Boro's future ambitions?

birkbeck_dj

birkbeck_dj

Well-known member
If Boro are successfully promoted, how do fellow posters think we'll do in the Premier league? The heavy defeat suffered by Burnley v Manchester City and ours v Brighton demonstrates a very wide gulf in class between the top half Premier league teams and the top of the Championship.
Many Premier league clubs are owned by either by billionaires, petrostates, oligarchs, etc, and this gives massive advantages in the transfer market. The likes of a local multimillionaire bankrolling a club to relative success is harder in such an environment.

Also, the last PL campaign under Karanka was a damp squib if ever there was one. I also detected unrealistic ambitions from many fans. Surviving in the PL was frowned upon, the style of play not helping though we didn't have the players nor could we attract the ones Karanka believed would have helped. It was probably a factor of the team, the money and the perception of an unattractive, unfashionable town, many miles from London.

There was anger among a large section of fans (not a majority) who hated Karanka. I recall verbal arguments in the North Stand if a song was sung in praise of him. There was a fan in the North Stand who was permanently angry. He would slam down his seat up and down a few times, the red mist in his eyes. I didn't see him in his seat at the start of the following season, seemingly giving up when we were relegated. I am sure he's back now. He's an extreme example: many fans will be angered without petulant displays. Many will give up again if we're relegated. However, let's be realistic: it is very likely Boro will probably struggle whenever they are promoted. The football may be dire. Emotions will rise again. Many fans will not be happy with a pragmatic style of football even if it keeps us up. And if we're relegated, will they accept it? Would being a yo-yo team for a few seasons to gather cash and build for the future be acceptable?

I'm thinking aloud and I should enjoy what's happening at the moment. I will, and do.
 
We beat Spurs and Man United in the cup last season and we are a much better team now, even though Brighton smashed us. So I wouldn’t use cup games as a hard stick to judge how we’d do if we got promoted.
 
I don't want to think about it. The PL is rubbish. The gulf between the top and bottom is just ridiculous. The money is sickening.

I want us to be there but I have no illusions we can ever be successful. There was a chance when we were there in the early 00s but now finishing in the top 4 is almost impossible unless you can buy your way in with the wealth of a gulf state and if you do then so what, it's been bought and not earned.

I like watching us at the moment and winning every week. Not sure winning once every month will be as enjoyable.
 
Nano said:
I don't want to think about it. The PL is rubbish. The gulf between the top and bottom is just ridiculous. The money is sickening.

I want us to be there but I have no illusions we can ever be successful. There was a chance when we were there in the early 00s but now finishing in the top 4 is almost impossible unless you can buy your way in with the wealth of a gulf state and if you do then so what, it's been bought and not earned.

I like watching us at the moment and winning every week. Not sure winning once every month will be as enjoyable.
Click to expand...

Leicester? We all know that was a one off
 
What about the bloke who threw his season ticket at McClaren? Wasn't that the season we got to the UEFA Cup final? Semi final in the FA Cup too? I wonder of he's still with us. There's no pleasing some people. 😂
 
Nano said:
I don't want to think about it. The PL is rubbish. The gulf between the top and bottom is just ridiculous. The money is sickening.

I want us to be there but I have no illusions we can ever be successful. There was a chance when we were there in the early 00s but now finishing in the top 4 is almost impossible unless you can buy your way in with the wealth of a gulf state and if you do then so what, it's been bought and not earned.

I like watching us at the moment and winning every week. Not sure winning once every month will be as enjoyable.
Click to expand...

Of course we can be successful. Brighton and Brentford are not bigger clubs than us and have more than held their own. And we were well into the period of huge investments when Leicester won the league, then a couple of years later the FA cup.
I hate this miseryguts attitude of "what's the point getting promoted we're just going to get battered."
We can go up and we can do well there.
 
