Relegation needs to be avoided at all costs. The club will survive financially for 1 season in League 1 due to parachute payments but in the second season the parachute payments won't be there and the costs of running the club will be vastly greater than revenue and the club's value. So why would we not get promoted straight back to the Championship? Well we have 17 players out of contract at the end of this season who will all leave for free and will almost certainly be looking for other clubs in the Championship, abroad or the Premier League. There will be other players still in contract who will want to leave to play at a higher level than L1 and we won't be in a position to turn down fees for them.
This means we will need almost a complete new squad on L1 wages and hope that they gel quickly. If we fail to get promoted at the first time of asking then we're into season 2 in L1 and then we will go into administration with a certain 12 point deduction which will kill off any hope of promotion. With administration the administrators will take over the running off the club and Top will be forced out empty handed. The administrators will then try and find a buyer for the most expensive to run club in L1 history with little value and huge debts. If we're lucky someone will buy the club for £1 and take on all the running costs and debts by putting their own money into it but given that the bar for PSR in L1 is so low I can't see that happening unless they sell Seagrave and move training back to Belvoir Drive which means kicking the women's team out assuming they don't cease to exist too. If no buyer can be found then the club goes bankrupt and out of existence.
If we stay in the Championship things will be very hard next season due to having to rebuild the team but at least the club will have a higher value and much more revenue than in L1. In summary relegation equals high chance of adminstration within 2 years whereas staying up equals the possibility of things being turned around