The Emirates FA Cup 2022/23

[Colly]

I think that's almost the point isn't it? They'll make more money off the documentary than they'll ever make from the club, so it's never going to be really long term as even at League One level they probably don't have the money to keep it going. In the interim it's a nice little ride for the Wrexham fans to appear on FIFA etc. Both owners are always going to go "funny" as it's what they're good at, but in the doc and in the interview pre match Sunday they tend to come off fairly humble, admitting they don't really know what's going on but putting decent football men in the right positions. It's like early Mike Ashley but with the common sense to use Phil Parkinson rather than Dennis Wise.

[Colly]

VA fucking Shite more like.

 

[METALMAN]

Fabinho? Should have been Fabin-go!

[Adam]

6 hours ago, Colly said:

Chronologically, in this century, Chelsea, Man City and now potentially Newcastle. Football runs on money bar that odd occasion the stars align and a brilliant bit of scouting results in a perfect storm like Leicester for a year. I'd love it if everything was somehow levelled but that just isn't the case, so I can't hold it massively against Wrexham. I don't think you can compare their history (cup runs etc) with that of Salford either, the cheapest available Manchester adjacent club.

None of those clubs are remotely similar though. Chelsea were in the Champions League Quarter Finals a couple of years before Abramovich bought them, Man City a firmly established Premier League team, and Newcastle one of the biggest clubs in the country, just one that was mismanaged to the horrific depths of...the bottom half of the top flight, before the Saudis came in. It just isn't the same.

These are already big clubs at the highest level, the cash injection simply gets them on a fast-track to move up a few places in the league. Whereas Wrexham have gone from being on a level resource with Chesterfield, Notts County, Tranmere and Grimsby to being comparable more to Portsmouth, Peterborough and Charlton - overnight. No other clubs in that league can offer the wages, transfer fees or Disney appeal, and that's not remotely fair. They've been at that level for over a decade, now they're top of the league in a division with only one automatic promotion spot. And, to my original point, clubs in the National League go bust over £200k debt and Wrexham are chucking money around then getting fawned over by the BBC and Sky. That certainly isn't a concern in the Premier League.

Salford, Wrexham, Fleetwood, Bournemouth, Crawley once upon a time, Notts County (although that was a scam as it turned out) and several more - these were clubs plying their trade at or around their natural level until a benefactor came in and shot them up the leagues, or tried to, usually with no connection to the club or town. When it does go wrong, or said benefactor gets bored, you're often left with a club in a dire position unable to sustain where they've been taken to. As @Bobfoc says, what happens when Ryan & Rob inevitably get bored of their bantz and travelling to Wales from LA, or they realise it takes far more to get from League One to the Premier League than it does to go from where they are now to League One? History says it's usually a disaster.

So no, I know you aren't banging the drum for Wrexham but it is easy to not look too deep and go "that's a quirky story" when Wrexham get to the FA Cup 4th Round, but I hope Sheff Utd turn them over in the replay so the BBC can give it a rest for a bit. They're about as far from underdogs as you can get.

[Szumi]

If you think all the Wrexham discourse is bad in England, it is so much fucking worse in America. The anti-MLS, pro/rel snobs have never been more obnoxious the past week because of Wrexham.

Nonstop talk about how Wrexham gets more focus and attention from ESPN because MLS sucks, people care about Wrexham because of the hook of promotion, MLS doesn't have the kind of stories/hook that Wrexham has. It's nonstop pompous douches.

[Matt]

I mean isn't saying that Wrexham were an established conference side that now has more money than their peers almost literally exactly the same as Chelsea, City and Newcastle being established Premier League sides that have more money than their peers? 

 

I couldn't give a flying fuck about Wrexham and yeah, it's not quite the Cinderella story that it's being made out to be, but I don't think it's as far removed from the oil club takeovers as you're making out, it's the same shit on a different scale.

[Colly]

Exactly, my point was around the lack of level playing field, the only difference between what's happening at Wrexham and those clubs is magnitude, and at least Reynolds and McElhenny seem vaguely likeable.

In this case you're literally backing Saudi owned Sheffield United over them.

Are the BBC really going crazy over them? I've not watched Football Focus in a while, but it is a story worth covering, and they're obviously going to be picked up for FA Cup coverage.

[Lineker]

Bournemouth were on the up before they were bought by a Russian owner tbf.

[Adam]

I guess the key difference between a Wrexham and a Newcastle is that the distortion feels bigger. Wrexham alone are blowing every other team in their league out the water resource-wise, and it'll be the same when they get to League Two. Newcastle can outspend the world and still probably only put themselves in the same category as City, Chelsea, Liverpool etc. due to the ceiling of the sport being there.

That, and as I say the fact teams at that level go out of business for tiny amounts by comparison. No one in the Premier League is in any danger of going bust.

Anyway, that's me done on this topic. I have never felt less interested in football due to the way money and the likes of the Saudis have corrupted it, and I have stopped going to games entirely so that current ill-feeling for it all certainly informs my view here.

