English Premier League thread

Totally agree. That coupled with the fact that despite all those revenues - 13 of the clubs actually LOST money. It's untenable, surely, and it's only a matter of time til something big happens (like 3/4 teams collapsing in the same season, for example).

The biggest issue is wage inflation. Because clubs are allowed to lose £150m a year due to sovereign wealth, it means that wages are not tied to income. This then permeates the other clubs, and they end up having to pay more than they can afford for medium to low talent players. And they take a few risks on a few names - then it doesn't work out - and suddenly they're losing £10m a season, have no assets worth that anymore and don't have a sugar daddy to help them out. It's tragic that even a club like Everton aren't cash positive. Good stadium - great fans, great manager, history of shrewd buys...but even that's not enough.
 
yep, i couldn't agree more. epl clubs should send their team directors to italy to study the italian model and learn how to build good teams and saving money..... and serie a clubs should send their marketing directors to england to learn a few things about generating revenues for their clubs. :))
 
It would be horrible for West Ham not to make it back though! With the manager they have, the players they have, their budget and size. It really would be a kick in the teeth and a disappointing campaign.

It would be great! I hate West Ham and all their faux-cockney Essex boy fans.

I love Blackpool. Get em back in.

Come on Blackpool, make it happen.

Great manager, great kit, great away trip.

Also I want to see more provincial teams in the Premier League rather than another London club.
 
great link mate. thanks for posting it. :))
it's unbelievable how much money premier league clubs generate. the worst club in the league incomes-wise is wigan with 50 million pounds. that's 5 millions more than napoli's annual incomes (56 million euros) and 5 times more than palermo's annual incomes (10 millions euros). when u consider that incomes-wise napoli is among serie a's top 5 and that palermo is in top 10, it really puts things into perspective. :SHOCK:

give napoli west ham's annual incomes (80 million pounds) and they'll build a champion league winning team! :P

That is what i'm saying for years on this site. Give a Belgian, Dutch, Portugese, Danish, Swedish team that kind of money and they can win CL too..
 
yep, i couldn't agree more. epl clubs should send their team directors to italy to study the italian model and learn how to build good teams and saving money..... and serie a clubs should send their marketing directors to england to learn a few things about generating revenues for their clubs. :))

Yes, I think both could learn from each other.

However, the Premier League has created an attractive 'product' and marketed it globally. They've been clever and in doing so can negotiate the most lucrative TV deals, to the benefit of all the clubs in the league. I'm not saying the Premier League model is perfect - it isn't at all - but it's nothing that Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga or Ligue Un couldn't do themselves if they had the insight ten or fifteen years ago. I think they are gradually catching on to this model though.

That is what i'm saying for years on this site. Give a Belgian, Dutch, Portugese, Danish, Swedish team that kind of money and they can win CL too..

Maybe. For me it's not as simple as that.

I still believe that the best players want to play in the most competitive leagues, for the biggest teams in front of large crowds, week in, week out. None of the leagues you mentioned can really offer that.

For instance, if Anderlecht (for example) suddenly become the richest club in the world, this alone doesn't guarantee the best players will want to go there because the domestic league is of a lower standard. Apart from big games against Club Brugge and Standard, the rest of the league is made up of provincial clubs with small crowds. That's not being condescending, that's just how it is in a country of around 10 million people. It's the same in all of the smaller European countries - two or three big city teams which dominate and then a bunch of small town clubs that make up the numbers. Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Czech Rep, etc....it's the same story.

In my opinion the solution is for the smaller leagues in Europe to merge to form more attractive leagues. A Benelux League for instance, or a Scandinavian League. It would provide more competition for the big teams from each country and bigger TV audiences, hence better TV deals and then more money for players, etc......
 
But there was a time that Anderlecht had players who were among the best in the world (Haan, Rensenbrink,) and other clubs had players like Larsen, Lato, Lubanski, Tomaszewski: all world class players...
Do you really think the big leagues are competitive? How many clubs can become champions in Spain? 2 In England? 2 In Italy? 3 Germany and France are better. How many clubs became champions in Belgium the last years? Anderlecht (this year) Genk, Standard, Brugge...that is 4 clubs...not bad i would say.
 
But there was a time that Anderlecht had players who were among the best in the world (Haan, Rensenbrink,) and other clubs had players like Larsen, Lato, Lubanski, Tomaszewski: all world class players...

But that was back in the seventies and early eighties, about the same time my team Ipswich were one of the best teams in England. You wouldn't believe it now. :)) The money in the game was much smaller and players generally stayed in their own country. The best Belgian players stayed in Belgium for Anderlecht or Club Brugge. Same with Holland, hence why Ajax were so dominant at that time.

TV deals and global revenues didn't really exist so a club like Anderlecht could match other top European clubs for wages and could attract quality players based on ticket sales alone.

