Southampton fans asked, Midnite delivered as the in-demand Midnite Express returns with free luxury coach travel for the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday, April 25. Midnite, Southampton’s official training kit partner, has run exciting fan-led initiatives throughout the 2025/26 campaign, including the first Midnite Express when Saints played Sheffield United earlier this season.
The gap at the top is only getting bigger
Long, now retired, is no stranger to Championship football and featuring for sides such as Southampton, Hull City and West Brom who are used to striving to reach or survive in the Premier League.
The former Ireland international, speaking via Midnite, opened up on how difficult it is for smaller sides to survive at the top of the football pyramid which often chews up and spits teams right back down to the Championship.
“The biggest change for me is the gap between the promoted teams and the established Premier League teams. It's so hard for a promoting team to come up now and cause an upset, but there are some exceptions like Sunderland, who have done well this season, but most of the teams that come up from the Championship, there's such a gulf in players, in money, in structure, it's hard for them to survive one or two years in the Premier League to really build a foundation to grow the club.
“I remember coming up at Reading, and we finished 8th in the first season without really spending a penny, but there were the 5 or 6 top teams that were just a different level, everyone else is kind of fighting to avoid relegation, whereas at the moment it's kind of divided into 4 or 5 bottom teams that you could see relegated, and then there's the gap, and that's the biggest change for me.”
Has the Premier League become boring?
The English top flight has been accused of becoming sterile, dull and almost unwatchable as even the most loyal fans turn their nose up at the product that just isn’t as attractive this season.
VAR, an over reliance on set pieces and tactics which drain the life of fans have been the main complaints. Long, who played in a much different time, agrees that the top division is missing top players who can breathe life into the league that many describe as monotonous.
“This has probably come from the way Arsenal are getting results. I don't know if it was just a different time, a different outlook at the game, but when I look back on the Premier League 10/15 years ago, there are a lot of players that stand out as goal scorers and just light up games. At the moment, even in my fantasy football, there aren't many options as a striker in there.
“When you look back, and there was Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. I don't know if it was just a different age and I look at the game differently, but yeah, I think it's, it's going to take a few years for the Premier League to get back to that level.”
Long, who still holds the title for the fastest Premier League goal of all time (7.69 seconds) certainly knows how to find the back of the net after scoring 56 goals in 344 top flight appearances. Many will miss players like Long who are not restricted in attack by tactics or slow, lethargic football as supporters reminisce about a style of play that seems largely forgotten.