[Nelson]

On 31/01/2023 at 18:22, Adam said:

I guess the key difference between a Wrexham and a Newcastle is that the distortion feels bigger. Wrexham alone are blowing every other team in their league out the water resource-wise, and it'll be the same when they get to League Two. Newcastle can outspend the world and still probably only put themselves in the same category as City, Chelsea, Liverpool etc. due to the ceiling of the sport being there.

That, and as I say the fact teams at that level go out of business for tiny amounts by comparison. No one in the Premier League is in any danger of going bust.

Anyway, that's me done on this topic. I have never felt less interested in football due to the way money and the likes of the Saudis have corrupted it, and I have stopped going to games entirely so that current ill-feeling for it all certainly informs my view here.

Honestly, my advice is to go and watch your local non-league team. I started going at the start of this season. Originally I intended just to go for the one game but since then I've missed only one home game, I love it!

[Colly]

If Adam's still in Newcastle his local non league team is probably Gateshead so he's even more of a Wrexham gripe...

Your point is spot on of course, ruined for me because my local team lost it's ground for financial reasons a few years back and now plays 15 miles away which kills the appeal slightly!

[Szumi]

1 hour ago, Colly said:

If Adam's still in Newcastle his local non league team is probably Gateshead so he's even more of a Wrexham gripe...

Your point is spot on of course, ruined for me because my local team lost it's ground for financial reasons a few years back and now plays 15 miles away which kills the appeal slightly!

I would kill to have my local semi pro team be 15 miles away! Ours is still 2 hours away (it used to be 1, but Harrisburg City Islanders went extinct almost a decade ago). I wish I lived in England sometimes, just to have so much access to live games. 

[9 to 5]

26 minutes ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

I would kill to have my local semi pro team be 15 miles away! Ours is still 2 hours away (it used to be 1, but Harrisburg City Islanders went extinct almost a decade ago). I wish I lived in England sometimes, just to have so much access to live games. 

Don't blame you, UK is better. 

[Adam]

43 minutes ago, Colly said:

If Adam's still in Newcastle his local non league team is probably Gateshead so he's even more of a Wrexham gripe...

Your point is spot on of course, ruined for me because my local team lost it's ground for financial reasons a few years back and now plays 15 miles away which kills the appeal slightly!

Aye well, there's a good set of clubs around the region isn't there - Gateshead, Blyth, Spennymoor (went there for a Donny friendly in the summer, not a bad little ground) are all playing at a decent level.

I think Heaton Stannington, of the Northern League, are the closest team to me but I've never been down to a game.

[Colly]

31 minutes ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

I would kill to have my local semi pro team be 15 miles away! Ours is still 2 hours away (it used to be 1, but Harrisburg City Islanders went extinct almost a decade ago). I wish I lived in England sometimes, just to have so much access to live games. 

Just to note, my second most local team is 200 yards from the closed down stadium, but they're my rivals...

[Hobo]

I don't really have a "local" team at any particular high level. The layout of the lower tiers of Irish football is very confusing. I think the nearest teams to me play in the 7th tier. Its all regional and district leagues outside of the League of Ireland (anf theres no promotion or relegation between the regional leagues and the LOI)

Im not even sure what the closest League of Ireland team is. Maybe Bohemians? Their ground is on the bus route. So i know where it is. 🤷‍♂️

[TheGrandAvatar]

Darwen F.C would be the local choice of non league teams up here that are local if I had to pick any. Further out you have Chorley and Clitheroe. Plus a host more in the West Lancashire Football League.

We also still do some Sunday Football on the playing field's near the cemetery, or we used to do at one stage over the last couple of year's.

 

[DFF]

On 31/01/2023 at 16:35, Colly said:

Exactly, my point was around the lack of level playing field, the only difference between what's happening at Wrexham and those clubs is magnitude, and at least Reynolds and McElhenny seem vaguely likeable.

In this case you're literally backing Saudi owned Sheffield United over them.

Are the BBC really going crazy over them? I've not watched Football Focus in a while, but it is a story worth covering, and they're obviously going to be picked up for FA Cup coverage.

That's soon to be Nigerian-owned, thank you very much.  

[Nelson]

Probably more for the non-league thread but since we're talking it here; John Cena is now following the North West Counties Football League on Twitter (which my team are in the Premier League of)

 

Random follower of the day! pic.twitter.com/lvw8jPDFgn

— The NWCFL (@nwcfl) January 31, 2023

 

[METALMAN]

On 02/02/2023 at 12:35, Szumi - A Polack said:

I would kill to have my local semi pro team be 15 miles away! Ours is still 2 hours away (it used to be 1, but Harrisburg City Islanders went extinct almost a decade ago). I wish I lived in England sometimes, just to have so much access to live games. 

I’m about 20 minutes away on the underground from Chelsea and I’m going to be honest, I’d rather have those Harrisburg City extinct guys as my local team.