We wont get promoted......just yet

[Murts-is-Lej]

Another goal scoring striker would be a good signing...

How about Simon Cox? 35 goals in 62 games isn't a bad return even at L1 level.

[loyalroyal4life]

Going to be such a good league next year. Plenty of teams challenging for promotion:

Sheff Utd/Burnley
Reading
Cardiff
Preston
West Brom
'Boro
Hull/Newcastle
Bristol City
Crystal Palace?
Swansea
Leicester?

we wont be challenging for promotion

[Wizard]

With the right level of investment, teams like Watford, Nottingham Forst and Sheffield Wednesday could be pushing towards the playoffs too. And then there's QPR and Ipswich as well.

[Hoop Blah]

Pretty much any team in the division will be capable of pushing for promotion.

You only have to look Burnley this year for a team that very few would've suggested as play off contenders back in September.

[Ian Royal]

You can normally write off 4 - 6 teams at the start of the season, pick 4-6 that are guarateed to challenge and then basically the remaining 16 - 12 all depend on a combination of new signings working, established players hitting form and a good start as to whether they challenge over the season or not.

You simply can't predict that with any reliability. It's a very very tight division usually. Not because everyone is crap, but because it is full of extremely talented players who just can't produce consistently over a season, or have a significant weakness. Get lucky and they play to Prem standard. Get unlucky and they look League 1.

[rabidbee]

I think our goal has to be consolidation at this level, and I actually felt that at the start of this season. It's still quite a novel level for us to be plying our trade, really. People will complain, but I'm much more in favour of slow and stable progress, putting down deep roots, over rapid progress and the increased potential for the bubble to burst. We can all think of teams that flew too near to the sun.

Besides which, I don't see the point of being in a league where you're only there to make up the numbers.

[Jeffers217]

For me, it could go either way, dependant on the decisions made this summer. We have just lost a great manager, of that there is no doubt. However, Coppells biggest weakness this season has been his ability to make the changes to get the team playing this season. The great man himself said he felt it was right to leave as the club needed someone with a fresh perspective to get it moving again, and I for one agree with him.

When I look to next season, I still think there is the potential for promotion, if we can keep a few key players. Doyle for me is the most important of them. We need a 20+ goal striker, and Doyle is the only one on our books. Should we lose him, I can't see the money being spent on bringing in a replacement of his calibre. I also think we need to hang on to Marek, and get the strikers and wingers to work on reading his play. He has great vision when he plays some of the through balls he does, but our attacking players aren't reading it. The other players who I think we need to keep a hold of are N. Hunt, Armstrong, Harper and Bikey.

If we keep that spine, and see continued improvement from Henry, Karacan, Church and Pearce, I think we will have a good squad for the next manager to build on.

The right management team is vital for us. We need someone who will come in and get us to play some creative, direct football again. We will also need to be clever in the transfer market. Another goal scoring striker would be a good signing (someone who like hunt will get 10-15 goals in a season), at least one more winger, a center back and especially a goalkeeper are all going to be needed. I personally question whether Federici is capable of keeping the amount of clean sheets Marcus did, and we will need a solid goalkeeper more than ever if we don't have the fire power Doyle offers up top.

This summer is vital. Keep the right players, shift the deadwood, and freshen up with a handful of strong championship level players, and we can go back up next year. Lose our top talent, bring in the wrong manager, and not strengthen adequately, and we'll be hanging around in this division for years to come.

Finally a fan who understands football and is not pessimistic about next season just because we've lost our greatest ever manager, who for the majority of the last 2 seasons has contributed to us playing crap football

[SLAMMED]

- There’s know point playing nice football

[Jeffers217]

Another goal scoring striker would be a good signing...

How about Simon Cox? 35 goals in 62 games isn't a bad return even at L1 level.

Classic example of a player Coppell let through the trap door and I bet you'll he'll be a prem striker in the long run

[loyalroyal4life]

Pretty much any team in the division will be capable of pushing for promotion.

You only have to look Burnley this year for a team that very few would've suggested as play off contenders back in September.

Apart from us as no substantial investment in players will be made

[papereyes]

I think our goal has to be consolidation at this level, and I actually felt that at the start of this season. It's still quite a novel level for us to be plying our trade, really. People will complain, but I'm much more in favour of slow and stable progress, putting down deep roots, over rapid progress and the increased potential for the bubble to burst. We can all think of teams that flew too near to the sun.

Besides which, I don't see the point of being in a league where you're only there to make up the numbers.

At what point does it not become novel?

We've been at this level or higher for 11 of the last 15 seasons.

Yes, slow and steady >>> bubble but there comes a point when we have to start actually standing up to where we are now, rather than hiding behind the 1970s and 1980s.

[Ian Royal]

Another goal scoring striker would be a good signing...

How about Simon Cox? 35 goals in 62 games isn't a bad return even at L1 level.

