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With the latest rows over cash from TV companies, it's seems apparent to me that things can't keep on going the way they are.
Unfortunately, I think we'll have to see many smaller clubs going part-time, as they simply cannot afford to keep going the way they are.
I think that the Premier League should be reduced by 2 teams, as playing 4 less games in a season would make a real difference, and hopefully stop successful teams from being punished with a fixture back-log at the end of the season. It would also help our chances on the International stage, as our players wouldn't be as worn out.
I also believe that some of the top league clubs should break away from the league, and form a Premier League division 2, also with 18 teams, with promotion of 3 teams to Premier League 1 each season, and relegation of 3 teams back down to the (mostly part time) football league.
As it stands the football league will now struggle to bring in any TV money, as the armchair fan has little interest in watching 3rd division teams scrap away for a point in the middle of the league. As such teams in division one are losing out, and having to share their TV money with lower division teams. Why not leave them behind, and get in on the Premier League deal?
Another alternative would be for more of our nations top teams to for links with smaller teams, use them to loan young players too for experience, as many top clubs do with teams in Scandanavia or Belgium. This may well encourage more people to go see theri local team, thinking they'll be seeing Liverpool's stars of tomorrow, and would bring the teams more money. They'd also get some decent young players whilst they develop, whilst the Premier league team still pays most of their wages.
Watford Manager Vialli recently said that FA Cup winners should be rewarded with a place in the Champions League, as the cup is loosing it's appeal. I don't agree with this at all, a place in the UEFA cup is a decent reward, and the fans still love to see their team have a good cup run, whether you support a big team or a small one. Man Utd fans are gutted that thereteam hasn't done well in the FA Cup in recent years, it's not like they've been fielding weakened teams.
The League Cup, however is different. Many clubs already in Europe see it as something of a burden, or an unnecessary fixture. But if the big teams stopped playing in it altogether, sponsors would also lose interest, and it would rank somewhere alongside the LDV Vans Trophy. At least the Worthington Cup gives Spurs fans some hope of silverware during the season! Some suggest that Celtic and Rangers be invitedto play in the cup too, and as interesting as that could be, I think a better solution would be to merge the English and Scottish League Cup's altogether. The early rounds could still be seperate, but when it get's to the last 16 teams, throw them all into the hat together. Football fans would relish seeing England versus Scotland battles, and it would stop other Scottish league teams, such as Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen from being left behind when Celtic and Rangers move on, as they seem so keen to do.
Back to the league, I also feel that a winter break would be beneficial, and possible if we reduced the number of clubs. There are always loads of matches postponed in January anyway, why not have a scheduled break of a couple of weeks? It will hopefully give players a rest, and we won't see so many injuries at the end of a season put down to playing too much.
It would be interesting if some of what I wrote came to be. It seems likely that we will lose many small clubs, and they will have to become part-time, which will be a shame, but there's no point avoiding the issue, hoping it won't happen. Surely it would be better for the bigger teams to carve something out for themselves?
Unfortunately, I think we'll have to see many smaller clubs going part-time, as they simply cannot afford to keep going the way they are.
I think that the Premier League should be reduced by 2 teams, as playing 4 less games in a season would make a real difference, and hopefully stop successful teams from being punished with a fixture back-log at the end of the season. It would also help our chances on the International stage, as our players wouldn't be as worn out.
I also believe that some of the top league clubs should break away from the league, and form a Premier League division 2, also with 18 teams, with promotion of 3 teams to Premier League 1 each season, and relegation of 3 teams back down to the (mostly part time) football league.
As it stands the football league will now struggle to bring in any TV money, as the armchair fan has little interest in watching 3rd division teams scrap away for a point in the middle of the league. As such teams in division one are losing out, and having to share their TV money with lower division teams. Why not leave them behind, and get in on the Premier League deal?
Another alternative would be for more of our nations top teams to for links with smaller teams, use them to loan young players too for experience, as many top clubs do with teams in Scandanavia or Belgium. This may well encourage more people to go see theri local team, thinking they'll be seeing Liverpool's stars of tomorrow, and would bring the teams more money. They'd also get some decent young players whilst they develop, whilst the Premier league team still pays most of their wages.
Watford Manager Vialli recently said that FA Cup winners should be rewarded with a place in the Champions League, as the cup is loosing it's appeal. I don't agree with this at all, a place in the UEFA cup is a decent reward, and the fans still love to see their team have a good cup run, whether you support a big team or a small one. Man Utd fans are gutted that thereteam hasn't done well in the FA Cup in recent years, it's not like they've been fielding weakened teams.
The League Cup, however is different. Many clubs already in Europe see it as something of a burden, or an unnecessary fixture. But if the big teams stopped playing in it altogether, sponsors would also lose interest, and it would rank somewhere alongside the LDV Vans Trophy. At least the Worthington Cup gives Spurs fans some hope of silverware during the season! Some suggest that Celtic and Rangers be invitedto play in the cup too, and as interesting as that could be, I think a better solution would be to merge the English and Scottish League Cup's altogether. The early rounds could still be seperate, but when it get's to the last 16 teams, throw them all into the hat together. Football fans would relish seeing England versus Scotland battles, and it would stop other Scottish league teams, such as Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen from being left behind when Celtic and Rangers move on, as they seem so keen to do.
