For a club our size

[K23]

Every season a quarter of the clubs leave the Championship, whether going up or going down, which when you think about it is a very large turnover. It's an interesting question but no team can plan for mid-table safety every year. Just out of interest, which team currently in the Championship has been here the longest? It was Ipswich for a very long time.

Forest & Derby have both been in the championship for 14 seasons and both may leave it this season.

 

[Itchysphincter]

When we moved to the Liberty on a crest of a wave, after pretty much my whole childhood and youth in the lower two divisions, the feeling around the club had never been so good - new stadium, Trundle, Britton, Tate, then Monk, Dyer, and Doris et al, the like of it I’d never seen, and it was an open ambition then that we could become a top ten championship club along the lines of Watford, QPR and West Brom, and we did it. To be amongst the top 30 clubs in the whole of the English football system is an incredible achievement, and besides the odd sticky season across the last 20-odd years the Swansea City rollercoaster has never been better.

 

[JackSomething]

Every season a quarter of the clubs leave the Championship, whether going up or going down, which when you think about it is a very large turnover. It's an interesting question but no team can plan for mid-table safety every year. Just out of interest, which team currently in the Championship has been here the longest? It was Ipswich for a very long time.

I thought Preston had been around this division without really challenging for promotion or looking like relegated for years, but didn't realise they spent 4 years in League 1 while we were in the Prem.

 

[Darran]

When we moved to the Liberty on a crest of a wave, after pretty much my whole childhood and youth in the lower two divisions, the feeling around the club had never been so good - new stadium, Trundle, Britton, Tate, then Monk, Dyer, and Doris et al, the like of it I’d never seen, and it was an open ambition then that we could become a top ten championship club along the lines of Watford, QPR and West Brom, and we did it. To be amongst the top 30 clubs in the whole of the English football system is an incredible achievement, and besides the odd sticky season across the last 20-odd years the Swansea City rollercoaster has never been better.

Outstanding.

 

[MrSwerve]

I'll never take our position for granted as (just like others here) most of my years growing up were watching us right at the bottom. Started watching us as a child in 1990. The Swans to me were a small club, teams like Forest, Norwich, Derby were on a different planet, let alone clubs like Man Utd and Liverpool. The fact that we played clubs like that regularly in my lifetime is something that I never expected, so I'm grateful for that.

Being in the Championship is still a dream, although naturally we will take it for granted somewhat now given our Premier League success. The only thing that feels like a slight failure after being relegated is the opportunity to become a bit of a yo-yo club, although we have been pretty close let's be honest.

I think we'll be a mid-table Championship club for a good few years before we challenge for the playoffs again.

 

[Best_loser]

We have done better than expected since relegation , it might have made people think getting back into the premier league is something to be expected , its not , now the parachute payments are over and best players sold we are in a worse situation now , next move is more likely to be down than up , we went up through having a good manager , owners who were wise and back the managers , good recruitment and luck , get that combination again and we have a chance to get back into the top league

 

[JustJack]

Every season a quarter of the clubs leave the Championship, whether going up or going down, which when you think about it is a very large turnover. It's an interesting question but no team can plan for mid-table safety every year. Just out of interest, which team currently in the Championship has been here the longest? It was Ipswich for a very long time.

Forest and Derby both joined the year we did (2008-2009)

 

[Ringwood Jack]

I think we are a mid table Championship club all things considered. We average around 16k home crowd decent enough stadium and infrastructure . Far bigger clubs in the league below us and a equal footing with a few clubs in the prem currently.

 

[cwmdonkinjack]

When we moved to the Liberty on a crest of a wave, after pretty much my whole childhood and youth in the lower two divisions, the feeling around the club had never been so good - new stadium, Trundle, Britton, Tate, then Monk, Dyer, and Doris et al, the like of it I’d never seen, and it was an open ambition then that we could become a top ten championship club along the lines of Watford, QPR and West Brom, and we did it. To be amongst the top 30 clubs in the whole of the English football system is an incredible achievement, and besides the odd sticky season across the last 20-odd years the Swansea City rollercoaster has never been better.

Fully agree. Our fall from grace back in Division One days was far more precipitous and sowed the seeds for years back in the wilderness. No doubt we have wasted a lot of money on signings and wages during our current fall, but there have still been a fair few good times in spite of the trimming of the last few years and some of our sales haven’t turned out to be as bad business as we thought. eg. Gylfi, Rodon, Ash.
The one who got away that I eventually got over was the incredibly consistent Joey.
We are likely to lose some we would like to keep this summer again but that will always happen to most championship clubs.

 

[STID2017]

Good post Cwm.
We are definetly more stable than we were when it all went wrong in the 80's.
A little more than 4 years after that memorable day against Leeds, Doug Sharpe was in court trying to save the club from extinction.
A lot to be thankful for.
If we can rebuild and hopefully one day reach the PL that would be amazing.
Failing that becoming an established Championship team playing good football would be great

 

[Glyn1]

"For a club of our size" in this division.

It's a good question, and of course it's everyone's opinion but I think that there are 8 or 9 teams who are supposedly bigger than us, so getting to the Play Offs would be an achievement next season. I'm not sure if Bournemouth is bigger or smaller than us, but southern English clubs seem to have an advantage over us / northern English clubs

Finishing consistently in the top half of the Championship with a chance of the Play Offs would be fine by me, but would it be fine for our US owners?

 

[Baron Goblet]

Was happy with last two seasons, this one is average so far.
No such thing an established championship club so no point aiming for that. Barnsley is a prime example.
Last season's managerial exit is a sign we are going to move between League 1 and Championship and will be sold at some point.

 

[PSumbler]

This is our 14th consecutive season in the top two divisions. Prior to that (I think) we spent 24 years in the bottom two divisions.

Staying within those top two divisions for years to come would be more than acceptable - I fear if we went down one more level we would struggle to get back up too quickly

 

[JackSomething]

"For a club of our size" in this division.

It's a good question, and of course it's everyone's opinion but I think that there are 8 or 9 teams who are supposedly bigger than us, so getting to the Play Offs would be an achievement next season. I'm not sure if Bournemouth is bigger or smaller than us, but southern English clubs seem to have an advantage over us / northern English clubs

Finishing consistently in the top half of the Championship with a chance of the Play Offs would be fine by me, but would it be fine for our US owners?

I'd say Bournemouth have to be considered 'bigger' than us because they're being bankrolled. Look at the money they've spent this season to try and get promoted. I'd imagine they'd fall foul of FFP regulations at some point if they don't go up, but doubt they're too worried about that.

 

[JackSomething]

Was happy with last two seasons, this one is average so far.
No such thing an established championship club so no point aiming for that. Barnsley is a prime example.
Last season's managerial exit is a sign we are going to move between League 1 and Championship and will be sold at some point.

I don't think anyone is saying that we should only aim to stay in this league every season, but it would be acceptable if that was the result. What we want to do is be a consistent team in this division, always looking for the right signing or two that could put us over the top, while accepting that we're always going to have to sell our best players if we don't get promoted.

Not sure how Cooper's decision to leave (and the club's decision to allow him to leave) rather than try to build on his time here with an inferior team is a sign we're going to yo-yo between League 1 and the Championship?