[Archived] Championship also rans? or league 1 big cheese?

[Gav]

I've long held the opinion that a season or two down in the lower leagues wouldn't be a bad thing, I felt the experience would revive interest in the club from a fans perspective. So far this season the away support has been phenomenal, probably back to the levels of the late 80's and 90's in terms of numbers, its really caught the imagination.

So the question is, ignoring the debt, ignoring the Premiership, because lets face it baring a miracle we're getting nowhere near the big league until the owners sod off.

Would you rather be the biggest club in league 1, or also rans in the Championship?

League 1 for me

 

[JHRover]

Championship. Also rans can very quickly become promotion contenders - see Burnley, Cardiff, Palace etc. - so whilst there might be some 'boring' seasons in the bottom half all it takes is a solid managerial appointment/luck/good signings and the Premier League is within reach. 

E

[Gav]

Just now, JHRover said:

Championship. Also rans can very quickly become promotion contenders - see Burnley, Cardiff, Palace etc. - so whilst there might be some 'boring' seasons in the bottom half all it takes is a solid managerial appointment/luck/good signings and the Premier League is within reach. 

E

Never going to happen under the current owners JH, but i'd agree fully if we didn't have the 3 stooges running the show.

[Tom]

By definition winning games is quite nice so I suppose in theory challenging for promotion in league one is at times more enjoyable than scrappig to survive in the championship.

However the only reason it's nice is you are hoping for promotion, if that never comes then the frustration would grow.

Cant say I miss too much about the championship, even the premier league wasn't great fun the last handful of years but everything that went with it (including shallow things like Match of the Day) were nice.

Ultimately we all want to be back in the Premier League but at whatever level football is a real labour of love a lot of the time. The pain of a loss can ruin your weekend just as the joy of a win can elevate your weekend and for me those feelings of deflation / elation haven't been enhanced or lessened as we drop through the leagues. 

[Mattyblue]

We are only ‘big cheeses’ in League 1 because we’ve got the most expensive squad.

We get stuck here and just like in the Championship any quality will drift away leaving us as also rans. 

Even now we aren’t pulling in the biggest crowds and that standard 10,000 will in time drift to 7000ish, and we certainly wouldn’t be taking 3000+ to away games once the novelty has worn off and we are in mid table. Are we a ‘big cheese’ then?

You should aspire for the best at all times, Blackburn Rovers has been a top two division club for the vast majority of its history and that’s always where we should be aiming for.

[Oldgregg86]

11 hours ago, Gav said:

I've long held the opinion that a season or two down in the lower leagues wouldn't be a bad thing, I felt the experience would revive interest in the club from a fans perspective. So far this season the away support has been phenomenal, probably back to the levels of the late 80's and 90's in terms of numbers, its really caught the imagination.

So the question is, ignoring the debt, ignoring the Premiership, because lets face it baring a miracle we're getting nowhere near the big league until the owners sod off.

Would you rather be the biggest club in league 1, or also rans in the Championship?

League 1 for me

 

I'd rather be Giants of the Evo stick north. 

Surly the point of supporting a football club is aspirations of getting to the top, to improve year on year. I'm sure Uncle Jack would agree with me

 

[Dreams of 1995]

And so it begins.

[Gav]

5 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

We are only ‘big cheeses’ in League 1 because we’ve got the most expensive squad.

We get stuck here and just like in the Championship any quality will drift away leaving us as also rans. 

Even now we aren’t pulling in the biggest crowds and that standard 10,000 will in time drift to 7000ish, and we certainly wouldn’t be taking 3000+ to away games once the novelty has worn off and we are in mid table. Are we a ‘big cheese’ then?

You should aspire for the best at all times, Blackburn Rovers has been a top two division club for the vast majority of its history and that’s always where we should be aiming for.

Couldn't disagree more, we're a 'big cheese' in this league because of our history and support not because of our budget.

The fact we've had no budget for years in the championship didn't make us less of an attractive proposition? our history was enough to get the locals talking, Shearer, Kenny and Jack Walker and winning the Premiership everywhere we went, not our budget.

But I do agree the novelty could wear off Matty, depends really, with all football clubs in whatever division success brings the crowds in, stagnation or regression chases them away.

 

[Mattyblue]

Do I believe we are the best, most historic club in the third division? Of course we are, no contest. So yes, we are the biggest of cheeses on that front.

However, would we be still be a big cheese on the pitch after a few years in this league? If Venky's allowed us to continue to pay relatively big wages and bring in players that have done it at this level and higher, then yes why not.

But if they do at this level what they did post 2014 in the Championship; i.e. selling our better players and signing inferior replacements then, historic club or not, crowds and incomes will further decline and we'll fall down the pecking order even in this tin pot league.

 

[Oldgregg86]

Whilst I to love to win and support a winning team. Your attitude to accepting mediocrity to do it is baffling gav

[tomphil]

Stay in this league a few years and we won't be a big cheese just another used to be big club getting gates and away followings in line with that and equalled by a lot of others and surpassed by a lot. Plymouth are a good example of what to expect.

Get out of this league as soon as possible.

[Hasta]

If I preferred us to be big cheeses in league one than playing in the championship, then I wouldn't want us to win games and get promoted this season.

Surely the enjoyment is winning games to get out of the league.

[JacknOry]

15 hours ago, Gav said:

I've long held the opinion that a season or two down in the lower leagues wouldn't be a bad thing, I felt the experience would revive interest in the club from a fans perspective. So far this season the away support has been phenomenal, probably back to the levels of the late 80's and 90's in terms of numbers, its really caught the imagination.