The Card Cheat said:
Of course we can be successful. Brighton and Brentford are not bigger clubs than us and have more than held their own. And we were well into the period of huge investments when Leicester won the league, then a couple of years later the FA cup.
I hate this miseryguts attitude of "what's the point getting promoted we're just going to get battered."
We can go up and we can do well there.
Click to expand...
By successful I mean having a season like this one in the PL, i.e. challenging for the title. Brighton and Brentford are having brilliant seasons but they are having the same sort of season as Coventry or West Brom who are currently outside the playoffs.

A team like Leicester winning the league still never happen again. The only success that could be possible is via the cups but there is 1 winner that isn't from the big 6 every 10 years so even that is very difficult.

Let's be honest, success for any team outside the top 6 is just continuing to bring in revenue by staying in the PL. The whole system is set up to keep the rich teams rich, the rest are just there to make up the numbers to sell the product. Being best of the rest isn't really success.
 
Nano said:
By successful I mean having a season like this one in the PL, i.e. challenging for the title. Brighton and Brentford are having brilliant seasons but they are having the same sort of season as Coventry or West Brom who are currently outside the playoffs.

A team like Leicester winning the league still never happen again. The only success that could be possible is via the cups but there is 1 winner that isn't from the big 6 every 10 years so even that is very difficult.

Let's be honest, success for any team outside the top 6 is just continuing to bring in revenue by staying in the PL. The whole system is set up to keep the rich teams rich, the rest are just there to make up the numbers to sell the product. Being best of the rest isn't really success.
Click to expand...

Prior to the moneybags era of the Premier League Boro had won nothing, nor even been past a semi final of a major competition. Apart from a couple of seasons in the 70s we'd had zero top half finishes in about 45 years in the top division.
Post Premier League we had several top half finishes, reached the final of 5 major competitions and won our first major trophy. All at a time when there was massive investment in several other clubs. Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool even Newcastle spent ten times than we did in that era.
I don't think the idea the Premier League is a barrier to our success is backed up by the facts.
 
I personally absolutely love the championship. I love the competitive nature, anybody can beat anyone and the amount of football during a season.

You expect your beatings in the PL but at the end of the day as a fan you wanna be there to know your club will be financially sound and you can attract good players.

I'd have full faith from the top down to quote the song that 'Theyd know exactly what we need'

I'd expect Carrick to know the kind of character he'll wanna bring and the kind of quality you need to survive.

Survival then become established that would be the goal, if we came back down as long we had a right good go I'd have no quams watching them flourish in this league again
 
The Card Cheat said:
Prior to the moneybags era of the Premier League Boro had won nothing, nor even been past a semi final of a major competition. Apart from a couple of seasons in the 70s we'd had zero top half finishes in about 45 years in the top division.
Post Premier League we had several top half finishes, reached the final of 5 major competitions and won our first major trophy. All at a time when there was massive investment in several other clubs. Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool even Newcastle spent ten times than we did in that era.
I don't think the idea the Premier League is a barrier to our success is backed up by the facts.
Click to expand...
Up until early 00s the champions league hadn't become the money making machine that it is now. Only 1 team was in the CL each season until they expanded it and once we had 4 spots it quickly became a closed shop. We did quite well because we could compete financially. We can't now, even if we are in the PL, because FFP means we couldn't spend the amount needed to compete even if we had it. Big squads, 5 subs, squad players on £200k per week etc. It's a completely different league within the league.

The achievement for teams like ours in the PL is the occasional scalp against a top team. Like I said, I want to be there but I'm just aware there is a clear ceiling for us.
 
I would like to see us pushing for top half like Aston Villa, Fulham, Brentford and Brighton we are no smaller club than them.
 
The Card Cheat said:
Prior to the moneybags era of the Premier League Boro had won nothing, nor even been past a semi final of a major competition. Apart from a couple of seasons in the 70s we'd had zero top half finishes in about 45 years in the top division.
Post Premier League we had several top half finishes, reached the final of 5 major competitions and won our first major trophy. All at a time when there was massive investment in several other clubs. Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool even Newcastle spent ten times than we did in that era.
I don't think the idea the Premier League is a barrier to our success is backed up by the facts.
Click to expand...
Newcastle did not spend 10 times what Middlesbrough spent in that era, that is simply not true.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top