Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Now that they have all this money and new owners. Can they become like Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Chelsea?
"Support" is a nebulous term that frankly doesn't even have much application here. Did City dominate Manchester before they became a "big" club? Of course not. Do they even dominate Manchester now? Also no. Tottenham certainly doesn't dominate London, and yet they've wrestled at the top with somewhat regularity.Could City? Newcastle is obvious. Hire some consultants from City and PSG and FFP is sorted.
Villa was kind of on the way at one point. Teams like Birmingham and Wolverhampton were clearly smaller - so they dominated Birmingham as a city. Not that I know the local conditions there, but I can imagine that if Villa had been top 6-7 for years and years they would see more and more fans moving towards Villa locally rather than spreading across (not all of course). They kind of wasted that opportunity. Villa Park was also among the bigger in England. But with teams like Spurs, Aresenal etc. building new grounds - Villa Park is nothing special in terms of size any longer - it is fairly average - and small for a "big team". Could they become a top club again? I doubt it without outside money, but it is not completely impossible. Leicester is a much smaller club and they kind of were a top club for some years. If Villa got some sort of golden generation they could build on who knows. Of the clubs not mentioned Spurs are obviously the most likely. After that I would place Villa ahead of West Ham. Mainly because Villa can dominate Birmingham - while WH could never dominate London - or even likely catch the other London clubs in terms of support.
"Support" is a nebulous term that frankly doesn't even have much application here. Did City dominate Manchester before they became a "big" club? Of course not. Do they even dominate Manchester now? Also no. Tottenham certainly doesn't dominate London, and yet they've wrestled at the top with somewhat regularity.
West Ham's attendance figures are second to only United (or third behind Arsenal too depending on where you look). They are incredibly well supported. And yet, still not in that club tier. The money/structure come first. Support has very little to do with it.
Not understanding what you mean by "Spurs would be the same". My point was that in no way do Spurs "dominate" London as shown by multiple clubs outdrawing them in the city, and yet, they've broken into that top tier at various points. The global fan base, such that they do have, came after not before. I don't even quite get why we're now talking global, when this started by you saying the issue was "dominating" their neighborhood. Liverpool have been a major international club for decades upon decades. It's hardly a relevant comparison when talking clubs breaking into the top. You think dominating Birmingham will get a bunch of Malaysians to stand up and take notice or something?For normal clubs support matters. City is different.
Of course WH could be the next City with similar owners. Same as Colchester.
Liverpool can only compete with the best because they have a huge fan base globally. So I would say support is a lot more important than you think. Villa could be the Green Bay Packers of Birmingham - WH won't for London (even if London got a higher population of course - so the city can in that sense support more clubs than Birmingham).
Spurs would be the same. I don't see how they would have been able to make the investments they have in the stadium and training facilities without a fairly big fan base.
So yes - I believe Villa are more likely than WH to become a "top club". Don't think either will - and even if I think Villa are more likely - it isn't like the probability is 100% Villa and 0% WH (between the two). More like 70/30 or something I guess.
Lol it didn't trigger, it just flies in the face of what you're saying and I'm trying to clarify. But whatever, not going to belabor it.Birmingham isn’t exactly Brighton.
I see the mentioning of Spurs triggered something. Not my intention. Three clubs dominate from London. Maybe that makes it better. Not sure.
You can add Cardiff and Billericay to your list too, it still won't make your underlying logic sensible.I still think Villa got a better shot at becoming a “top club” than West Ham. Maybe I should add Brighton to the list as well now.
And that isn’t because I’m a Spursfan. I have no “hate” towards even Arsenal. I would rather see Arsenal win things than a club like City.
It's perhaps the biggest tragedy in HF history that we're not here to see Stray Wasp's opinion on what Newcastle United now is.
Not sure if you're serious or not.Unfortunately I think he died.
Not sure if you're serious or not.
Wow, that's horribleI could be way wrong but I was led to believe what I just said.
Well, that's considerably worse.Unfortunately I think he died.