YoYo anyone?

Assuming our new manager takes the club back to the Premier League...What then?
It is highly unlikely that we can compete with the very top clubs there, so survival becomes the bottom line with a future (at best) among the clubs like Stoke and West Brom.
Would being in a division where success is avoiding relegation be enough?
Without an immense amount of money being ploughed into the playing side of the club it is almost inevitable that we would be relegated pretty soon after arriving.
Would a pattern of promotion/relegation be acceptable?

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Originally Posted by cantonboy

Assuming our new manager takes the club back to the Premier League...What then?
It is highly unlikely that we can compete with the very top clubs there, so survival becomes the bottom line with a future (at best) among the clubs like Stoke and West Brom.
Would being in a division where success is avoiding relegation be enough?
Without an immense amount of money being ploughed into the playing side of the club it is almost inevitable that we would be relegated pretty soon after arriving.
Would a pattern of promotion/relegation be acceptable?

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Is being a division where you're trying to avoid promotion that fun?

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Originally Posted by cantonboy

Assuming our new manager takes the club back to the Premier League...What then?
It is highly unlikely that we can compete with the very top clubs there, so survival becomes the bottom line with a future (at best) among the clubs like Stoke and West Brom.
Would being in a division where success is avoiding relegation be enough?
Without an immense amount of money being ploughed into the playing side of the club it is almost inevitable that we would be relegated pretty soon after arriving.
Would a pattern of promotion/relegation be acceptable?

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Whats the alternative? Just tread water in the championship? Isnt that more or less the same as being happy just to avoid relegation from the Premiership?

Its a pie in the sky assumption anyway. Bookies certainly dont agree that we will be back in the PL anytime soon, they ave 14/15 other teams favourites to get promoted before us.

Last time we were in the Prem, I think we were one or two players and a lack of off-field shenanigans away from staying up.

I still believe that if Vincent Tan had kept his beak out of the football side of things and allowed Malky to stay for the rest of that season we could've stayed up. When Malky was fired remember, we weren't in the relegation zone.
Ok, we were close to it, but the Norwegian idiot made it a certainty.

If we had stayed up, and the subsequent money invested in the team, who knows where we'd be now?

tbf though, we'd probably still be in red, so every cloud and all that.

Yes please

YoYo Ono ?

I'd be happy to play YoYo. It would be great to go to a few new grounds.

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Originally Posted by TH63

Last time we were in the Prem, I think we were one or two players and a lack of off-field shenanigans away from staying up.

I still believe that if Vincent Tan had kept his beak out of the football side of things and allowed Malky to stay for the rest of that season we could've stayed up. When Malky was fired remember, we weren't in the relegation zone.
Ok, we were close to it, but the Norwegian idiot made it a certainty.

If we had stayed up, and the subsequent money invested in the team, who knows where we'd be now?

tbf though, we'd probably still be in red, so every cloud and all that.

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We'd have gone down with or without Mackay I think. We were too defensive and I don't think we'd have had the goals to keep us up.

If we'd gone up, cut our losses and tried to rebuild sensibly, we might be back there. OGS pissed £20/25m up the wall.

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Originally Posted by TH63

Last time we were in the Prem, I think we were one or two players and a lack of off-field shenanigans away from staying up.

I still believe that if Vincent Tan had kept his beak out of the football side of things and allowed Malky to stay for the rest of that season we could've stayed up. When Malky was fired remember, we weren't in the relegation zone.
Ok, we were close to it, but the Norwegian idiot made it a certainty.

If we had stayed up, and the subsequent money invested in the team, who knows where we'd be now?

tbf though, we'd probably still be in red, so every cloud and all that.

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Agree with much of this ^^^

As an addendum, if the call for a return to blue hadn't been so fierce, or even postponed, then perhaps VT would have kept his powder and allowed MM to finish the season. He couldn't handle / understand all the adulation Mackay was getting when he had not.
If the masses hadn't shown Vincent such vitriol at that crucial period in time, yes things could well have been different.
If we all knew then we'd be back in blue as quick as we eventually were, then perhaps we may have kept our powders dry too?

Of course all with benefit of hindsight and if my auntie was my uncle, she'd have bollocks.

To give my opinion on the OP question, I think being a yoyo club would be okay, though being a West Brom or a Stoke mightn't.
Some proper backing and trust, from both sides, is required before any of this becomes a reality but we will hopefully get a feel that it could be very soon.

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Originally Posted by TH63

Last time we were in the Prem, I think we were one or two players and a lack of off-field shenanigans away from staying up.

I still believe that if Vincent Tan had kept his beak out of the football side of things and allowed Malky to stay for the rest of that season we could've stayed up. When Malky was fired remember, we weren't in the relegation zone.
Ok, we were close to it, but the Norwegian idiot made it a certainty.

If we had stayed up, and the subsequent money invested in the team, who knows where we'd be now?

tbf though, we'd probably still be in red, so every cloud and all that.

