Promotion

[Nightwind15]

Watching from afar I am very proud of the effort of the squad this season.  I am actually glad we are not moving up this season simply due to the fact I really believe it would have been hard to stay up.  That being said I think one more season in the CL will build the strength and character for Fulham to stay up for what will hopefully be a very long time.
Whites forever! 

[St Eve]

Couldn't disagree more. With the money received for going up all we would have to do is finish 17th for another huge payout. Now instead of playing Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal we play Burton, Preston and Bolton. We are likely to lose Sess, Cairney, Kalas, Piazzon and probably our coach. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be another year. An enormous opportunity missed I'm afraid

[Woolly Mammoth]

Couldn't disagree more. With the money received for going up all we would have to do is finish 17th for another huge payout. Now instead of playing Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal we play Burton, Preston and Bolton. We are likely to lose Sess, Cairney, Kalas, Piazzon and probably our coach. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be another year. An enormous opportunity missed I'm afraid

Yes it was a great effort this season. But I agree with St Eve, we missed a very good opportunity, let's just get there first, and worry about staying there once we have got there. The extra millions should take care of that, although not guaranteed, what a difference to the bank balance which would have opened the gate to be able to bring in quality players. Instead we are worrying about hanging on to our better players. There is never ever a bad time to get promoted, the opportunities are few and far between. 

[RaySmith]

Agree that there's no  right time to go up for a team like Fulham - an immediate return back to the Championship is always a possibility - but  just by  going up the club receives millions with which it can reinforce the team.

So, any chance of promotion the club has to try to seize it fully. Well, we did so well just to get into the play-offs. We didn't make it through unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side, but the players gave it their best shot.

Now we just have to look forward to next season.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Agree that there's no  right time to go up for a team like Fulham - an immediate return back to the Championship is always a possibility - but  just by  going up the club receives millions with which it can reinforce the team.

So, any chance of promotion the club has to try to seize it fully. Well, we did so well just to get into the play-offs. We didn't make it through unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side, but the players gave it their best shot.

Now we just have to look forward to next season.

👍⚽️

[toshes mate]

I think the play off system has helped to blur the essential facts about promotion - that the top clubs in a division deserve the right to test their mettle against those in the next higher block of the pyramid.   Relegation is the opposite point of the same yardstick - you need to fight opponents of a lower skill level.   

The play offs have produced an opportunity for the club finishing sixth in a division to prove they are the best of a group including those finishing third, fourth, and fifth.  It is a bonus prize for the division's 'also-rans' which is, perhaps, riddled with huge doubts but also full of hope.  The play-offs are the romantic equivalent of asking someone out and waiting for their answer as you go through all the notions of 'Am I good enough?', 'Will she toss me aside?', 'Will I do the right things?'.   The top two seem to have earned the right to have a go, but is the play off place just one team too many?   I like the idea of keeping six places alive for promotion all season but I am not sure it is actually better than offering automatic promotion to the top three clubs, especially since the play-offs can produce such bizarre results.

[hovewhite]

Watching from afar I am very proud of the effort of the squad this season.  I am actually glad we are not moving up this season simply due to the fact I really believe it would have been hard to stay up.  That being said I think one more season in the CL will build the strength and character for Fulham to stay up for what will hopefully be a very long time.
Whites forever! 

I tend to agree and really think the likes of cairney will still be at our great club.Sess not sure if the chelsea boys arent here i believe they will be replaced but the core kalas apart will be there and that core will give us a great start over other teams and on a par with sheff wed who i think will be our main challengers next season.coyw

[Woolly Mammoth]

