Supports are PERFECT for a team competitive setting, BUT not in a solo/random matched setting.

And this even goes for premades (unless it's 5v5 and you literally trust everyone you are grouped with).

As a disclaimer, I have been a support (mostly thresh/janna and others) main since I have started to play ranked back in season 4. And in my last season, I've been bouncing around high plat (sadly never once succeeding in promos to diamond) so I'm not highly qualified for judgement like this, but still I ask of any readers to hear me out.

Going to start by defining what support is MEANT to be. The role of support is meant to be a role that is purposely starved of experience and gold, meant to provide vision and utility to a team where it lacks (and in some cases damage, but that is rare in competitive scenes). The champions which work as supports are those which fit at least 2 of three criteria (in best cases, all three):

1. Powerful abilities in the early game that don't scale in direct power (aside from cooldowns) much from ranks and stats. This is to allow them to stay relevant without levels or gold.
2. Generally weaker base stats in the early game, but most can be allowed to scale decently into mid-late game naturally. This is to make supports incredibly vulnerable without their abilities, as to prevent supports from being taken into solo lanes, since criteria 1 would make them far too powerful early game in laning.
3. Natural synergy with active-reliant items and other champions, so that they aren't required to carry the game by themselves, and can instead enable someone else to carry.

Now, this is (as stated in the title) a perfect role in the competitive scene. By giving up gold and experience, you are allowing the other carries to scale up faster in power, and you can coordinate what you offer to easily make it as if you more of a utility carry. You don't have to worry about taking towers or objectives as much since you can trust your team to deal the damage for you, while you keep them alive and enemies away.

However, in a setting where your teammates are random (or simply not as trustworthy), there is no insurance that your allies can deal the damage to towers and enemies properly or secure dragons/barons. And since your role is stripped of scaling opportunities, you have little to no ability to take those objectives yourself. You can have as many perfect engages as you want, as many great peels, etc. But if your allies don't know how to effectively deal damage and position then there is nothing else you can do. The only (sort of) exception to this is Janna, Soraka, and Zyra. Janna/Soraka because they keep people alive so long that as long as they are mediocre at damage dealing eventually they will kill people and towers since you just make them live through everything, and then there is Zyra, who can just kill anyone with her base stats and some Magic Penetration (which doesn't cost much). Every other role has champions, items, or simply put the scaling to be able to solo carry in different ways. All other roles can splitpush effectively, there are champions with good damage and AoE to kill enemies effectively in each role, and all other roles scale really well in the mid-late game.

I'm not saying the support role should be changed/reworked HELL NO. I LOVE SUPPORT. But as I said, the role itself by definition is excellent for competitive team play, just terrible for solo play.

And I feel like there are other options. There's multiple ways to play this game that people should try out, rather than stick to whatever pros do. Example: can still play a supportive style (provide utility and vision for the team) just in a method that would allow you to scale better. Liiiiiike, farm up the bottom side jungle, use for vision and just scale up with other items and provide utility with your champion. Don't need to be on a hard farm either, can be a gank/roam heavy style that helps all lanes and counter-jungles. One thing I've done that works pretty well every now and then (i only do it when my adc has high range so I know they can farm safely, or it's a soraka/janna lane) is in the style I described. My build is and / I go . Then, I start bot side lane with until the bot side jungle camps are about to respawn on my side. Then I back, get a jungle item (based on how much gold I have) and take the camps, aside from buffs, go to scuttle if its up, ward the enemy jungle and take camps that are available, then roam between mid/top/bot. Ganking if possible, and getting minions for extra gold/xp with . If I ever see bot or top side back on the enemy team, I immediately call for Herald/dragon to be taken and do it fast since I have smite. Late game I'll have items and stats to scale well, making me more on a potential carry end. and I can easily sell for since I'll have gold faster with this playstyle.

In my honest opinion, something like this works far more efficiently in the setting that is Dynamic, Solo, fine, Dynamic queue. And I encourage others to try it out there. As long as the adc knows how to play safe, it should work. And if this kicks in decently then it could turn the non-competitive team meta into something more of a double jungle. One being farm heavy with occasional ganks and the other being gank heavy with occasional farming.

EDIT: /end rant