So the question is, ignoring the debt, ignoring the Premiership, because lets face it baring a miracle we're getting nowhere near the big league until the owners sod off.

Would you rather be the biggest club in league 1, or also rans in the Championship?

League 1 for me

 

So your ideal scenario would be us to make the playoff finals and lose?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

One season in this dead man's league is enough.Great away support indeed but Ewood on matchday?...more atmosphere on the moon.

People talking this league up? Give me a clucking break will you!

Back to the level our history demands,no excuses needed.

[JHRover]

3 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Do I believe we are the best, most historic club in the third division? Of course we are, no contest. So yes, we are the biggest of cheeses on that front.

However, would we be still be a big cheese on the pitch after a few years in this league? If Venky's allowed us to continue to pay relatively big wages and bring in players that have done it at this level and higher, then yes why not.

But if they do at this level what they did post 2014 in the Championship; i.e. selling our better players and signing inferior replacements then, historic club or not, crowds and incomes will further decline and we'll fall down the pecking order even in this tin pot league.

 

When the club is both owned and operated day to day by people not fit for purpose eventually they will drag the club down to their level. In the same way excellent owners and staff can drag a club above its level.

See Fleetwood, Burton, Huddersfield and Shrewsbury as cases of clubs currently enjoying great times above and beyond the capacities of their clubs because they have got it right off the pitch. We are the mirror image of that, where we are blessed with history, pedigree, profile and facilities from a byegone era but unfortunately the chumps in charge still manage to drag us lower and lower below clubs that would kill for a fraction of the finance and success we have had.

There's only one thing more painful than dropping 2-3 divisions due to mismanagement. That's doing it whilst spending millions and ending up £100 million in debt. Double whammy and doubly inexcusable. People like to compare to Portsmouth but everyone knows why they ended up in the 3rd/4th tier and that's because they went bust. What's our excuse?

No doubt at all in my mind that a few years at this level and the cycle will start again.

Mowbray has ended up in the job. Talks sense, made some sensible signings, has most of the fans on side. He'll keep us top half looking at the top 6 but on the evidence so far won't get us over the line to promotion. Hopefully that will turn out not to be the case.

Some people want to convince themselves that there is room here for a 3-4 year rebuilding job that other clubs have done. A quick glance at our squad suggests that if we fail to go up we will experience another huge turnover in personnel. Chapman, Harper, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Evans, Graham, Antonsson, Bennett all likely to be sold or return to their parent clubs next summer if we're still in this division. Recent history tells us there isn't a chance of that because budgets will be slashed, the sales will begin, persons unknown will start making changes to the management and onto the slippery slope we go.

One thing these people and their agents on the ground at Ewood are good at is dragging down expectations and standards year on year. That will continue.

[philipl]

I'd like to be in the Premier League again.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Imagine someone said this be a legitimate question back when Hughes was manager

[scotchrover]

This league’s only good when we’re winning away from home because:

a- It’s usually a new ground.

b-We’ve got a good following, so it’s the best atmosphere in years. 

When we’re losing away (Oldham), or at home (Doncaster) and we’re being taunted by some tinpot outfit( and their fans), I feel absolutely awful. Those fans in Oldham’s bandstand made me feel sick- coming on the pitch, all because they’d scored against a side which has a far superior history, stadium, training ground etc. 

[Cherry Blue]

Rather be looking down than up the leagues and its sad we can't make a noise in Ewood like we did. Even in the 80's the sound filled the air, "o when the blues go matching in". But the positives are there. Big club in a lower league, fantastic away support ( ), top six with two games in hand and a squad that wants to compete. We've been to the top and I hope we're on our way back again.

Big game at Wigan on Saturday and we need to kill off a bad memory. 

[JBiz]

Just now, Cherry Blue said:

Big game at Wigan on Saturday and we need to kill off a bad memory. 

Well said on that. A win in Pie Land would be a long time coming.

I remember a similar feeling in the GB days - we started the game excellently, go 1-0 then Hanley sticks one on someone. We lose 2-1 to Owen Coyles Wigan in the 90th minute. Khod kicks every bin on the way home.

 

 

[Stuart]

We can afford one season in this division. One.

After that the novelty will wear off, people will have ticked off their grounds and we will become a very poor version of ourselves. City clubs survive the third tier, town clubs rarely do.

People are interested but mainly in away games. The expectation however is huge and the players and manager are struggling to live up to that. We are looking for us to be taking the game to the opposition and bulldoze this division, the manager seems to be playing the odds and trying to keep a good squad happy. He is also alienating the club’s youth players.

One.

[MarkBRFC]

Stuart and Matty have got it spot on here.

Away games are capturing the imagination at the moment because the vast majority are new.

Imagine 3/4 years in this league, the likes of Rochdale, Oldham etc would turn into what Bolton became around 2005/6/7 with us struggling to muster 1500 going there. Even Wigan isn't as popular anymore due to the sheer amount of times we have played there in the last 10/12 years.

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

Stuart and Matty have got it spot on here.

Away games are capturing the imagination at the moment because the vast majority are new.

Imagine 3/4 years in this league, the likes of Rochdale, Oldham etc would turn into what Bolton became around 2005/6/7 with us struggling to muster 1500 going there. Even Wigan isn't as popular anymore due to the sheer amount of times we have played there in the last 10/12 years.

I think there is an element of a good day out for a few. With so many games accessible by public transport there are quite a few fans I know who normally wouldn't do away games but the opportunity of a days drinking in another town quite local is appealing.