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Also, who knows what kind of manager MM could have become? I think we had a better chance of staying up with him. But if Tan knew he wanted rid of him he should have pulled the trigger earlier and got Pulis in. A lot of mistakes were made that season.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

We'd have gone down with or without Mackay I think. We were too defensive and I don't think we'd have had the goals to keep us up.

If we'd gone up, cut our losses and tried to rebuild sensibly, we might be back there. OGS pissed £20/25m up the wall.

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As did Mackay

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Originally Posted by Cleve van Leef

As did Mackay

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Please explain.

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Originally Posted by NYCBlue

Please explain.

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I presume he means he bought poorly in the PL season, which he did to an extent but we only lost money on Cornelius. The rest we broke even or more. His signings in his first two years were outstanding, bar Velikonja.

OGS on the other hand had about 1 hit in every 5 transfers. Pilks, Morrison, Manga and Fabio. The rest were absolute disasters.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

We'd have gone down with or without Mackay I think. We were too defensive and I don't think we'd have had the goals to keep us up.

If we'd gone up, cut our losses and tried to rebuild sensibly, we might be back there. OGS pissed £20/25m up the wall.

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I actually agree with TH63. Yes we were defensive but we had a structure and every player knew his job. It also appeared that for the most part the team spirit was excellent. Yes we were short of a prolific goalscorer but I believe that if we didn't have the off the field nonsense, we would have been ok.

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Originally Posted by NYCBlue

Also, who knows what kind of manager MM could have become? I think we had a better chance of staying up with him. But if Tan knew he wanted rid of him he should have pulled the trigger earlier and got Pulis in. A lot of mistakes were made that season.

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I don't think Tan could have won at that point,though that was due to some mismanagement. Tan knew about the texts and I imagine wanted him out earlier, remember the leaked resign or get sacked email, which in hindsight must have been leaked by Malky as a way of keeping fans onside and clinging onto his job without the fans having full knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes.
I personally think Tan only kept him on due to obvious fan pressure and again with hindsight should have sacked him earlier.
That error was then multiplied by hiring an inexperienced name instead of a suitable manager.

Isn't Yay the new Yo?

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Originally Posted by neilw65

I actually agree with TH63. Yes we were defensive but we had a structure and every player knew his job. It also appeared that for the most part the team spirit was excellent. Yes we were short of a prolific goalscorer but I believe that if we didn't have the off the field nonsense, we would have been ok.

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Look at our form in October, November and December. Good, it was not.

Precisely: P13 W2 D3 L7. GF9 GA22 GD-13

We'd had that fluke win over Man City and picked up a few good draws to start us off but we were going one way, and that was down. In fact, we'd picked up the second win in those three months in December after the Tan v Mackay thing had really kicked into gear.

We couldn't score and we had absolutely no chance of survival because of that.

Nay

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

We'd have gone down with or without Mackay I think. We were too defensive and I don't think we'd have had the goals to keep us up.

If we'd gone up, cut our losses and tried to rebuild sensibly, we might be back there. OGS pissed £20/25m up the wall.

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Seconded.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

We'd have gone down with or without Mackay I think. We were too defensive and I don't think we'd have had the goals to keep us up.

If we'd gone up, cut our losses and tried to rebuild sensibly, we might be back there. OGS pissed £20/25m up the wall.

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Seconded.

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Thirded.

We were down, after the Aston Villa away game.

They were there for the taking, yet can't spell Malky's negative game plan saw them win with two late goals. Truly awful display

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Originally Posted by BLUETIT

Thirded.

We were down, after the Aston Villa away game.

They were there for the taking, yet can't spell Malky's negative game plan saw them win with two late goals. Truly awful display

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That was November 9, there is no way that result or performance condemned us.

We were shit and deserved to go down but people forget how many other shit teams there were. We were shit but still not mathematically down after we played game 36 because three other teams were also shit. We were shit but won as many matches as west brom who stayed up.

It was the palace and hull home games that extinguished our hopes. Two wins there, which is more than possible under someone better than Ole, and we would have just needed one more point to stay up from somewhere.

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Originally Posted by BLUETIT

Thirded.

We were down, after the Aston Villa away game.

They were there for the taking, yet can't spell Malky's negative game plan saw them win with two late goals. Truly awful display

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Originally Posted by lardy

That was November 9, there is no way that result or performance condemned us.

We were shit and deserved to go down but people forget how many other shit teams there were. We were shit but still not mathematically down after we played game 36 because three other teams were also shit. We were shit but won as many matches as west brom who stayed up.

It was the palace and hull home games that extinguished our hopes. Two wins there, which is more than possible under someone better than Ole, and we would have just needed one more point to stay up from somewhere.

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You say tomato, I say tomarto. WE WERE DOWN AFTER VILLA. !

No fight, no heart, no commitment, in fact, WE WERE THE WORST TEAM IN THAT DIVISION, as was proved by our final position.

I rest my case.

Game before villa away we beat Swansea at home.
Game after villa away we drew with man utd at home.

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Originally Posted by lardy

Game before villa away we beat Swansea at home.
Game after villa away we drew with man utd at home.

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WE FINISHED BOTTOM.

The leagues don't finish in November

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Originally Posted by BLUETIT

WE FINISHED BOTTOM.

