Will this Sunday be the last I see the Blades in the Premier League?

[Snowflake]

Regards the structure of the top league....obviously it be governed by finance and profit.

The English Premier league is by far away the most popular league in the world with the highest revenue, just over double the nearest challenger (La Liga). So as things stand there's zero chance of any club wanting to leave the Premier League.

What is likely to happen is
1: The Premier League cuts down from 20 teams to 18 teams, like many of the other top European leagues.
2: We'll see the experiment of official league matches taking place abroad, especially in the US and possibly Saudi Arabia.
Apparently FIFA have just given the go hard to allow this to happen.
3: The UEFA Euro leagues will be expanded...so the top half of the Premier League will be playing several European matches each season.
This means those clubs won't be able to play in the EFL cup and those clubs might even forfeit the FA cup too.
4: A large spread of kick-off times, so most people can watch live Premier League matches continuously from 12 noon to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday every weekend. Basically the regular 3pm spot will be a thing of the past.

If the Euro league becomes excessively popular...more popular than even the Premier League....which I doubt.
Then I suppose in 15 to 20 years....it is possible the big European clubs might get together to form their own league.
However remember that UEFA are aware of the breakaway threat so they'll be making efforts to make their format more attractive to most clubs.
A breakaway Euro super league would be a massive risk because the respective domestic leagues would banish them with no chance of a return.
So don't think this would happen. Think it's more likely a deal might be done with the Premier league to reduce the PL fixture list
and have a Euro super league running side by side the domestic leagues.

The original agreement was to reduce the 22 PL teams to 21 and then to 20 in the first two years. The reduction to 18 was agreed upon without any time limit, so we are still waiting for that sensible change.

 

[dexter101]

6 months will tell. Christmas we hopefully will be mid table and with a direction of travel which will allow us to at least compete for play off places.

If this summer goes horribly wrong, then we could be (I don't believe this) in a relegation battle and that will be the point of no return. We got lucky last time round that Hecky came in and brought back the "old" ways. with Wilder, that won't be possible and if a new manager was brought in (say November, December time) they would only have the squad that wilder has assembled which I would guess will be built on his way of playing.

I have faith and am actually excited. I think this season we have actually done the sensible thing and not tried to stay up, hopefully finances aren't as bad as the worst of the rumours and we can build on with a fresh start this summer.

 

[Loco Blade]

Unless we get a realistic owner then yes I hope it’s the last time we are in this shit show

 

[BudockBlade]

Well I’m 70 and hope to see another season in the premie league. But only with a team that has a chance.

Also turned 70 and similar have hope of seeing another prem season…. but not like the one we’ve had. In over 50 years supporting, definitely the worst experience for me

 

[Oreyt]

Christ, I need cheering up after reading that, think I'll pop Threads on....

 

[brownblade]

1976 was the first time I saw us get relegation from the top tier but I naively did expect us to return to the 1st division in a year or two. I was wrong as it took us 14 years for us to return to the top flight!

In 14 years time, if I am lucky, I will be 76 years old but I am wise enough not to expect us to bounce back in a year as in our history it has never happened that we bounced back to the top fight in one year.

You shall.

 

[wavy-blade]

1976 was the first time I saw us get relegation from the top tier but I naively did expect us to return to the 1st division in a year or two. I was wrong as it took us 14 years for us to return to the top flight!

In 14 years time, if I am lucky, I will be 76 years old but I am wise enough not to expect us to bounce back in a year as in our history it has never happened that we bounced back to the top fight in one year.

