"Don't mind relegation from PL. Prefer the Championship."

[Divine Wright]

A lot of people were saying that towards the end of last season.

Wondering if the championship is living up to expectations?

Can't help but think that statement only really applies when we have a team competing towards the top. Or am I wrong?

I'm not stirring, just wondering if the type of games we've seen so far have been enjoyable to some compared to the Premier League stuff.

Personally, I don't see the attraction, especially compared with the PL.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

A lot of people were saying that towards the end of last season.

Wondering if the championship is living up to expectations?

Can't help but think that statement only really applies when we have a team competing towards the top. Or am I wrong?

I'm not stirring, just wondering if the type of games we've seen so far have been enjoyable to some compared to the Premier League stuff.

Personally, I don't see the attraction, especially compared with the PL.

It's an interesting question. For me, there wasn't much fun about being battered at home several times last season, yet each ground out win seemed particularly special.

Have I enjoyed this season as much so far? No, but I would say that's mainly due to the dross served up so far and my perceived opinion of where the team is heading this season.

I reckon most fans want to see a side that is winning games, or showing a progression towards improvement. A playoff challenging side is going to win more often than a relegation threatened side, a promotion battle is edgier than a relegation battle. Suggestions of being a possible yo-yo club help ease the disappointment of impending relegation by offering hope of a swift return.

From a neutral perspective, the Championship can offer great games, unpredictability and some good football. The Premier League has some dour stuff and is more predictable.

From my perspective, going toe to toe with Arsenal twice and being unlucky, being so close to beating Chelsea, getting those wins that nearly kept us up was a great experience. With the greatest of respect, squeezing victory against Luton with an injury time winner hasn't had the same wow factor, even if I had comforted myself last season with the suggestion that it would be as good, if not better.

[insider]

I hated getting stuffed most weeks.
I hated talking to plastics in work that asked can you get me a ticket.
I hated the people who bought a season ticket for 5 or 6 home games a season and have evidently fecked off with the spaces around me this season.
I hated the big 6 ref bias.
But most of all I hated the media bollux that surrounds the self proclaimed "Best league in the world"
My first ever games supporting the City in the 70's were division 2 . I cried when Andy Campbell score in the play-off final when we finally returned.
I'm happy at this level even with Warnocks style of play.

[goats]

I hated getting stuffed most weeks.
I hated talking to plastics in work that asked can you get me a ticket.
I hated the people who bought a season ticket for 5 or 6 home games a season and have evidently fecked off with the spaces around me this season.
I hated the big 6 ref bias.
But most of all I hated the media bollux that surrounds the self proclaimed "Best league in the world"
My first ever games supporting the City in the 70's were division 2 . I cried when Andy Campbell score in the play-off final when we finally returned.
I'm happy at this level even with Warnocks style of play.

Referee bollocks and media hype feeding you how special the PL is in a vain attempt to keep dwindling subscribers kills it for many....
Happy to yo yo.....you know we were never going to survive looking at who we signed.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

I prefer walking to the ground every week without that depressing feeling of "I wonder how many we'll lose by today". We lost 24 games last season, even Bournemouth lost half of their games. Leicester lost 16. It's a brutal league if you're not the top 6.

I must say, this has not been a vintage season so far but a lot of that is down to us being awful to watch and we've definitely regressed. It's fun though and we're in almost every game and I do think we'll just about be there at the business end but we're crying out for creativity.

The highs in the Prem are tough to match (unless they're in a promotion seasons) but the lows were so often, depressing and often tinged with injustice due to the big club bias that I didn't enjoy it has as much as I thought I would have.

[goats]

It’s amazing the damage a season or a few can do there, look at the state of stoke and hudds.....partic stoke, weren’t they faves to go back up last 2 seasons....

[Divine Wright]

It’s amazing the damage a season or a few can do there, look at the state of stoke and hudds.....partic stoke, weren’t they faves to go back up last 2 seasons....

We were favourites to go up at the start of this season. Wonder if the odds have changed much ?

I think the key thing to enjoying the championship is pretty much summed up in these posts. IT's fun if you are winning, which everyone seems to take for granted. "I'm happy being a Yo-Yo club" ...... no guarantee of that even.

