Is the Premier League over-rated?

Something a few of us have been chatting about.

Obviously we all enjoy it when the club wins something meaningful, and we feel it when they don't, but is promotion to the Prem actually a prize worth winning?

Okay, there's bundles of cash, but how many clubs get to keep it, and how many just get deeper and deeper in debt?

All for the supposed 'privilege' of making up the numbers in the bottom half, getting fixtures changed at last minute and being patronised by clueless pundits that know nothing about clubs outside the top 6.

There's more, but I think you get the idea, and I was interested in the view from outsiders.

 

Sky TV have been allowed to kill the PL and add to that a handful of ultra wealthy owners the PL has become a three tier system. I can’t speak for everyone else but my failed hope in gaining promotion was that we’d attract a wealthy owner who could take us to the next level.

Promotion and £170m doesn’t go far in the first season, players with promotion bonuses and add ons, increased wages and maybe two or three £25m signings and you’re budget is probably spent.

It depends if you’re happy to survive in the PL or compete at the top end, to compete at the top end you have to manage a freak of nature and a one in a hundred year chance like Leicester did or have filthy rich owners.

For me, promotion this year would have been the final fix on putting us back on a sound footing after the abuse Bates, GFH and Cellino put us through. If Rads had insisted on remaining we’d have turned on him within two years when he failed to invest what was needed.

The PL for me as a fan would have meant putting us in the shop window, no false expectations from this corner.

 

Personally I hate the pl. I’ve said this many times already that it’s not the end of the world for me if we’re never promoted to it. However it has become a necessary evil for clubs to thrive. I hate our best players leaving season after season. You watch young lads like Clarke and Shackleton develop and improve knowing if they get good enough they’ll be poached for the pl. only possible way of preventing that is to be up with the big boys unfortunately

 

Another fix Eire is to limit numbers of how many players can go out on loan, if players like Izzy Brown are getting zero game time they’d have to find new clubs and the top clubs would think twice about signing anyone who wouldn’t immediately compete for a first team place.

 

I take your points, but in reality, how much would it cost to build and maintain a sustained challenge for any sort of trophy? If someone had that sort of money, why would they give it away with no real prospect of a financial return on their investment?

 

I dont want to see Millwall turn into a M.City type of club ever,,
I love my club just the way they are fook the premier league you can keep it,

Championship is the best league in the world to be in IMHO and I think leagues 1 and 2 are more fun as a fan than up there with the so called elite,,,

there you have it

 

How many clubs in the Prem actually 'thrive'?

Over the years, plenty have over-spent to try and look like one of the big boys, only to find it biting them hard on the arse, and for years afterwards.

The player thing works the same down the leagues too, with bottom league clubs getting poached by those above.

 

I take both your points and I can see both sides of the coin. If Man City style owners came in for Leeds I’d love it. It’s zero fun with the likes of Cellino and Bates, I’m sure DMD would agree with the Allams.

Leeds being out the PL for such a lengthy time has cost them a generation of young supporters, it’s okay being annoyed or believing anyone who supports a club should be local but modern football at PL level doesn’t work that way.

Without an expanding fan base buying merchandise and increasing club demand on a global scale you’ll never compete with the elite 5-6 of the PL

Those that feel it is selling your soul I respect that, those like myself longing for the next Man City style owners will probably never be happy as realistically they’re not around the corner and if we get back to the PL it will be survival more than the challenge.

 

I can not remember the last time I watched a premier league match, maybe Leicester when they won the league,
I live in Italy and a guy told me the other day that the champions league final is between 2 british clubs ?
I did not even know and I do not even care if I am honest,

but I love to watch the so called little clubs battle it out for a top 6 finish or survival when its on the net great fun, and if I had to choose a match to got to on a cold winters night a pie and a pint at Wimbledon would win over Chelsea for me anyday

there you have it again

 

The best thing that could happen to the English domestic league is for the top six clubs to f--k off and start a World or European super league. They can take the TV money with them as well and whilst they are at it take all the jumped up self opinionated pundits with them.
Is this sour grapes, maybe but is an honest opinion, have thought for years that sky money has ruined football for the masses and it's getting even worse.

