So I have just woken up mid-sleep after having a strange dream to write this.

[Tomo]

Let's start with the bad, we WILL go down. We've made some poor managerial decisions this season and this is where my dream began, losing 0-1 to Crystal Palace on the final day to leave us 8 points adrift of safety.

Then all of a sudden Danny Murphy popped into my dream leading the line for Fulham in the Championship we began the season beating Brighton at home 3-0 and the scorers were Trotta, Burn and Kacaniklic.

Then I woke up and it got me thinking that maybe the Championship wont be so bad, with our excellent youth team mixed with a good income from outgoing players / parachute payments we should be financially viable to get straight back up or at least give a good account of ourselves.

The players from our current first team I think we will keep when (if :Haynes The Maestro:) we go down will be:


David Stockdale (Brilliant Number one for the Championship, let Steklenburg leave to Holland or something)
Dan Burn (Again proven Championship player with massive potential)
Matthew Briggs (Young, has played well at Championship level previously)
Steve Sidwell (If Hangeland leaves, got to be the new captain surely)
Alex Kacaniklic (Will shine in the championship if we don't gain automatic promotion could see him leaving)
Tunnicliffe and Cole (Good core from Man Utd Youth, Tunnicliffe especially)
Derek Boateng (Big strong defensive midfielder would be useful against the more aggresive sides)
Hugo Rodallega (Again think would be brilliant in the Championship, couldn't see him being snapped up by a prem team)
Marcello Trotta (Proven goalscorer in League One, would merit a shot at a first team place)


These players with a mixture of youth and a little investment would provide a good core squad for the Championship and I think it could be thoroughly entertaining, especially if Danny Murphy was to take the helm much like Dario Gradi at Crewe.





Hopefully this is all a wild dream and we will somehow win 6 out of the next 9 games!  049:gif

[JDH101]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had a choice of staying up with Magath staying or getting relegated and Murphy is our manager, i'd take the championship all day.

[btings]

+1 for the title of this thread, because I am all about this sort of thing.

Also, good shout about Rodallega.  He's never quite fit, but I think you're right that he might be good in the Champ.

[JBH]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had a choice of staying up with Magath staying or getting relegated and Murphy is our manager, i'd take the championship all day.

You would rather be relegated than stay up well that says ot all :046:

[Macedo]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had a choice of staying up with Magath staying or getting relegated and Murphy is our manager, i'd take the championship all day.

You would rather be relegated than stay up well that says ot all :046:

Agree...It aint easy to get out of the Championship..

[Snibbo]

Having lived through our relegation from the old First Division, the same was said then. "We'll be straight back". And we got out of the 2nd division straight away of course .... down to the 3rd.

The sort of football we are playing this season would see us at best mid-Championship, maybe battling relegation again.

[Burt]

I know it sounds sacrilegious to question this but why do people think Murphy will make a great manager?

Great players and inspirational leaders don't necessarily make that leap...

[ron]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had a choice of staying up with Magath staying or getting relegated and Murphy is our manager, i'd take the championship all day.

You would rather be relegated than stay up well that says ot all :046:

Agree...It aint easy to get out of the Championship..

Agree...the Championship is more of a trapdoor to us than it is a trampoline.

[Tomo]

I don't think any Fulham fan would want us to go down, but you've sometimes got to accept the inevitable. Of course I would love to be proven wrong and think if we stayed up Khan would have to dig deep in order to strengthen the team to ensure we stay up. Sign a new LB, Sign Holtby and another new Striker and let Darren Bent leave. I am still keeping the faith and will support the team wherever they end up, having supported the club since we were in Division 2 and seen us rise from the ashes I think if we did go down it wouldn't be unrealistic for us to get back up, especially if we keep a Sponsor like Marathon Bet who are offering free coach travel we should get a good following away! Anyway let's hope it's onwards and upwards from here on.

[Fulhampete]

I said a couple of years back that we wouldn't go forward until we had the benefit of a season or two in the Championship. To rebuild a team in the premier is impossible unless you have the financial clout of a Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc. All the last two seasons have proved is there is little joy in constantly firefighting and desparately clinging on to survival. There is a need to not go into terminal decline but this should be less difficult than staying in the premier league. Keeping our promising young players is crucial to future success. Stockdale and Bettinelli, Passley, Burn, Grimmer and Arthurworry, Kaka, Roberts, Cole, Tunnicliffe, Kasami, David and Christensen, Trotta, Dembele, Plumain and Woodrow (plus a few others I probably forgot) ought to make us feel positive. With a bit of patience the future looks good.

[Texas White]

The championship will be really tough.
But how refreshing will it be to actually win a few games and play teams who dont have $100, 000 worth of players on the bench.
Always sad to see us going down, but looking forward to change. Whether it be in the premier or championship.

Danny murphy is the player that we missed most. Cant be worse than joe 90 so far.

[TonyGilroy]

Having lived through our relegation from the old First Division, the same was said then. "We'll be straight back". And we got out of the 2nd division straight away of course .... down to the 3rd.

The difference then though was that the club was being run as cheaply as possible.

I'm sure Khan is wondering why he ever got into this but if he's to protect his investment he needs to get us promoted.

That makes this summer's managerial appointment crucial. We can't keep chopping and changing; the new guy may need to be given 2 or 3 years but we absolutely must have a manager that understands what's needed in the Championship and can build a suitable squad.

Plenty of possibles around in my opinion. Curbishley, Howe, Mackay, Adkins, McDermott.

Unless Magath starts to really inpress he has to be ditched in favour of someone more suited.

Then we can start to enjoy football again. Promotion is fun - relegation not so much.

