Reasons to be hopeful?

[TiagoIlori]

Surprised no one mentioned it, but Bowen coming back means the club isn’t being run by just an accountant anymore.

[tmesis]

The most optimistic thing, for me, is that the club seems to have realised its entire set-up was shambolic, and is looking to put a proper structure in place.

Unfortunately it might have come too late, because even if clubs are getting points deductions next year, they probably won't have had their squads weakened any near as much as ours - and recruitment is still going to be very difficult.

[Lower West]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season.

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

[Franchise FC]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season.

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

[leon]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season.

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

Yes but I believe the point he is making is that the gulf is so much wider now

[Nameless]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season.

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

You could go right back to the formation of the Football League. Northern clubs were paying players to come and join them, southern clubs were resolutely amateur. The North formed their own league which allowed professionals, leaving the southern clubs out in the cold with their amateur philosophy....

[YorkshireRoyal99]

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

You could go right back to the formation of the Football League. Northern clubs were paying players to come and join them, southern clubs were resolutely amateur. The North formed their own league which allowed professionals, leaving the southern clubs out in the cold with their amateur philosophy....

Not sure who has seen the programme on Netflix around the FA Cup between the Old Etonians and Darwen, but come the end of the programme there is a Darwen player looking to be snapped up by Blackburn's wealthy owner at the end of it, being paid more to play elsewhere etc. So it's been apparent all the way back when.

Obviously though, the gap between the PL and the Championship does seem to be getting wider.

[John Smith]

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

Yes but I believe the point he is making is that the gulf is so much wider now

I'm glad you knew what he was on about!

If Barnsley can finish in the playoffs one year after being promoted then I think it's fair to say nearly anything can happen. As I say, it's all in the recruitment over the summer.

[paultheroyal]

End of the day its about 18 players, playing to full potential, gelling as a team and then getting off to a good start. We have got some great players, some mediocre are going or gone and very excitingly a lot of new is coming in. I hope we are looking at hot talent from League One rather than someone being released by Luton Town as not good enough etc etc. Could be in for a very exciting pre-season and with low expectations, could be an exciting season. Already looking forward to it. URZ.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

End of the day its about 18 players, playing to full potential, gelling as a team and then getting off to a good start. We have got some great players, some mediocre are going or gone and very excitingly a lot of new is coming in. I hope we are looking at hot talent from League One rather than someone being released by Luton Town as not good enough etc etc. Could be in for a very exciting pre-season and with low expectations, could be an exciting season. Already looking forward to it. URZ.

Some of the released players do not seem too bad this summer from Championship clubs. With a lot of clubs under financial pressure, many decent players will be seemingly be released just to ease the pressure and wage bill on certain clubs who need to do so. Just look at Hoilett from Cardiff, for example, perfectly decent Championship player with experience released by a club to help reduce their wage bill.

Agree with the point in principle though, you don't want all of your signings to be players who are on a downward trajectory, you want up and coming players who have a stock that's rising, not falling.

[Snowflake Royal]

Start of a new season is always about putting the last one behind you and seeing what a new day will bring.

Who will we sign?
Who will step up from the Academy?
Who will build on last season?
Can we get that all important morale boosting good start and points in the bank?

These in particular are always exciting, and there are few seasons where at least one of them isn’t fulfilled.

More current questions
Is it going to be different this time?
Do we finally have a manager who can stick around and build some momentum?
Have we finally got to the bottom of the financial mess we're in and coming out the other side?
Will we attract a decent new owner?

I hope reality doesn't bite too early and as many of these have good answers as possible.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

I am hopeful to see our first team play together for more than a handful of games.
Keep the players fit - get to choose from the same 18 players every week, is what I hope for.

[paultheroyal]

Really hope Azeez stays, get that contract sorted and he stays fit. He has some talent and excites me for the future.

[JedMaxwell]

I think we can be somewhat hopeful for next year.

1. We're on the way out of the FFP situation and hopefully the scrutiny from the EFL will ensure the club sticks to the plan so we get a fresh start
2. It looks like the club hierarchy are trying to put a structure in place that will help identify and sign the right kind of player
3. Although I think the jury is still out on the manager, he instilled some fight in us when it mattered to keep us up

Lastly, as suggested by others in this thread previously, football is unpredictable and there's often a surprise package in the Championship. That may well not be us but that's the hope you cling to as a football fan, and what makes this the best sport in the world.

Look at the two sides that played last weekend - what were our expectations pre-season back then?

I'll be there supporting the team no matter what. Makes the good times all the sweeter.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season. Granted that the relegated sides have strong squads and parachute payments but I think its widely accepted Burnley won't have a lot to spend and will lose a lot of players. No one would have predicted Luton to finish so high, or even Huddersfield.

I think with 3 or 4 shrewd, quality signings we will be onto good things.

Agree with this, past few seasons have been dire, points deduction been and gone only way is up from here

[South Coast Royal]

I think you can see from most of the posts made that, as ever, football fans live in hope every pre-season.
It's all very well having new structures but the key will be whether that all leads to good signings.

Even if Paul Ince isn't that au fait with what players are out there (based solely on his comment on Liam Moore that he had been told that he is a good player) I expect his son knows quite a few (he has certainly been around in his career) therefore the signing of Tom might turn out to be more useful than having his dad as manager.

[The Royal Forester]

Reasons to be hopeful? Mine is because Paul Ince is our manager. No, not that I think he will get us promoted, but because he indicated that the club had to change behind the scenes before he accepted the job. As things are panning out with Bowen and Head of Recruitment being appointed. It looks like the owners have started to realise that the supporters care about the club and would like to kept "in the loop" by a spokesman most likely to be Mark Bowen.

[Lower West]

I think the beauty of the Championship is that any team has a chance every season.

The elastic has broken. The gulf runs through the football pyramid. Quality of the football in the Championship worsens every year. As any half decent player is bought up and loaned out. When one Man City player's wages are one and half times our entire playing squad budget for a season. You know it's now a business no longer a sport in any sense of the word.

My word, it’s been a business since the 90’s at the very latest

The growing crowd levels at lower league levels suggests there's huge disechantment with the "Super League" that has evolved. That now extends into Europe. Yet more pointless Champions Leagues fixtures on the agenda. No doubt all at the expense of the domestic calender.

[tmesis]

Regarding the gap getting wider every year...if players who would have signed for championship clubs on £20,000 are only going to be offered £10000 now, where are they going to go instead?

While it might mean that some players who'd have dropped rather than stay in the reserves of a premier league club might choose to stay, those who've been released can't be so picky.

[Lower West]

Regarding the gap getting wider every year...if players who would have signed for championship clubs on £20,000 are only going to be offered £10000 now, where are they going to go instead?

.

The Championship still. £10k a week is stll a huge amount of money in comparison to the average wage. Championship clubs will be forced to set their budgets in line with their declining income.