 

Premier league = big cash = big wages = big problems at some stage unless you have a wealthy owner and a great coach.

Failure in this league also means 3 seasons of £20m average per season after relegation, making it the most unfair system in world football. Why should teams like Swansea, WBA and Stoke who were relegated last season have extra cash that teams not on parachute payments cant even dream of. Over half the clubs in the Championship are on parachute payments or have been, meaning big clubs like Leeds cannot compete with a small club on parachute payments, making it impossible to get promotion without having a rich owner or a great coach. Right now in this league Derby are under investigation under FFFP rules yet have reached play-off final? Norwich on parachute payments promoted, Swansea under investigation FFFP rules, Villa will be fined and maybe points deducted too yet are still in the play off final. Birmingham had a 12 points deduction for the same and Sheff Wednesday will also be getting a points deduction. How can it be that clubs that threw money illegally at getting promotion get rewarded.

On top of the sheer stupidity and illegal practices or in other words cheating, there is the TV money rip-off whereby a club shown on TV 27 times this season gets paid only £300k per game. On TV so many times because its attractive football with a worldwide appeal yet only paid £300k per game and the useless club last season WBA were showed only 3 times yet received over £30,000,000 per game. FAIR? TV rewards stars by having huge appearance fees or salaries for appearing in hit films or shows and those bit part players paid peanuts. Yet in football if you are in the championship you get peanuts and treated like a bit part player even though more viewers watch you than so called teams in the Prem.

Sky and BT have screwed over the whole of football and when a club like Bolton goes into administration and doesn't pay its 400 staff (Hotel staff on top of club staff) a foodbank is brought in. How come football doesn't sort it out and in fairness Bolton are in trouble because they fell through the leagues after parachute money ran out. The absolute bellends who pass themselves off as pundits also need kicking out, especially in the EFL games. These leaches are biased overpaid nobodies. Sky got their wish by having a Lampard/Terry final.

Like Eire I have got used to not being able to compete although by having Bielsa this season was special as last seasons Remploy team almost did it. I would much prefer staying in this league if we couldn't afford to compete in the premier league. Football at this level for half the clubs in the Championship is pure and untainted by corrupt owners who will break rules, or have been rewarded for failure by taking parachute payments. The only downside is that our fans are abused at many clubs because they just want our fans money as we take thousands of fans on the road. Maybe its time we stopped away fans and had more tickets available for fans at home? I would hate to be a yoyo club and struggle every year in the prem if we couldn't afford to spend £80m on a full back....

 

To be fair neither of the teams automatically promoted this year had parachute payments...... If Derby win promotion, none of the three had parachute payments.

 

True and it's only Derby who are potentially in contravention of the Financial Fair Play rules, oh and Villa as well It's getting Citeh into a spot of brother at the moment as well

 

Doc Leeds charged Hull City fans £39 for a ticket at Elland Road and you say Leeds fans are abused by other teams

 

Then don't come, simple

 

Then ask a club that has never played in the PL

 

Yes it is. We (Swansea) spent 7 seasons there, and the lustre had certainly gone for the last 3 seasons.
Initially it was an awesome feeling to be there, but eventually you realise all but 6 teams are just making up the numbers.
Any successful player or manager will be taken at the end of the season.

Great if you're a moneybags club, but you're basically playing in a league that you're never going to win. Ever.
At least in the Championship you have the belief you can win it at the start of the season.

 

Innocent until proven guilty surely?

 

Guilty, until the FL decide if they like your club or not, then invent a rule to fit the crime, Brum 9 points, bet Villa or Derby don't get that, like QPR, just a slap on the wrist.

 

Yes you paid top price for the one game, now imagine that for every away game you play.