Back to the league, I also feel that a winter break would be beneficial, and possible if we reduced the number of clubs. There are always loads of matches postponed in January anyway, why not have a scheduled break of a couple of weeks? It will hopefully give players a rest, and we won't see so many injuries at the end of a season put down to playing too much.
It would be interesting if some of what I wrote came to be. It seems likely that we will lose many small clubs, and they will have to become part-time, which will be a shame, but there's no point avoiding the issue, hoping it won't happen. Surely it would be better for the bigger teams to carve something out for themselves?
Winter breaks would be very usefull to the Premiership and the rest of Brittish football, but the 'end of season fixture pile-up' could become an even bigger problem!
But most of what you've said would help the current financial probelems in football, but i'm not sure if 2 Premier Leagues would work that well??
But most of what you've said would help the current financial probelems in football, but i'm not sure if 2 Premier Leagues would work that well??
Worthington wont even be Sponsoring the League cup from now on. Do you really blame them? Especially when most mans call it the worthless cup...
The Arsenal-Man utd game in the the cup this year showed how the cup organisers had given in. The game was played just 24 hours after both United and Arsenal had played in the premiership.
The Arsenal-Man utd game in the the cup this year showed how the cup organisers had given in. The game was played just 24 hours after both United and Arsenal had played in the premiership.
It was only 10 years ago or so that Liverpool broke the UK transfter record buying Dean Sauders for £2.9 million.
I think that's incredible the way it was increased since then, and wages too.
There should definitely be a ap on the amount you can earn as a pro-footballer, I mean, what can you possibly spend £50000 a week on? Surely a limit of an annual salary of 1 million a year would be enough for anyone? I mean that's £20000 a week, which is still ridiculous, but you can hardly just cut them right down to a smaller wage just like that!
FIFA needs to get involved in this, and make a worldwide cap, or all the best players will just flock to the league that has the highest wages.
I think that's incredible the way it was increased since then, and wages too.
There should definitely be a ap on the amount you can earn as a pro-footballer, I mean, what can you possibly spend £50000 a week on? Surely a limit of an annual salary of 1 million a year would be enough for anyone? I mean that's £20000 a week, which is still ridiculous, but you can hardly just cut them right down to a smaller wage just like that!
FIFA needs to get involved in this, and make a worldwide cap, or all the best players will just flock to the league that has the highest wages.
Football is killing itself, basically - through the players' insane wage demands, and the clubs' willingness to pay such outrageous amounts. I'm sorry, but at the end of the day, it is *just* a game, and it s ridiculous that players are earning more in a week than many highly skilled professionals (nurses, police, firefighters etc.) earn in a year or more.
In American football, there is a wage cap imposed on teams - they can only pay out, for example, $88 million in salaries - but which players get how much is entirely up to the club. So one new/inexperienced player could get $2,000 a week, while a more experienced/important player could get $50,000 a week - or whatever. It all depends on the importance of a player for the club; so a Quarterback would get far more than, say, a Linebacker.
While I don't believe our football would be able to support caps of similar amounts, I think a similar idea could be imposed here.
I have to say that I am a little concerned over the Football League's attitude regarding payments from ITV Digital. True, ITV should pay what they agreed to - but then, maybe the FL shouldn't have been so greedy when selling the rights to matches that by definition have a more limited audience - Nationwide League football will never draw as big an audience as Premiership football. So I think both parties are guilty in their own way.
In American football, there is a wage cap imposed on teams - they can only pay out, for example, $88 million in salaries - but which players get how much is entirely up to the club. So one new/inexperienced player could get $2,000 a week, while a more experienced/important player could get $50,000 a week - or whatever. It all depends on the importance of a player for the club; so a Quarterback would get far more than, say, a Linebacker.
While I don't believe our football would be able to support caps of similar amounts, I think a similar idea could be imposed here.
I have to say that I am a little concerned over the Football League's attitude regarding payments from ITV Digital. True, ITV should pay what they agreed to - but then, maybe the FL shouldn't have been so greedy when selling the rights to matches that by definition have a more limited audience - Nationwide League football will never draw as big an audience as Premiership football. So I think both parties are guilty in their own way.
With the latest rows over cash from TV companies, it's seems apparent to me that things can't keep on going the way they are.
Unfortunately, I think we'll have to see many smaller clubs going part-time, as they simply cannot afford to keep going the way they are.
I think that the Premier League should be reduced by 2 teams, as playing 4 less games in a season would make a real difference, and hopefully stop successful teams from being punished with a fixture back-log at the end of the season. It would also help our chances on the International stage, as our players wouldn't be as worn out.
I also believe that some of the top league clubs should break away from the league, and form a Premier League division 2, also with 18 teams, with promotion of 3 teams to Premier League 1 each season, and relegation of 3 teams back down to the (mostly part time) football league.