The leagues don't finish in November

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Er yeah, that's my point. :facepalm:

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Originally Posted by lardy

Er yeah, that's my point. :facepalm:

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No, your point is, we would have stayed up IF I can't spell Malky remained manager.

My point is, we were already in decline and getting worse.

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Originally Posted by BLUETIT

No, your point is, we would have stayed up IF I can't spell Malky remained manager.

My point is, we were already in decline and getting worse.

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I actually said someone better than ole could possibly have kept us up by winning two games that were certainly winnable and another point elsewhere. Didn't mention malky as by that point his position was untenable and didn't say 'would'.

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Originally Posted by lardy

I actually said someone better than ole could possibly have kept us up by winning two games that were certainly winnable and another point elsewhere. Didn't mention malky as by that point his position was untenable and didn't say 'would'.

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The thread has been, by in large, a discussion on Mackay. We'd got 9 points in 13 since October, and we won 3 games under OGS. God, he was an awful, awful manager. Either way, the squad wasn't good enough as our big signings were defensively minded (Medel and Caulker), or a flop (ACorn). We didn't have any PL quality attacking players, bar Mutch, who couldn't stay fit. 32 goals in 38 games tells it's own story.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

The thread has been, by in large, a discussion on Mackay. We'd got 9 points in 13 since October, and we won 3 games under OGS. God, he was an awful, awful manager. Either way, the squad wasn't good enough as our big signings were defensively minded (Medel and Caulker), or a flop (ACorn). We didn't have any PL quality attacking players, bar Mutch, who couldn't stay fit. 32 goals in 38 games tells it's own story.

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Which is why I deliberately said "someone better than ole" to show that I wasn't talking about only malky.

Ole, unfortunately for us given the timing, was the worst City manager I've seen when it came to setting up and organising a team.

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Originally Posted by BLUETIT

WE FINISHED BOTTOM.

The leagues don't finish in November

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Who knows what would've happened if Malky had had the January window to improve the squad?

Yes, we weren't doing very well, but OGS had the January window and managed to spend a shitload of money to make us even worse.

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Originally Posted by TH63

Who knows what would've happened if Malky had had the January window to improve the squad?

Yes, we weren't doing very well, but OGS had the January window and managed to spend a shitload of money to make us even worse.

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To be fair, OGS only (only!) spent about £10m in the Jan window, on MWE, Daehli, Berget, Fabio and Zaha's loan. It didn't help they were all flops (bar Fabio) but OGS really came into his own in the summer. Adeyemi, ALF, Dikaghoi, Macheda, Burgstaller, Guerra etc. What a manager...

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Originally Posted by TH63

Who knows what would've happened if Malky had had the January window to improve the squad?

Yes, we weren't doing very well, but OGS had the January window and managed to spend a shitload of money to make us even worse.

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After the way he wasted 35m in the summer (the highest budget by some distance for a newly promoted Premier League team at time) he shouldnt have been given any money to spend in January.

The fact we found some other mugs to give us our money back for Caulker, and after a good World Cup managed to get our money back on Medel, as some Malky apostles are keen to point out is of no real comfort after getting relegated.

The 35m he was given to improve the squad is like a newly promoted club getting 70-100m in the current transfer market, and should have given us a far better chance of staying up that what it did.
We were not a side that were free scoring in the Championship and the fact he didnt address this out of the 35m he was given was shameful.

Hull and Palace spent a fraction of what we did that season, but spent it wisely and stayed up comfortably.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

The thread has been, by in large, a discussion on Mackay. We'd got 9 points in 13 since October, and we won 3 games under OGS. God, he was an awful, awful manager. Either way, the squad wasn't good enough as our big signings were defensively minded (Medel and Caulker), or a flop (ACorn). We didn't have any PL quality attacking players, bar Mutch, who couldn't stay fit. 32 goals in 38 games tells it's own story.

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Spot on. We were in freefall.

I'm no great statistician and cannot remember fine details like some on here seem to be able to do, but I remember how I felt the time the news broke regarding Malkygate.
It was a feeling of ah feck, we are doomed now the press have got hold this... the task of survival is impossible.
At the time MM had a plan, a target of x amount of points after x amount of games and he was on course for that.

The argument that we hadn't scored enough goals playing very defensively and already doomed, I don't go along with.
The season before, the guy played the most boring football I'd ever witnessed watching the City but we pissed the league.
Of our record 11 home wins (or whatever it was) I enjoyed watching one maybe two.
We bored sides into submission and I believe we would have done so in the prem.

We shall never know how City would have finished the season had MM remained at the helm but I believe we would have survived, playing boring defensive football granted.

I wouldn't be too concerned as there is no way we will be challenging for promotion. Avoiding relegation is probably nearer the mark but I don't think that will happen. Being realistic, mid table mediocrity is probably the best we can hope for.

Personally I'm glad we went down, if we'd have stayed up and still been there, we'd still be in red and someone else would be sat in my seat.

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

We were not a side that were free scoring in the Championship and the fact he didnt address this out of the 35m he was given was shameful.

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