Do you really think the big leagues are competitive? How many clubs can become champions in Spain? 2 In England? 2 In Italy? 3 Germany and France are better. How many clubs became champions in Belgium the last years? Anderlecht (this year) Genk, Standard, Brugge...that is 4 clubs...not bad i would say.

Yes, I acknowledge that the EPL, Serie A or La Liga are dominated by a few big clubs like most leagues, but when I say more competitive I mean in terms of the size of the occasion and spectacle, and quality of the opposition. Every match in the EPL or Bundesliga is played in front of a big crowd in quality stadia. The best players want those kind of games every week, not playing in front of 10,000 people in Belgium or Sweden.
 
In the 70's and the 80's Dutch players were also playing throughout Europe.
I agree with you regarding the crowds. It would not be a bad idea to have a BENE-league: a team with the best Belgian and Dutch teams.
In the nineties there was an idea for a league with clubs from a couple of litle countries: Holland, Belgium, Danmark, Portugal and Scotland if i remember well. Imagine a league with teams like Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, Benfica, Porto, Braga, Sporting, Anderlecht, Brugge, Standard, Genk, Copenhagen,.... that would be a very competitive league.
 
As well as crowds I think the real problem is TV revenue. Say what you want about the EPL, but their 'package' is excellent. It's available to virtually any TV company in any country in nice bite sized bits and that's why it's so huge worldwide. The real money in football isn't about gate receipts anymore, it's about television cash.

It'll be fascinating if the internet offers those smaller clubs a way to monetize their games - without requiring Sky or Fox.
 
amazingly here in the states EVERY PL match on this Sunday will be live, previsions were made on DirectV that is .

I think the PL draws the line in how to do it! 10 live matches :CONFUSE:
 
Yep, you guys said it best. If there's one thing to learn from EPL, is the TV deals, the marketing and the packages. It's phenomenal and the single reason why it has become by far the most popular league. Because the quality itself is good but nothing special and definitely not miles ahead of the competition. Nor are the quality of players or crowd, etc.

BUT the marketing, the campaigning, the world-wide investment that has brought about universal appeal, it's AS good as it gets and whoever's in charge of all that truly deserves credit! EPL does it BEST!
 
Yup :(. Sad day for United fans. Very sad day indeed :(.

Thought QPR will get the result till the very end :/.

The injuries cost us. The 6-1 thumping cost us. 8GD ffs :(.

Fergie it's time to buy center defenders and center midfielders :P
 
what a crazy day..

watched Liverpool play today, if Dalglish won´t resign tomorow, i think this is what we can expect next season... the Liverpool supporters deserve better than that..

congrats to City..i was hoping Bolton stayes in Premier League..
 
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Congrats to City - what an absolutely bananas way to win it too. F*cking QPR stay up too - spineless bastards. If ever a team didn't deserve to stay up, it's them - especially poor Bolton going down. Can't imagine a neutral in the country wanted that to happen.

That was supposed to be my silver lining when City beat them, but no, Stoke had to go even ruin that.

Say what you want about the premier league, that was insanely entertaining.
 
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSS! Manchester will be rocking tonight!

No other league in the world has the level of excitement of the English ones!
 
Congrats to City - what an absolutely bananas way to win it too. F*cking QPR stay up too - spineless bastards. If ever a team didn't deserve to stay up, it's them - especially poor Bolton going down. Can't imagine a neutral in the country wanted that to happen.

That was supposed to be my silver lining when City beat them, but no, Stoke had to go even ruin that.

Say what you want about the premier league, that was insanely entertaining.

True. QPR doesn't deserve to stay at BPL. Bolton is much more better.
 
EPL is the best league in the world, title decided in the last 3 minutes, while in La Liga the title went to Madrid since February ..
 
I was kinda hoping United would win because I'm sick and tired of seeing sugar daddy sustained clubs triumph. Sort of reinforces the behaviour. More crazy £50m signings to come, it seems. It works after all.
 
I was kinda hoping United would win because I'm sick and tired of seeing sugar daddy sustained clubs triumph. Sort of reinforces the behaviour. More crazy £50m signings to come, it seems. It works after all.

I guess that Gerd and others would argue without the sugar daddies, only United and Arsenal would have won the league in the last 20 years.

Still - I'm pretty sure that's the first match that the older Sheikh has ever gone to. That's what I find odd. You drop a cool billion pounds into a plaything, but you don't even bother watching it? So weird.
 
I was kinda hoping United would win because I'm sick and tired of seeing sugar daddy sustained clubs triumph. Sort of reinforces the behaviour. More crazy £50m signings to come, it seems. It works after all.

LOL United spend more money than the majority of teams in the world. 30 million you's spent on a single player!!!!
 
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