BOROCHAT

Are we better going up or staying down?

By StirlingBoro9111/5 10:22Mon May 11 10:22:01 2026

Views: 790

The question sounds mad, but I'm just preparing us for either eventuality.

The obvious answer feels like, of course, it would be better to go up. Given how short-term our contracts are, do we face the danger of inflated one-year contracts if we go up? I feel like even with the extra money the Championship brings, we'd struggle financially as a club, and that's without any major push to stay up.

The flipside is if we don't go up can we stabilise at this level or do we risk slipping back down the table and eventually into League 2 again?

The emotional side of me says it would be brilliant to go up and experience football at that level.

The pragmatic side of me is torn. Going up brings benefits and risks. Staying down could stabilise us or see us drop away altogether.

Both are extremes, and the reality is we could easily go up and come out of it financially better, even if we came straight back down, or if we stayed down, we could stabilise as a mid-table club that makes the occasional foray into the playoffs.

I don't think anyone on here thinks we're Championship-ready, so any promotion would be a brief one (or two if we're being insane) season adventure.

Whatever happens on Wednesday night, I am so bloody proud of this team and club. I have supported Stevenage for 21 years, 9 of which have sadly been from afar since moving up to Scotland. I can remember away days at York City, Gravesend, and Grays. I look back on those days now as a distant childhood nostalgia. I still keep pinching myself that whatever happens next season, we'll be surrounded, once again, by former Premier League giants with average attendances 4 to 5 times our own.

Those on here who can remember way back to the start of it all will probably feel this even more so.

How far we've come in 50 years!