Bouncing Back

Now we have our full quota of relegatee's, we can get to the old question of 'who comes straight back up?'

Personally speaking, as a West Ham fan no less, I can see us making the play-offs but perhaps nothing more. We need the right manager now, and if we don't get him we could be looking at a hashed rebuilding job and a long stay. I think the owners will back the new man with cash (perhaps small amounts, but still) and we will have a younger, hungrier team.

Birmingham have been here before, as has McLeish, and I wouldn't sack him despite relegation. He has taken them up before and I would back them to be the best of those who went down. I can see them perhaps being champions, and definitely in contention for automatic promotion. Yeung will be desperate to get back up and I don't see a mass exodus - I see the poor players getting out and being replaced with decent performers.

Blackpool seem altogether more likely to drift into mid table. It's a shame, but Holloway may well end up at the Hammers or another club, and if he goes I don't hold any hope for them to get close again. They have a good team of hard workers, but with their creative force Charlie Adam leaving, and probably a couple more following, I think they will have a tough summer and an aversion to spending may well see them contenting themselves with Championship survival and some nice parachute payments.

What are your thoughts?

The only team that I see bouncing straight back up again is Birmingham. Like you said, they have a team of hard workers and not many of their team are huge names. I can't see them losing anyone bar maybe the centre backs,; Johnson & Dann.

West Ham have a massive re building job on hand with the majority of their team leaving in the summer. They'll return the season after next I would say.

Blackpool are going to struggle, they will lose a lot of players and unlike other team they don't have the financial backing.


Holloway for Chelsea?

As a birmingham fan i feel we will struggle next year unless we replace our manager. Hes too defensive and seems to have players who he will always pick ie keith fahey who is terrible in my opinion.
We lack goal threat 4 5 1 with the players weve got wont work.
Plus yeung hasnt got the funds to bankroll us.
Foster dann johnson larsonn and a few out of contract players will leave...
Sad day .

I agree that Birmingham are probably best placed to go straight back up. West Ham are likely to lose alot of their first teamers and rely on their kids, and i think the playoffs is probably a more realistic goal for them. Blackpool - by Holloways own admission - will be broken up and sold now and i think they will really struggle to get back in the next few years.

As a Leeds fan i was quite glad with the teams that got relegated, none of them look overwhelmingly strong for next year, and this should mean that any 2 of 6 or 7 teams could get automatic promotion.

Looking forward to August already.

I agree, the Championship is a ridiculously tight division, and no-one strikes me as runaways for this year.

In a way it gives me hope that we can compete, but in another I know that if we don't, we will be punished and could have a struggle on.

Add to that the teams coming up, and it looks a real tight league.

Is it wrong to be almost glad we may have an exciting and competitive year rather than another Prem relegation scrap?!

fernando's predictions for next season (yes already)

1) notts forest
2) birmingham
3) reading
4) leeds
5) southampton
6) middlesborough

forest, brum and boro to go up

And thats without Cardiff (3rd place this year), Watford, Or West Ham (And probably others i've forgotten as well).

cardiff are losing a lot of key players and can't afford to replace them. watford need to keep graham and west ham i can see struggling to stay in the division.

It would seem Birmingham have the best chance of bouncing straight back, but this really depends upon who they have left I can see quite a few of their players leaving but I still expect them to do better than Blackpool or West Ham.

I don't think West Ham will struggle to stay in the division - but I am not naive enough to think we'll go straight back up either.

I think a season of rebuilding, with some decent results and maybe a bonus play-off place will be good for us. I won't be complaining if we aren't at the top of the league certainly, we have a massive overhaul coming.

I think West Ham have the best chance as long as they keep Scott Parker and get the right manager possibly Chris Hughton seeing as he knows how to get out of the championship. Birmingham should at least make the playoffs if not automatic promotion but think the likes of Cardiff and Reading will finish above Blackpool

Reckon Parker will be high-tailing it out of here, and I can't really blame him either.

He did his best and was unfortunate to have such a poor supporting cast...and director.

Id blame the owners after what they did to Avram Grant in January. Surely if things arent going as the owners wanted they should have sacked Grant regardless of whether they appointed someone else or not instead of all the media speculation about his job. Why didnt they promote a coach for 5 months then they would might have stayed up. Im surprised Grant even stayed after that fiasco, it wasnt until the last month or so of the season that West Ham started playing like they can when it was far to late.

I agree, although they went about it all wrong, January was the time.

He should have been fired, and we would have had a much better chance of staying afloat. He gave the impression throughout the season that he had no passion and desire - how would he get the players up for the battle they found themselves in?

Lets not absolve the players of course, many of them performed poorly and in the end relegation may sting, but at least it'll remove some deadwood.

Rumour has it he didnt inspire the players at all and it was left to Scott Parker to give team talks which seems astonishing. You should blame Abramovich for bringing this useless idiot into english football. Then again Sullivan and Gold should have kept Zola and Clarke.