VillaChris Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Just thinking watching this match and how bad they are (pretty much on a par with our 15/16 vintage). Is there a more underachieving city in football than this one in the U.K? Both clubs are incredibly well supported. Sheffield United will have 30k in tonight and when Sheff Weds are doing well they can draw about 30-35k themselves. So with a population of 500k that is very good support from both. Sheff Weds were a good top level team in the 1990s with cup finals and decent league finishes. Since they went down from the prem they've actually been relegated from the championship three times and in reality they're just a yo yo team between championship and league one. Bramall Lane is actually one of my favourite football grounds in England. Right next to the city centre, good view and atmosphere from away end so a top away day. Their team has done much better than their rivals in last 20 years but ultimately it's only been a couple of promotions to the premier league and then usually straight back down so they haven't build in the way likes of West Brom, Wolves, Palace and Brighton have once promoted despite having similar support and spending levels. I really feel for their fans as this feels the worst sort of way to have a dismal premier league season. Were promoted comfortably last season and also had a very good cup run so should've been endless optimism over the summer. Instead that Saudi prince wanted to sell, couldn't and then turned off the spending tap until the window was nearly over so that basically gave them no chance. Will probably regroup over the summer and be in the mix for play offs next year. Don't know if there's any billionaires floating around in Yorkshire but considering the rich sporting heritage of the area it feels like both clubs are ripe for massive reboots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Dogg Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 1 minute ago, VillaChris said: Just thinking watching this match and how bad they are (pretty much on a par with our 15/16 vintage). Is there a more underachieving city in football than this one in the U.K? Bristol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 1 minute ago, Mr_Dogg said: Bristol. Bristol Rovers have always been a lower level team despite getting decent support, just playing a season or two in the championship would be a great achievement for them. And a new ground. Bristol City probably underachieved but their support level isn't anywhere near what both Sheffield teams can pull when they're in the right part of a league and challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Yorkshire football in general is pretty grim. I’ve got family up there and if the local news & sport is on the TV when I visit it really hits home. I do agree with @Mr_Dogg though. A city with the size and importance of Bristol never really having a successful football club is right up there in terms of anything in terms of underachievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Bristol? At least the sun shone on the ass of Sheffield once upon a time Bristol is what the 5th or 6th biggest city in England and I'm not sure either team has even been time flight since colour was invented let alone won anything Sheffields football perfectly represents the decline of the city in general Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 And SU obviously don't have a thread here (?) but I'll say this, assuming chambers was offered to every man and his dog on deadline day they went out and got Holgate on loan They deserve to go down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Steve Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 (edited) First Prem team to concede 59 goals after 23 games. Edited February 3 by The_Steve 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Steve Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 21 minutes ago, The_Rev said: Yorkshire football in general is pretty grim. I’ve got family up there and if the local news & sport is on the TV when I visit it really hits home. I do agree with @Mr_Dogg though. A city with the size and importance of Bristol never really having a successful football club is right up there in terms of anything in terms of underachievement. Bristol City is a good example, with a rich owner by the league standards and a good ground too (though they missed out with a bigger stadium plan) - rival in the mud. But, I don't know why they keep underachieving. I would love to see them make it to the Prem. I am a strong advocate for geographic diversity in football. Biggest city in the South West too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 3 hours ago, VillaChris said: Just thinking watching this match and how bad they are (pretty much on a par with our 15/16 vintage). Is there a more underachieving city in football than this one in the U.K? Both clubs are incredibly well supported. Sheffield United will have 30k in tonight and when Sheff Weds are doing well they can draw about 30-35k themselves. So with a population of 500k that is very good support from both. Sheff Weds were a good top level team in the 1990s with cup finals and decent league finishes. Since they went down from the prem they've actually been relegated from the championship three times and in reality they're just a yo yo team between championship and league one. Bramall Lane is actually one of my favourite football grounds in England. Right next to the city centre, good view and atmosphere from away end so a top away day. Their team has done much better than their rivals in last 20 years but ultimately it's only been a couple of promotions to the premier league and then usually straight back down so they haven't build in the way likes of West Brom, Wolves, Palace and Brighton have once promoted despite having similar support and spending levels. I really feel for their fans as this feels the worst sort of way to have a dismal premier league season. Were promoted comfortably last season and also had a very good cup run so should've been endless optimism over the summer. Instead that Saudi prince wanted to sell, couldn't and then turned off the spending tap until the window was nearly over so that basically gave them no chance. Will probably regroup over the summer and be in the mix for play offs next year. Don't know if there's any billionaires floating around in Yorkshire but considering the rich sporting heritage of the area it feels like both clubs are ripe for massive reboots. In recent years, Birmingham? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 They have a team in the Premier League (well for now) that’s better than some cites can boast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Sheffield and Birmingham probably had the same amount of top 10 Premier League finishes in the last 10-15 years 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 On 03/02/2024 at 18:09, VillaChris said: Just thinking watching this match and how bad they are (pretty much on a par with our 15/16 vintage). Is there a more underachieving city in football than this one in the U.K? On pure "population vs. highest team in football pyramid", I imagine Bradford is probably the most 'underachieving' city. One side, sat 18th in League Two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icouldtelltheworld Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 (edited) Lots of competition for support up there, while the city itself probably isn't quite big enough to sustain two top-level teams (if Brum hasn't managed it then probably no surprise Sheffield hasnt!) Bristol probably the best comparison, you'd imagine if there was just one team in the city they'd be regularly in the top flight. The south west is much more of a rugby area anyway - Swindon Town being the only SW team to play in the top division in decades Edit: I wonder if there may also be an issue with the clubs failing to recruit support from the large ethnic minority communities in the city as well. This is definitely something that impacts support/success levels for teams in the West Mids (Wolves maybe an outlier here, as they seem to draw good support from the city's Punjabi community) Edited February 5 by icouldtelltheworld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Your Round Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) One thing I will say I’ve noticed living in South Yorkshire is that most people do tend to the support local teams. I see way more Sheff U, Wednesday, Barnsley, Rotherham and even Donny fans than I ever do the glory hunters. And that’s despite year’s of underachievement in the county. Both Sheffield clubs have struggled with poor ownership, and while United have had recent success with promotions, I’m not sure how much longer they’ll keep that up. I can see them dropping back to mid table championship obscurity again. Sheff Weds reached the championship playoffs twice and failed to go up, that was their recent peak and they dropped off to League One. Without new investment I can’t see them ever threatening the playoffs again, that’s if they can even get back out of League One next season. I always wanted to see Wednesday do well because I know some genuinely nice Wednesday fans, I’d love them to go on a run and relegate small heath, but I can’t see it Edited February 7 by It's Your Round Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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