Premiership transfers - I've said it before, but...

There's a heck of a lot of money being splashed out by teams from the top to the bottom of that division on foreign players that I've never heard of. I've heard of E'too, but I reckon that's about it. Spurs have just brought five in for tens of millions and I'd never heard of them. I just can't get excited about it all.

Looking at the Southampton squad in the programme the other day and it bears little resemblance to the squad that took them up a couple of divisions. As much as I'd love to see us progress back up there again, I wouldn't want to see us turning into something like that, no matter how better players they are. Such a big percentage of money raised by our football league is disappearing to foreign clubs, foreign agents and foreign players, whilst clubs like Aldershot are going out of business for a week's worth of Yaya Toure's wages.

I presume every football fan says this when they get to their mid-40s, but football was so much more enjoyable when I was a kid. Apart from the hooligans. In fact, the only three improvements I can think of that I will experience tomorrow that will be better than any game I attended at Oakwell between 1977 and 1983 are that the Ponty is comfier and warmer (remember those gaps in the back wall!) these days (if not as much fun), there's little chance of it kicking off on the terraces and I'm old enough to attend games with a few pints inside me these days, which can help numb the pain when it all goes wrong.

Football is rubbish.

 

I understand your sentiment, but I don't agree entirely with you.

Regarding Spurs; I guess it depends how much you follow European and world football as to if you've heard of them, certainly Eriksen, Soldado and Paulinho are highly regarded and would have been on many team's radar, perhaps Chadli and Chiriches less so.

On Tuesday night I enjoyed watched Gaston Ramirez, he oozed class and never got out of 2nd gear, like a young Michael Ballack. I'd love to see somebody like that in a Barnsley shirt.

 

I haven't had any interest in the Premier league for years now and as a result I struggle to recognise the English players nevermind the legion of foreign players infesting the league. I loved football growing up in the 70's and 80's but now I really couldn't care less. Money and Sky ruined it for me and I think the game is dead as a sport, certainly as I used to know it.

I still love BFC as much as ever, that hasn't changed but away from the reds I'm just not interested anymore.
Football is *****.

 

My sentiments entirely.

coyr

 

Teams change so of course Southampton's squad bares little resemblance to the one that took them up the divisions. What they should be credited for is how well they nurture young English talent. You may not have heard of many of them but on the opening weekend of the premier league season, four of the starters came through their academy and eight of the squad were English. They have also produced the likes of Oxlaide-Chamberlain, Walcott and Bale in recent seasons. The likes of James Ward-Prowse and Luke Shaw who are getting regular game time will be England internationals in a couple of years time.

I have to disagree when you say that you would 'hate to turn into something like that'. They're something we should be aspiring to.

 

Football is a thing all of its own. It is one big **** up from top to bottom. It spends money like confetti. It is all in the premier league and they do not give a toss for the smaller clubs existence. I am not interested in the champions league or our cup competitions because the are demeaned by the bigger clubs now. My football is around the championship and Barnsley nowadays. Poor Refs, **** linesmen, and pederson with hat trick today. It's what makes the world go round.

 

What I agree with regarding this is a column I read a couple of weeks ago in the people think it was written by Stan Collymore. It said there is a demand for premier league clubs to sign a big money striker from supporters, this goes onto the lower teams in the premier league. Examples being Van Wolfswinkel (What a name), Osvaldo at Soton, Dwight Gayle at Palace etc etc. Will these players keep these teams up I am not sure however the supporters are happy they have splashed out

 

The money that clubs are getting is scandalous compared to what is being spent on grass roots. The FA should be holding some of the money back and giving to monitored school/community projects along with gov't grants lottery funding etc and engaging it as a national project whereby its good for kids health,enjoyment a d open to all of them including the kids who's parents can't or won't encourage or participate with them there's enough money to do this on a non profit basis and maybe just maybe we could end up with a nation of technically gifted and enthusiastic generation to fill our stadiums instead of looking abroad all the time.

 

Wow, I could have typed that myself. We have a lot of common views it seems.

 

To be fair to van Wolfswinkel, he has scored at nearly 1 in 2 for Utrecht and Sporting Lisbon - including in Europe. He is a top striker (surprised he went to Norwich though).

 

It's just too corporate now it's like American football and it's only going to get worse.