Classic example of a player Coppell let through the trap door and I bet you'll he'll be a prem striker in the long run

But would he have developed playing in our reserves with the occasional first team appearance? Almost certainly not. He's reached the quality he has because he's been playing regular first team football at a fairly good level for 2 years now.

[Hoop Blah]

Pretty much any team in the division will be capable of pushing for promotion.

You only have to look Burnley this year for a team that very few would've suggested as play off contenders back in September.

Apart from us as no substantial investment in players will be made

You don't have to spend substantial amounts in this division though.

Yes it can certainly help, and you have an advantage if you back up your ambition with a decent wage bill. The time for significant investment in the playing staff was 12-18 months ago. We failed then, but I don't see our transfer policy (whatever it may be under a new manager) as holding us back yet...although I'll wait and see how the summer pans out before really forming an opinion.

[Harry Carry]

Reading had their chance to go back up this year. As they failed they won't go up for the forseable future. Reading were a relatively big fish in a small pond this year due to their two years in the Premier League. They failed to buy any decent quality players and let the better ones go.

Next season they will be competing against clubs like Newcastle, West Brom etc for players and I know if I was a player which club I'd rather go to. The only way Reading will bring in decent players is to bring in a highish profile manager. But this is Reading. I'd be very suprised if they do. They will go for the cheaper unproven option and hope they sign some good unproven talent. There is only so much luck with that though. As we've seen with Doyle etc. Good couple of seasons, then they've been found out at Championship and Prem level.

[Ian Royal]

It's a system which has seen us challenge for promotion in 6 out of 9 seasons at this level in the last 15 years. The 3 we didn't being in the late 90s before we had the infrastructure we are now blessed with.

We're a bigger club than we were 5 years ago. That doesn't necessarily mean we're more deserving of promotion. And next season will be a tough one, but we could easily be challenging for the play offs again. If we carry on managing the club the way we have been I see no reason for us not to have a good chance of going up the following year.

[papereyes]

It's a system which has seen us challenge for promotion in 6 out of 9 seasons at this level in the last 15 years. The 3 we didn't being in the late 90s before we had the infrastructure we are now blessed with.

And had half an eye on the move rather than two eyes on the pitch.

Well, that's what it felt like to me. Cheap seasons and hope we stay up, while the stadium gets built.

[Ian Royal]

It's a system which has seen us challenge for promotion in 6 out of 9 seasons at this level in the last 15 years. The 3 we didn't being in the late 90s before we had the infrastructure we are now blessed with.

And had half an eye on the move rather than two eyes on the pitch.

Well, that's what it felt like to me. Cheap seasons and hope we stay up, while the stadium gets built.

Understandable obviously, and possibly the relegation was good in the long run. But it was rather frustrating at the time. I think the non-player management side learnt a hell of a lot from that time. Just as they've learnt a hell of a lot from our Premier League visit and subsequent relegation.

[Wax Jacket]

top 10 playing decent football with some of the youngsters having strong seasons would be good enough for me

[Agent Balti]

I just hope that the club has learned from the mistakes of the last two seasons. That does seem to be happening, finally, with the branch and root restructuring that is going to take place in the summer. Whilst going out to Burnley was a bit shit, I always said it would be a blessing in disguise. As much as being in the top flight would be excellent for the image of the club, it would have papered over the deepening cracks.

Now we have a very good chance of evolving the team much as we did before...it takes a few years, but it sure as hell beats scraping by and then getting our arses kicked week in, week out. The weeding out has already happened (too late, but its happened) and now we can look at proper progression at all levels of the playing squad and hopefully not repeat the relying on the ol' favourites or not having a bloody clue who's in the team week after week.

The club is attractive to many a player either from abroad or a very decent standard, whether we can still afford to pay the likes of what we ended up paying Doyle and SHunt again is another matter...and whether we should. Didn't seem to work out for either the player or us. Given that we've reduced the wage bill of a few of the Premiership earners, the money for decent wages should be in the pot...but of course Sir John has uttered the immortal "cutting the cloth" spiel once more, so who knows.

As long as we are seeing progress, deserved progress, playing decent football, I'll be happy. Next season will be tough, but given all the supposed good teams, points will be taken off each other often. Top ten will be acceptable, given we know we're not likely to spend big and the manager will need time to bed in. If it's play-offs the year after, or nearing automatic - that's better than I would expect. (Unless Rodgers turns out to be an absolute coaching legend.) If we appear to have a cogent plan, like we appeared to before we got to the Premiership, that'll be acceptable. What I sincerely hope won't happen is the repeat of being a club that looks good but is out of its depth when it comes to the crunch. Maybe that lesson is the most important to learn of all.

[rabidbee]

top 10 playing decent football with some of the youngsters having strong seasons would be good enough for me

Ditto.