That there Premiership

I had Sky Sports on for a change last night and they were looking at the remaining fixtures for the top 3. I did a quick prediction of how many points each would get from their remaining games and I ended up with all three teams on 87 points. Could be an exciting finish if you like that kind of thing.

Personally, I don't really give a hoot who wins it, because I don't care for any of the teams. I probably dislike Liverpool the most though, so I'd have to choose between the other two and if push came to shove I'd go for Chelsea, despite their horrible players and fans, purely because I like Mourinho. I would have liked to see what Cloughie made of Mourinho, had he stuck around for a few more years.

It would be nice if Manchester United failed to qualify for Europe though and then each year another of the big teams flop. Just so we can hear all the reports about the financial disaster of not being in the Champions League, to show to anyone who still has a doubt that money is the number one priority of the big clubs, rather than glory or achievements.

 

My 10 year old self would be excited. my 16 year old self if he took time off from listening to The Smiths even more so. My 25 year old self starting to get disillusioned. My now self actively could give a toss. Sad really. Whatever happened to the beautiful game?

 

You just get more cynical about everything as you get older and wiser which impacts on your ability to just enjoy things as you used to. And rightfully so I might add.

Liverpool for me, just for a new name as champions. And I've got a bet on them.

 

I want Liverpool to win for the next three seasons so Manchester United don't have the top flight wins record anymore.

I want Arsenal to win the FA cup for the next two seasons so Manchester United don't have that record either.

I can't wait for one of Everton, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham to be relegated but to be fair would love it to be Manchester United.

The only good thing is that founding member Oldham Athletic are currently struggling towards the bottom of League 1 and could very well be relegated. I hope they are. Then out of the league entirely.

They could have stopped it - or at least stalled it. How they thought they would be part of a 18 strong league is beyond me.

Other than that I don't even watch match of the day and certainly would never subscribe to sky. However the Man City Manchester United Game the other night was class.

From the first to the last Miserable glory hunter faces. I love you David Moyes. You're my best pal.

 

Seriously? Why on earth would you want a family club like OAFC out of the league entirely? That could've been us. They just happened to be in the Premier League when it was formed, but what on earth could they have done to "stop it" or "stall it"? I am shaking my head in disbelief. Please explain.

 

You beat me to it

 

Me too but I have a deep seated hatred for Liverpool so as long as it isn't them I don't care who wins it.

 

Get a Life!

 

The formation of the premier league as far as I'm aware required a unanimous vote from all the teams within the old 1st division and this has restricted the distribution of funds to the lower leagues.

Oldham had to vote to form the premier league and were the one team who surely knew they had no chance of staying there - especially with the plan to reduce to 18 teams from the word go.

They voted to start this mess the football world is in.

They could have stopped it. Or at least put it off a couple of years.

Them going out of the league would be justice as far as I can see.

If that's not the case I'll change my view. But that's my understanding.

 

"They (Oldham Athletic) voted to start this mess the football world is in." I think that is hilarious.

Without me knowing the details of the FA/Football league voting system in 1992, are you saying that OAFC, if indeed opposed to the breakaway, shoud've voted against the formation of the Premier League (would Barnsley in the same circumstances - I'm not so sure?), and even if they had, they could've stopped it? Seriously? I can just see Ian Stott (chairman on Oldham at the time), having a HUGE influence over the likes of Martin Edwards, David Dein, Alan Sugar etc! The Premier League was going to happen, come what may. Oldham just happened to be in the top tier at the time.

The ONLY major difference between BFC and OAFC over the last 10-15 years, IMO, is that we have had Patrick Cryne propping us up. I for one, wish there were more teams like Oldham around, trying to survive as a local club, doing it the right way. Better them than Chelsea, Man City, Blackburn Rovers (all founder members of the PL), who have all been destroying football as we knew it. Not Oldham for goodness sake.

 

The rise of neo-liberalist capitalism.

 

As long as Chelsea don't win it, I don't actually care.

 

Is that right? It required a unanimous vote?

I don't hold it against them that way, but it's interesting, and I didn't know that.

 

I'm totally perplexed as to why you would find such a situation funny.

It's a tragedy. Ask Luton town fans who were relegated from the 1st Division the season before the 1st Premier League if they find it funny.

Yes - I'm saying that any club like Oldham, Barnsley, Swindon, Bradford, Burnley, Hull, and maybe even Palace, Wolves, Cardiff, Swansea Bolton Ipswich and Norwich - teams who have been in or near the premiership but spend as much if not more time in the lower leagues should not be greedy but think for the long term future of their clubs.

