The enduring romance of the Premier League wannabes

Arsenal vs Southampton.

Sounds like your typical run-of-the-mill Premier League fixture, doesn’t it?

Except, wait – is Southampton third in the league table?

And with December almost upon us – something’s not right!

Except that in the wonderful world of the English Premier League, this is just what we’ve come to expect. Teams punching way above their weight, fearlessly taking on the big boys, backed by a unity and a passion that rivals just about anybody’s on the day.

The high profile of the Premier League has meant that these clubs enjoy a significantly higher global presence than their counterparts in other leagues – and this lets them go that extra yard in trying to even the balance.

Everton have for long held up the flag for these clubs – a benchmark for every club that looks to challenge the financial muscle of the established powers in the league.

For now, they are perfectly alright with being less celebrated. The attitude of going into the big games with nothing to lose often makes for a fearless team that desperately wants to prove itself.

What these teams have going for them is the mediocrity and sheer irrelevance of their performances in the league.

Yes, you read that right. These are the teams that are certainly far too good to be relegated, and still have little to gain by moving forward – the weight of the big money ceiling firmly keeping them in their place.

This kind of situation forces teams to break away from their comfort zone – buoyed by the prospect of taking a few jabs at the big boys. Even if it may all be to no avail in the end.

Even here, Southampton have proved themselves to be unique – charting a new path for future challengers.

The surprise decision to appoint Mauricio Pochettino at a time when Southampton were in a relatively vulnerable position in the league – in their first season back in the big time – is one such decision that deserves praise, if only for the huge risks involved.

But the one thing that every one of these momentum-seeking challengers has to keep in mind is that nothing succeeds quite like success itself.

And the minute that the ‘wins’ column stops ticking over, the vultures will come-a-calling, and the lack of a safety net will be ruthlessly exposed.

In their quest to keep moving forward, these clubs often overstretch and find themselves falling into a backward spiral from which a return is doubly hard.

It can all go “bust” just as easily, and we only have to look as far as Portsmouth to see that.

Portsmouth arrived on the Premier League scene amid much fanfare in the summer of 2003, always in the headlines for the relegation humdingers from which they emerged relatively unscathed, under the nose of Harry Houdini Redknapp, who seems to specialize in these affairs.

In their attempt to go up a few notches on the Premier League scale, Redknapp invested heavily in the 2007-08 season. The January transfer window saw them spend £30million on transfers – quite a significant investment for a team that was just finding its feet.

Redknapp is regarded as one of the best in the business in his transfer dealings, and his vastly improved squad went on to capture the FA Cup crown – the enduring highlight from their last stint in England’s top flight.

The following season saw a jam-packed Fratton Park love every minute of a UEFA Cup encounter against giants AC Milan. They even managed to salvage a 2-2 draw on the night!

But then reality came in the intimidating shape of the big boys again. And the lure seemed too good to resist. Manager Redknapp left well before that match-up against AC Milan, and successor Tony Adams was unable to keep assets like Diarra and Defoe from leaving.

Bereft of their better players, and with a new man in charge, Pompey were hit when they were down, as the economic gloom that was spreading all over the world hit them particularly hard.

In the February of 2010, they became the first Premier League club to go under administration, and were also relegated soon after. A dream run to the FA Cup final ended in a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.

They now languish in League Two, but they sure had their moments. The FA Cup win notwithstanding, the quality of the players on view at Fratton Park will always live long in the memory.

Harry Redknapp and his successor at Portsmouth, Tony Adams

Fun fact – Portsmouth were a four star rated team in FIFA 09, the same as Boussia Dortmund and Napoli. And ahead of PSG!

Kevin Prince Boateng was a member of the team that lost to Chelsea in the 2010 FA Cup final, and that scorer of great goals, Patrick Berger, certainly gave fans something to cheer about with this screamer – which many compare favorably to Thierry Henry’s moment of magic against Manchester United, which can be seen here -

Portsmouth’s fall serves as a reminder that the path taken by clubs such as Everton – in their slow and steady wins the race approach – is the most prudent way to go. To take the help of another adage, Rome was not built in a day – and the stakes are too high to try and prove otherwise.

Of course, luck will always play a major role. Way back in 1985, before the advent of the Premier League as we know it, Everton won the old First Division, but were barred from playing in the next year’s European Cup on account of UEFA’s ban on all English clubs in the aftermath of the Heysel Disaster involving Liverpool fans.

The ban saw a deserving Everton robbed of the chance to play on the European stage, in a period where the club were one of the front-runners domestically. One wonders how different the surroundings of Goodison Park would be today had it not been for their derby rivals.

As it was, Manchester United rode their luck, as they emerged on the scene in the early 90’s, and were transported to become a global brand in the face of the new, shiny wrapped package that was the rechristened Barclays Premier League.

Today, money rules the game. The bigger clubs will always have a safety net, owing to the money in the bank. More importantly, they will always have that which keeps the money coming – an identity and an appeal that is often global.

Manchester City and Chelsea have emerged as global brands in a relatively short time, and have certainly raised the profile of the league in proving to be worthy challengers to the throne occupied alternately by Manchester United and Arsenal till then.

Even since the dawn of the Premier League, a Kenny Dalglish inspired Blackburn Rovers took the League title in that glorious summer of 95’. Blackburn never challenged for the title again, and today languish in the Championship.

Another reminder of just how much it takes to stay at the top in the ruthless Premier League.

And even if it may well be impossible to see another title triumph of that nature again, we can revel in the breath of fresh air that has been Pochettinos Southampton this season, and in the continued fight that Everton put up in what they see as their right to join the footballing elite.

God bless the English Premier League.