Just watched the highlights of Newcastle and Sheffield United. And it’s got me thinking what is the point of all this? What have the 3 promoted to the PL teams got? 1 point each from 6 games is it? Everyone was talking a while ago about the Americans coming and wanting to get rid of relegation and have an NFL style model but I think we are there already. Any club getting promoted now has almost no chance of staying up. I would hazard a guess that we are entering a period where no promoted side stays up for a good few years Think about it every year the ones who stay up can get stronger and stronger. 0-8 and Newcastle for all their money ain’t exactly Man City yet, they are miles off that level. We are soon going to have 17 teams who are full of superstars and about 8 teams who Bob up and down year after year. So I ask: what is the point of all this?
All three promoted teams stayed up literally last season and the last time all three were relegated was 1998.
Luton have a substandard squad and a rookie manager. Sheffield United aren’t far off that but usually overly spend on a ‘big name’ English youngster who ends up useless. Their coach isn’t that great either. Burnley might have spent a bit more money but their coach has been exposed before in a top league. It’s all well and good passing Champo sides off the park but it’s naive in the PL. Burnely might improve but I can’t see the other two doing much. It’s a strange combo of rookie, potentially substandard coaches, fear and ‘sensible’ ownership that’s caused a bit of a freak start so far for the promoted teams. Previously promoted and better run teams are doing fine, like they did last season.
What is odd this year is the unusually poor start by such a lot of teams this season. Normally just a point at this stage would be cut adrift but no so this time
In our case, the income boost. Let's be honest the only way we are going to get into the black again is being the yo-yo club we began to turn into. Go up, get a finance windfall, spend eff-all, go back down, come back up - rinse and repeat until you have built a squad capable of staying up for one season. When you do that, you can build on that squad and gradually get stronger each window. It sounds utterly ludicrous, but that is the only way for a smaller club to stand any chance now. As far as we are concerned, we are about, three or four "yo-yo's" away from that right now.
There were a few 'established' Prem clubs who seemed to be in disarray at the start of the season, it'll be a grim race to the bottom between the promoted 3 (Burnley it should be said have had a very difficult start, their style of play might work against the bottom feeders), Wolves, Everton and Forest I think, the likes of Fulham, Palace and Brentford are probably safe-ish, but of course we thought we were too in 2019! We were never quite 'established', but I think we came along at an opportune moment when some of the bigger clubs who are now safe from relegation like Villa and Newcastle were having their banter eras (Sunderland also saved our bacon), plus Brighton didn't become good until we got promoted back to the Prem
Also tbf Sheff United just narrowly lost to Spurs and Man C before this game so they certainly don’t seem as bad as a 8-0 defeat suggests . If anything they looked most solid than the others as they had leaked goals! Both Luton ( v Wolves ) and Burnley ( v Forest ) could have won games this week but guess that is the trouble- they didn’t. Luton probably won’t score many goals and be like us in 2006/7 and Burnley nice on the eye but naive defensively. I wouldn’t totally write them off - Bournemouth lost 9-0 last season for example.
Teams have been getting thrashed 8-0 (and by even more goals) since football was invented. It's hardly a new phenomenon.
I think the top division has become more predictable though. I'm a big fan of the Big Match revisited programmes on TV. Although the 70s and 80s were dominated by Liverpool, even the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea spent time in the second division. It's difficult to imagine that happening in the current era. I don't think a team could ever get promoted and finish second like we did now. Obviously the big difference is money. It's a shame but I can't see it changing now. I wouldn't say it's pointless though. Leicester showed that teams can still dream. But for promoted teams now the height of their ambition is to survive, which is a bit sad tbh.
The points of the newly promoted clubs at this stage is slightly distorted too as two of them should have met already but it was postponed. So by now one of them (hopefully Burnley lol) should have had a win, or both of them an extra point. They now meet midweek the week after this one. It is true though that it’s been the worst start made by new clubs in a PL season history.
Yesterday’s score was the second biggest away winning margin in the premier league, after Leicester won away at Southampton Oct 2019 9-0, it was also the first time one side has had 8 different scorers. It was the 15th time a P.L. Team has scored 8 or more (9) goals. So a once in every 2 years event! There have been just 4 x 9-0 scores in the P.L.
It's really none of our business anyway. We are a Championship minnow. What on earth does the Premier League have to do with a team like us? This is what you people wished for. To be back in the Championship where it's much more fun. Getting thrashed by Leeds is much much better than getting thrashed by Newcastle I'm sure.
Leicester are probably the only current Championship side who would be competitive in the Premier League next season.
I know it's still quite early on, but it would be pretty amazing for Ipswich to do what we did from 1997-2000 and get promoted from League One to the Premiership. Currently, they look better than most sides in this division. Or perhaps it's because they just haven't been found out yet. Ipswich have been out of the PL since they were managed by George Burley (remember him?). Not saying they could cope if they did go up this season, but I think the confidence they are showing so far and the attacking play would put them in good stead.
Burnley circled the drain for a long while, and it was only really Dyche working miracles that kept them up for as long as that. Sheffield Utd were never established and were utterly woeful when they dropped back down. Luton are Luton, this seasons Bradford or Blackpool. You'd imagine if say Leicester and Leeds go back up next season they’ll make a much better fist of it and it will be a different picture down there. Brentford do seem to be sinking back down closer to their level, and Wolves seem to be doing a Leeds, a big established club (historically) that finally made it back but are still struggling. It definitely seems a tough ask for teams to stay up now, but that said there has been more churn between the championship and L1 in recent years, and the financial gap there is minuscule in comparison, so it’s by no means all about money.
It was more a wider point about what’s the point? Like a lot here don’t like Pozzo but what’s the alternative sell our soul and become a nation state oil rich team? Unless Kuwait come in for us we have no chance of ever winning anything. Just like about 33 of the top 40 clubs. They should have been allowed to swan off to their super hyper league.
I think everyone’s forgetting how absolutely ******* awful the championship was last year. If you put those promoted sides into the 14-15 season, Burnley would get play offs and that’s it.
Yep, and we played right into it's hands by being incredibly dog shyte ourselves. Very fact we were still in the playoff places for a good while just proves that. Burnley only won it because Kompany worked out the league was full of tinpot teams and just told his side to go out and win (despite us being so close to doing the double over them).