As it stands the football league will now struggle to bring in any TV money, as the armchair fan has little interest in watching 3rd division teams scrap away for a point in the middle of the league. As such teams in division one are losing out, and having to share their TV money with lower division teams. Why not leave them behind, and get in on the Premier League deal?
Another alternative would be for more of our nations top teams to for links with smaller teams, use them to loan young players too for experience, as many top clubs do with teams in Scandanavia or Belgium. This may well encourage more people to go see theri local team, thinking they'll be seeing Liverpool's stars of tomorrow, and would bring the teams more money. They'd also get some decent young players whilst they develop, whilst the Premier league team still pays most of their wages.
Watford Manager Vialli recently said that FA Cup winners should be rewarded with a place in the Champions League, as the cup is loosing it's appeal. I don't agree with this at all, a place in the UEFA cup is a decent reward, and the fans still love to see their team have a good cup run, whether you support a big team or a small one. Man Utd fans are gutted that thereteam hasn't done well in the FA Cup in recent years, it's not like they've been fielding weakened teams.
The League Cup, however is different. Many clubs already in Europe see it as something of a burden, or an unnecessary fixture. But if the big teams stopped playing in it altogether, sponsors would also lose interest, and it would rank somewhere alongside the LDV Vans Trophy. At least the Worthington Cup gives Spurs fans some hope of silverware during the season! Some suggest that Celtic and Rangers be invitedto play in the cup too, and as interesting as that could be, I think a better solution would be to merge the English and Scottish League Cup's altogether. The early rounds could still be seperate, but when it get's to the last 16 teams, throw them all into the hat together. Football fans would relish seeing England versus Scotland battles, and it would stop other Scottish league teams, such as Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen from being left behind when Celtic and Rangers move on, as they seem so keen to do.
Back to the league, I also feel that a winter break would be beneficial, and possible if we reduced the number of clubs. There are always loads of matches postponed in January anyway, why not have a scheduled break of a couple of weeks? It will hopefully give players a rest, and we won't see so many injuries at the end of a season put down to playing too much.
It would be interesting if some of what I wrote came to be. It seems likely that we will lose many small clubs, and they will have to become part-time, which will be a shame, but there's no point avoiding the issue, hoping it won't happen. Surely it would be better for the bigger teams to carve something out for themselves?
Unfortunately, I think we'll have to see many smaller clubs going part-time, as they simply cannot afford to keep going the way they are.
I think that the Premier League should be reduced by 2 teams, as playing 4 less games in a season would make a real difference, and hopefully stop successful teams from being punished with a fixture back-log at the end of the season. It would also help our chances on the International stage, as our players wouldn't be as worn out.
I also believe that some of the top league clubs should break away from the league, and form a Premier League division 2, also with 18 teams, with promotion of 3 teams to Premier League 1 each season, and relegation of 3 teams back down to the (mostly part time) football league.
As it stands the football league will now struggle to bring in any TV money, as the armchair fan has little interest in watching 3rd division teams scrap away for a point in the middle of the league. As such teams in division one are losing out, and having to share their TV money with lower division teams. Why not leave them behind, and get in on the Premier League deal?
Another alternative would be for more of our nations top teams to for links with smaller teams, use them to loan young players too for experience, as many top clubs do with teams in Scandanavia or Belgium. This may well encourage more people to go see theri local team, thinking they'll be seeing Liverpool's stars of tomorrow, and would bring the teams more money. They'd also get some decent young players whilst they develop, whilst the Premier league team still pays most of their wages.
Watford Manager Vialli recently said that FA Cup winners should be rewarded with a place in the Champions League, as the cup is loosing it's appeal. I don't agree with this at all, a place in the UEFA cup is a decent reward, and the fans still love to see their team have a good cup run, whether you support a big team or a small one. Man Utd fans are gutted that thereteam hasn't done well in the FA Cup in recent years, it's not like they've been fielding weakened teams.
The League Cup, however is different. Many clubs already in Europe see it as something of a burden, or an unnecessary fixture. But if the big teams stopped playing in it altogether, sponsors would also lose interest, and it would rank somewhere alongside the LDV Vans Trophy. At least the Worthington Cup gives Spurs fans some hope of silverware during the season! Some suggest that Celtic and Rangers be invitedto play in the cup too, and as interesting as that could be, I think a better solution would be to merge the English and Scottish League Cup's altogether. The early rounds could still be seperate, but when it get's to the last 16 teams, throw them all into the hat together. Football fans would relish seeing England versus Scotland battles, and it would stop other Scottish league teams, such as Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen from being left behind when Celtic and Rangers move on, as they seem so keen to do.
Back to the league, I also feel that a winter break would be beneficial, and possible if we reduced the number of clubs. There are always loads of matches postponed in January anyway, why not have a scheduled break of a couple of weeks? It will hopefully give players a rest, and we won't see so many injuries at the end of a season put down to playing too much.
It would be interesting if some of what I wrote came to be. It seems likely that we will lose many small clubs, and they will have to become part-time, which will be a shame, but there's no point avoiding the issue, hoping it won't happen. Surely it would be better for the bigger teams to carve something out for themselves?