Stop Press

[dave.woodhall]

http://thebirminghampress.com/2017/05/from-start-to-finish/

[TopDeck113]

You're right: we better had. 

In many ways this season was a free hit and, all things considered, perhaps it's for the long-term best that we didn't conspire to make and then win the play-offs.  Next season, though, is a different matter.

[pbavfckuwait]

Yes your right: we better had
But Top Deck in football there is never a free hit, stand still or go further backwards, which I believe we have, kills you in football, the likes of the mighty Stoke, Bitter twats, Burnley, Watford,Bournemouth, they are all leaving us further behind, thats why there is no free hits.

[peter w]

i'm still far from convinced that we will go up. That after the money we spent there are still huge gaps to fill is worrying. The defence needs less work done for me, the midfield and forward line are big problem areas. We do need some Prem experience in there and without that i don't think we'll go up. jedinak is someone I's replace in the team if not the squad. Him, Hourihane, Lansbury just haven't worked.

[Nelson Lodge]

        "there would have been something very wrong with a team named Albion winning a trophy at Villa Park."

Couldn't agree more. A plague on all the teams with the name Albion!

[DeKuip]

Yes your right: we better had
But Top Deck in football there is never a free hit, stand still or go further backwards, which I believe we have, kills you in football, the likes of the mighty Stoke, Bitter twats, Burnley, Watford,Bournemouth, they are all leaving us further behind, thats why there is no free hits.

The teams you mentioned, and others, are way ahead of us at the moment but there'll come a time soon when they go backwards too. That's what happens in football and that's the beauty of the league system.
You couldn't go much further backwards than Portsmouth did and they're now enjoying a resurgence. Just look how close Bournemouth, Swansea, Burnley and Brighton came to dropping out of the league not too long ago.
Even the big money of the PL will never stop that happening so long as there's three going down each year.
Anyway I'm sure we'll get back up within the next 20 years. No problem.

[old man villa fan]

Anyway I'm sure we'll get back up within the next 20 years. No problem.

Gulp. I had better take up watching another sport then!

[pbavfckuwait]

Dekuip, you are right this has always happened, but I think the big change is the riches involved in just being in the prem, a properly run club with those finances, that they could get nowhere near generating from other sources make them alot more secure and harder to catch if you are out of the league for to long.

[DeKuip]

Dekuip, you are right this has always happened, but I think the big change is the riches involved in just being in the prem, a properly run club with those finances, that they could get nowhere near generating from other sources make them alot more secure and harder to catch if you are out of the league for to long.

The clubs spend all the money they get though. The fear of relegation affects half the PL each season and even properly run clubs will panic and make bad decisions.
It isn't neccesarily the three poorest and worst run clubs that get relegated each year.