Pampered premier league players, it's all hype etc......

I hear that all the time and how the championship is more 'real' football....

Well i felt it last time and I do so again- it's just not true. The premier league is very tough- the small players are strong and the big players are quick. You just don't see players with such glaring weaknesses as we did in the championship.

There seems to be an image from clubs outside the premier.league that it's full.of fancy show off players who are full.of themselves- I'd actually say there are far more of those players in the lower leagues than in the premier league.

There are a few but then they are in all leagues.

It's a step up in everything, Man City, Chelsea and Co can all be as physical as anyone they like to moan about and yet they also then have a number of players who can produce magic.

You just notice it more when it's against your team that you see every week. So last season there were a few matches where we could bully teams off the ball, it just hasn't happened much at all. In the game against newcastle it felt a challenge, they were up to and able to match our physicality.

Even arsenal could who are always thought of as a bit flaky.

I think the sheer strength and build of the players is something you notice, particularly watching the match live.

Absolutely agree Trigger. Even side like arsenal are really strong and won't be bullied.

Long way to go yet but I must say I had forgotten just how big the gap between the premier league and the championship actually was.

As someone said yesterday our best and perhaps only hope is that the way we got 90 points in the championship will get us 35 points in the premier league. From the evidence of the first 5 games- it won't.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Absolutely agree Trigger. Even side like arsenal are really strong and won't be bullied.

Long way to go yet but I must say I had forgotten just how big the gap between the premier league and the championship actually was.

As someone said yesterday our best and perhaps only hope is that the way we got 90 points in the championship will get us 35 points in the premier league. From the evidence of the first 5 games- it won't.

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But not being bullied and being over protected are two different things? Game is more physical at championship level because that the way it's ref'd.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Absolutely agree Trigger. Even side like arsenal are really strong and won't be bullied.

Long way to go yet but I must say I had forgotten just how big the gap between the premier league and the championship actually was.

As someone said yesterday our best and perhaps only hope is that the way we got 90 points in the championship will get us 35 points in the premier league. From the evidence of the first 5 games- it won't.

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Mental strength is as important as physical strength in many leagues and I'd say it applies even more so in the Premier League. It's the start of the season now, so all sides are going to be, basically, in an optimistic frame of mind, but, come November and December a lot of them will be much more fragile mentally as the reality of losing games most weeks takes hold. My hope is that, with not as much expectation on us, we can retain a lot of the mental toughness we showed when holding off Fulham's surge last spring and it will be the lower half sides we will mostly be facing in the winter months who will wilt.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

Absolutely agree Trigger. Even side like arsenal are really strong and won't be bullied.

Long way to go yet but I must say I had forgotten just how big the gap between the premier league and the championship actually was.

As someone said yesterday our best and perhaps only hope is that the way we got 90 points in the championship will get us 35 points in the premier league. From the evidence of the first 5 games- it won't.

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We are averaging 0.4 points per game, so we are currently on target to reach 15 or 16 points.

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Originally Posted by Father Dougal

I hear that all the time and how the championship is more 'real' football....

Well i felt it last time and I do so again- it's just not true. The premier league is very tough- the small players are strong and the big players are quick. You just don't see players with such glaring weaknesses as we did in the championship.

There seems to be an image from clubs outside the premier.league that it's full.of fancy show off players who are full.of themselves- I'd actually say there are far more of those players in the lower leagues than in the premier league.

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Premiership players are much stronger in general - Reid looks way too fragile for this level. Probably pound for pound the same weight as Hazard, but lacks his strength.

I think there is one thing saying the prem is faster and v competitive but they are still pampered imo
Compare this....
The ave div one team has already played 12 or 13 games this season ( league games, league cup and checkatrade trophy)
That is 12 or 13 games in bout 40days
And the prem teams ...... 5!!

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Originally Posted by chepstow

I think there is one thing saying the prem is faster and v competitive but they are still pampered imo
Compare this....
The ave div one team has already played 12 or 13 games this season ( league games, league cup and checkatrade trophy)
That is 12 or 13 games in bout 40days
And the prem teams ...... 5!!

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They top clubs tend to stay in the cups longer, plus they also have the European competitions which can be up to 13 games.

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

They top clubs tend to stay in the cups longer, plus they also have the European competitions which can be up to 13 games.

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Not to mention international call ups.

I’ve noticed that we seem to be winning a lot less ball in the air than we did in most Championship games. I think only Millwall, Bolton and maybe Preston and Birmingham were able to match us there. But even some of the supposed physically smaller sides have competed this season

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

We are averaging 0.4 points per game, so we are currently on target to reach 15 or 16 points.

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Too early to judge. Out of those 5 we’ve lost to 2 of the top 6, lost away to one of the ‘best of the rest’ and only played 1 similar side at home.

Surely we need to have played 6 ‘ non top 6’ sides before we have a true idea of our competitiveness ?

I personally think we have been better than our results so far.

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Originally Posted by Lawnmower

Too early to judge. Out of those 5 we’ve lost to 2 of the top 6, lost away to one of the ‘best of the rest’ and only played 1 similar side at home.

Surely we need to have played 6 ‘ non top 6’ sides before we have a true idea of our competitiveness ?

I personally think we have been better than our results so far.

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I tend to agree with you. I have seen nothing in the mid/lower table sides that we need worry about. My concern is the longer we keep losing heads will drop and that becomes a vicious circle. Would be great to do the unthinkable and get a point v Man City.

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Originally Posted by Lawnmower

Too early to judge. Out of those 5 we’ve lost to 2 of the top 6, lost away to one of the ‘best of the rest’ and only played 1 similar side at home.

Surely we need to have played 6 ‘ non top 6’ sides before we have a true idea of our competitiveness ?

I personally think we have been better than our results so far.

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That's why I said "currently on target", as the figure will go up and down throughout the season. The only number that matters is the one after the last ball has been kicked. I'm definitely not panicking though ... yet! :biggrin: