The General Football Thread

Yep, it looks like you haven't given it any thought at all Lapras!...

 

Or, indeed, in the Championship.

 

Didn't Pompey get parachute money?

 

Sol Campbell got most of it...

 

Saints Alive isn't far off.

I do care about playing in the championship, but spending season after season making up the numbers and fighting to avoid relegation in the Premier League? Pass.

 

I get your point RE parachute payments but you also cant ignore the fact that the reason these teams have been in the premier league in recent seasons is because they were good enough to get promoted.

It is a bit of a chicken and egg type scenario (if you ignore the fact that obviously the egg came first).

 

Our average finishing position since promotion is 11th. Plus three semi-final appearances and a final. All that on a tight budget. We are always just a couple of good signings from challenging for Europe again.

But yeah, would much rather be making up the numbers in League One instead.

 

Ouch!!

 

In fairness, at least he doesn’t have VAR to worry about!

 

I see Blackpool are wiinning 3-0 as Oxford. I thought play-offs were supposed to be cagey affairs but someone has forgotten to read that script to Blackpool. I feel Pompey did well to slip out of the play-offs in this instance. This is just a feeling but the last player to have played for Blackpool at Wembley died earlier this year. Time then for the Tangeriines to make an overdue appearance at Wembley and gain promotion.

 

Reporting ahead of tonight's play-off match, here is a snippet from the BBC website.

"Oxford, who have no new injury worries, also ended the season strongly, winning six out of the last seven - including their last three in a row - to deprive Portsmouth of sixth place on the last day.".

I think is was Charlton that was deprived of the last play-off place as their goal difference was inferiior to Oxford's!!

 

Ehh I was with my mate at Wembley watching them beat Exeter a few years ago. They have been to at least 3 Playoff Finals in Wembley the last 3 years or am I taking you up completely wrong?

 

You are right! I have not quite done my homework there, but you get the spirit!!

 

By definition, having something to play for on 5he last match day of the season is not making up the numbers. When you're 11th in the PL, you have nothing to play for and chances are you've had little to play for for weeks. They should make the last Europe place a play off between 6th and 9th.

 

Hold on a minute you moan about the money then suggest a play off game that would just be about money.

 

But the suggestion that any team in the Premier League is just 'making up the numbers' is clearly soaked in jealousy. And I don't mean that as a swipe. The PL is the pinnacle of English (and Welsh) footballing excellence, so even finishing, let's say, 12th, is an achievement in itself. You are, the 12th best team in the country, among hundreds, thousands even. I don't see how finishing in the best 45th-68th position (ie; League One 1st to 24th), is in any way more admirable. It really is as simple as that.

 

I assure you, I have absolutely no jealousy. Finishing 12th is fine but it's just a participation award. In ten years time, are you going to look back and think about that time you finished 12th? Is it going to be etched on a trophy and put on display in a trophy cabinet? Personally I'd rather win League One or Two than finish 12th in the Premier League and with the way the system is rigged, Portsmouth, Southampton, Aston Villa have no chance of winning the Premier League, so I'd rather win something tangible. Heck, if I had a choice of winning the FA Cup but getting relegated from the PL in the same season, or staying up and not winning the FA cup, I'd choose the FA Cup any day.

Still, it's not as bad as the SPL, any team other than rangers and Celtic really are just making up the numbers.

 

So you weren't one of the many Skate posters on the old Beeb 606 that were calling us "Div 3 minnows" and wallowing in the false economy of your Premier League days with a team that nearly put your club out of existance then Lapras?

 

It's not just about trophies though. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from 'making up the numbers'. The seasons we finished top 8 were very, very satisfying.

Being in a league with the country's best, almost every game is a big event. Winning, for example, at Old Trafford or Anfield is something that will be remembered for a long time. Essentially (although fans don't like to think of it like this) we have a season chock-full of mini-cup finals. There are dozens of games over the last few years (well, the Koeman and Poch eras) in which individual games are still etched into my memory. I just don't think you get the same sort of buzz from playing Fleetwood Town. Don't get me wrong, the lower divisions are charming, and enjoyable for so many reasons. But I'm happy we only spent a few seasons there. To be anchored there would be miserable.

I agree with you about winning the FA Cup though, and that's why I always say we should prioritise the cups. But, at the same time, you leave the Prem, and you may never return. How sweet will your 2008 cup success be to the young Pompey fans in 2028, if you are still lingering in the lower leagues?

 

To be fair Pomps I watched your last game and It didn't look like your players had anything to play for.