Unusually reasoned!
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Six days into the Premier League season and you could be forgiven for thinking that it was the end of the season as far as the top four standings were concerned.
In fact you could be mistaken for thinking that bar the occasional swap around within that top four, that is how they will remain throughout the season. The Premier League might be attracting the top players but is this the beginning of the demise of the Premier League as a competitive league for most of the clubs and could it be the start of a downturn in appeal for fans of the majority of the other teams that seem to merely make up the numbers outside of that top four?
The current league standings are Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City. Three teams who have regularly raked in the money from the Champions League and one club with Multi-millionaire investors. So that's this seasons Champions League placings sorted. The usual suspects will be placed outside of the top four battling for entry to the Europa League, namely Liverpool (out of the top 4 because of financial difficulties), Tottenham, and maybe Everton and Aston Villa.
So what is there left for the other 12 teams to fight for? Mid-table obscurity or simply a yearly battle against relegation and possible financial oblivion? Add to this the cost of tickets, somewhere between £35-£80+ , then the cost of transport and fuel and the uselessness of public transport and on top of that you can add the increasing cost of television subscriptions for both Sky and ESPN.
It's seriously looking like that most unappealing of leagues, the Scottish Premier League but doubled in size and just as predictable and it doesn't look like ever changing.
Of course you can then add to that the negative effect of England's dismal display in the World Cup,
and what an effect that will have. The simple reality that because of the massive influx of foreign players, English players have been proven to be less skilled and less passionate. A further by-product of this is the lack of identity both to a clubs' players with the clubs locality and fans, but also on a national level, the England players were shown up for what they are. Overpaid and under-skilled, which is why so few play abroad and there is no great demand for them.
Given these negative factors, could fans who have followed the bottom 12 (as I will now call them) for years on end, be forgiven for taking less of an interest in their team? What is there to look forward to? The results from the top 4 have already suggested that anything other than 6 points against the bottom 12 is highly unlikely, what with the 6-0 drubbings Chelsea and Arsenal have already dished out. So that's 24 points a season each of the bottom 12 can write off. The likelihood of a European place is minimal.
All West Ham fans have been through the ups and downs of relegation and promotion, good seasons and bad seasons and we take it on the chin and as part of the appeal of supporting the club. But once it gets to the point that if you are not in the Premier League there is the possibility of the club no longer existing and the best we can achieve will be mid-table obscurity, we could be forgiven for no longer wanting to invest the money we have done in the past. Particularly during the current hard times of the recession.
In the future the club could be moving into the Olympic Stadium. More out of necessity in order to survive rather than any actual progress as a club. We are currently seeing every player brought into the club be a foreign national and along with the current squad, whether foreign or English, being paid monthly or even weekly salaries that most of us will be lucky to earn in a year. And for what? To try and stay in the league. What is there for fans to identify with?
Speaking of lower leagues. They are beginning to look a lot more appealing. They are far more competitive, as Blackpool showed last season, they are a reasonable cost to support, there is terraces, singing, more likelihood of being able to see both English players and local players who you can identify with. The only things lacking are a drop in skill (although sometimes that is questionable) and less likelihood of being able to watch your game live on TV. But pick a local club and you can watch them live regularly and almost be assured to get a ticket without having to pay for a membership scheme.
There is a reason beyond the size of a teams’ location in Scotland as to why the attendance figures for the likes of Motherwell, St Mirren, Dundee United and Kilmarnock range between 5-7,000. It is because there is so little to look forward to and there hasn't been for a couple of decades at least and once again it is largely to do with the grip of the top two over the Champions League money. The SPL is such an obvious example to the Premier League chiefs of how a league becomes unappealing.
Unless action is taken fast in order to make the Premier League a level playing field for all of the teams financially and for its cost to come down for the fans, then many fans may well walk away from it or at least take much less of a genuine interest. The number of teams which have already narrowly avoided going out of existence by dropping out of the Premier League is already large. Leeds, Portsmouth, Southampton to name a few. Those are the warning signs and how long will it be before we see 3 teams relegated because all 3 have had points deducted because of being forced into administration?
Is the appeal of football to watch a competitive game being played and the possibility of success at something during a season or is it to be concerned with clubs finances, players wages, fear of your club going out of business and dodgy deals being done in the transfer market and the petulance and image of players? Players appearing on television seems to be more important to them than what they do on the pitch.
There is a small but increasing possibility that the league may implode from its own inability to support itself because of its increasing lack of appeal.
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Comments
Yep me too.
F*** tomorrow.
What has happened to football in this country since the inception of the premiership is the equivalent to Bob Dylan and Keith Moon turning up for X factor auditions or Che Guevara popping up in the Jungle alongside Ant and Dec, in terms of how the soul has been sucked out of the game.
a lot of blackpool fans live in london...
On MotD, there was film/documentary of their day trip to the Emirates.
You're not wrong Leroy, but it has been getting worse. Portsmouth and Hull are both in real trouble and would have been even if they'd stayed up. Newcastle, with gates of nearly 50,000, have had to dramatically cut back on spending. West Ham are one of a number of clubs that have running costs, due to debt levels, that are becoming unsustainable with the Premier League money, never mind relegation.
I do think these clubs will manage to hobble along, but football is much closer to disaster than it has ever been and a lot closer than in 2001.
Strange thing is, none of the Wedt Ham fans were saying this when the biscuit man breezed in promising Champions League football. Just like the Man City fans aren't now, but they would if their current owner left the club and took his money with him leaving massive running costs behind.
