Hi all, Stoke have been in the Premier League now for a few years, and have established themselves very well. I think it's fair to say that the way the club has conducted itself since promotion is well respected throughout the football league in this country. However, there is occasionally some discussion amongst Saints fans about life as a consistent mid-table Premiership team. When we were last in the Premier League, apart from a few seasons before we were eventually relegated, we were always fighting relegation, and we always cut it fine. It was nervey stuff to watch, but it was always exciting, and the relief was there when we scraped through. However, that's all it was, relief. Obviously since relegation, we've had a tough time with changes at board level, at managerial level, of playing staff culminating in relegation from the championship and administration. However, since then, we got a new chairman, some stability and we started winning games regularly. We thoroughly enjoyed our two seasons in league one, meeting some great fans and seeing some really properly dedicated players, and the prize of promotion has been something we could genuinely fight for and have a chance, along with many other clubs in the league. The same is true of the championship with the competitiveness. It is again an exciting time for Saints fans, but this time it is not relief, it is belief and optimism. Southampton is buzzing. However, and this is the issue, it just isn't the case at the moment in the Premier League. There are the top teams, and then the prize for the rest is that one remaining place in Europe. My question is this: what have you enjoyed most about your time in the Premier League, and what do you miss from your time spent striving for promotion?
Just being in the Premier League, playing against the top clubs and being on MOTD every weekend makes it worthwhile, even if we're never going to win the league. The big difference though will be that this time we have money and a decent-sized stadium (perhaps to get even bigger), whereas before we were always pretty penniless and played in a tiny stadium. I don't think qualifying for Europe in the near future is too far-fetched an ambition.
I never said anything to the contrary of all that, all I was wondering was whether Stoke supporters, being in a position it's possible we'll be in in a few years' time, had any nostalgia for the days of marching up the football league, and indeed whether we might feel that way if we are in that position.
I doubt I'll miss it. It's great winning all the time, but we're still just correcting something that went wrong six years ago. I think of every win as a step towards being back where we belong.
You know what..? I miss almost nothing about the Premier League. There's a tiny part of me which hopes it'll all come crashing down around the Premier League authority's ears, because I dislike almost everything about it. Ideally, I would hope that the Premier League becomes part of the Football league again, with Divisions One to Four. But sadly that'll never happen. So should Saints be a part of it..? Again, there's a tiny part of me which dislikes the idea of Saints joining it. But it's the top, and it's the only way to go. I would hope that when we get there, we can be properly competitive, because so few teams actually are there. It's one of the delights of the Football league - the competition is superb. To the media and to competition, the Premier league consists of between 4 and 6 teams. That's awful.
You have no idea how great the premier league is. 1-You get to see your team on MOTD and/or football first(HD) 2-Football matches are shown all over the world(therefore expanding the name of your club which is a great thing) 3-You get much more prize money 4-Get to play against Man Utd,Chelsea...etc 5-What can better than participating in the best league in the world? 6-Our aim is to get in the premier league and more.
I can see where I differ. 1 and 2. The football competition is poorer. It's what the game is actually about, not whether it is shown on TV or in different countries 3. Prize money is unimportant to me. I leave that to others. I'm only interested in the game itself. 4. I think I've said this a hundred times - I really don't give a monkey's about those teams. To me they exist just to play us at some point. I am so uninterested in them, and the consequent media crap is actually annoying, when it is pushed in my face, every time I want to see news about Saints. We could be playing Wrexham and Co, and it would similarly interesting for me, provided they were in the top league. I go to see Saints, not the opposition. 5. Agreed it is better to be at the top than elsewhere, but is it truly the best..? If it was as competitive as the Football leagues then it might well be the best, but sadly, when the title is only possible between 3 or 4 teams, that description is misplaced, IMO. 6. Of course. Bt then where else can you go, when you go upward. It's not as if we can choose
Well this from a Stokie, interesting thread Chris. Some of us oldie stokies can remember getting hammered (no disrespect meant) by Bury, Leyton Orient etc - Fast Forward to this season: Stoke 0 Chelsea 0 Stoke 1 Liverpool 0 Stoke 1 Man Utd 1 Carling Cup - beat Spurs, Liverpool next round Europa Cup - UNBEATEN including 1-1 away to Dynamo Kiev. Won't talk about away from home but there you go. No brainer guys - good luck for your season
I have very mixed feelings about this. The Premier League with the chance to play top sides, sign class players, and get better media coverage is the target, but, in this case, I think it's better to travel than to arrive. Unfortunately, you can't just stop still..if you stop swimming you sink. We did enjoy the Premier League before so I suppose we'll learn to love it again.
