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BWFC: The Good, The Bad And The Downright Ugly

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You make your mind up which is which



So, now we know the three new threats to our promotion campaign next season. Two of them, QPR and Reading, have been known to us for several weeks, but on Tuesday night at the Emirates, Wigan’s grip on the glory days finally slipped. They will join QPR and Reading in the Championship next term.

What do you make of our three new inmates? We know only too well how the drop effected us at the start of last season. Was that because of over-confidence? Maybe our Premier League institutionalised players were shocked at how difficult it would be to acclimatise to their new surroundings? Maybe it was both…

Queens Park Rangers will be the team most affected by the fall. Mr Fernandes not only spent 10’s of millions on players, he also spent a king’s ransom on a manager’s salary whose C.V would guarantee survival from an almost impossible situation. Unfortunately for them, it would seem, money has it’s limits. It’s easy to assume, QPR’s immediate return to the top tier, rests at the feet of their star-players remaining loyal to the predicament they were largely responsible for. But with salaries reportedly £80,000 a week on the wage bill, the future of the club may rely on getting said players off the books completely. I, for one, will be watching their plight intently…

It’s hard not to feel empathetic towards Wigan’s drop. No, not sympathetic… empathetic. After 8 seasons in the V.I.P rooms of the Premier League, the pie-munchers will be slummin’ it in the Championship for the immediate future, at least. Similar to Bolton last term, their manager has stated, they’re in a fortunate position where they need not sell their ‘best’ players. Financially speaking, the statement is more than likely correct, but the big difference with Bolton’s situation last season, Wigan’s manager is in demand. If Roberto Martinez moves on this summer, some of the ‘best’ players will almost certainly move with him… Probably to the same club. Next season, we may be seeing a completely different team that relegated the club this week, which may be detrimental to their promotion chances. However, if a new man is at the helm for week one of the new season, unlike Bolton, they may hit the ground running. Again, I’ll be watching their ongoings intently…

Reading, the final new-fish to fall, will be the team best equipped to make an immediate return to the Penthouse. Whether sacking Brian McDermott before the season-end was a good idea or not, The Royals executed what aussie mike thinks Wanderers should have done near the end of last season. With hindsight, mike was correct and if nothing else, Bolton would have had their new man in charge all summer to plan their Championship attack… Exactly the thing Reading are doing as we speak. Not only has Nigel Adkins got promotion to the Premier League on his C.V, it will be as fresh in his memory as the unwarranted sacking served up from his previous club. Household name players and their agents wanting big-money moves will not be blighting Adkins this transfer window. His solid Championship cast will be chomping at the bit to get another taste of seeing their faces on Match of the Day. With nothing much for me to watch intently over the summer, Reading are the team from the fallen three I fear most next season.

What do you think?

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