.

One thing to keep in mind with USL Pro is the new affiliate agreement with MLS. Starting next year, all MLS teams will be required to affiliate with a USL Pro team or field their own reserve team franchise in the league. Pittsburgh has already affiliated with Houston, although nobody particularly exciting is in town from the Dynamo. Maybe that will change next year, who knows.

soxfan121 · Jul 10, 2014

Blackpool doesn't even have enough players under contract to field a team.

Stanley Steamer · Jul 15, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
Sucks.

Ah well, at least you're not Stanley's Steamer rooting for L**ds. Just a brutal fall for that club and its enormous fan base.

I'll accept your apology when we're back in the top flight within 22 months. We were just waiting for the 'right' madman, and I suspect we may have found him.

cjdmadcow · Jul 15, 2014

Say what you want about Leeds Utd's new owner Massimo Cellino, but he's one hell of a tough negotiator if he got 11M Pounds from Norwich for Ross McCormack. I can imagine him sitting across the table from Delia, wearing a pair of very dark glasses and basically putting the frighteners on her.

Stanley Steamer · Jul 15, 2014

cjdmadcow said:
Say what you want about Leeds Utd's new owner Massimo Cellino, but he's one hell of a tough negotiator if he got 11M Pounds from Norwich for Ross McCormack. I can imagine him sitting across the table from Delia, wearing a pair of very dark glasses and basically putting the frighteners on her.

Yeah, it's sad to see him go, as he was our best player last year, but £11M is a ton of money in the Championship. He wants to buy back Elland Road, which makes total sense if Leeds are truly to compete in the future.
But I think it was Fulham, not Norwich, so if he frightened Delia, they did it on their own time.

cjdmadcow · Jul 16, 2014

Stanley Steamer said:
Yeah, it's sad to see him go, as he was our best player last year, but £11M is a ton of money in the Championship. He wants to buy back Elland Road, which makes total sense if Leeds are truly to compete in the future.
But I think it was Fulham, not Norwich, so if he frightened Delia, they did it on their own time.

My long, slow journey into old-age is beginning to take hold. Of course it was Fulham and not Norwich, which completely ruins my expectations of how the negotiations went, though I do like the idea of Cellino becoming the Godfather of the Championship and holding court over the other owners.

Stanley Steamer · Jul 16, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
I'll believe in the Leeds awesomeness when they aren't being told to bring their own bagged lunches to training and playing a preseason schedule that has them beating teams 16-0 and playing themselves.

All joking and distaste aside, Leeds are a big club with a huge fanbase (largest city with just a single team I believe) and a proper stadium. I'd love to see them in the top division again- as long as Wednesday is there too. I hate Leeds but respect them somehow...can't say the same for the red half of Sheffield.

Ok, I'll root for mutual promotion. You kind of have to like a team with a day of the week in it's name. The BPL needs more Yorkshire. Hull just isn't enough.

DLew On Roids · Aug 4, 2014

When Blackburn was spiraling down post-Venky's takeover, they hired and fired Steve Kean pretty quickly. The Guardian found him managing in Brunei. Pretty cool read.

Phil Plantier · Aug 7, 2014

Lower leagues (in England) start tomorrow. In the Vanarama (new sponsor!) Conference, Forest Green Rovers, with our millionaire wind-power tycoon, vegan concession stands, and robot-mowed organic field/pitch, are one of the favorites for promotion (sure to be the kiss of death) along with Grimsby and newly-promoted Eastleigh, while new members from League 2 should have diverging fortunes: Bristol Rovers may pop straight back up, but Macclesfield may have a long season.

~~Huddersfield~~ Hereford and Salisbury were expelled for financial shenanigans, so only two teams ended up relegated last year, sparing Chester and Dartford from the Conference North and South.

DLew On Roids · Aug 7, 2014

I think you're thinking of former League members Hereford United instead of Huddersfield, which will be its usual mediocre self this season.