What is more likely, in my view, is that over time clubs will fall out of the Premier League and then implode while they are replaced by other teams. The Premier League will survive. Leeds were regulars in the Chamions League but as soon as they fell away they were replaced. Liverpool have seen the same - they may well have a similar path to tread as Leeds have had, who knows?
When we were relegated as the PL money went through the roof some said it was the worst time to be relegated. Maybe it was actually just in time!
In terms of competitiveness the league isn't in great shape, but in all honesty its probably been worse in the past than it is now. I remember when there was only a 'top 2' of Arsenal and Manchester United for quite a few years. This then became a top 4 when Liverpool started to genuinely threaten the top of the table, and Chelsea actually won it several times. Last season there was a genuine race for 4th place as perennial underachievers like Villa and Spurs started to realise their potential and Man City had the millions pumped into them.
Whether the premiership over its whole period has been a bad thing (and I would agree it has) is separate to whether right now is particularly bad for anti-competitiveness, and I would say it isn't. And the future is far from sown up. What happens when United's debt continues to strangle them, and when Ferguson leaves? What happens when Abramovich inevitably leaves Chelsea? Once again I agree it's hardly the most balanced league, but to compare it to likes of the SPL is the sort of hyperbole you'd only expect from someone who's own team seem to have little hope.
Oh I've also heard many times that the Sky money means no one could 'do a Charlton anymore', but that's exactly what Stoke seem to have done and they're now pretty well established.
What I don't know is if the very same fans of the bottom 12 who complain about one-sided games would be willing to shell out to see games against teams like themselves with no visits from the likes of MU, Chelsea etc. The goal would still be to get promoted to the European League (with a swift return back) unless, of course, the elite decided to lock the door on the European League in some way.
Fans still live the dream of beating the elite. I know when Charlton were in the Premiership, I looked forward to the big games more than any others only to be disappointed more often than not by about 3.15. It's no coincidence that fans on this website still remember the win at Arsenal, the 4-2 defeat of Chelsea at The Valley, Lisbie's hat trick v Liverpool etc.
I am not sure there is a solution to it all until a brave decision is made and salary caps of some sort are in place. As things stand the 6-0 wins will become more common and the only changes will be when there is a huge amount of money injected into a club (like Man City) or if and when Abramovich decides to walk away from Chelsea.
Here in Thailand every game is shown live. Three years ago with the feed from ESPN/Star it was just selected games. TV stations in different countries are now negotiating their own deals with the EPL, whereas previously in Asia, for example, ESPN/Star had exclusive rights for Asia and sold their package to cable and satellite stations within the region.
Basically, it doesn't matter who is making up the bottom twelve or so of the League as 99% of overseas viewers are only interested in those top four clubs (that's Liverpool rather than Man City, by the way).
The real supporters are in England and they go to watch the games week after week. But with such a huge worldwide following, how much do they matter to the EPL? Provided those top four continue to prosper then so will the Premier League. If a lower club goes under, then there's another to replace it.
Sad but it's just business. Despite that I would love to see CAFC back there one day.
leroy, am i really an imbecile for subscribing to sky sports.
i'm also a cricket fan and it would've cost me virtually the price of my cafc season ticket to watch 3 days of the lords test.
christ know what it'd cost to go to an england cricket away series, something that sky were the first to broadcast live in the early 90's.
also enjoy the ryder cup, again something only sky have ever broadcast the whole event live.
My view on it.
Unfortunately Murdoch now runs the game in this country along with most other things but until gates and subscribing figures start tumbling then nothing will change. You could argue however that without Sky's money, the Valley wouldn't be the fantastic stadium it is now and realistically we never had a chance of winning bugger all. The fact that only about 6 or 7 clubs now have a chance of winning anything is probably the major change plus the fact that once you're geared up for the prem, if you fall out of it, you're knackered.
Man Utd and Arsenal were often average mid-table - their glory was often the cups.
Liverpool ruled the roost, Everton had a couple of storming seasons, and Forest and Villa were the surprise packages.
And teams like Charlton, Wimbledon, Luton and Oxford tried their luck as underdogs.
Chelsea were nowhere, mainly in the 2nd division getting thrashed by Charlton 4-0 and 5-2 (couldn't resist) - and even in the top flight, generously allowing Charlton to stay up, while they themselves couldn't win a playoff game against a 2nd division side.
I believe the generally higher attendances today in the League, owes to two main facts:
1) The blanket coverage of televised Prem League football, placing the game firmly in the public eye creating huge interest
2) The cost of Prem League tickets and sometimes their unavailability
It's one thing for kids and plastic fans to identify with 'Sky 4' clubs, despite rarely if ever attending live games ...... but for true supporters who love to attend matches and feel actively part of their club, you can't beat the atmosphere and sense of anticipation of actually being in the ground.
I believe many Football League clubs have benefited with higher attendances and greater actual supporter involvement as a result. It's how football traditionally always used to be - and keeps these smaller clubs in the community today.
Our biggest problem in the Premier League was having to run harder just to keep up with the rich boys. Now even doing that is beyond many clubs' reach.
Who knows, maybe some day Fulham will go bust (please, let them) and people will wake up to this.
I remember reading a newspaper article that said more people per head of population watch live football in Scotland than do in England!
I remember reading a newspaper article that said more people per head of population watch live football in Scotland than do in England![/quote]
Theres not just the TV money that is the main difference.
The support in England for the bigger clubs is better than Celtic or Rangers, Spurs,Chelsea,Arsenal,Villa,Utd,City,Everton,Liverpool and even Newcastle are all bigger and better supported than either Celtic or Rangers.
And then we have many many clubs with support equal to Celtic & Rangers.