[ToodlesMcToot]

I've said it before and i'll say it again, if I had a choice of staying up with Magath staying or getting relegated and Murphy is our manager, i'd take the championship all day.

I know some on here like to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days in the lower leagues, but I just don't get it. I don't get the allure of an inexperienced manager either.....no matter who he was as a player. He was a great leader on the field, but that doesn't hold the promise of anything as a manager.

Given my choice, I'd take the PL and serious investment from our new owner. He's now learned what investing poorly will get you.

[Bronaldinho]

Just a heads up,

Most championship fans don't rate Briggs during his loan spells, lack of positioning and getting caught out too much was most of the reviews..

[Bronaldinho]

Having lived through our relegation from the old First Division, the same was said then. "We'll be straight back". And we got out of the 2nd division straight away of course .... down to the 3rd.

The difference then though was that the club was being run as cheaply as possible.

I'm sure Khan is wondering why he ever got into this but if he's to protect his investment he needs to get us promoted.

That makes this summer's managerial appointment crucial. We can't keep chopping and changing; the new guy may need to be given 2 or 3 years but we absolutely must have a manager that understands what's needed in the Championship and can build a suitable squad.

Plenty of possibles around in my opinion. Curbishley, Howe, Mackay, Adkins, McDermott.

Unless Magath starts to really inpress he has to be ditched in favour of someone more suited.

Then we can start to enjoy football again. Promotion is fun - relegation not so much.

Mackay would be be perfect.

[Bronaldinho]

Let's start with the bad, we WILL go down. We've made some poor managerial decisions this season and this is where my dream began, losing 0-1 to Crystal Palace on the final day to leave us 8 points adrift of safety.

Then all of a sudden Danny Murphy popped into my dream leading the line for Fulham in the Championship we began the season beating Brighton at home 3-0 and the scorers were Trotta, Burn and Kacaniklic.

Then I woke up and it got me thinking that maybe the Championship wont be so bad, with our excellent youth team mixed with a good income from outgoing players / parachute payments we should be financially viable to get straight back up or at least give a good account of ourselves.

The players from our current first team I think we will keep when (if :Haynes The Maestro:) we go down will be:


David Stockdale (Brilliant Number one for the Championship, let Steklenburg leave to Holland or something)
Dan Burn (Again proven Championship player with massive potential)
Matthew Briggs (Young, has played well at Championship level previously)
Steve Sidwell (If Hangeland leaves, got to be the new captain surely)
Alex Kacaniklic (Will shine in the championship if we don't gain automatic promotion could see him leaving)
Tunnicliffe and Cole (Good core from Man Utd Youth, Tunnicliffe especially)
Derek Boateng (Big strong defensive midfielder would be useful against the more aggresive sides)
Hugo Rodallega (Again think would be brilliant in the Championship, couldn't see him being snapped up by a prem team)
Marcello Trotta (Proven goalscorer in League One, would merit a shot at a first team place)


These players with a mixture of youth and a little investment would provide a good core squad for the Championship and I think it could be thoroughly entertaining, especially if Danny Murphy was to take the helm much like Dario Gradi at Crewe.





Hopefully this is all a wild dream and we will somehow win 6 out of the next 9 games!  049:gif

Sidwell is out of contract this summer, no new offer that he likes yet... Feeling he'll leave if we go down

[YankeeJim]

Let's start with the bad, we WILL go down. We've made some poor managerial decisions this season and this is where my dream began, losing 0-1 to Crystal Palace on the final day to leave us 8 points adrift of safety.

Then all of a sudden Danny Murphy popped into my dream leading the line for Fulham in the Championship we began the season beating Brighton at home 3-0 and the scorers were Trotta, Burn and Kacaniklic.

Then I woke up and it got me thinking that maybe the Championship wont be so bad, with our excellent youth team mixed with a good income from outgoing players / parachute payments we should be financially viable to get straight back up or at least give a good account of ourselves.

The players from our current first team I think we will keep when (if :Haynes The Maestro:) we go down will be:


David Stockdale (Brilliant Number one for the Championship, let Steklenburg leave to Holland or something)
Dan Burn (Again proven Championship player with massive potential)
Matthew Briggs (Young, has played well at Championship level previously)
Steve Sidwell (If Hangeland leaves, got to be the new captain surely)
Alex Kacaniklic (Will shine in the championship if we don't gain automatic promotion could see him leaving)
Tunnicliffe and Cole (Good core from Man Utd Youth, Tunnicliffe especially)
Derek Boateng (Big strong defensive midfielder would be useful against the more aggresive sides)
Hugo Rodallega (Again think would be brilliant in the Championship, couldn't see him being snapped up by a prem team)
Marcello Trotta (Proven goalscorer in League One, would merit a shot at a first team place)


These players with a mixture of youth and a little investment would provide a good core squad for the Championship and I think it could be thoroughly entertaining, especially if Danny Murphy was to take the helm much like Dario Gradi at Crewe.





Hopefully this is all a wild dream and we will somehow win 6 out of the next 9 games!  049:gif

Sidwell is out of contract this summer, no new offer that he likes yet... Feeling he'll leave if we go down

If we don't sign him soon, he'll certainly be gone when we line up in the Championship. He is a proven Prem player and someone will grab if only for cover. The teams going up will be looking to pick our bones. Burn will likely go for a price as likely will the manu two. The old Greek will retire, the young Greek will move on, again for a price as will Steke, Reither & possibly Richardson. The loanees will return to their parent club & I think our youth will be looked at seriously. We won't recognize what lines up next year. Except for Parker & Hangeland who nobody will want. 

[HatterDon]

Just a heads up,

Most championship fans don't rate Briggs during his loan spells, lack of positioning and getting caught out too much was most of the reviews..

most of the people you talked to, that is.