Titans Bastard · Aug 7, 2014

Phil Plantier said:
Lower leagues (in England) start tomorrow. In the Vanarama (new sponsor!) Conference, Forest Green Rovers, with our millionaire wind-power tycoon, vegan concession stands, and robot-mowed organic field/pitch, are one of the favorites for promotion (sure to be the kiss of death) along with Grimsby and newly-promoted Eastleigh, while new members from League 2 should have diverging fortunes: Bristol Rovers may pop straight back up, but Macclesfield may have a long season.

FGR must represent one of the smallest towns in the Conference, no? Are they officially becoming the new Rushden & Diamonds? Credit to FGR to reach the Conference and last for so long on their own, but a sugar daddy situation is bound to end in tears; there's no way they'll ever have revenue streams to support themselves at a higher level.

Phil Plantier · Aug 7, 2014

Crap, I always get the two confused.

Phil Plantier · Aug 7, 2014

Well, they've had a sugar daddy for a while, it's just that the last one was a tax exile with a hair-trigger temper, and when he had to sell, this one came along and saved the team from the liquidation/re-formation that would have occurred.

It's true that Forest Green is not self-sustaining, but I don't think that many teams at the conference level are (Wrexham being the one exception). There's talk of building a new stadium closer to a large population area, but I'm not sure how much that will dilute the appeal of "the friendly little club on the hill" - although, having signed a guy convicted of vehicular manslaughter and another one who insulted a 14-year old on Twitter, that appellation might be departing anyway.

Titans Bastard · Aug 7, 2014

Phil Plantier said:
Well, they've had a sugar daddy for a while, it's just that the last one was a tax exile with a hair-trigger temper, and when he had to sell, this one came along and saved the team from the liquidation/re-formation that would have occurred.

It's true that Forest Green is not self-sustaining, but I don't think that many teams at the conference level are (Wrexham being the one exception). There's talk of building a new stadium closer to a large population area, but I'm not sure how much that will dilute the appeal of "the friendly little club on the hill" - although, having signed a guy convicted of vehicular manslaughter and another one who insulted a 14-year old on Twitter, that appellation might be departing anyway.

I've got an idea - how about renaming the club Stroud F.C.?

Phil Plantier · Aug 7, 2014

At the risk of Roethlisbergering the joke, this from the FGR website:

In 1982, Rovers achieved fame at Wembley winning the FA Vase 3-1 and at the same time winning the Hellenic League and moving into the Southern League Midland Division.

High hopes over the forthcoming years dwindled into thoughts of what might have been and Rovers struggled throughout the 80s near the foot of the table. In a bid to turn the Club’s fortunes around Rovers were renamed Stroud FC but this proved near disastrous with many life long fans and committee members turning their back on “Stroud FC”.

The arrival of Trevor Horsley in 1992 saw the Club name changed back to Forest Green Rovers and the rest, as they say, is history.

Investor 11 · Aug 9, 2014

Excluding torrent streams, is there some way I'm missing in which I'd be able to watch or listen to games live, specifically Derby County.

Fake edit: Fuck Bobby Zamora for making my like so difficult.

Phil Plantier · Aug 9, 2014

Just to follow up on financial stability in the Conference, this is (paraphrased) the owner of Forest Green during a fan's forum on Thursday night, answering a question about whether the team can break even:

Break even is League 2. Crowds of two to three thou, plus the money from the League, sponsorship etc.

Right now, the team gets attendances around 1,000 and very little money from the league, so you can imagine the deficit they (and other big teams) run in the Conference.

thehitcat · Aug 9, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
Championship kicked off with a 1-1 draw last night between Cardiff and Blackburn. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has publicly showed a healthy respect for the grind of the league, said he was pleased with the point on the road, but I wasn't that impressed with Blackburn last season despite their points total. I don't see any of the relegated teams tearing through the league. As always it will be a 46 game mess.

Most interesting game today (aside from Wednesday at Brighton obviously) is Wigan/Reading in a clash between two squads with legit promotion aspirations.