I much preferred being 15th, 16th or 17 th in then PL than I do being 12th in the Championship. It's obviously no fun to lose but if you are in with a fighting chance it makes it a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I think that was reflected in the support we had last season. I know there has been noise in the ground this season, but last season seemed to have a certain defiance to it that gave things an edge. I think that was reflected on the pitch too.

Small fish, big pond for me.

[life on mars]

its a good question , and simply for me you would enjoy either if your winning, entertaining, and competing.

[rudy gestede]

I love the championship but much prefer being in the premier league, for me the novelty didn’t wear off.

Losing isn’t great but the wins feel much bigger. Plus I want City to be as successful as possible.

[The Hooded Claw]

I think being in the Premier League felt like more of an event and gave the club a much higher profile, which can only be a good thing.

[goats]

A city like Cardiff, which is booming and expanding quicker than most in the uk, with its population and general wealth should really have a premier league team. Places like Leicester, Watford, Norwich, Southampton, wolves, Bournemouth, Burnely Sheffield now and places like stoke Swansea Bolton derby West Brom in the recent past are nothing really in comparison but all seem to sustain PL status more frequently......

[jon1959]

A city like Cardiff, which is booming and expanding quicker than most in the uk, with its population and general wealth should really have a premier league team. Places like Leicester, Watford, Norwich, Southampton, wolves, Bournemouth, Burnely Sheffield now and places like stoke Swansea Bolton derby West Brom in the recent past are nothing really in comparison but all seem to sustain PL status more frequently......

I agree Cardiff should have an established Premier League team and with the comparison with most of the other places on your list - but Sheffield's population is double that of Cardiff. It is the 5th largest city in the UK behind London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow - and bigger than Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester (the city of, not Greater Manchester).

[StraightOuttaCanton]

I’ve always thought this was a bullshit perspective.

Who EVER wants to see their team fail?
Actually who wants to see anything you have an emotional attachment to fail?

For me. Finish as high as we can every season.

We only fail because we’re not good enough, which in relative terms was true last season and again looks to be true this.

[goats]

I agree Cardiff should have an established Premier League team and with the comparison with most of the other places on your list - but Sheffield's population is double that of Cardiff. It is the 5th largest city in the UK behind London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow - and bigger than Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester (the city of, not Greater Manchester).

Maybe not Sheffield then, like you say, which with two pretty big clubs probably deserves a spot, decent city aswell I hear. Still doesn’t have anywhere near the status we do with all the events going on around here. Been a while since either Sheffield club were up there too isn’t it?

[jon1959]

Maybe not Sheffield then, like you say, which with two pretty big clubs probably deserves a spot, decent city aswell I hear. Still doesn’t have anywhere near the status we do with all the events going on around here. Been a while since either Sheffield club were up there too isn’t it?

Well, the Blades are there now - but before they got promoted last season they had been out of the top flight since 2007 (Warnock!) and Wednesday have been out since 2000. Both have dipped their toes in League One. Cardiff as capital of Wales carries higher status and attracts more attention than Sheffield as the capital of the People's republic of South Yorkshire - and often drowned out by the media attention given to the noisy neighbours up the road in West Yorkshire.

[Divine Wright]

I’ve always thought this was a bullshit perspective.

Who EVER wants to see their team fail?
Actually who wants to see anything you have an emotional attachment to fail?

For me. Finish as high as we can every season.

We only fail because we’re not good enough, which in relative terms was true last season and again looks to be true this.

It’s a logic I understand to a point . People want to see us succeed in an “easier”, more down to earth league. The weird thing is that the prize of doing well in this league is unattractive to some. The idea that some might prefer to forfeit the opportunity to perpetually succeed in the championship is mad to me.

[life on mars]

Well, the Blades are there now - but before they got promoted last season they had been out of the top flight since 2007 (Warnock!) and Wednesday have been out since 2000. Both have dipped their toes in League One. Cardiff as capital of Wales carries higher status and attracts more attention than Sheffield as the capital of the People's republic of South Yorkshire - and often drowned out by the media attention given to the noisy neighbours up the road in West Yorkshire.

