How many top leagues in the world have or have ever had a pool of more than 6 teams with a shot at winning it at any one time? Mad argument.
Man city have had a hell of a long wait in Man United s shadow so personally I cant begrudge their true fans their turn in the sun.
Didn’t realise this thread was a private conversation, or is that only when people ask you to elaborate on your comments with facts?
Hmm well I didnt accuse you of being a drama queen but, as you didnt extend the same courtesy I was sort of avoiding replying to you specifically. However, do crack on, I'm off out for a glass of wine in the garden.
The English league should contain a majority of English players in each side, in my very humble opinion.
I’d favour City to win it again but David Silva, Aguero, Fernandinho & Kompany are all coming to the end of their careers at the top level & Guardiola normally gets bored & leaves after a few season so it’ll all change again it always does. On the biggest chequebook, Man Utd’s got the biggest wage bill in world football but are 35 points off the top, surely that’s a good thing? It’s not just down to money, it’s down to good management & recruitment as well. I think the main weakness with the league is that the middle tier of the league isn’t strong enough as several of the traditional (throughout my lifetime) next best clubs, Villa, Newcastle, Everton, Leicester have underperformed. Wolves have done well against the big clubs but they’ve been pretty much on their own. I’d expect Leicester & Everton to be close to that top 6 next season. Thinking about it how often does a team outside the top 6 win a top league the next season? Other than Leicester I can’t think of it happening in my 20 years of following football closely. Even the big upsets like Deportivo winning in Spain was an already established top 4 or 5 club winning it.
I agree about glory hunters but then you get City getting mocked not filling their stadium because they don’t have as many glory hunters as Man Utd & Liverpool so they can’t really win. I just think it’s all relevant, transfer values have gone through the roof, a £30m player when in the early 2000’s is probably an £80m player today but if I look at how much a chocolate bar or a bus to town was back then compared to now the percentage increase is pretty similar. I also think we’ve always had English clubs hoarding young English players that were filling benches, Man Utd alone for example had Butt, Phil Neville, Wes Brown all sitting on the bench whilst been regulars in the England squad & more recently Smalling & Jones. I don’t think it’s any different to the modern day with Hudson-Odei, Barkley, Foden etc. It can definitely be annoying hearing about kids on £20k a week & they’re on loan or playing for the under 23’s but I guess they’ve got to pay them it or they’ll do a Sancho & go abroad & earn that kind of money
The levels of money and greed of many things associated with the premier league is what annoys me. Agents making millions of pounds on a single deal, the top clubs wanting a bigger slice of the cash year on year while some also poach young players for next to nothing from other clubs below them. I know there are millions of dollars swilling around the NFL but at least they have a system to at least try to make it competitive year on year.
It’s hardly premier league only. The Barnsley first choice eleven for the majority of this last season in League One, the third tier, had six non-English players if you count McGeehan as Northern Irish. And that is if you consider Dougall and Bahre as subs and ignore the fact Mowatt might have qualified for Scotland. I can see us signing a lot more players from abroad too. Did that bother you? Cant say that I was remotely arsed at all.
Im not sure why but ive watched match of the day since jimmy hill did it and later all the sky games but unless its to annoy the wife for the last 5 to 10 years i cant get through a premier league, champions league game without nodding or losing interest but im more pasionate now about BFC than ive ever been. So there has to be something in it for me to lose that much love of the game whether, its money in the game, the lack of personalities or the change in how games are played now but for me its not as good.
I know what you mean as I used to have a real soft spot for City before they got bankrolled to success. They now leave me cold, despite the quality of football the money has bought. I know it’s irrational but I wasn’t even bothered who won the title and I really don’t like Liverpool. Currently cheering on Mansfield - Flicker, Danny Rose, Mellis (he hasn’t changed!) - against Newport which I’d watch every day of the week before Premier League.
Yeah they don't have the same support because they don't have the same amount of glory hunters. The fan base is growing though if the carry on, my young en comes watching barnsley with me but he likes city and alot at his football team and school do. They have good loyal support though to be fair I remember them average near on 30k in the old division 2 ( league one). It defiantly is annoying hearing about kids on massive wages it's worse with the big 6 but even isgrove at southampton was reportedly on over 15 a week when we went up last time round. I wouldn't like to think what the young lads we played in the jpt were on, they sold mooy to Huddersfield for 8million was it and he never played a game for city they just seem to cast the net so wide with young players. I don't like the way they bought their way to the top buying players like robhinio,lescott,Scott Sinclair... making massive losses but not caring. Pep has them play in some great stuff though now so fair play never seen a team move the ball forward so fast at times. But personally I've gone off the premiership quite alot past ten years or so.
It is so stratospheric now that what arbitrary insane figure would you deem worthy of the cap? Cut everyone's wages to £100k a week (still a mind boggling figure)? They'll just move abroad. Think the horse has well and truly bolted. Would only ever become realistic if Sky implodes.
Table formats might be the fairest way but are the least exciting to neutrals. I much prefer watching the playoffs and the champions league than any standard league game.