I still believe it only a matter of time before we get ourselves back to the Championship and think it's a case of when and not if we get to the Championship. It may be next season, it may not be next season but I am convicned that we will get there, even if we have to wait for Rolond to go.
So we find ourselves in a second stint in League 1. We are now in our 3rd year in this stint. We had a reasonable crack at the play-offs last year but fell short in the end. We have got ourselves back to the Championship before and I cannot see why it can't happen again. We have had some big names in this league (in the Premier League years) like the two Sheffields. Wednesday twice. Forest, Norwich, Leeds, Southampton and Blackburn. Most of whom got out within 3 years though Sheff U needed 5 or 6 years. Coventry have been down a little longer but they will probably go up at some point eventually. Portsmouth are on their way back. Wigan who were tradiotanally uptil the mid 2000s a lower league club who rose have pulled themselves back up into the Championship. There are other names who I am sure I have missed out.
While we are outside the Championship we will always be a massive club for that level we are in. We are a massive sleeping giant. Mainly down to Roland this time.
Had we had the right investment back in January 2014, would we have been able to make that big step up into the Premier League? Possibly. If not I feel we could have been minimum a little what like Derby have been in recent years and I still feel if gotten right we can be minimum a bit like what Derby have been, challenging.
We will have to be patient and we will have some setbacks on the ways like yesterday (6th October 2018) but this massive sleeping giant will rise again and get back into the Championship.
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We may be in it , time will tell
I just cannot see us getting any level of success while he remains.
We are now a third tier club that struggles to beat Wimbledon and Gillingham.
Enjoy the odd win but don't get ahead of ourselves until the new era starts.
We got too excited after 4 wins and too down after two defeats.
We are in Limbo land and we could turn into a pygmy or average size but a giant is unlikely as we are feeding on scraps.
This in itself means nothing in the short term, but in the long term teams tend to end up at their natural level. Bournemouth won't be a PL side forever, for example.
Accrington are doing brilliantly at the moment, but that time will pass eventually. You look at teams like Yeovil who had a brief spell in the Championship, and are now 15th in L2.
Declining due to our yellow toothed, grave averse and parcimonious Belgian owner, hoping not to go the way of the Dodo sort of football club... yes.
We are pretty much just the same as everyone else in that sense.
Palace, Bournemouth, wolves + a load more and the list goes on. We are one of those. They are currently, somewhat, "over-achieving".
Our training grounds top notch and the valleys a decent stadium.
That's about it.
Let's fast forward 20 years. Awww wow, where will we be????!!! Anyone's guess
Probably league one :-)
I think the feeling passed in about 1970.
Currently we are more of a punch-drunk pygmy.
As for Charlton, our place at in the Premier League is becoming a distant memory. The money that comes to clubs in the Premier League means that those that get there can stay there for a while, but they are likely to tumble back down in the fullness of time. I don't myself count clubs like that, which include Charlton, of course, as sleeping giants.
We weren't far off League 2 a couple of seasons ago and clubs like Leyton Orient and Blackpool have shown how far you can fall. We might have generally been stronger than Leyton Orient, but they are good example of how a bad owner can take you into obscurity. Things look a little better this season, but we are hardly on the way back. You wouldn't bet your home on Charlton not being in League Two within three years while we have the current owner. At least, I wouldn't!
The longer we are out of the prem, the more difficult it will be to get back into it, unless some serious investment occurs. I just can't see it and maybe if we are sold, all we can hope is that we are challenging for the Championship each season and then maybe we might get there. I just hope we can be proud of our club again, even if we are in league one.
Palace got in there and are making it stick. More money each year, ground improvements etc.... it's very depressing.
Until we are owned and run by people who understand the industry, have a sensible plan for investment and growth, and recognise the important part fans play in the success of any team, we will never fulfil our potential.
Roland Out - and Today would not be too soon!
Until that stops we will always be also rans!