Tougher n tougher to get out of the Championship

[Rodshig]

With each passing year its getting harder n harder to be promoted from championship. Many teams in the league have recent premier league experience n pedigree. Many teams will fancy a shot at getting promoted.

That being said, we done it 049:gif

[BedsFFC]

and weirdly, easier to stay up

[MJG]

Here is the championship average points for last 12 years split into 3 groups of 4 years.
Our 4 years have shown a large increase in points at the top end of the table

[Dougie]

FFP has changed a lot of things from what I can tell. When we went down in 2014 I said we wouldn't go back up until the team coming back up was better than the team we went down with. Well, because of FFP teams can't spend into massive debt, so they have to pull that off on a relative shoe string. But the positive of that is that, when you do go up, you have an efficient squad foundation and new Premiership money to strengthen, so clubs are better-equipped to survive.

The Championship has maybe 15 or so teams with similar resources (£20m-£25m turnovers) and owners spending speculatively within the maximum limit, to try to get in the Premiership. As a result, most clubs are on comparable operating budgets, unless they have parachute payments. And because you have to submit your financial projections for this season before the end of the campaign, you can't cheat the rules and worry about it later, a la Leicester, Bournemouth and especially QPR.

Parachute payments are massive compared to vanilla Championship money, but the teams that come down into the Championship have the challenge of putting together a team that's better than the one they went down with, for substantially less money than they wasted on their relegation squad. It looks very tough to do that in the first year, and it seems as though relegated clubs are only in a position to challenge once they've shed a large volume of the inefficient player contracts they went down with.

In that respect we're fortunate to have been on the end of the last four-year parachute payment deal. It took us 2 years to sort ourselves out, and then we had two more years of parachute revenue to push for promotion.

Incidentally, whilst the gap between bottom of the Prem/top of the Championship has reduced drastically, there's now a huge gulf between bottom of the Championship and top of League One, as shown by how Blackburn and Wigan have fared in that division. Burton won promotion on a budget of around £4m a couple of years back, and even Sheff Utd's promotion was on just £11m or so of player wages. No speculatively-spending chairmen I guess.

Before Saturday's game I believed the outcome could define the next twenty years of Fulham's fortunes and I still think that's the case. If we had lost on Saturday it may have been several years before we had a team that could challenge again.

[Vinnieffc]

Before Saturday's game I believed the outcome could define the next twenty years of Fulham's fortunes and I still think that's the case. If we had lost on Saturday it may have been several years before we had a team that could challenge again.

Douggie - above a very sobering thought I'm glad I never even contemplated prior to last Saturday, which is just as well given the state I was in anyway. In retrospect I am convinced your are correct in that statement. But I will stick with my trusted saying 'Everything happens for a reason'. Good times ahead with a new riverside and hopefully some EPL security..

[Camel Club]

Totally agree. My biggest fear going in to Saturday was what defeat would mean in the short, medium and long term. It would have been a real tragedy if this squad of players didn't have the opportunity to fulfill their potential at the highest level.

The squad would have been broken up and we may well have lost Slavisa as well. Despite the length of his contract TC would almost certainly have left and the best we could have hoped for as far as Sess was concerned was that whichever 'top' club signed him loaned him back to us for the season. As for Mitro he would have been signed permanently by an existing Premier League club; Fred too.

Championship is going to be even more brutal next season.

I know football is a never ending race but something tells me that Saturday's result may have been the most important in the history of our club and I am so bloody happy!!

[Fernhurst]

know football is a never ending race but something tells me that Saturday's result may have been the most important in the history of our club and I am so bloody happy!!


:plus one: two days later still buzzing.

Never seen my team win bugger all, 1958 semi final, 1975, 2010 even went to last game at the old Craven Cottage before the 2 year absence hoping for a great send off  bloody 0-0 draw. The Maestro's statue unveiling really really wanted a result to stamp the memory.. bloody 0-0 draw. Needed to win our final home game in 19gawds no what to clinch the third division championship title... lost at home to Preston who won their games in hand and won the title.
Disappointment ruled......

Saturday.changed all that Thank you Thank you FFC

[Carborundum]

Tough indeed.  The only thing 88 points got us this season was the chance to enter a four club knockout tournament. 

[valdeingruo]

I think with the growing influx of money we are going to see a "psuedo" league created at the top of the Championship and the bottom of the Prem where it with be 4-7 teams just trading places with each other depending on that years results. Im glad we got promoted when we did.

[FirstCoastFulham]

The Prem has become such an odd league. 6 teams vying for the title, another 2-3 below them trying to nip one to Europa, and the rest fighting relegation. But the upside is once you're up for a year staying there seems to become a lot easier.

[Jimpav]

I was looking at the final table for league 1 this morning and was surprised to see 5 teams that we played alongside during our time in the PL.

Blackburn
Wigan
Pompey
Charlton
Blackpool

It goes to show how fortunate we have been, not only to return to the PL but also with the stability of our owners.

Here's to Khan and our promotion  082.gif