Oh, I agree, but ultimately to what end?

An 'established' Prem club, like Southampton/Bournemouth/Watford (or like Stoke, Swansea and Baggies were) is basically one which comes somewhere between 9th and 17th every single year.
I've been following City for nearly 50 years and seasons where you finish between 9th and 17th are not the ones I remember. Nobody down the line is going to be telling there grandchildren that they were there 'that year we came 12th'.
Those clubs, even with wealthy owners, still have a ceiling beyond which you can't realistically get past, and once you reach it everybody starts getting pissed off (those club's message boards are chock full of whingeing Jims). You're basically selling your club's soul for something that won't ultimately make you any happier as a fan. All you can do is try to do the best you can under the circumstances. having a rich owner shifts the realistic bar up a little bit, but not that far and rarely forever.

Posted By: mr carra, Dec 9, 07:43:31