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Alex Pritchard - Brentford

Chris12

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2013
7,293
13,252
No. Swansea = big city, big fan base, decent ground and crowds.

I felt it was devalued all the years a piss poor club like Wigan wasted a space in it. Same with Blackpool. Neither team has a big enough fan base base to support a Premier League team. Look what's happened to both of them now.

Both Brentford and Bournemouth have got where they are with the aid of Sugar Daddy money and I'm always with the clubs who've got a bit of heritage and a fan base that rightly belongs in the PL. Leeds, Wolves, Norwich, Forest etc.

And the Premier League has been a declining brand in recent years due to failures in Europe and this won't be helped by the site of two 12,000 seat antiquated stadiums.

The odd one makes a nice story, but two clubs in one season added to Watford isn't a good thing in my opinion.
No clubs have a right to belong in the EPL
 

UpTownSpur

Says it like it is
Dec 31, 2014
2,266
4,362
You'd rather have Leeds back so they can come to White Hart Lane and sing 'Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz' again?

I'm not sure how you've decided Brentford have a sugar daddy. They have one of the smallest budgets in the Championship. The only money they spent in the summer was what they raised from selling their Player of the Year from the previous season. They have first team squad average age of about 25 and have made some very shrewd signings, often from lower leagues (such as Andre Grey, signed from Luton in the Conference, who has been their top scorer this season) loans such as Pritchard, or picking up young players who are not wanted at higher level teams (such as Jake Bidwell, signed on a free transfer from Everton.)

If the Premier League is a 'declining brand' it certainly hasn't shown in the value of TV deals, and I seriously doubt overseas viewers who watch it for Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea etc would really care about the size of Bournemouth's stadium. Did people stop watching La Liga because Eibar got promoted with their 5,250 capacity stadium? Unlikely. And if Brentford do get promoted, I believe they may have to groundshare as Griffin Park doesn't meet requirements (nothing to do with capacity, but things like size of media areas, undersoil heating and floodlights) and their new 20,000 seater stadium won't be built until the season after next. Having been to Griffin Park on numerous occasions, it is certainly no worse than Loftus Road.

Ok, look at it from another angle. I like a bit of NFL - big stadiums, nearly always full. Just a great spectacle. I don't think I'd be inclined to watch if I tuned in one Sunday to see a match with, say, the New York Giants @ Obscure American Town With A Population of 1000, the game being played at a 10,000 capacity single wooden stand stadium.

One team like Bournemouth or Brentford makes a good story but two, three of four, starts to devalue the league from a commercial point of view.
 

Ironskullll

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2010
1,378
1,894
Ok, look at it from another angle. I like a bit of NFL - big stadiums, nearly always full. Just a great spectacle. I don't think I'd be inclined to watch if I tuned in one Sunday to see a match with, say, the New York Giants @ Obscure American Town With A Population of 1000, the game being played at a 10,000 capacity single wooden stand stadium.

One team like Bournemouth or Brentford makes a good story but two, three of four, starts to devalue the league from a commercial point of view.
An obscure American Town such as Green Bay? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay,_Wisconsin
 

DaSpurs

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2013
11,816
13,655
An obscure American Town such as Green Bay? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay,_Wisconsin

Exactly how I was going to respond.

You'll note they have no other professional sports, and it's gridiron which got them that massive draw of economy to their town in the first place.

I get the argument of wishing to see the larger fanbases towards the top, but I love seeing teams earn it on merit. For instance, in the Bundesliga, I'm not fond of Leverkusen or Wolfsburg for being driven by massive international companies (pun intended re:Wolfsburg). However, I'm not as anti-Hoffenheim as many fans of German football are, as it's a hometown lad who busted his nuts to build a successful company and he injected it into his local team, and they cleverly and intelligently built from the ground up. Their town has 3,000 people in it, but due to the success of their football team, they drew in more fans and now have a decent sized stadium which does relatively well in selling tickets.

So I love small-side success stories and the long term impacts they can hold. For the old top flight teams now struggling in the pyramid, they have less of an excuse, and should demand more from their leaderships; but that shouldn't be at the expense of resenting smaller clubs which do manage to figure things out.
 

chinaman

Well-Known Member
Jul 19, 2003
17,974
12,423
Exactly how I was going to respond.

You'll note they have no other professional sports, and it's gridiron which got them that massive draw of economy to their town in the first place.

I get the argument of wishing to see the larger fanbases towards the top, but I love seeing teams earn it on merit. For instance, in the Bundesliga, I'm not fond of Leverkusen or Wolfsburg for being driven by massive international companies (pun intended re:Wolfsburg). However, I'm not as anti-Hoffenheim as many fans of German football are, as it's a hometown lad who busted his nuts to build a successful company and he injected it into his local team, and they cleverly and intelligently built from the ground up. Their town has 3,000 people in it, but due to the success of their football team, they drew in more fans and now have a decent sized stadium which does relatively well in selling tickets.

