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« on: April 10, 2018, 12:57:08 AM »
In recent weeks with our prospects looking so bleak, I began to question whether getting relegated was so bad after all.
Let's think it through.
Relegation means a big drop in revenue, despite the parachute payments. But as fans does that directly affect us? Unless anyone is part of the 12% minority stake shareholders (and even then it's a moot point), no it doesn't. The extra revenue only goes in four directions. 1) to the players in the form of wages. 2) to the players' agents. 3) to the clubs from which we buy players. 4) if there's a profit after all of that, to the shareholders. It really doesn't affect the rest of us whether we get £130m, £100m or £50m of TV money.
We miss out on the opportunity to compete and test ourselves against the big clubs. Well, even after 8 years in the Premier League we haven't been interested in testing ourselves and competing against them most of the time. We, and about 14 other clubs, prefer to mitigate the damage, stuff 9 men behind the ball and aim for either a 0-0 or to just keep it respectable. Sure, we like to go and watch the superstars from the top clubs but we can do that on TV. Let's not kid ourselves - we've regularly gone into games against them with no ambition whatsoever to try and win. So will we miss it?
For 14 clubs in the Premier League it's all about survival - nothing else. Even getting into the Europa League would be a poisoned chalice as it over-stretches the squad and increases the risk of relegation the following season. Once survival is achieved that's it - ceiling reached. Staleness sets in and we have to motivate everybody to start again and repeat the following season with the same glass ceiling in place. Not much of an incentive. (Please don't throw the Leicester example back at me - all that did was cause the big clubs to go out and spend so much more that a Leicester will not happen again).
So we've got stale, Stoke, Southampton, Palace, Swansea, West Ham have got stale. The promoted clubs, Newcastle, Brighton and probably Huddersfield will all probably stay up this year. They came up and have given it a go, less afraid of the threat of relegation. With less fear they've picked up more points, as have Burnley and Watford over the past 2/3 seasons. Their own staleness has not yet arrived. They are enjoying the novelty but be under no illusions - how can Burnley progress? They've hit their ceiling. Dyche will get poached sooner or later, as will 3 or 4 of their top players. How do they keep themselves motivated? Give it another 2-3 years and they'll be following us.
Going down and trying to bounce back is actually more exciting. Our objective and ambition next season has to be to go out and try to win every game. Unlike what we've witnessed in the Premier League. We can rebuild the club, with younger hungrier players, and hopefully with a more ambitious manager. And if we succeed in getting back up, the expectation levels will be lower and we'll maybe take more risks, but mere survival will be the glass ceiling again. Give it time and the Premier League staleness syndrome will return. Rinse and repeat.
No, the promised land of the Premier League is not all milk and honey. The riches of being in the Premier League mean very little to any of us. They are a mirage. Clubs and players but a gut to get there. It's their time in the sun. But when the novelty has worn off it can only go one way, firstly to staleness, and secondly, ultimately to relegation and its then somebody else's turn on the merry go round. Wolves, Cardiff, Villa, Fulham, Derby, Middlesbrough are all big clubs - as big as us and and in some cases arguably bigger. What do they have in common? They've come up, gone back down again, regrouped and done it again. They are enjoying the ride and the promotion chase as much as they will the first 2 or 3 years back in the Premier League if they survive. Can they break into the big 6? Who knows, but my money would be on most of them being back in the Championship in 2/3 years time and their fans asking themselves whether it was all REALLY worth it once the novelty wore off?
I won't say that I relish relegation as the Championship is a very tough division to get out of, but in my view it just isn't the disaster that some think. I'd go as far as to say that the Premier League really is losing a lot of its appeal with the top 6 so far ahead financially. I'd love to see them sod off to a European Super League and be replaced by 6 Championship sides. Then we'd have a far better product than the Premier League as it stands right now.