If one club has a veto then yes they have huge influence over the decision. Maybe only for one season and maybe the formation of the premier league was inevitable. But Oldham have that cross to bear. I agree that there should be more clubs like Oldham around. Just less actual clubs that are Oldham would suit me. Perhaps there would be more clubs like Oldham if they hadn't voted for the formation of the premier league. Do you sense the irony.

Barnsley didn't vote for the premier league. Oldham did. Whether John Dennis and the other Barnsley share holders at the time would have had the sense to veto the deal we cannot say. We can only hope they would have worked out that Barnsley spend more time out of the premier league than in it - so a maintenance of the status quo would be better for Barnsley in the longer term.

When Oldham join Luton in the conference - or better still Luton are replaced by Oldham justice will have been done. -

Again - my understanding comes from articles and books by David Conn - who is a journalist - perhaps with the telegraph, but google will know. Read a couple of his books. If I've misunderstood I'll have a rethink on my anti Oldham prejudice.

Imagine how many fewer buckets would be rattled if the games money was shared more equitably.

**** me I sound like a commie.

I must go and lie down.

 

I may be wrong here, but as I recall it the three teams in the Second Division that most strongly opposed the formation of the Premier League were Newcastle, Sunderland and ourselves. Of course, within a year or two the other two had conveniently forgotten their opposition as they joined in with the big boys, pulling up the ladder.

The best example of a club doing this and being totally blind to the fact that they're not really one of the country's elite was when the Bolton chairman tried to abolish promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the Football League. Now look at them. Just watch how many more millions they throw away trying to get there again. My prediction for Bolton is that once they are safe from relegation next season they will go into administration and then the following year they will spend their way back up there and the football authorities will turn their usual blind eye!

 

I wouldn't like to question you about the particulars. You've a hell of a lot more knowledge on this than I. Even though I don't know what happened, what you're saying seems to make a lot of sense, so I doubt you're wrong. Although making sense isn't always the forté of the FA.

I don't like the Premier League or anything it stands for. I don't like what it has done to football in this country. Although I'd argue the rot really set in a few years earlier when the gate receipts were no longer shared between the two teams, but went entirely to the home team. Big clubs get bigger, small clubs get smaller right there with that one piece of legislation. As far as I'm aware a football game still required two teams to play it no matter where the game took place.

I completely understand your frustration and your anger at the implementation of the Premier League, but I do think you're apportioning a hell of a lot of blame on to the shoulders of a very minor player in the whole thing. Try as I might, I can't even begin to blame Oldham for what has happened. I do, however, blame them for that bloody plastic pitch, for freezing my nuts off in the pissing down rain stood on their open air away end, Roger sodding Palmer scoring about a million goals against us, and Gunnar diving Halle.

 

I don't find the situation in the slightest bit funny. I simply find your, in my mind, irrational loathing of Oldham laughable. I just do not see how any team in their situation at the time would've done anything any differently. And even if Ian Stott had stood up and disagreed with the split, I have no doubt that he would've been totally ripped apart by the "forces that be", namely the power of the major players (Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Spurs, Man City etc) who were hellbent on forming the Premier League, come what may.

So, I now quote from the book Pine Villa & Oldham Athletic, a 100 year Journey, Stewart W. Beckett, 1995, page 243: "Chairman Ian Stott, stated that Athletic would reluctantly resign from the Football League and join the F.A.'s breakaway 'Premier League' for the '92-93 season. It was understood that every First Division club, bar one, had moved into the F.A.'s corner. Mr. Stott said, "I am not happy at being forced into this position, but I cannot now see anything to prevent the F.A. from implementing their proposals.""

Perhaps you might want to "re-think your prejudice", perhaps not. The Premier League was going to happen, with or without Oldham Athletic's vote. Football in England has been in a much worse place ever since; at least we can both agree on that.

 

Ironic then that arch-Tories bemoan its (The Premier League) founding....

 

It's started already. Embrace it. Feel the Red that flows through you. Become one with the Revolution. The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.

Renounce then rejoice. You've taken the first step.

 

My brother bless him as a irrational hatred of Arsenal based on them stealing our place in Division one post WW1 and hating Oldham seems about as logical.

The Premiershit would have happened anyway they would just have set up a breakaway league. Greed and already decided that and to expect Oldham to defeat Man U, Liverpool and all the rest of the money men is a bit naive I think.

At the same time I do like an irritational hatred. I despise Barnet because I lost my wallet on the way to Underhill with my favourite picture of my nan in it.