It's not bravado, it's reality.
No one of us likes it, but is there anything we are able to do about it. The answer is no. They can't live with our success and this why we get the shit we do.
First we were noisy neighbors, then it was "never in my lifetime", then FFP, then oil money, then Arab dictators, now this and FFP again. We are interlopers, we've gatecrashed their cosy little cartel and they have it in for us. As far as I can see we carry on with our success and if they don't like us then we just have to shrug our shoulders and accept that we are never going to get any recognition or credit from our rivals, which is fine, it's not a popularity contest as far as I'm concerned.
Do you have any suggestions apart from go back to mediocrity and we can be everyone's favourite second team again?