SHA Small Heath Alliance

Agreed. Clubs that see themselves as Premier League clubs as opposed to one of the 92. Applies to clubs who kind of get themselves established there so you have Burnley currently and recently Stoke. Charlton and Bolton at one time were the same and at the inception of the PL you had Sheffield Wednesday. It's the idea they have this divine right to all the TV spondoolies and the leg up of parachute payments when they drop into the normal football league. Hopefully fans of other clubs will be similarly annoyed by us within five years

I can't stand the spin off media coverage and podcasts. How they get anybody young and good looking with a bit of a media following to start pretending that they like football and pretend to be really invested in it. Also can't stand the girls every club seems to have that pretends to be a die hard fan and make video of their 'reaction' to whatever the result is on twitter. The villa girl keeps popping up on my twitter feed for some reason. It's all a bit embarrassing and forced, and all she's doing is promoting her only fans. To be honest she comes across a bit stupid!!

But I would cut my right arm off to be back in the prem 😂

Yes, they're so full of self-interest. It's pleasing to know that when we're back in the Prem we'll be partly focused on Huddersfield and Reading's ownership issues and not just thinking about our own club.

Everyone’s inability this season to beat the vile.

turley

MacAttack

Their fans.

Who have never seen the team play ‘in the flesh’, have no geographical or family link to the club etc., and finally, are seen as ‘experts’ in the media.

I assume you mean people who still reside in England. Some overseas fans will be far more passionate (and knowledgable) supporters than those who are able to attend games.

It's pleasing to know that when we're back in the Prem we'll be partly focused on Huddersfield and Reading's ownership issues and not just thinking about our own club.

I won't, no matter what league we're in. I genuinely couldn't give a shit if another club went under (obvious exceptions aside).

I care about Blues and only Blues.

My take on this is more of the kind of lad that lives in Shirley but decides to support Chelsea despite having no links to the club and becuase his mates support other top six clubs (who also have no links to them) and wanted to join the conversation. And say things like "I know ball" to express their knowledge of football.

Formerly Deckchair

TBF the injury lists for some teams is huge, and the international and European domestic schedules don't help.

My big frustration, not only the clubs but the whole Premier League juggernaut, and the media, is that football begins and ends with the Premier League.

The nature of the beast. If you are to be a business that is impacted by these schedules, you plan accordingly.

Also as a side point, it's ridiculous to suggest the amount of games played is anything new.

I think you may have missed the hint of sarcasm within my post.

Ownership issues - the willingness to look the other way when a Russian oligarch turned up with money gained from highly dubious sources. Every Chelsea fan and the media circus surrounding the PL should be very apologetic for their complicity in illegality.
Every action any of us take is in an ethical and moral context - I'm not claiming that any of us are perfect but the way in which what we knew was 'dodgy' was accepted and even applauded undermines all the good things about the PL and there are some.

BronxHat

Formerly Deckchair

TBF the injury lists for some teams is huge, and the international and European domestic schedules don't help.

My big frustration, not only the clubs but the whole Premier League juggernaut, and the media, is that football begins and ends with the Premier League.

The nature of the beast. If you are to be a business that is impacted by these schedules, you plan accordingly.

Also as a side point, it's ridiculous to suggest the amount of games played is anything new.

But there are more 'competitive' games than before. Most international friendlies are now international games, club friendlies are often tournaments where the best players are played to appeal to overseas fans i.e. a competition in the USA to gain fans.

So the number of games may not have changed but the requirement of top players to play, and the intensity and physical requirements of the games has changed.

Formerly Deckchair

BronxHat

Formerly Deckchair

TBF the injury lists for some teams is huge, and the international and European domestic schedules don't help.

My big frustration, not only the clubs but the whole Premier League juggernaut, and the media, is that football begins and ends with the Premier League.

The nature of the beast. If you are to be a business that is impacted by these schedules, you plan accordingly.

Also as a side point, it's ridiculous to suggest the amount of games played is anything new.

But there are more 'competitive' games than before. Most international friendlies are now international games, club friendlies are often tournaments where the best players are played to appeal to overseas fans i.e. a competition in the USA to gain fans.

So the number of games may not have changed but the requirement of top players to play, and the intensity and physical requirements of the games has changed.

And with it, the sport science side of the game has developed, how the players are looked after and the facilities they use to play are worlds away from back then.

Can anyone from the era say whether George Best complained about playing 50+ game seasons for 5 years in a row?

The fact they can poach young players from clubs outside the premier with impunity and at virtually no cost.

This, if there is anything that shows how the people who run football in this country feel about the whole game this is it

Club colours. Too many playin the league in the same colours as Burnley