Is the Premier League starting to look

...more & more like The Championship, or am I just being a Football snob?

Just done the Fredcast Prediction & a glut of the fixtures were so mind numbingly dull & unappealing -

Bolton V Stoke
Hull V Birmingham
Burnley V Sunderland
Wolves V Fulham

...& that isn't even mentioning the free-falling Portsmouth & Wigan (who managed to attract about 5 fans when United were in town last month)

I know a lot of those teams are 'big' Clubs from a traditional/retro point of view & they have every right to play top flight football because they're here fair & square, but at least half the League would be happy just to survive..which isn't gonna make for great viewing is it?

When you think of the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Forest, Sheff Wednesday etc.. all languishing (nobody to blame but themselves of course) in the lower Leagues

said similar quite recently. Its the weakest Premiership in years. 10 absolute shite teams involved.

Originally Posted by MJ Ramone

When you think of the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Forest, Sheff Wednesday etc.. all languishing (nobody to blame but themselves of course) in the lower Leagues

football... bloody hell!

thought the same when i saw that the sheffield derby was being advertised last night on sky on friday night. FRIDAY NIGHT! £#%&! me the fans will love that; wouldn't be allowed if they were in the PL, where they should be.

unfortunately, the clubs you listed should have been properly managed, and they'd all still be in the prem and it would be just like 92-93 again, QPR, Swindon, Ipswich, Crystal Palace etc actually they were all shit too

Originally Posted by MJ Ramone

...more & more like The Championship, or am I just being a Football snob?

Just done the Fredcast Prediction & a glut of the fixtures were so mind numbingly dull & unappealing -

Bolton V Stoke
Hull V Birmingham
Burnley V Sunderland
Wolves V Fulham

...& that isn't even mentioning the free-falling Portsmouth & Wigan (who managed to attract about 5 fans when United were in town last month)

I know a lot of those teams are 'big' Clubs from a traditional/retro point of view & they have every right to play top flight football because they're here fair & square, but at least half the League would be happy just to survive..which isn't gonna make for great viewing is it?

When you think of the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Forest, Sheff Wednesday etc.. all languishing (nobody to blame but themselves of course) in the lower Leagues

newcastle were absolute dog shite and fully deserved to go down, same with boro. i expect some good stuff from wigan once martinez settles in, despite losing two of the best players there in the summer. hull's excellent first half of the season shouldn't be forgotten and they've played some decent stuff in the first few games. burnely have got an excellent manager and play good football. stoke, fulham and sunderland will all have ambitions of top ten finishes and possibly european football. bolton, birmingham, wolves and the like are pretty shite, mind.

personally i think this season looks better than it has for a while. plenty of 'lesser' clubs seem willing to give it a go from the looks of things. i don't think we'll see the kind of processions that have been the norm for a few years, a few more upsets this season. certainly hope so.

If you look back to the early nineties there were teams like Notts County, Swindon, Oldham and Man City to name but 4 so I think they've always been there in one way or another.

What you are really seeing is the result of a decade where the better clubs got super rich because if the Champions League and the rest were left to make do with the scraps... The gulf in class is huge these days.

Only Villa and Citeh of the chasing pack have got the financial wealth to keep up artificially.

Originally Posted by Mr_Ed

If you look back to the early nineties there were teams like Notts County, Swindon, Oldham and Man City to name but 4 so I think they've always been there in one way or another.

What you are really seeing is the result of a decade where the better clubs got super rich because if the Champions League and the rest were left to make do with the scraps... The gulf in class is huge these days.

Only Villa and Citeh of the chasing pack have got the financial wealth to keep up artificially.

Yeah, of course there has always been 'relegation fodder' in the Top league.
I'm talking about the number of poor teams & 'small' Clubs in the top flight this particular season.
There's usually half a dozen, this season there seems to be 10 or more even (if you include long ball Blackburn under Big Sam)

I'm not saying the likes of Martinez & Coyle aren't good, young managers & I'm not saying that the likes of Newcastle & Leeds aren't where they deserve to be.

Just an observation really.

It wouldn't be so bad if those teams were to actually bring something in terms of football.

But christ, Burnley and Birmingham have to be 2 of the most turgid, defensive boring shit teams ever. The kind of teams that you know they'll say on sky "well you know what you'll get with burnley/brum...they'll be organised.."


I'll let fulham and Sunderland off because they are actually decent football clubs. Fulham now actually have a good team with a great manager.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

It wouldn't be so bad if those teams were to actually bring something in terms of football.

But christ, Burnley and Birmingham have to be 2 of the most turgid, defensive boring shit teams ever. The kind of teams that you know they'll say on sky "well you know what you'll get with burnley/brum...they'll be organised.."


I'll let fulham and Sunderland off because they are actually decent football clubs. Fulham now actually have a good team with a great manager.

give burnley a chance. they've played us, chelsea and the dippers in their first five matches in the premier league ffs. judge them in the new year, last season they played some lovely stuff, probably only matched by swansea in the division.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

I'll let fulham and Sunderland off because they are actually decent football clubs. Fulham now actually have a good team with a great manager.

Yeah, I think Sunderland are a top flight side..I don't mind Fulham either, although SKY's new 'SkySportsFulham' channel is getting a bit tedious (Fulham have been the live game for 3 weeks running I think )

Despite what I think of SOP & the 'Geordie myth' I think Newcastle are a big loss to the League.
We've had some great games with them down the years.
I'd love the Leeds fixture back too.

what would be everyones preferred premiership 20 clubs?

Originally Posted by Sparky***

that fat headed @#%&! of a keeper having the game of his entire bloated existence. .

Hes actually a good keeper sparks.

Originally Posted by Sloppy

Hes actually a good keeper sparks.

I couldn't give a £#%&!. Frauds the lot of them.

Originally Posted by Ginners

what would be everyones preferred premiership 20 clubs?

United
City
Arsenal
Chelsea
Liverpool
Leeds
Sheff 1
Sheff 2
Forrest
Newcastle
Villa
Everton
Spurs
West Ham
Sunderland

Some more

mine would be

utd
arse
chelsea
liverpool
everton
leeds
newcastle
notts forrest
sheff wed
afc wimbledon
west ham
spurs
villa
birmingham
coventry
city
southampton
leicester
qpr
palace

Originally Posted by Ginners

mine would be

utd
arse
chelsea
liverpool
everton
leeds
newcastle
notts forrest
sheff wed
afc wimbledon
west ham
spurs
villa
birmingham
coventry
city
southampton
leicester
qpr
palace

i agree

Originally Posted by Ginners

mine would be

utd
arse
chelsea
liverpool
everton
leeds
newcastle
notts forrest
sheff wed
afc wimbledon
west ham
spurs
villa
birmingham
coventry
city
southampton
leicester
qpr
palace

id swap sheff wed with southend and coventry with fc united.

Originally Posted by marlo

id swap sheff wed with southend and coventry with fc united.

top red

Originally Posted by marlo

id swap sheff wed with southend and coventry with fc united.

would be good to see southend in the top div tbf, not really arsed about fc.

Originally Posted by Ginners

would be good to see southend in the top div tbf, not really arsed about fc.

it would be a hard place to go as well.

imagine a saturday late kick off there. it would be like going to monaco for the evening.

didnt they ruthlessly hand us our arse last time we went there

Originally Posted by marlo

it would be a hard place to go as well.

imagine a saturday late kick off there. it would be like going to monaco for the evening.

didnt they ruthlessly hand us our arse last time we went there

yeah in the cup, theyre moving to a new stadium soon though so might not be the same atmos.