 Hovewhite, I understand what you are saying, and I wish I could be that optimistic. However, one small question I would like to put to you, just as a matter of interest.
Please name me all the Core players that you know and can guarantee will most definitely be in a Fulham shirt at the commencement of the new campaign.
Because what you have stated from your point of view is that you only think Cairney will still be here, have you spoken to his agent.
Sess your not sure, hmmm. You don't sound confident.
Kallas if he doesn't stay will be replaced, by who exactly, and where exactly are these core players coming from, who is going to replace the Chelsea boys.
Who will be sold if the right offer comes along, and which core players are staying 100%.
I deduce that you are no more able to answer those questions any more than I can, and if you were 100% correct, that is no Guarantee we would achieve promotion.
Will we be penny pinching, trading two sheep and a goat, for somebody who will take six months to acclimatise, cannot speak English, and then say he is homesick. 
Instead we could have been looking st a War Chest of millions if we had been lucky enough to be promoted. Which option would you choose, I know which one I would choose. 
That is why in a nut shell it's a no brainer, far better to have achieved promotion this season, we may never get a better chance. 
However, I shall not cry in my soup, because I am grateful to have been able to watch Fulham this season nearly pull off a remarkable and spectacular promotion push, only to be thwarted by two referees error of judgements.
Nevertheless, we live to fight another day, but next season we start all over again with a clean slate like everyone else. But you and I cannot be sure of anything unfortunately, we can only wish and hope that we have a squad that can and will be good enough and strong enough and streetwise enough and resilient enough to do it over again from scratch, injuries permitting.
Because we spent the last four months climbing the ladder, and as the finishing line was getting closer we then went straight back down the snake to square one where we start all over again, with 23 other teams of all shapes and sizes and systems of play, some of them will be only playing to survive, and will take no prisoners, and they can be the hardest to beat, as we found out this season.
But that's the name of the game, nobody will roll over for anyone. No matter what your reputation, and there will be plenty of surprises, both at the top and down the bottom.

[Woolly Mammoth]

The word Promotion as defined in the English Oxford Collins Dictionary.... is.... Advance in Rank or position.  Furtherance or encouragement.
Devised to advertise or publicise a product.
Also known as "Queening" in a game of Chess. When a pawn reaches the enemies first rank, and can be replaced by a more powerful piece of the same colour, like a Queen for example.

[filham]

Couldn't disagree more. With the money received for going up all we would have to do is finish 17th for another huge payout. Now instead of playing Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal we play Burton, Preston and Bolton. We are likely to lose Sess, Cairney, Kalas, Piazzon and probably our coach. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be another year. An enormous opportunity missed I'm afraid

Yes it was a great effort this season. But I agree with St Eve, we missed a very good opportunity, let's just get there first, and worry about staying there once we have got there. The extra millions should take care of that, although not guaranteed, what a difference to the bank balance which would have opened the gate to be able to bring in quality players. Instead we are worrying about hanging on to our better players. There is never ever a bad time to get promoted, the opportunities are few and far between. 

Fully agree, we had a very good team and an opportunity for promotion that may not be there next season.
Already we are aware that Cairney and Sessegnon could be taken away from us, they would only be replaced with weaker players and immediately we would be on the back foot.

[Southcoastffc]

Couldn't disagree more. With the money received for going up all we would have to do is finish 17th for another huge payout. Now instead of playing Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal we play Burton, Preston and Bolton. We are likely to lose Sess, Cairney, Kalas, Piazzon and probably our coach. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be another year. An enormous opportunity missed I'm afraid

Yes it was a great effort this season. But I agree with St Eve, we missed a very good opportunity, let's just get there first, and worry about staying there once we have got there. The extra millions should take care of that, although not guaranteed, what a difference to the bank balance which would have opened the gate to be able to bring in quality players. Instead we are worrying about hanging on to our better players. There is never ever a bad time to get promoted, the opportunities are few and far between. 

Fully agree, we had a very good team and an opportunity for promotion that may not be there next season.
Already we are aware that Cairney and Sessegnon could be taken away from us, they would only be replaced with weaker players and immediately we would be on the back foot.

Not necessarily.  Couple of things - McCormack and Dembele left and lots of fans went into meltdown.  We more than survived.   Young Sess is undoubtedly a burgeoning talent, but so was Patrick Roberts.  TC has had a very good season but has sometimes gone missing in games.   Players come and players go - that's just the way it is.  Our success as a club is not dependent on one or two players.

[Neil D]

Currently 3/1 for promotion - 2nd favourites after Villa though we may have to make room for Reading (one hopes) or Huddersfield.  We were 11/1 at the start of last season so this represents clear progress made.  That said, not overly generous odds in view of probable departures...

[Holders]

Couldn't disagree more. With the money received for going up all we would have to do is finish 17th for another huge payout. Now instead of playing Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal we play Burton, Preston and Bolton. We are likely to lose Sess, Cairney, Kalas, Piazzon and probably our coach. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be another year. An enormous opportunity missed I'm afraid

Yes it was a great effort this season. But I agree with St Eve, we missed a very good opportunity, let's just get there first, and worry about staying there once we have got there. The extra millions should take care of that, although not guaranteed, what a difference to the bank balance which would have opened the gate to be able to bring in quality players. Instead we are worrying about hanging on to our better players. There is never ever a bad time to get promoted, the opportunities are few and far between. 

Totally agree.