For the small, humble gatherings of lower level football, the escapism offered by the sport itself is arguably the most cherished part of the game. Teams like Leeds, Xerex, Tenerife, Napoli- the ability to enjoy such a team is a gift in itself. Hope drives them. Potential fans the flame, and while we as fans of larger clubs are actually able to see results in the immediate, these disciples of footy rarely ever see glory.
While we love watching out team play, we can only slightly relate to the small club fan’s devotion and unwavering, and slightly unhealthy obsession.
Perhaps we can relate in other sports… ie – Me and the Orioles, Willie and the Redskins, or BLo and Manchester United. ( ok ok, low blow) Anyway, here’s the question.
If you could manage or own any team in the world, other than the major powers of football, what club would it be? Why?
JMo: Ajax. For the style they offer to the world stage, and the seemingly endless fountain of young talent, I would love to manage/own them. The city of Amsterdam isn’t the classiest but it is beautiful. While Ajax is considered a lesser club on the European stage, their national success is impressive, not to mention the club’s tremendous history and fan base. The players who have walked that pitch are some of the best in history, and o, did I mention their style. Good grief I love watching them play. O, and there’s this. Besitkas of Turkey is a close, CLOSE second. Mainly because of this. Watch all 1:40.
Diaz: Real Oviedo, currently of Spain’s Segunda “B” division. Founded in 1926, this club has a wealth of history from being the first Asturian club to gain promotion to the Primera, to having their stadium comandeered by Francisco Franco’s troops during the Civil War to store armanents this club is one of Spain’s most historic.As being someone whose family originally hales from a small town about 70 kilometers from the city, it would be an incredible joy and experience to try to right the ship and lead Real Oviedo back to Spain’s top flight.
BLo: I would have to say…Roma. Beautiful city, great history, excellent fanbase, and they’ve played in the Champions League. They have the respect of everyone in Italy for their style of play and their respect for the game. If not Roma…maybe Ajax.
Chad Brown: Leeds United for me, which, not coincidentally, is my choice in manager mode every year in FIFA. Currently toinling away inEngland’s League One thanks to a legendary case of mismanagement and spending beyond their means (though in position for promotion to the CCC at the moment), Leedsa has a rich history including an appearance in the Champions League semi finals in 2001. With a fanbase as rabid as ever and a stadium that holds 40,000, Leeds is on the slow road back to Premiere League football, and the manager who gets them there will never buy another pint in West Yorkshire.
JJ:
Willie: I will have to say Hearts, of Edinburgh, Scotland. There is no realistic pressure to win the league; finishing third is the real aim, and the manager has a decent shot at doing just that. Even so, Hearts are established in the SPL, and the manager’s job will certainly be secure for the next season with at least a top-half finish. A club somewhere in the 5th-10th place position in the EPL is tempting, but I think there would still be way more stress involved with that job than I’d care to deal with, considering just how difficult it would be to actually win anything. Also, it may not be Glasgow, but who wouldn’t want to live in Edinburgh?
Jeff Hill:
Hoss: Newcastle. Coming up to the premiership, great stadium, loyal fans, great potential as a club with good funds.
Steph:
Cameron: If they’re not too big, Newcastle. Awesome home kit, huge fan support, they’re getting promoted and will probably be sold, so the table is set to build them into a solid top half of the table team. Otherwise, if they stay up, I’d say West Ham. Mainly due to the fan support and the hopes that they get some cash help this summer, which is a possibility.
Billard: Leeds United. Sitting in League One of England Leeds is definitely a lesser team, however, they are an extremely storied team with alot of history behind them. They have shown their capabilities in the English tournament with a victory over Man-U and are still a clas organization with class talent, namely Jermaine Beckford. Like all teams in the lower conferences they are made up of very young players with alot of room for growth, and I think it would be ore fun to coach a team that is not simply competing to win a division, but competing to enter into a whole new league.
Scott:
Posted by cameron on April 19, 2010 at 3:36 pm
My second choice would be Exeter City in League One right now. Only because on FIFA 09, they were a League 2, half star team, and I built them to a 5 star Premiereship team.
Posted by Stephen on April 19, 2010 at 7:08 pm
I am having trouble seeing how some of these clubs can be considered small.
Ajax- They have one 29 Dutch titles, and 4 European crowns as well. Furthermore they were best team in Europe throughout the much of the 70′s and 80′s, as they had stars such as Joan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkarrd. You can’t discuss Total Football and not mention Ajax. Yes their glory days are well in the past, but they still won the UCL in 1995 and are one of the top teams in Holland. Unless you mean Ajax (Aias) de Salaminia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aias_Salamina_F.C.
Roma- They are Italy’s fourth most succesfull and famous team. Their stadium holds 73,000 supporters and they have played all but one of season of their long existense in the Siera A being relegated once in the 1952-1953 year. They are certainly not a small club.
Newcastle United- Yes they are in the Coca-Cola championship, but relegation does not make you a small club, especially when your teams payroll is ten times that of the average club in the Championship. Not shockingly, with how bad lower division football is in England, they have already sealed a quick return to the EPL with 6 matches left to go. More importantly any club that can waste 6.3 million pounds on a player of the quality of Luis Enrique certainly is not a small club.
Posted by Stephen on April 25, 2010 at 7:30 am
Just to further prove my point, Forbes Magazine released its yearly report on the most valuable soccer teams in the world. AS Roma ranked 15th at a worth of 308 million dollars and Newcastle ranked 20th at 198 million dollars despite being in the Championship. These are certainly not small teams.
Posted by Chad on April 29, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Totally agree Stephen, I was gonna make the same point. Also what the piss happened to my poast, why are there so many typos?
Posted by jonathanmoynihan on April 29, 2010 at 5:46 pm
I copy and paste your responses and put them up accordingly. The typos were all your doing sadly.
Unless copy and paste on my computer has a hidden “sabotage Chad’s posts” typeface or something