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Article about the Premier League by a...



gripper stebson

Well-known member
Jul 27, 2004
6,653
... Sunderland fan.

Obviously they have survived but still a good read.


"A sigh of relief. We are finally out of the that awful league where we have to pay through the nose to have the Grim Reaper hanging over us season after season and be expected to be thankful for it.

Quite how Richard Scudamore and the Premier League have got so many clubs and fans fooled into thinking that it is the be all and end all to be cannon fodder with no hope of ever achieving anything is miraculous and equally as shameful.

Each season 13 clubs have one aim and one aim only - to not get relegated. Why? What possible reason is there to want to go round in circles, playing for pretty much nothing year after year? Money. Nothing else matters. Fans do not matter, winning cups does not matter. Earning enough money to be able to pay average players and leeching agents obscene fortunes is the aim of the game.

Where have the romance and excitement gone? Is there realistically ever a chance of a dark horse roaring up the outside and even challenging for the league let alone winning it? Nope. Is there a chance of a dark horse roaring up the outside and grabbing a Champions League spot? Nope. Is there a chance of a dark horse roaring up the outside and qualifying for the Europa League via the league? It is very, very unlikely. Great, eh?

People will point to Southampton as a pillar of what can be done if you get it right. They've had a superb season and are the example for everyone else to follow. Southampton are currently 8th in the table and 9 points off Man Utd who are having their worst season since before Luke Shaw was even born. The whole thing is just tragic.

For the filler, the also rans, the no hopers, the Premier League is just a life sentence of misery. For those of you that have watched the Shawshank Redemption each new season is like Red going up for his parole board hearing. He has no chance, has had no chance for years but time after time he goes, is polite, doesn't rock that boat, gets told to f**k right off and then thanks them for the opportunity at the end. No matter how much hope you have, no matter how good you think your year has been, you may have even managed to avoid meeting Leroy in the showers - it is the same result. Nothing changes and it is just more of the same.

Bollocks to that and bollocks to the Premier League.

We do not compete in it, we just exist. If I supported one of the ‘big' 7 clubs I think I would probably enjoy it. There would be a point and some meaning to it. I take no enjoyment from just being on the same pitch as those clubs. Apart from Man City at home we are generally tragic against the big boys and either try and steal a point by defending for our lives or get royally humped whilst being expected to fall over ourselves to praise the opposition for the privilege.

The Championship doesn't have glitz, it doesn't have glamour and it doesn't have players like Suarez, Hazard and Toure. It's an extremely tough division that takes guts and a long old slog but it is competitive. We could easily be as crap again next season but equally we could also win it. It is something different and we are hardly strangers to it. Don't get me wrong, it isn't the best thing since sliced bread and I do have massive sympathy for any staff that are let go (not the players - bunch of sh*thouses) and any exiles that won't get to see any of the matches on Internet streams but neither is it the end of the world.

If we win I'll be celebrating every step of the way despite knowing where we will end up again. It won't be the promotion I will be celebrating - it will be the romance. If we're as inept as we have been this season then I will go to my next parole hearing and at least know that I have a chance of getting out."
 


big nuts

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2011
4,859
Hove
Absolutely spot on. My thoughts exactly, especially the last paragraph which sums up my feelings of promotion perfectly.
 


goldstone

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
7,108
He's not wrong. My thoughts exactly about the Premier League. Which is why part of me really wants us to get promoted, and part of me knows we won't like it up there.
 


Timbo

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
4,294
Hassocks
I would like us to get promoted every 3rd season and get relegated every time. That way we have 2 out of 3 seasons being competitive and enjoying our football while constantly taking money out of the self imploding shit pile that is the Premiership.
 


I would like us to get promoted every 3rd season and get relegated every time. That way we have 2 out of 3 seasons being competitive and enjoying our football while constantly taking money out of the self imploding shit pile that is the Premiership.

..Not likely to happen but I get where you are coming from with that.
 








nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
17,523
Gods country fortnightly
So spot on where we've got to in English football...

TBH, the main reason I would want us to get in the PL would be to give Tony Bloom a return on his extremely generous investment in us, will anyone be happier when we're busting a gut to get 17th place and giving the FA Cup even less respect than we did this season?

The fact is for PL clubs the fans don't matter so much anymore, the bulk of their revenue comes from the PL TV deal. If gates drop 10% it really doesn't matter that much. In the football League fan power is far more significant, without them you're knackered...
 




Drebin

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2011
832
Norway
The state of english football put very nicely. I share their feelings about promotion. Also, i think the writer touches on a topical issue. England don´t produce too little talent because there´s no b-teams, it´s because the players in the bottom 13 clubs are all playing survival football and don´t get a chance to express themselves. A young gifted yet unfinished player can´t be risked by a team lower down the league because mistakes can be literally costly now.
 




Seagull over Canaryland

Well-known member
Feb 8, 2011
3,549
Norfolk
There is a lot in that Sunderland post that resonates with me. I have very mixed feelings about the Albion reaching the Premier League, certainly this season anyway. We all want the success associated with promotion, the kudos of being in the Prem and seeing us up against the best. We've had some very decent games against Prem clubs (plus one or two lame ones too). I'm another who would really love to see Tony Bloom rewarded for transforming the Club and making it ready for the top flight. The financial rewards would give us a big boost.

However I also see the Prem as a potential poisoned chalice. Unless we can do a Southampton (post Adkins of course) then I fear it would largely be a 9 month fight to get to 40-ish points and survival. The other concern is the financial outlay making the squad competitive and the impact on the Club in the medium term if we cannot consolidate.

