I’ll come to the point in a minute. If we study the European football leagues we will find there is very little competition in most of them, unlike the Premier League.
If we look at the football history North of the border it’s plain to see that Celtic and Rangers have a very sweet looking trophy cabinet, as do Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. And it’s a similar situation for one or two clubs in most other European Leagues. Now this is great for supporters who enjoy looking at the cabinet and know that it will be added to season after season. It’s a given. The biggest problem these clubs have is to ensure that their cabinets are big enough for what’s to come.
But it all comes at a cost. Celtic supporters are denied the full experience that is fundamental to being a supporter. They don’t have to be apprehensive at the start of the season because they already know how it will end. They do not ‘enjoy’ the ups and downs that come with being part of a competitive league. There is no emotional roller-coaster ride to their season, just a serene stroll as each game comes along. And the cabinet just keeps growing.
When Celtic, Madrid, PSG, or Barcelona win their respective leagues there can be little feeling that they’ve achieved something very special in the way that Leicester did.
It’s all very relative of course. In comparing the trophy cabinets of Celtic and Spurs there would be an obvious difference. But which is the greater achievement; Celtic winning their league four years in a row or Spurs finishing 3,2,3,3, in the same period? Which supporters have had the most exciting seasons in terms of watching their team compete against strong rival clubs?
The Premier League is an extraordinary beast in terms of its competitive nature. Few would doubt that it is the most competitive league in football. And that’s a good thing for the supporters …. especially the supporters of six of the clubs! And, for the others there is always the possibility of ‘doing a Leicester’, something that would be virtually impossible in other leagues.
And that brings me to my point …. why do Spurs drop points? We drop points because we were outplayed, or out-thought, or unlucky. We drop points because we pursue our trade in England, not Scotland, Spain, or Germany. We do not drop points because we were not trying, or didn’t care, or ‘bottled it’. And that’s exactly the same for every PL club.
Currently, Spurs have had a string of league finishes the like of which has not been seen since the early sixties. Of course, we have not yet added to the cabinet in the way that we did in the early sixties but then, we’re playing in the PL. Football, and the top flight league in England, has changed dramatically since the sixties.
Of course, if we were solely determined to put more silverware in our own cabinet we could ask Celtic if they’d like to swap leagues for a season or two. Bugger that!
I want Spurs to win a trophy as much as any other supporter but, in the PL, it’s not so easy. It’s just more exciting!