on the side of the fence that keeps DF

On one hand I see no merit in firing Farke. I would be deeply suspicious of anyone coming in as a new manager in our situation. Why would they - knowing it is almost inevitable that we will be relegated, the team then having to be rebuilt along their footballing philosophy of the new manager and it would be against a backdrop of tight finances. And do we really want an Allardyce or a Bruce (or god forbid someone like Roeder) - trying to keep us up at all costs – which, in any case, is by no means guaranteed. A new manager would make a bit more sense next season once we are down - but not now.

On the other hand, though, it is very clear that, for a variety of reasons, Farke does not have the makings of a PL manager - however good he was in the Championship. Sadly hinted at by how we took relatively few points from the other top 6 teams last season. The gulf is now that big technically and not helped by losing our 2 best players and time appearing to be catching up with our sole striker - both at club and national level. And based on our recruitment policy following both promotions – does the club even have the makings of a PL club? With our financial structure we are always bound to be signing players that PL clubs, with far bigger wage structures, have decided arent good enough.
And, although Brentford are close to proving me wrong, we cannot compete with the billionaire owners who make up the rest of the PL. So I now accept that football is just much more fun and sustainable in the Championship. Based on the last 2 seasons there - I would happily settle for life in that division. What exactly is the point of being in the PL – especially given the toll it has taken on all those other clubs who failed to stay in it – some now struggling to stay out of the National League – Oldham a case in point. Not to mention our near neighbour's plight.

My view is that while we stick to the Smith-Wynn Jones ownership model then we will never be able to compete in the PL. I have huge sympathy for that model – but it is an anachronism in this day and age. If we stick to it then long-term PL success is simply not possible. But is that such a bad thing? It seems football has changed - it is not a level playing field (ho! ho!) where, in the old days, a team could be promoted and then find their level in a higher league. All 4 leagues seem to have internal mini-leagues where it is hard to break into the top one. Almost without exception - the top of the Championship is the same old faces.

Farke has proved he is a highly successful Championship manager – and few can say that – so stick with it and see how next season back in the Championship goes. Ideally we win the league (for an unprecedented 3rd time in 5 years) but are denied promotion on a technicality!

Defeatist perhaps but probably realistic.

Posted By: rosarios_school_tie, Oct 26, 21:06:30