Personally I feel that last seasons squad was stronger and in better form. Our defence is now a season older and maybe slower. Our attacking play isn't quite as incisive. I know Bridcutt hasn't torn up trees at Sunderland but I would feel so much more confident knowing we still had him on top form, plus some fully fit attacking midfielders and a Prem class playmaker. Top 6 in the Championship with our depleted and disrupted squad is a decent achievement.

In some ways it would be more bearable to get to the play off final, have a great day out at Wembley, put in a spirited performance and just get edged out. Then live to fight another season under Oscar in the Championship hopefully with a revamped (and hopefully more injury free!) squad that should make us stronger promotion candidates capable of giving the Prem a proper go.
 




AmexGold

Banned
Apr 22, 2014
105
There is a lot in that Sunderland post that resonates with me. I have very mixed feelings about the Albion reaching the Premier League, certainly this season anyway. We all want the success associated with promotion, the kudos of being in the Prem and seeing us up against the best. We've had some very decent games against Prem clubs (plus one or two lame ones too). I'm another who would really love to see Tony Bloom rewarded for transforming the Club and making it ready for the top flight. The financial rewards would give us a big boost.

However I also see the Prem as a potential poisoned chalice. Unless we can do a Southampton (post Adkins of course) then I fear it would largely be a 9 month fight to get to 40-ish points and survival. The other concern is the financial outlay making the squad competitive and the impact on the Club in the medium term if we cannot consolidate.

Personally I feel that last seasons squad was stronger and in better form. Our defence is now a season older and maybe slower. Our attacking play isn't quite as incisive. I know Bridcutt hasn't torn up trees at Sunderland but I would feel so much more confident knowing we still had him on top form, plus some fully fit attacking midfielders and a Prem class playmaker. Top 6 in the Championship with our depleted and disrupted squad is a decent achievement.

In some ways it would be more bearable to get to the play off final, have a great day out at Wembley, put in a spirited performance and just get edged out. Then live to fight another season under Oscar in the Championship hopefully with a revamped (and hopefully more injury free!) squad that should make us stronger promotion candidates capable of giving the Prem a proper go.

Get your excuses in early boys, good idea.
 


Ravids

Active member
Jun 19, 2013
437
Fishersgate Maritime Village
Yeah one thing I'm not looking forward to about the premier league (yes we will get there one day soon), will be the non competitiveness of it. We'll have our eyes constantly set on keeping above the bottom three and scrounging 37 points together instead of competing for any silverware.

I feel for the lower clubs who constantly battle relegation every season, it can't be fun and as I said, not really anything to be looking forward to really.

The only good thing about the PL for clubs like ours is the insane amounts of money and playing against some of the best players and biggest teams in the world.
 


Seagull over Canaryland

Well-known member
Feb 8, 2011
3,549
Norfolk
Get your excuses in early boys, good idea.

A realistic appreciation, not an 'excuse'. Many Albion fans would probably agree in finishing 6th we have probably exceeded most expectations for this season given the state of the squad and Oscar new in post and having to contend with FFP.

Meanwhile life in the Prem is a very artificial existence with most Clubs outside the top 4 living way beyond their natural income only because they get huge hand outs of someone else's money and have to blow most of it on the squad, wages, agents fees, paying off failed managers and maybe a bit of cosmetic cladding on the stands. A bit like max-ing out a credit card and not having the means to pay it back, you can bury your head in the sand but sooner or later there has to be a payback from your own pockets.

As we have seen there are those ex-Prem clubs with parachute payments have failed to get themselves back into the Prem at the first, second or third time of asking and are now facing some very serious problems....and a big reality check. There are no excuses.
 






skipper734

Registered ruffian
Aug 9, 2008
9,189
Curdridge
The only incentive from my point of view, to get into the Premier League is that maybe, just maybe we can steadily grow each season and become one of the perpetual big six. Look at them............ two from Manchester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. You might think of Everton instead of Tottenham, historically Tottenham probably has more history.
There is a second group of more northern Clubs, and add those around Aston Villa,then there are the Clubs that are as described by the Black Cat guy, those that hang on by their fingernails.
Next season I will be starting my 60th season of watching, being excited and frustrated in turn by these guys that come to Brighton and pull on the blue and white stripes, I haven't watched every match, some years more than others, the last three I think I have enjoyed the football as much as when Peter Ward and Ian Mellor were entertaining us. Is it possible in attaining a higher league, I've no idea, I expect the journey will be fun.
 




ThePaddy

Active member
Aug 27, 2013
799
Note: This does not reflect the opinion of every fan of every Premier League club.

Palace fans are having a cracking time at the minute. It wasn't fun under Holloway I'll grant you, but there is nothing to suggest that any club can't be reasonably competitive in the top half. We've got the smallest budget in the division and yet we've beaten Chelsea at home, Everton away and we came back from 3-0 against Liverpool the other day. If you extend Pulis' record over a whole season we'd be 7th! :bowdown:

This particular Sunderland fan will almost certainly have changed his mind now that Poyet has them winning. It's all doom and gloom when you're losing but if you happen to nick a few games it's the best league in the world again.
 




life on mars 73

New member
Oct 19, 2010
264
I think it's more difficult for supporters of proud old clubs, clubs with tons of history and tradition (Villa, WBA, Newcastle, etc.) to accept that they have NO chance of winning the League they play in. Bit like England and the World Cup - we somehow feel that we SHOULD have a chance of winning it, but in reality we don't, we're just there to make up the numbers.
 





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