Quote:
Originally Posted by right-track
It all depends on what their expectations are. If the expectations are too high and they throw good money after bad...see Leeds United, Newcastle etc...it'll just end in tears.
With a good manager and a patient boardroom with a good set up, where the expectations aren't unrealistic, then you're in with a shout...see Spurs, Everton, Villa etc.
With a good manager and a brand of football that's unattractive, but effective...see Wimbledon, Swansea (in the past) and more recently Portsmouth (although that might begin to change now) and the like.
As for a top four being tedious. Well, we're lucky we have a top four and not a top two (if you listen to City fans recently we now have a top 5, apparently), or even a top one...see just about every other league in Europe.
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Money almost seems a necessity now for a club with an ambition to break the top four. For the first time in what might actually be my lifetime people are telling me that they expect big things from Sunderland this season but realistically what do they mean by that? They mean top 8 at an absolute maximum which would be great for us but when people say they expect big things from a Premier League club it usually means a top half finish with little chance of actually winning anything. Maybe a domestic cup at the most.
For anything more than that, a whole hell of a lot of money just seems to be vital just to compete.
Chelsea are probably a fairly recent example of true success with a healthy bank account.
Newcastle, as you mentioned, on the other hand. They have had 11 or 12 changes in management in the last 10 years. On paper theres no reason why they shouldnt have had the same level of success as a club like Everton over the last few seasons but Everton have stuck with the same manager for 7 years or so now. I think you're right when you say theres a lot of different things to factor in, just
having the money isnt everything.