THE words of Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan last week after his side were routinely beaten by Chelsea. Jealous words one may think as he gazes longingly up at the big four.
But while King Kev has been known to favour emotional rants, I thin
k's he halfway right. The league is
ALREADY boring and has been for the last decade.
I mean, hands up who's looking forward to an all-English Champions League final?
May 21 in Moscow will undoubtedly mark a momentous occasion in English football. But I can't imagine the rest of the Continent is licking their lips furiously at the prospect.
In fact I can't imagine anyone outside the Chelsea and United supporters' clubs being that excited.
A repeat of last year's FA Cup final will bring shame on the national game, regardless of how the fans behave. Last May they turned football's most exciting day into a turgid, nondescript and tedious damp squib.
But not content with dulling down the world's favourite domestic cup knockout, they're now monopolising and dulling down the European game as well.
There's little better than seeing an English team putting the skids under the aristocrats of Spain, France and Italy. But now we don't even get to see that at the sharp end of the competition. Three out of four semi-final spots taken by Premiership clubs in each of the last two seasons?
Don't believe the hype - it's not good for English football (check out Euro 2008).
TV pundits may get themselves in a lather every time a press release issues forth from the Chelsenal United's spin doctors, but the top tier of English league football is far from the high octane beast it is billed.
It is predictable and dull. There I said it. What's more the vast majority of matches are essentially pointless. And the much-vaunted skill levels we hear so much about? They are non-existent in many fixtures.
Since when did clubs start frothing with excitement at the chance of nabbing fifth place anyhow?
The Championship has long since been the more exciting and appealing league even though my team does not actually appear in it.
While the Premiership may cock a snoop at it's little nephew, The Championship captures the true ethos of sport - it's unpredictable and absolutely anything can happen. The Big Four? Big snore.
