http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30699020 Some nice memories and photos. Being somebody that's prone to look backward more than forwards (not always a good thing, I know) my feeling is that there was certainly a much better connection between the players and the fans before the PL came along. I think the playing field was far more level too, giving a larger range of clubs the opportunity to compete for the title or a European place.
Absolutely, for example Ipswich under Alf Ramsey went from the 3rd Division South to Champions in eight years and that wasn't about money but good management. Same with Clough at both Derby and Forest, both were languishing in the bottom half of the old Division Two when he took over, both went on to be Champions in less than three seasons. We went from Division Three to a whisker away from the title in nine seasons, things like this will never happen again thanks to the PL and FFP which protects the big teams position. Those who were local always knew where to find Stan...
The Premier League and Sky have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship for the best part of twenty years in which the football-viewing public has fed them ever increasing coin in return for greater distance between the consumer and the product, despite the saturated TV coverage.
I'm not even going to read that article, no disrespect Uber. I think football is unequivocally better since the PL began. Sky has been fantastic for the game IMO. Long may she rule over us.
Sorry Uber I just posted a thread and you have already put the link in your fine thread. You can fire me if you like. I'm not a huge fan of the premier league, that's not due to me sulking about our failed and failing attempts to be in this division, it's more about how fragmented it is. You have the huge powerhouse clubs that the premier league helped create, the mid table mediocrity clubs and then the bottom yo yo clubs. The only thing that has given me hope is Southampton, they may end up getting a top four spot, not bad for a club that only recently had a stint in league one. This gives me hope that other none powerhouse clubs could still achieve some real glory in the future.
Southampton really pisses me off, not least because I live there. There are (were!) a number of parallels between QPR and them: both won a cup against top-flight teams whilst in the lower ranks, both enjoying runners-up places but never the title, both dropping down to the third tier and facing administration. What sets us apart is that they did it right from that point forward, damn 'em.
Yes, it would take us years to get our club into the shape that they are in on and off the pitch. We need to and many other clubs follow their example.
Don't worry, Swordsie old bean, I don't feel dissed in the slightest. The 'standard' of football probably has improved by all measure, but I think the article you can't be arsed to read is trying to make a different point altogether. I think if your choice twenty years ago was just BBC/ITV highlights programmes compared to 24-7 Sky Sports channels, then of course you're going to enjoy more what you're served up today. But if you lived around the club, was used to seeing the stars living amongst you, drinking down your local, catching public transport, having a knockabout with your lad etc. and, perhaps most importantly, being a local lads themselves, then you might be forgiven for feeling that you've lost something along the way, is all.
Southampton's infrastructure was far better than ours in that period, their youth set-up has been in place for a long time and with 30,000 plus at St Mary's they were in a much stronger position than us all-round. Unfortunately we went for Chris Wright's daft share issue and Rugby amalgamation which was a house of cards, when that went tits-up we folded and it took Flav & Bernie to give us false hope. I'm still dubious about TF and the training ground/stadium 'plan', nothing concrete (literally) in place after nearly four years and the team looks like dropping off a cliff. Scary times ahead methinks...
Yeah, they have St. Mary's, but The Dell was worse than Loftus Road. I share your dubiosity (if that's a word) about Mr Fernandes. I don't dislike the guy, but have the growing feeling that he's nothing more than a well-intentioned amateur making gaffe after gaffe. The last time it felt like QPR was a force of any type was under their stewardship with Mr Warnock in the gaffer's chair. It's been ****ing horrible ever since.
That is all very probable Herr Ubes. Having said that, I'm just one of those folk that hates looking back at anything, never mind football. It actually depresses me. I wish the "good old days" to stay the fook where they are: In the empty heads of a few forlorn misfits who have seen better days. (no offence mate )
Anyway Swords, you do look back I'm sure of it. If a beautiful young lass wearing a short skirt with nice pins walks past you I bet you look back, I would!
If it hadn't been Sky then I would have been someone else a few years later. All wheels set in motion by Jimmy Hill's legacy. The speed and standard across the board improved markedly (as much to do with technically gifted foreigners coming back to English football) but we had 10 years where two teams won the league and four won the cup - a huge stagnation that still lingers to a degree. FFP is partially an attempt to redress the lopsided nature of things IMO.
In what way? FFP means that clubs like Chelsea and Man City who benefited from the largesse of billionaire owners can now have a set of rules that prevent other unfashionable clubs from joining their party. The Champion's League money enhances that to the point where a small minority of clubs are monopolising the winning of leagues and other competitions to the vast detriment of both the leagues and at least 50% of the clubs within, moreso in foreign leagues. Look throughout Europe and you will see leagues that used to be competitive and have 4-6 teams challenging for titles have become either one, two or three horse races. Once great names in Europe are falling by the wayside in some countries crippled by debt attempting to match the successful teams that qualified for the Champion's League ahead of them. Football is now so corporate-friendly because of the incredible money it generates that the average fan is becoming disenfranchised by the club they may have spent a lifetime supporting. Two old friends of mine who support Arsenal since we were at school have in the past two years given up going because they'd been priced out by wealthy younger supporters who can afford the eye-watering prices. THAT is where football is losing it's soul...
Football is a lot better now but I still miss the old days of paying at the turnstile, standing shoulder to shoulder with everyone on the terraces, getting a hot cup of tae from some old biddy in a wooden hut. I even miss going to away games on the old supporters club bus.
