BROWNED OFF BY WRECKERS
Josh: ESL would kill kids’ dreams
BURNLEY’S Josh Brownhill has waved good riddance to the doomed ESL – and claimed it would have killed his Premier League dream.
Brownhill, a £9million signing from Bristol City in last year’s January window, has been a big success this season establishing himself as a regular under Clarets boss Sean Dyche.
But had the European Super League gone ahead, the former Manchester United schoolboy star says budding talents across the globe would have seen their dreams and ambitions wrecked.
Brownhill, 25, said: “The Premier League is huge around the world. And as a kid you dream of playing against the big teams.
“The Super League eliminates the chance to do that. That’s what the Premier League is all about. When you’re young, you dream of that chance of playing at all these big stadiums. To take that away from everybody, and even the fans going to these stadiums, is not good for football.
“That’s why it was massive to see even the big Premier League players coming out and saying they didn’t want it to happen.
“So for us as a squad here at Burnley, we’re very happy it’s not going ahead because it would have made a massive change in football when it didn’t need to – football is perfect as it is.”
Brownhill acknowledges the top flight in England has superpower glamour clubs such as the Big Six, who boast the kind of massive resources the Clarets can only dream about.
But as the midfielder heads to Wolves today hoping to take a step towards safety, he also reckons clubs like Burnley give the Premier League global appeal – by making it the
world’s most competitive arena. “That’s exactly what it is,” he pointed out.
“This is why it’s the best league in the world because we go away to Liverpool and we beat them, we go away to
Arsenal and beat them – both of which we have done this season.
“We get some shock results people wouldn’t expect because it’s such a competitive league.”
And Brownhill believes Burnley are flag-bearers for all the clubs who dream of one day playing – and staying – in English football’s top division.
“Absolutely. For a team like Burnley, the main aim was to get into the Premier League and maintain that status and we are definitely one of the main teams to have done that in recent history,” he added.
“For all the teams, especially a club like Bristol City, that’s what they want to do.
“They want to copy Burnley who are competing against the best teams.
“Then you can have a season like Burnley did a few years ago and get into European football.
“And that’s a big incentive for everybody.”