Reading is a bit miscast here I think (though I'm ever hopeful) because they just this week got their ownership sorted out after Anton Zingarevich left them high and dry last year (new Thai Consortium is either getting approved or has been approved by the league.) So until 2 days ago they hadn't been able to bring in any players in almost a full calendar year and have faced a nearly ridiculous injury crisis.

All that said while I would have been thrilled taking a point at Wigan going into the game, the Rrrrs dominated and were extremely unlucky on both the first goal (nice strike against the run of play) and on the 93rd minute equalizer(longball, flick and finish.) So happy with the away point but it was so nearly so much more.

Going to be interesting to see if the club buys big in the next three weeks or if they look to stabilize through the first half while some of their players (4 of the 5 projected starters in MF for example including USMNT Danny Williams) get healthy and look to January.

Reading is in a fairly unique space as the biggest (and basically only pro club) in Berkshire they have the local room to grow while still being close to London. That fact alone (along with a fairly new stadium and a strong academy) have drawn looks in the past from investors. I know nothing about the new owners but think that the Royals would be a strong play if they could get out of the Championship morass and back into the Premiership.

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Aug 9, 2014

Norwich start at Wolves tomorrow. They sold Ricky Van Wolfswinkle to St. Etienne for a reported £7.25 million, so that whole saga seems to be over. What a massive disappointment he turned out to be.

americantrotter · Aug 9, 2014

Bolton were thrashed 3-0 at Watford. Another slow start for the trotters.

URI · Aug 9, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
2600+ Wednesday fans filled the visitors stand- fairly impressive given that it is a 10 hour trip from Sheffield.

It's like 3:45 hours from Sheffield to Brighton. It's almost 10 hours from Inverness to Brighton.

thehitcat · Aug 9, 2014

URI said:
It's like 3:45 hours from Sheffield to Brighton. It's almost 10 hours from Inverness to Brighton.

First 7 hours are finding a safe way out of Sheffield...

dirtynine · Aug 10, 2014

Dummy Hoy said:
Wednesday with a solid start to the year, winning their first ever game at the AMEX 1-0.

Great goal by Giles Coke at 41' put the Owls ahead and Brighton couldn't overcome a straight red early in the second half that had them playing with 10 for the last 40+.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxjBYGcv4UI

2600+ Wednesday fans filled the visitors stand- fairly impressive given that it is a 10 hour trip from Sheffield.

Well done & impressive away support. Not the start BHAFC were looking for, but it's a long grind.

SoxFanInCali · Aug 10, 2014

Huddersfield Town fired Manager Mark Robins after one game.

cjdmadcow · Aug 10, 2014

SoxFanInCali said:
Huddersfield Town fired Manager Mark Robins after one game.

I saw the goals from this game on the BBC's highlights programme this morning and Huddersfield were dreadful, which Robins admitted to, but to quote the club statement "Mark and the directors all agreed it would be in the interests of all parties to part company."

After 1 game. Madness

DLew On Roids · Aug 10, 2014

URI said:
It's like 3:45 hours from Sheffield to Brighton. It's almost 10 hours from Inverness to Brighton.

I suspect the bone-chilling phrase (to UK dwellers, anyway) "rail replacement bus" may have come into play.

Also, supporters love to mention the round-trip time to make themselves look more hard-core. The rail trip to Brighton is about 4:20; a bit of exaggeration on the one way and you get your 10.

Phil Plantier · Aug 16, 2014

By the way, for anyone following the conference premier or north/south, the league publishes an informative newsletter/preview every Thursday. It's called Premier Scene and it's available on their website: http://www.footballconference.co.uk/

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Aug 16, 2014

Norwich 3-0 over Watford today to get back on the winning track after going down 0-1 to Wolves last week. 3 goals is a veritable onslaught for us lately.

2014-15 Championship- Go ahead and lump your other crappy leagues in here too I guess

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