Isn't Wednesday the bigger suported club??

And like the Manchester question, which one belongs to the real Sheffield fans ??

[A Quiet Monkfish]

I love the championship but much prefer being in the premier league, for me the novelty didn’t wear off.

Losing isn’t great but the wins feel much bigger. Plus I want City to be as successful as possible.

Every game is an 'event'. It's almost showbiz. Ideally I'd prefer the Championship format, games week in week out, but it's the place to be, especially for a City [and environs] like Cardiff..

[Optimistic Nick]

Hate the EPL. I want to get promoted to it because that would be a successful season and I'd want to stay up because that would be good too, but ultimately you keep saying that until you are a top 6 club and I'm not sure I'd enjoy watching what at that point is really a global entertainment business that has nowt to do with the city other than it being based there.

I'm not saying that we have a squad full of locals at the monent but at least the competition we are in is actually a competition and it's just us that are interested in it so it's - just about - still ours. The premier League is not a competition it's a gladiator event where we play the role of the slaughtered. Tedious, boring, predictable. You can keep it. While I want progress for my club, id rather be watching at the point where it's fighting for promotion from the championship than getting battered by materially superior opposition with far greater resources.

[jon1959]

Isn't Wednesday the bigger suported club??

And like the Manchester question, which one belongs to the real Sheffield fans ??

Wednesday have a bigger ground than United but United had a bigger home attendance last season than Wednesday.

https://www.worldfootball.net/attend...p-2018-2019/1/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018–19_EFL_Championship

Both are supported by real Sheffield fans - but United probably have the reputation of being more muck and brass than the fancy boys from S6.

[StraightOuttaCanton]

Hate the EPL. I want to get promoted to it because that would be a successful season and I'd want to stay up because that would be good too, but ultimately you keep saying that until you are a top 6 club and I'm not sure I'd enjoy watching what at that point is really a global entertainment business that has nowt to do with the city other than it being based there.

I'm not saying that we have a squad full of locals at the monent but at least the competition we are in is actually a competition and it's just us that are interested in it so it's - just about - still ours. The premier League is not a competition it's a gladiator event where we play the role of the slaughtered. Tedious, boring, predictable. You can keep it. While I want progress for my club, id rather be watching at the point where it's fighting for promotion from the championship than getting battered by materially superior opposition with far greater resources.

It’s a rhetorical question but ask a lifelong 50+ year old Man City or Chelsea fan which they’d prefer.... the fallow years when they were lower division clubs or the last 15 years or so?

[Optimistic Nick]

It’s a rhetorical question but ask a lifelong 50+ year old Man City or Chelsea fan which they’d prefer.... the fallow years when they were lower division clubs or the last 15 years or so?

That's them. Not me.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

That's them. Not me.

Random question, but suppose City sustained a number of years in the Premier League and became established as a mid-table side that flirted with Europe. Would you walk away?

[Divine Wright]

Hate the EPL. I want to get promoted to it because that would be a successful season and I'd want to stay up because that would be good too, but ultimately you keep saying that until you are a top 6 club and I'm not sure I'd enjoy watching what at that point is really a global entertainment business that has nowt to do with the city other than it being based there.

I'm not saying that we have a squad full of locals at the monent but at least the competition we are in is actually a competition and it's just us that are interested in it so it's - just about - still ours. The premier League is not a competition it's a gladiator event where we play the role of the slaughtered. Tedious, boring, predictable. You can keep it. While I want progress for my club, id rather be watching at the point where it's fighting for promotion from the championship than getting battered by materially superior opposition with far greater resources.

Tell that to Norwich.

Wolves, Watford , Leicester are all able to compete with everyone outside Lpool and Man City.

[Bobby Dandruff]

I never understood the ‘I prefer the Championship’ argue aside from the fact that we weren’t ever going to rip up The Premier League. Surely every team strives for maximum success, and in all countries that is playing in the highest league.

And as you say, The Championship is very bland unless you are being successful. So far this season I have actually been bored watching us, and that certainly wasn’t the case last year!