Am I the only one?

Or is anyone else enjoying life in the championship? I think it's great, much better than being in the prem and expecting to lose week in week out.

Of all the time I've supported Bolton they've been in the premiership so I was gutted about relegation! But although we've started terribly i feel excited about going to see my team play, something which I haven't felt since the big sam days. I do expect and think we will be a premiership team again next season but I will certainly miss this league if and when we gain promotion. It is a welcome break, a fresh start and has made me come to a sudden realisation that the prem really isn't all that.

Gonnawin4coyle wrote:Or is anyone else enjoying life in the championship? I think it's great, much better than being in the prem and expecting to lose week in week out.

Of all the time I've supported Bolton they've been in the premiership so I was gutted about relegation! But although we've started terribly i feel excited about going to see my team play, something which I haven't felt since the big sam days. I do expect and think we will be a premiership team again next season but I will certainly miss this league if and when we gain promotion. It is a welcome break, a fresh start and has made me come to a sudden realisation that the prem really isn't all that.

I thought we would win more than we have done so far but I think it is an entertaining league because there are no certainties. If you get a decent run with three or four wins you can easily find yourself in the top six. The only downside for me is the Tuesday night and Wednesday midweek games especially away. You struggle to get the crowds midweek because of work commitments. Thank Christ for the Bolton Nuts live link run by Biggie.

I enjoy the midweek matches more than the saturday ones

I enjoy the 2 matches a week, weeks, but still want to be in the Prem with the best of English Football...

I always knew the matchday experience would be no less enjoyable in the second tier, I just like to see the club competing at the top level, for pride reasons.

So far the football hasn't been more pleasing. It's been exactly the same shite that got us relegated and it's funnily not proved much more effective against lesser opposition.

When you think we only won 4 league games at home all last season and for me were always under the threat of Relegation, it makes a welcome change.

Compared to last season when i was always looking at the league table and watching how the other relegation candidates were doing. Not too concerned at the moment long as we don't get cut adrift by Christmas and we are still in with a chance of the play offs or better...

I like the 2 games in a week thing and to be honest apart from the top 4/5 clubs in the prem I don't see much difference in quality in the teams we played last season to some we have played this year.

It does make a change going to a game knowing we could win every game but the uncertainty of this league in that anyone can beat anyone makes it more entertaining.

aaron_bwfc wrote:I like the 2 games in a week thing and to be honest apart from the top 4/5 clubs in the prem I don't see much difference in quality in the teams we played last season to some we have played this year.

It does make a change going to a game knowing we could win every game but the uncertainty of this league in that anyone can beat anyone makes it more entertaining.

Had we beat the drop, we would still be bottom six, but probably ahead of the drop. The competition has been similar from the bottom ten in the EPL to the Championship teams. With no money we will never catch the top flight teams, but with a manager who gets the best out of his players (ala BSA who has West Ham in 8th place and drawing with Man City this weekend), we might just get back to the EPL next season. No reason we can not do it with the stubborn OC gone. Let's hope Dougie inspires and we get good performances out of the team. Anyone not performing should be shown the door. Great start!

I have not seen any outstanding teams in this league so far ( including us ) so it is certainly still possible for us to gain promotion. Once Dougie has worked out his best team and formation I think we may just turn the corner.

I think it's more exciting, but I don't expect we'll get promoted. Still early days with DF and we have a bit of ground to make up. Hopeful, but I don't expect to go up this time.

I think its more exciting too. Everything can happen in this league, and i enjoy the midweek games. I would enjoy it even more if i could watch the games too.

I have to admit that I have been watching more and more of the Championship before we got relegated. In fact started watching it on a regular basis, again, about 3 season's ago and when we did get relegated I was only one of a few that knew we would have a hard time - especially this season as the rich pickings of the Premiership get even more richer from next season so can you imagine how many teams want a part of that!



But it is a very close league and right what some say that it only takes 3 or 4 games to get near the top whilst it only takes 3 or 4 games to end up near the bottom. A very unpredictable league and thats what makes it interesting to watch.

Its a bit of an anti-climax for me, not much different to being in the premiership except the crowds (especially the pathetic away following most teams bring) are smaller. The massive gaps are a bit depressing, I remember laughing at boro a couple of years ago as they had more seats than fans, but that south stand is just a joke, for gods sake - why cant the club give out loads of free tickets to schools, scouts, army cadets, amateur football clubs and charities for the upper tier of the south stand? They are not going to get sold anyway, id rather have an arse on a seat (that may buy something at half time) than a near empty stand...

I was expecting us to totally decimate every team that was put in front of us if im honest and finish the season as runaway champions... I now realise these expectations were maybe a little unrealistic...

I try to follow the progress of all the divisions if just to keep an eye out for emerging talent and was under no illusions about the task we faced when we were relegated. That's probably why I couldn't understand the "favourites for promotion" and "best squad in the league" tags - especially after we dumped 15 players - I just thought it was disrespectful to other teams, amongst whom are some big clubs/sleeping giants who have ambitions of their own.

Still you never know which teams are going to gel and signings don't necessarily make a good team - as QPR are proving this year,

inf wrote:I think its more exciting too. Everything can happen in this league, and i enjoy the midweek games. I would enjoy it even more if i could watch the games too.

inf, That's the only problem with the Championship. The football show after MOTD on Saturday night is the only real chance to watch all the Championship games.

Reebok_Rebel wrote:

I was expecting us to totally decimate every team that was put in front of us if im honest and finish the season as runaway champions... I now realise these expectations were maybe a little unrealistic...

The bookies had us favourites for promotion as well. I agree about the South Stand. We should sell all of the upper tier to the away fans and let school kids and OAP's sit in the lower stand at a reduced rate.

Reebok Trotter wrote:

Reebok_Rebel wrote:

I was expecting us to totally decimate every team that was put in front of us if im honest and finish the season as runaway champions... I now realise these expectations were maybe a little unrealistic...

The bookies had us favourites for promotion as well. I agree about the South Stand. We should sell all of the upper tier to the away fans and let school kids and OAP's sit in the lower stand at a reduced rate.

Id do it the other way round - have the home fans in the upper tier... my reasons for this are that a lot of the away fans in the championship have a large hooligan element - Cardiff, Bristol and soon to be Millwall. Id rather have these BELOW any children and families than above them were they can (and will) spit, throw coins, bottles, hot drinks etc...

Plus moving them all to the upper tier would mean no means of escape for the away fans - meaning more trouble when they get penned in by our idiot stewards who wind them up and then leave them to the police - who then hide behind the away fans and leave them to the home fans to sort out...

It's not the same any more. I've watched Bolton in the lower leagues in the past but there's no substitute for coming up against the top teams and players. You get used to Premiership football and the sooner we get back up there the better. The atmosphere's crap when there's so many empty seats and the referees are even more useless in this league.

Its shit being in this league we are off the radar, prems the only place to be for me.

Well said, AD.