What ur on about ur soft lad , were going up next season , ffs

 

[Darnall Siam Blade]

I said a few years ago that I would like to see The Blades win something. In a way getting back to the Premier League did go a little way to achieving that. My other wish was that Yorkshire would win The County Championship, or anything else for that matter. Bearing in mind that I saw my first Blades game in 1947-8 season and Yorkshire, also, in 1948 it is obvious both have played a big part in my sporting life.
Now, even if The Blades do come back up next season I shall be 87. Just coming off the back of 6 months cancer treatment I shall be lucky to be around when they next play in The Premier League .
Isn't it 100years, next year, since we won anything meaningful (FA Cup). It would be wonderful if that happened- at least one of my wishes being fulfilled. Who knows? Knowing United I think we all do.
BTW used to travel over from Thailand , in the last 25 years, to see , mainly, cup games. Too old to handle the travel now. UTB

 

[originaltrueblade]

I loved Tom McAlister and Tony Agana but to say we’ll never see their like again is going a bit far. TC, well I’ll agree on that one.

Had it not been for Rodney Marsh McAllister would have been one that you would never have seen the like again

 

[Keen Blade]

Unless we get a realistic owner then yes I hope it’s the last time we are in this shit show

So if the owner stays , how do you approach the Championship campaign ?
Play well + win home games but make sure you finish no higher than 7th ?
Or not in top two and make sure you don't win the Playoffs ?
So you end up in Playoffs , whaddya do then ? Play Craig Beattie ?
I can't imagine me looking at the league table and not wanting to climb higher.
That's almost as bizarre as going to the Playoffs hoping we lose.

 

[TJ blade]

1968 first time i saw us relegated from the top division heartbreaker that was when chelsea scored their 2nd at the lane end but yo-yoing is very much part of our history as a club and cant see it changing all part of being a blade though utb fto

Remember that day very well even worse for us travelling home on the same train as the Chelsea team! All celebrating there win.

 

[Deaneandagana]

Odd one out?
1968
1981
1994
2007
2021

And why?

 

[FreePaulRodgers]

Odd one out?
1968
1981
1994
2007
2021

And why?

That’s easy All 13 years apart bar 2021

 

[Deaneandagana]

Correct & 1981 was relegation to Div 4, others were from 1st / Prem.

 

[SheepdipBlade]

I think we will bounce straight back. We’ll either win the league or the play-offs.

And we'll win the Cup too!

 

[AnotherBlade]

Christ, I need cheering up after reading that, think I'll pop Threads on....

You can live it soon enough! Our Putin will take care of that!

 

[FreePaulRodgers]

Odd one out?
1968
1981
1994
2007
2021

And why?

2021
Not 13 years apart

 

[ucandomagic]

This is my Bladercoaster. I only had room for managers at the end of each season. Funnily, the highlights were Darlington, under the stand at MK Dons singing Wilder's army and the Charlton quarter final. (I didn't get to Leicester). I saw the "Quality Goal" match, Sitting on the Ball v Arsenal etc but the 3 games above, for some reason, were the times when it just felt like a huge family party.

I was 70 last year Silent, it's the new 40!!



UTB & Slava Ukraini!

 

[ancientblade]

Remember that day very well even worse for us travelling home on the same train as the Chelsea team! All celebrating there win.

never thats unbelievable we should have been 3 up that day before chelsea equalised but the game that really sent us down that season was the fulham night game 2 up and cruising think they scored 3 in about 10 minutes oh and wraggy selling jones and birchenhall we would have finished mid table if he hadnt sold those 2

 

[VictoryBlade]

I think the thing about the Championship is that every game you have a chance of winning. We could end up finishing anywhere between 1st and 24th and there is genuine uncertainty about the outcome in every game and I will settle for that. In the Premier league you almost know within a place or two where most teams are going to finish before a ball is kicked. If we end up getting promoted again great I will enjoy the moment but it is no longer the be all and end all for me unless we get the structure in place to be properly competitive at that level.

I suspect the structure at the top level will change eventually and there will be breakaway competitions for the big club. and that may be a good thing. You can then have something for the plastic worldwide TV audience and return the domestic competitions to the true fans. Feel a bit sorry for the proper supporters of those clubs but if you sell your soul to the devil that is what you end up with.

City certainly have and indeed Pep moans about the atmosphere at the emptyhad regularly in the MEN (I live in Manchester). There are football tourists aplenty on a Saturday there!

