The supporters of Wigan, Blackburn or West Bromwich Albion understand the searing pangs of incompetency that they face at least 10 times a year, when their sides are drawn against the re-modelled top five.
Away at Manchester City for a team like Wolves can give serious impetus for such a fan to abandon their halfway tickets and choose the theatre with the missus. Away at Old Trafford is an unspeakable; too appalling to comprehend.
So what does an away trip to The Library or Emirates as it’s more affectionately referred to, mean to a club battling for its television revenue in 2012?
The diversity of revenues and spending predicates the most nauseating of images for those fans that follow the proverbial beggars of English Premier League football.
And it is this diversity that can lead to a trip to United becoming an envy-filled 90-minute ogle at the rich merchants of our town; where diatribes will bemoan Nani, Rooney, Vidic sitting on their racing-car-seat viewpoints.
But, undoubtedly, the most dissatisfying feature of this whole painstaking ordeal is the petulant arrogance of the opposition fans who belittle, as if their choice of stock gives them privilege over you (you equals Neanderthal preferring self-deprivation and perennial unfulfillment, them equals accustomed to victory and other unimaginable glories).
When your side is worth around 0.84 percent (West Brom versus Manchester City) of the opposing squad’s historical book values, it is certainly difficult to feel anything but abject despair, but nevertheless, the human psyche seems to demand a certain optimism.
This cruel disposition is the result of the transient nature of the sport itself; for football is surely the one sport in which an upset is more commonplace than most (the rarity of goals ensures this fact).
And indeed, this unfledgling positiveness, or should I saw fantastical musings, is to some degree, warranted by historical performances.
It was points against the supposed top five that invariably kept a number of clubs afloat last season – most notably Wolves who beat City, Liverpool, Chelsea and United in a simply unbelievable turn of events.
Under this milieu, the dream of Grant Holt’s thunderbolt from closer to the circle develops; nay flourishes.
While a match-up such as Gareth McAuley v Sergio Aguero is simply terrifying for any self-respecting Baggie, it surely would be a thing of great savour for the Irishman.
For him, and his playing mates, the pressure is largely off. It is one of the few occasions all year, where a 3-0 loss could be met with shrugs and despondency from supporters, rather than rage or ridicule on any other Saturday afternoon.
Further, with weights of expectations amounting to a paltry feather, what better chance to upstage the young Argentinian with a grumbling studs up boot-crusher, or a neat flick of the elbow when rising for a clearance.
The risks really are skewed to the upside.
For the gaffer, the prospects are slightly less perfect. Looming camera, radio and print media interviews must be at the forefront of his balding head.
Placid dismissal of the result as unimportant, or good experience, could be met with the perpetual lambasting from supporters that the side is unambitious, while an honest appraisal (‘they were simply better’) is never a welcome soother for those same fans.
For him, the downside is not as negligible, but even the Neil Warnocks or Brendan Rodgers of our universe can appreciate that the scales of expectation are well in their favour.
For the less perceptive of you, playing the biggest teams on the biggest stage is simply the best – for everyone.
A cathartic experience for some, a chance to let your wildest fantasies develop, a chance to herald an arrival, or simply a chance to prove to your girlfriend in Sydney that your team actually exists.
There really is nothing like an underdog grasping to a 1-0 lead in the 89th minute with all 11 players flooding back to thwart Frank Lampard et al.
A sort of ironic admittance of inferiority that makes the whole sugar-coated predicament all the more delectable. And devouring this satisfying meal is more than enough fuel to last at least a season of drubbings from the burgeoning class of foreign-owned English beneficiaries.
These are the days that fans relish most. Where a loss won’t ruin their evening plans or squander their job performance throughout the “days off football” each week (Sunday to Friday). On the other hand, a loss against Bolton midweek could conspire to make living itself a task of extreme difficulty until the next match day.
Watching your team defend a lead against Liverpool, where you would have snatched at a point two hours ago, is simply incomparable to defending a lead against Blackburn when Formica has space down the right (even this example is making me uncomfortably shift in my chair).
There is only one scenario where Arsenal (A) breathes a sort of terror into any fan’s perusal of the fixture list.
For everyone knows that the last game of the season, where invariably you’ll need points to survive as a newly-promoted nobody, is not a time for a team in the big four, top five, super six or even fantastic 15.
Give me 20th on the final day every year; please and thank you. But otherwise, give me top of the league each week!
P.S.: If you don’t believe me and need further proof, see Wolves fans’ reactions when they lost to West Brom. QED.
