The PL obsession .

wallmth

Fans' Favourite
The lack of fight once we’re considered “safe” .
The embarrassing disinterest in any cup games .
Three PL seasons completed and no sign of any money spent on improved capacity or new ground .

Is this just a case of stay in the Prem at all costs ,and do posters think this is the correct approach for the future success of AFCB ?
 
The PL represents the top teams in the land (not the top clubs)....it is a measure of success and is heavily rewarded. As sport is all about money these days it trades its soul for the dosh!....many of us older fans probably don’t like The PL as much for the very reasons you state.

Only two things seem to count to the newer generation of fans....being in The PL and staying there!

As we have seen with Leicester City and to a lesser extent this season with Burnley.....sometimes something rare can happen outside of the top six rich clubs....
 
You’re not the only one Stan , trust me . As I’m in my mid forties perhaps I’m considered one of the older fans too - the success of the last ten years and the march up the leagues has been fantastic, a big part of that has been our manager and all the staff being “ ours “ and the genuine togetherness of the squad and supporters as we have achieved the rise to the PL - “ together , anything is possible “
Unfortunately I don’t hear and see that these days at the club .
The price to pay for PL riches ?
The Championship season has to be the pinnacle I would say - best AFCB team I’ve ever seen in thirty years .
 
Interesting points and I would agree. The EPL is run for the benefit of the big six clubs. You’ll have two or three teams below them challenging for a Europa League place such as Burnley this season and us in previous years. The rest are effectively in a relegation battle. You see the big six get the refereeing decisions and constant media attention. Obviously I hope we win every game but in the Summer I’d be looking forward to a season in th3 Championship far more than another season in the EPL. People think it’s great to watching the top players, to be honest the thought of watching Man Utd does nothing for me.
 
This won’t make very popular (nothing new there!) but I’m finding it dull. Every season we will be one of fourteen clubs attempting to avoid relegation while at the same time not being arsed to try and win a cup. Give me the championship any day.

I get this. I said it to the car on the way back from Anfield where four people collectively paid the best part of 300 quid in tickets, food fuel etc to watch us have one shot. Now don’t get me wrong we have also done that and seen us not have a shot against Peterborough too but not with so many full internationals in the squad!

Unless you can really go at teams it’s dull. Our first season was our most enjoyable despite its naivety for this reason, the best we looked was last year with Jack controlling the middle and three in midfield where we took apart some of the poorer teams. This year...I would rather do the championship than watch this all over again (a couple games aside).
 
This won’t make very popular (nothing new there!) but I’m finding it dull. Every season we will be one of fourteen clubs attempting to avoid relegation while at the same time not being arsed to try and win a cup. Give me the championship any day.
I agree. When I look back to when we were in the Championship it was far from dull. Notably because of the way we played football back then. Now our style is a little turgid and predictable at times, but we're now in an era where money dictates.
 
Disagree with posts above. Some of the tactical battles this season have been fascinating - even if we’ve lost most of them. Loved watching Ake and Adam Smith, and L Cook has at times been superb.

As for the rest - nothing startling but few really shoddy shows. Can’t have jam on it every year!
 
I agree red harry .I didn’t start this thread as a “ would we be happier in the championship .More a throw caution( finances) to the wind attitude when it comes to cup runs and stadium development ....I think most would agree , one less 20 million player but a piece of the new stadium jigsaw puzzle closer .
 
Agree with wallmth AND red harry. Trading PL doesn't guarantee EFL excitement. But yes, some of our fans who were scathing about lesser teams being played in Cup competitions now excuse afcb when we do it.

The money goes to Maxim. Thats fair enough, he must have shelled out a fortune to get us here, but now it feels as if all outward communication has stopped.
 
Interesting points and I would agree. The EPL is run for the benefit of the big six clubs. You’ll have two or three teams below them challenging for a Europa League place such as Burnley this season and us in previous years. The rest are effectively in a relegation battle. You see the big six get the refereeing decisions and constant media attention. Obviously I hope we win every game but in the Summer I’d be looking forward to a season in th3 Championship far more than another season in the EPL. People think it’s great to watching the top players, to be honest the thought of watching Man Utd does nothing for me.

Leicester 2016? Avoided relegation 2015, win the league 2016, whilst your big six comment is semi true every now and again a season pops up and surprises us. We finished 9th last season. Who can complain at that
 
The problem with saying it'd be better in the championship or saying that was our best season as if the league defined our identity is that you sort of have the same monster looming over you - the EPL.

Because the problem with doing well in the champ is that you might just bloody win it and then look where you end up! Or should you try not to win it, just stay in it and finish mid-table.... well we're doing that already but in a different league.

The difference in the EPL compares to the champ is that we have no chance of winning it no matter how hard we try. But we may as well still try. Otherwise we drop down, try and win again and then we're back to square one. We (literally at the minute!) can't win.
 
No body wants to be mid table in the championship . Most just agree that it was the most exciting season in the entire history of our club .

The most we could hope for would to become a boing boing club .. but that’s a very dangerous game for a club of our size to play .

I often think of Reading when I compare us to other smaller teams .We have a very similar background ,and a similar rise ,they have a better stadium ....but strangely I don't want to end up like Reading a lower championship team .
 
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It’s taken us all these years to get to the PL and when we did a lot on here said it was a dream come true, including myself.

I want us to stay in this league and dream of doing a Leicester, bet Leicester fans didn’t expect it when the season started. Also we held them to draws home and away that season.

Seeing all these top World Class players like Salah etc coming to DC to play my team, not in a once in a while FA Cup game but a league encounter.

Those talking of the excitement of the Championship, surely haven’t forgotten games like when we beat Liverpool 4-3, a team of a higher standard.
 
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Our time in the Championship will always be looked back on fondly because we basically went into it as snotty upstarts, smashed everyone around, pissed everyone off, and won the bloody thing in two seasons. Whilst we bounce around the bottom half of the PL, of course those times will seem wonderful, indeed they were.

However bigger clubs than us have dropped down there and either stagnated into even more tedium, just with far less money to do anything with the club. Or worse than tedium, gone down again.

This almost fondness for going down and winning some games at a level we've previously smashed is exactly the same conversation Saints fans have been having for the last 4 months. You can bet your bottom pound that talk has suddenly stopped after yesterday with the prospect of survival improved dramatically. No saints fan will be almost happy with relegation now.
 
Is this just a case of stay in the Prem at all costs ,and do posters think this is the correct approach for the future success of AFCB ?

Neil mentioned on another thread that he thought the league was easier . I disagree. Since the TV money went into orbit last year we have 14 clubs absolutely hell bent on avoiding the drop at all costs . They are making it tactically harder to break each other down, unwilling to take risks and that's making a less interesting spectacle.

Two very savvy managers came up with Newcastle and Brighton. They know exactly whats required at this level and they are delivering yet those teams get slated on here. In relation to attractive football there's no difference between West Brom and Burnley. Burnley are simply better at playing the survival game than the other 13 including us.

I still think its fascinating, the relegation battle that is but I also feel that the club has reached its limit as a mid table PL club. Its the sort of thing Swansea fans have been on about for the last few years.
 

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