 

[VictoryBlade]

I said a few years ago that I would like to see The Blades win something. In a way getting back to the Premier League did go a little way to achieving that. My other wish was that Yorkshire would win The County Championship, or anything else for that matter. Bearing in mind that I saw my first Blades game in 1947-8 season and Yorkshire, also, in 1948 it is obvious both have played a big part in my sporting life.
Now, even if The Blades do come back up next season I shall be 87. Just coming off the back of 6 months cancer treatment I shall be lucky to be around when they next play in The Premier League .
Isn't it 100years, next year, since we won anything meaningful (FA Cup). It would be wonderful if that happened- at least one of my wishes being fulfilled. Who knows? Knowing United I think we all do.
BTW used to travel over from Thailand , in the last 25 years, to see , mainly, cup games. Too old to handle the travel now. UTB

Well done Darnell Blade, well done! Just keep going mate, the rest will or wont take care of itself eh? Yes i would like us to win something in or lifetimes but .....................................who knows! UTB and take care.

 

[TJ blade]

never thats unbelievable we should have been 3 up that day before chelsea equalised but the game that really sent us down that season was the fulham night game 2 up and cruising think they scored 3 in about 10 minutes oh and wraggy selling jones and birchenhall we would have finished mid table if he hadnt sold those 2

Spot bang on mate Fulham were never in it we just fell to pieces at 2-0 up. correct me if I'm wrong after that we lost at home to W. Ham, 2-1 and then of course the Chelsea game

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

I came to the conclusion in 2007 that United will never achieve anything of note (sustained presence in the top flight or cup win). I made peace with that then and I’ve been a lot happier since.

 

[Iron blade]

1976 was the first time I saw us get relegation from the top tier but I naively did expect us to return to the 1st division in a year or two. I was wrong as it took us 14 years for us to return to the top flight!

In 14 years time, if I am lucky, I will be 76 years old but I am wise enough not to expect us to bounce back in a year as in our history it has never happened that we bounced back to the top fight in one year.

Same age and same thoughts!

 

[jt64]

No Silent. We are in nowhere near as bad a place as a lot of the pessimistic clowns on here would have you believe. Of course, that might all change if Wilder tries to torpedo any semblance of forward planning and nobody tells him to fuck off with meddling in transfer dealings

 

[HillStreet Blade]

1968 first time i saw us relegated from the top division heartbreaker that was when chelsea scored their 2nd at the lane end but yo-yoing is very much part of our history as a club and cant see it changing all part of being a blade though utb fto

That was my first game.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

If there's one thing to be said, it's that it's never boring being a Blade.

 

[Silent Blade]

Spot bang on mate Fulham were never in it we just fell to pieces at 2-0 up. correct me if I'm wrong after that we lost at home to W. Ham, 2-1 and then of course the Chelsea game

Yes

 

[petcharlie]

Roller coaster ride being a Blade eh, I've watched them since 1970 and i never expect anything but the worst tbh. Buts its in your blood! I'll not miss this season one bit. Just want some pride back and get excited when we score without VAR ruling it out. UTB

I won't miss the prem one bit to be honest . Was not bothered about getting promoted last year i have always prefered the championship anyway . I realise we needed the cash and I just hope it has gone towards getting the club on a better financial footing . The prem is becoming a closed shop and is so hard for promoted teams to get a foothold in the top league . When you have a club like M City paying ten million for a 16 year old it highlights just how hard it is for a club coming up from the championship to recrute prem quality players to compete . Spending 30 or 40 mill is just not enough to build a squad to survive in the top flight ,not forgetting the wages that they are demanding.I would say you need some where nearer 80 mill which is stupid . Forest brought in over 20 quality players and just survived with the skin of their teeth . The best manager in the land would struggle to build a team good enough to survive with 40 mill to spend ,it's crazy . I know forest had points deducted but even so they found it hard .

 

[Stretch]

I think we will bounce straight back. We’ll either win the league or the play-offs.

I certainly think we will be stronger than many on here seem to be predicting.

Whether that means bouncing straight back or not, I can see us always being in the mix at the right end of the table.

We'll see though. A huge summer ahead.