Who knows?

My programme article from the Burton Albion game on 24th September. A thrilling read as always......

I’ve been playing different versions of Championship Manager (or Football Manager as it has now become) for a number of years with varying degrees of success. If you’ve not come across it before, it’s a simulation game where you manage a club of your choice, from the Premiership down to the Conference North or South. For a game that has little on-screen action, relying as it does on your understanding of statistics, it is ridiculously addictive.

It’s hard to explain exactly why people (and I know from speaking to others that it’s not just me who finds hours disappearing when playing it) get so drawn in. I would guess that it’s got something to do with the fact that you can play a full part in bringing success (if only virtual) to your favourite team. It plays on that part of most supporters that thinks they could be a success in real life management if only they were given the chance.

In recent years, virtual success has been hard to come by for me. I’ve been forced to dine out on past glories (much like Tottenham) for a few years now. The high point of my Championship Manager career came when I dragged relegation favourites Exeter City from the 3^rd Division (as it was then) to the dizzy heights of the Premier League. We managed to finish 2^nd a few years running and therefore qualify for the Champions League. I was however, like so many City managers, severely hamstrung by finances.

When we gained promotion to the Premiership, the club splashed out £30 million to build a 16000 capacity all-seater stadium, leaving us massively in debt. Despite selling out for all games, and playing in the Champions League for a few years, the club was making a huge loss. After a few years where City finished in the top 3 of the Premier League, I had one season where we finished 16^th. I was sacked. I’d dragged the club from nowhere to the glamorous world of the top flight of English football and was given my P45 after one mediocre season. That’s gratitude for you.

As you can tell, I’m still bitter about the whole thing.

Is the idea of ECFC playing in the Premier League a crazy pipe dream and only likely to happen on the computer screen? The obvious answer is yes: to “do a Wigan” (that is go from the lower reaches of English football to the top) you have to spend a lot of money and that generally means having a seriously wealthy benefactor who is willing to pump millions into the club without any wish to get it back. However, there is increasing evidence of top-flight football losing its appeal: the Times has reported that crowds are down 15% this season and that television ratings for Premiership matches are falling.

What this could mean is that, as less money will be pumped into the top of the game, there is more hope for clubs like ours that rely on supporters, rather than the whims of one man or woman. Many people will say that it’s a complete waste of time to even think about the likelihood of Exeter City playing Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in league football. It’s certainly true that the first, second and third short-term priorities are to get back into the league and that “Premiership football” wouldn’t even be listed in “seriously long-term plans”. However, it’s nice to dream once in a while and its good to know that the dream could, possible, perhaps, maybe, come true one day, isn’t it?

# posted by GrecianEd @ 1:05 pm