M_Campbell23
Roar Guru
I'm a Manchester United fan but I fully agree with the article. There is nothing like watching a smaller team stick it to a heavyweight. That's why I so enjoyed having Blackpool in the Premiership last season, because they had a go regardless of who they were playing. They were 2-0 up at half time at home to United and just kept attacking. Admittedly they lost 3-2, but their spirit was magnificent. This must be must easier to watch than those teams who play big clubs expecting the worst. I suspect that, much like Black Caviar at the moment, half the big clubs' work is done before the match has kicked off: their reputation forces the smaller teams to completely change their game or play without confidence.
HardcorePrawn
Guest
I disagree with you regarding teams that have little to play for: there is always the carrot of European qualification. Some teams have a realistic chance of getting into the Champions League, I've already mentioned Tottenham and Newcastle as potentially still being thereabouts come May, and Aston Villa could get themselves into contention if they string together some consistent results. Then there is the Europa League, which despite being bad-mouthed by fans of CL regulars still does have its appeal, as any Stoke or Birmingham supporter may like to attest to. Then at the other end there are the teams avoiding relegation, Stoke are only 3 points above the drop zone, Sunderland 1 point. Unlike, say an AFL or NRL team in a similar predicament, I'm pretty sure neither team would consider themselves to have little to play for. You asked how Steve Bruce is going to turn around Sunderland's season? Leaving the club so we can appoint someone else might be a good start. It would be good to have a manager who isn't a vocal fan of our fiercest rivals, or who chooses to capitulate to his former team whenever he meets them in a competition. Someone who has a clue as to how best to play the rather expensively assembled, under-performing team that we currently have would be a plus too.
cricketfan
totally agree mate - there's such a massive gap and it really is terrible... the majority of games for most teams have little bearing really... even now teams like stoke/sunderland have little to play for in the league. However, big money is what pulls in the crowds and in a capitalist world people enjoy watching the best players in the best league. I mean the EPL is richer for the squad that city have developed... Also, there is still a definite top 6 that competes. Spurs vs City is an awesome match up and pulls a big audience. And on the other end - the market to go down is pretty wide open with all the promoted sides outperforming at the moment. Even Wigan who look odds on to go down have some chance if rodellaga can stop missing easy chances.... I totally agree that the league is uneven - but different ambitions mean that clubs compete in sort of smaller intra-leagues... Also, as the article suggests - i think they'll always be a bottom and top side no matter what and this interplay of the no pressure match will always exist. He's just painting a picture of fandom i think how's stevey bruce going to turn it around? without sessegnon you guys would be in dire straights
HardcorePrawn
Guest
I realise that it wasn't your intention but I found this a really depressing article, in that it demonstrates the widening disparity between the rich and the not so rich teams in English football. There was a time when teams won the league on ability or merit, not the size of their owner's bank account. The glory-seeking, johnny-come-lately fans of the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and the rest will probably be unaware that in living memory (probably even within their own lifetime) teams like Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Leeds United, Everton, & Aston Villa have won titles; and the top 4 or 5 placed teams each season were not always the same group of cashed-up behemoths in a slightly different order. What the Premier League really needs to do to prevent their competition turning into a bigger version of the SPL (where only Rangers and Celtic have any chance of winning) is to promote the lesser known teams to a worldwide audience, and get the fans to support the underdogs rather than the rich teams. They are so proud of their "product" and the TV audiences it generates around the world that they're not stopping to look at why La Liga doesn't generate the same amount of attention, it's because the result is a foregone conclusion: Barca or Real will win, with the other in 2nd place. Every year. On the plus side, there are signs that the dominance of the big teams is cracking: We've already seen Arsenal dropping off the pace in recent years; Man Utd with all their financial woes will surely not be able to maintain their momentum once Ferguson eventually retires; Liverpool's best days are now long behind them and show no signs of returning; Chelsea seem to be in a period of transition but aren't replacing their aging multi-millionaires fast enough; and Man City, being Man City, must be due an implosion some time soon (ask any true City fan of decades standing and they'll tell you that they'll probably expect their bubble to burst at some point). The party at the top of the table is already being gate-crashed by the likes of Tottenham and (as a Sunderland it supporter it pains me to say it) Newcastle. Here's hoping that this trend continues and that someday we'll see a season start where any of 10 or more teams could win the league, and the favourites for the bottom 3 aren't necessarily the same 3 that got promoted the previous season.
cricketfan
i go for arsenal mate and playing against the bottom teams is the absolute pits - all we can do is lose and if we win it's just the expected result so not that exciting. Although I never really get tired of RVP scoring no matter. Maybe they can implement some kind of salary cap if you want it be fairer...