So I love small-side success stories and the long term impacts they can hold. For the old top flight teams now struggling in the pyramid, they have less of an excuse, and should demand more from their leaderships; but that shouldn't be at the expense of resenting smaller clubs which do manage to figure things out.


Plus the fact some of these so-called big teams were not doing much until sugar daddies came along, Chelscum and Shitty being prime examples.
 

chinaman

Well-Known Member
Jul 19, 2003
17,974
12,423
And as a rule sugar dad will get tired one day and looks for a new bird. Then they're back to square one.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
Ok, look at it from another angle. I like a bit of NFL - big stadiums, nearly always full. Just a great spectacle. I don't think I'd be inclined to watch if I tuned in one Sunday to see a match with, say, the New York Giants @ Obscure American Town With A Population of 1000, the game being played at a 10,000 capacity single wooden stand stadium.

One team like Bournemouth or Brentford makes a good story but two, three of four, starts to devalue the league from a commercial point of view.

Fair enough if that's your view, but personally I'd rather see a team make the Premier League by virtue of the quality of their football and infrastructure, rather than the size of their stadium or the pre-eminence of their town.
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,706
The entire football pyramid is based on the selection of teams vying to get to the top.

Getting there means they blooming well deserved it.


Staying there is part of the evolution process.
 

UpTownSpur

Says it like it is
Dec 31, 2014
2,266
4,362
Fair enough if that's your view, but personally I'd rather see a team make the Premier League by virtue of the quality of their football and infrastructure, rather than the size of their stadium or the pre-eminence of their town.

From a football point of view I agree, but from the cold hearted "English football as a product" - which brings in massive revenues from overseas - too many "little clubs" isn't good for the "brand". And this could affect future TV deals.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
From a football point of view I agree, but from the cold hearted "English football as a product" - which brings in massive revenues from overseas - too many "little clubs" isn't good for the "brand". And this could affect future TV deals.

The big clubs who secure the vast majority of overseas interest (the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and us) are all unlikely to be relegated. Some territories will watch games and strike up allegiances due to their own players playing in the Premier League, as we saw with the likes of Mido and Berbatov bringing new interest in Spurs from Egypt and Bulgaria which fairly swiftly disappeared once we'd sold them. But that isn't dependent on the size of the club.

How much do you think the presence of Stoke, Hull, West Brom and Leicester increases the amount overseas TV rights are sold for?
 

TheChosenOne

A dislike or neg rep = fat fingers
Dec 13, 2005
47,874
49,706
From a football point of view I agree, but from the cold hearted "English football as a product" - which brings in massive revenues from overseas - too many "little clubs" isn't good for the "brand". And this could affect future TV deals.

New blood always seems good ., it gives the big boys a chance to rack up some cricket scores and the msm can cream themselves into believing they have a great brand.
 

DaSpurs

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2013
11,816
13,655
From a football point of view I agree, but from the cold hearted "English football as a product" - which brings in massive revenues from overseas - too many "little clubs" isn't good for the "brand". And this could affect future TV deals.

I get what you're saying and frankly I don't think it poor logic (sure, anyone wants to see large, rocking stadiums every match), but as an "international fan" myself and friends/acquaintances/contacts with others, you'll note more often than not we pick sides towards the top of the table if not the very top. We don't tend to be interested in the smaller ones which cycle through the bottom of the league, and if anything, we like to see the teams we pick crush these recyclers.

The reality is that the EPL will be a top brand as long as English is the most spoken language in the world, and will likely only rise. The new TV deals in the US and all over the world for the Prem aren't necessarily because it's "the best league," it's because the consumers speak English and they want English-speaking players and English-speaking commentators and English ads all on the stadiums. La Liga will find it difficult to surpass the Prem because while they have massive followings all over the world, there just isn't much money in those places (of course, Barca just beat their last two weakling opponents 6-0 and 8-0, so they have no advantage there either). German just isn't a widely spoken language, and so their only hope of competing is to perform well in international tournaments and attract with their atmospheres.

The point is, the Prem isn't going anywhere, and especially not for the stadiums. In fact, I would even guess new and young international fans enjoy seeing teams they've never seen or heard of cycling through. If the same few teams dropped and rose between the Prem and Championship every year, it'd get pretty boring.
 

225

Living in hope, existing in disappointment
Dec 15, 2014
4,563
9,064
And as a rule sugar dad will get tired one day and looks for a new bird. Then they're back to square one.

Well, unlike City who had sugar daddy arrested for corruption (or whatever) and they just sold it all to sugar daddy mk2
 

theShiznit

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2004
17,800
23,813
Be interesting to see him on Big TV nights such as two legged play off semi.
Obviously the team around him is also important but he's been the man this season and hope he shows that in 2 (or hopefully 3) massive games.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
First leg is at Griffin Park on Friday evening. As with all the play-off games, it'll be live on Sky Sports.
 

