Why life in football’s top flight is not all it’s cracked up to be
LAST October I wrote a column on why football fans should not want their team in the Premier League. Let me take you back 10 months. I had just gone with a mate to watch a swashbuckling Cardiff City.
Oozing with confidence, pace and power they overwhelmed promotion rivals Leeds under the lights at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Meanwhile my beloved West Bromwich Albion were spiralling to a meek relegation after eight years in the top flight.
Hapless embarrassing dance pioneer Alan Pardew would soon be coming in to ensure our slump became a rut and relegation swiftly followed.
It was then I warned Bluebirds fans to be careful what they wish for.
Top flight life isn’t all it is cracked up to be.
Getting onto Match of the Day every week is great but you will still be written off with little or no research (Chris Sutton), referred to as a “lesser club”, and given a paltry two minutes at the end of the show.
If on the off-chance you do manage to beat a “better”, or to be more accurate “richer” club your reward is for the debate to be framed around the richer club’s failings not your team’s success.
Let’s face it, if you dig below the surface of stylish television montages, rain-defying hair styles and Instagram stories, the Premier League is a recipe for one thing – fan misery.
Ultimately, everyone ends up miserable. You have six clubs whose aim is to win the league. Only one of them can, so that is five clubs’ worth of fans disappointed (25% of the league).
You then have the rest of the league who are essentially trying to stay up.
In the eight years my club were in the league we achieved this aim for seven seasons in a row. Were the fans happier? Not really. We had reached a ceiling that only oil money can break through and the only way was down. We went to every game expecting to lose.
Maybe we would be able to grind out a win but very rarely would we see our team score more than one goal.
All of this was set against the backdrop of obscene prices for both match day tickets and TV subscriptions. Frankly, it was miserable. Roll forward to last weekend when we beat QPR 7-1.
I saw Albion score as many goals in that game as we did in the last 10 of Tony Pulis’ matches in charge.
This season, for the first time in a decade, I was excited.
I didn’t (and still don’t) expect us to go up, but we can go to games with hope.
It is not like the Championship is for small teams anyway, it is the land of the sleeping giants that you get to welcome to your stadium
Even if it was full of minnows wouldn’t matter. it
Some of my best memories in football are away games with my dad to Tranmere and Wolves (lol).
So what is my point?
Why am I running down the league that the Bluebirds have battled to get into?
It is to offer some heartfelt and sincere advice – remember to enjoy it.
Memories are what make being a football fan.
On the pitch, the worst thing that can happen to you is that you lose games and get relegated. Relegation just makes it more likely you will get to make memories like last season, when the Bluebirds clinched promotion. I covered the fan reaction on May 6. Apart from one moment when I wrongly thought I was going to get beaten up, it was one of the most positive and lovely days I have had reporting. It was joyous.
What circumstances could create a day like that as a bottom-half Premier League team?
The only two things I can think of are Wigan’s FA Cup win and Leicester’s once-in-a-century season.
So Bluebirds fans, don’t get infected with PLFMS (Premier League Fan Misery Syndrome).
Appreciate every battling 0-0 draw. Savour being talked down to by pundits. Never forget the 300-mile round trips to see your team lose.
They are all the sugar that will make your next success all the sweeter.
Good luck for the season. Hopefully see you next year...