is that the number one greatest thing about the premier league - you get to see them on match of the day. as great as thet might be to see hansen and lawrenson slag off our bad defending and its good for supporters like you who maybe cannot get to st marys. unfortunately for the supporter who would rather watch their team at the ground rather than on match of the day, the over inflated admission prices for home and away fixtures will squeeze a lot of supporters out of going. i think there is a lot thats bad about the Epl. There is alot thats good about it too and it must be our aim to be playing on that level. there are far more plastics than genuine fans than you find in the football league and players wages are obscene. i hope should we get there we still keep the family/team spirit that we have now. with NA and NC i think we will.
Well put. I want Saints to reach the top and be successful. I don't care who that means we are playing or what tv program we are on. I really don't think the Prem is the "best" in the world; possibly the fastest, but not the best. I used to like the old league division one, when I remember derby, forest, villa, Leeds and a good team called Liverpool winning it. There were teams coming runners up like QPR, Watford, everton (and they won it) and a little south club called soton even came second once. Days I am afraid we won't see again.
I miss playing the big teams tbh, but i don't miss how greedy the teams and players are. And how now to play and stay in the premiership you need to spend 30 odd mill, plus offer obscene wages to the players. It'll also meen we wouldn't have claridge commenting on us every week and that would sadden me lol.
The greatest feeling in the world was walking away from the Dell/SMS having stuffed Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea. Competing with the best and beating them is what I want us to do. Having all week to chat with mates about a great winning game of football canot be beaten. We have that at the moment and it will be even better against the best teams in the country and, if The Don is to be believed, in Europe. Stuff the telly and the pundits inane rubbish, good football and great players is what I want to see at SMS and that is what I am seeing at the moment.
Whilst they are nearly ex Southampton FC with Danny Higginbotham, Kenwyn Jones, Ricardo Fuller, Andrew Davies (on loan at Bradford), Rory Delap and Peter Crouch in their squad.
^^^this There is only 1 positive about the Premier League. That is it is the 'highest' level in England (or England/Wales if you count the invited welsh teams) The lower you go the more heart the players at those levels have. The higher the more mercenary they are. The lower you go the more 'real' fans there are. The higher you go the more glory boys or 'bandwagon jumpers there are. Even for the lower teams. They suddenly get loads of new supporters The players are more honest the lower you go. There is less cheating. There is more contact. More passion. I could go on So summary. Yes we will have to put up with the Premier League and all the bad s***t that goes with it. We want to be succesful and thatmeans getting as high as we can however I bet all those that followed the last half decade will suddenly realise that the Prem is a let down in all but playing the top teams week in and week out. The rest that fill the stadium's spare 10k of seats will only be there because we are suddenly Prem league so they will not have a clue what I mean. Andy
Agree with you and SecondStain and CBK. There is something very ugly about the Prenmier league that for me represents the endemic glitzy goldfish bowl unimportance of every detail about big ego players (that the 'lads' talk about on talk sport) and 'celebrities' that pervades our society. Like Fran said (I think) I'm enjoying the travelling. Can we keep hold of the special spirit that is at the club when we go up? I do however want Saints to compete at the highest level of course.