CornerPinDreamer

up in the cheap seats
Aug 20, 2013
3,716
8,088
spoke to some Brentford fans n the pub last night (i live in Ealing).. they said Pritchard is a class above everyone in the championship, and we'd be stupid to let him go.. he got standing ovations yesterday..

yes i have been persuaded to go to the game on friday.. :)
 

Ironskullll

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2010
1,378
1,894
Exactly how I was going to respond.

You'll note they have no other professional sports, and it's gridiron which got them that massive draw of economy to their town in the first place.

I get the argument of wishing to see the larger fanbases towards the top, but I love seeing teams earn it on merit. For instance, in the Bundesliga, I'm not fond of Leverkusen or Wolfsburg for being driven by massive international companies (pun intended re:Wolfsburg). However, I'm not as anti-Hoffenheim as many fans of German football are, as it's a hometown lad who busted his nuts to build a successful company and he injected it into his local team, and they cleverly and intelligently built from the ground up. Their town has 3,000 people in it, but due to the success of their football team, they drew in more fans and now have a decent sized stadium which does relatively well in selling tickets.

So I love small-side success stories and the long term impacts they can hold. For the old top flight teams now struggling in the pyramid, they have less of an excuse, and should demand more from their leaderships; but that shouldn't be at the expense of resenting smaller clubs which do manage to figure things out.

It's interesting to see how clubs have developed over the years. We see the premier league dominated by Lancashire and London clubs but few of them are as reliant on their locales as they once were. By that I mean that once upon a time say 80% of the crowd were from a few miles radius, and people simply didn't follow clubs from further afield. I find the post WW2 years interesting. Spurs, in the old div 2 topped the attendance charts for the whole country - gates against teams such as Chesterfield were among their lowest of the season but still neared 40k. I'd imagine that nearly 100% of the crowd were from North London or nearabouts. Meanwhile crowds at the provincial clubs were also high and just as dependant on their locales.

That contrasts with today whereby the large teams are almost brands (horribe term) in a certain sense in that people follow them because of some sort of perceived identity rather than where they're from or are based. It's only the smaller teams such as Leicester who still reflect the old ways. I reckon that's becoming more the case with every season that passes, especially as European football - the CL in particular - becomes more prominent. Oh well, that's today's meloncholy musing done with!
 

yankspurs

Enic Out
Aug 22, 2013
41,883
71,188
It's interesting to see how clubs have developed over the years. We see the premier league dominated by Lancashire and London clubs but few of them are as reliant on their locales as they once were. By that I mean that once upon a time say 80% of the crowd were from a few miles radius, and people simply didn't follow clubs from further afield. I find the post WW2 years interesting. Spurs, in the old div 2 topped the attendance charts for the whole country - gates against teams such as Chesterfield were among their lowest of the season but still neared 40k. I'd imagine that nearly 100% of the crowd were from North London or nearabouts. Meanwhile crowds at the provincial clubs were also high and just as dependant on their locales.

That contrasts with today whereby the large teams are almost brands (horribe term) in a certain sense in that people follow them because of some sort of perceived identity rather than where they're from or are based. It's only the smaller teams such as Leicester who still reflect the old ways. I reckon that's becoming more the case with every season that passes, especially as European football - the CL in particular - becomes more prominent. Oh well, that's today's meloncholy musing done with!
Sports has evolved into a business that runs 24/7.
 

RButch

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2012
1,414
2,235
It's interesting to see how clubs have developed over the years. We see the premier league dominated by Lancashire and London clubs but few of them are as reliant on their locales as they once were. By that I mean that once upon a time say 80% of the crowd were from a few miles radius, and people simply didn't follow clubs from further afield. I find the post WW2 years interesting. Spurs, in the old div 2 topped the attendance charts for the whole country - gates against teams such as Chesterfield were among their lowest of the season but still neared 40k. I'd imagine that nearly 100% of the crowd were from North London or nearabouts. Meanwhile crowds at the provincial clubs were also high and just as dependant on their locales.

That contrasts with today whereby the large teams are almost brands (horribe term) in a certain sense in that people follow them because of some sort of perceived identity rather than where they're from or are based. It's only the smaller teams such as Leicester who still reflect the old ways. I reckon that's becoming more the case with every season that passes, especially as European football - the CL in particular - becomes more prominent. Oh well, that's today's meloncholy musing done with!

You also have to accept that since the 40/50s people who's origins were north London, have move away to the countryside and thusly their support towards Tottenham has descended to their children; Of whom are not from the London Borough.

Also years ago, people could only afford to watch their local team and only had knowledge on those in a close proximity. Now with a click of a button, a tap of a mouse you can watch any team in the world.

Now we ask, is technology a liberator, or an enslaver? :)
 
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