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Have you ever really thought-about why Dutch No.1 Edwin van der Saar decided to go to Craven Cottage and sign for Fulham instead of waiting for an offer from a bigger club who have previously shown interest like Liverpool? Or why "The Great" George Weah once turned-out for Manchester City after a fantastic time with Italian giants AC Milan? And why have so-many other European and Wolrd 'Superstars' been linked with multi-million-pound moves to Old Trafford, Anfield, Highbury, St. James' Park, and even Stamford Bridge over the years?? What is it about our country that they like so-much? They've got it better-off over there in Spain with the sun and glory! Much better than all this rain we've been getting!
I'll tell you why....
The Premiership! Highly regarded as the best league in the world with it's high-rate of competition throughout it's 10-month-long seasons with a great mix of young talent and world-class millionaires within each team.
Take a look around and some of the bigger teams - like Arsenal for instance, and you'll notice virtually half the French national side are signed-up with the Gooners at Highbury under Arséne Wenger's control.
And you don't even have to look at a Man United to see a team that could give anyone a run for their money. Why not take a look down the other-end of the table at a team like West Ham with DiCanio, Sinclair, Joe Cole and others that would give any world-class defender a real 90-minute work-out! They may be at the wrong-end of the table, but that doesn't mean they don't offer a challenge - just look at how they played at home to United a few Sundays ago...! And even a team like Charlton, who only made it this far via the Play-Offs, and still have very little money to spend on your Zidanes and Ronaldos of today's game. Yet within their squad lies a team filled with international stars that'll offer you a highly competitive game on a good day.
It simply doesn't matter where you look up-or-down the league, or how good-or-bad that team's finances are, even a team with a laughable reputation in England's top-flight will surprise you (to say the least)!
But during recent years things have changed. And now football is no longer solely about playing the game. Money has taken-over - and it has even driven some players into full-control over their club as they're demands are met by the cowering board after numorous threats of quitting the club if they do not get their own way (eg. David Beckham and Roy Keane!).
Offer any well-respected player from anywhere around-the-world the exact amount of money he is after (no matter how ludicrously high it may be) and MORE, and you can pop a shirt over his head instantly and call him "Yours"!
That's the trouble with football today... Too-much money ruining the game!!
Peter Kenyon (the "top-dog" at Old Trafford) has recently said that he believes there are too-many Proffesional teams in the English leagues, and that the numbers should be cut to below 40 - meaning the Premiership would have to suffer the loss of several 'weaker' sides in-order-to save football as-a-whole from this 'Financial Crisis' that appears to be spreading faster than a cold in winter, thanks to a large-number of overseas and home-grown players deciding they are worth a lot-more than anyone-else around them. "Being Greedy"!
The obvious answer to this problem is to cut players' wage bills. But with players like Beckham and Sol Campbell on weekly figures of around £80-100,000-per-week, with others rising towards that - PLUS scoring and appearence bonuses - that would actually be a lot easier said than to actually have it done!
But if the Premiership-alone was to lose even a small-number of any of it's current clubs competing for whatever they can get their hands-on, then I believe this league would lose a lot of its appeal that has attracted the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Jerzy Dudek to there shores.
Imagine a league with less teams... Say.... 15 maybe...
Not only would there be less competition for the top-spot and those extra places in the Champions' League for the following season (which may have to be reduced), but we may also see only 1 or 2 relegation spots, making it more boring and easily predictable than ever! Why would a Barcelona or Lazio striker who's sees the same team's at the top-and-bottom end of the tables each year want to come to England to play in the Premiership - where it would be a very similar experience but with less teams to play against along with some dreadfull wet-weather that never seems to stop!?? They'd be much-better of staying in Madrid or Rome, if you ask me!
We may even see some of our own much-talked-about stars like Beckham and Michael Owen finally decide to move-on - turning the 'once great' FA Premier League into something no better than what the First - or even Second - Division is today, in-terms of quality and competition.
Peter Kenyon may be a man with a great knowledge of business and financing and all that about running a succesfull company (or No.1 world-wide football team), but I think he should stay-out of the Premiership and leave all that to our Football Association who really know what we want as fans of football, and not money!
Yes! - Even if they did tear-down Wembley Stadium and also appoint Kevin Keegan as England Manager in the past after sacking Glenn Hoddle for something un-related that he perhaps should have kept to himself..... ?
The fact is that the Premiership currently IS the greatest proffesional league in the world, and that it should never change. La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and even Germany's Bundesliga may all have top international players amongst their bigger clubs, but their leagues are mainly all-about one thing, while the Premiership gives you a unique experience of many things - just like England's top-flight used to be for the players of the 1980's and early '90's.
If things were to change, it would be for worse!
I'll tell you why....
The Premiership! Highly regarded as the best league in the world with it's high-rate of competition throughout it's 10-month-long seasons with a great mix of young talent and world-class millionaires within each team.
Take a look around and some of the bigger teams - like Arsenal for instance, and you'll notice virtually half the French national side are signed-up with the Gooners at Highbury under Arséne Wenger's control.
And you don't even have to look at a Man United to see a team that could give anyone a run for their money. Why not take a look down the other-end of the table at a team like West Ham with DiCanio, Sinclair, Joe Cole and others that would give any world-class defender a real 90-minute work-out! They may be at the wrong-end of the table, but that doesn't mean they don't offer a challenge - just look at how they played at home to United a few Sundays ago...! And even a team like Charlton, who only made it this far via the Play-Offs, and still have very little money to spend on your Zidanes and Ronaldos of today's game. Yet within their squad lies a team filled with international stars that'll offer you a highly competitive game on a good day.
It simply doesn't matter where you look up-or-down the league, or how good-or-bad that team's finances are, even a team with a laughable reputation in England's top-flight will surprise you (to say the least)!
But during recent years things have changed. And now football is no longer solely about playing the game. Money has taken-over - and it has even driven some players into full-control over their club as they're demands are met by the cowering board after numorous threats of quitting the club if they do not get their own way (eg. David Beckham and Roy Keane!).
Offer any well-respected player from anywhere around-the-world the exact amount of money he is after (no matter how ludicrously high it may be) and MORE, and you can pop a shirt over his head instantly and call him "Yours"!
That's the trouble with football today... Too-much money ruining the game!!
Peter Kenyon (the "top-dog" at Old Trafford) has recently said that he believes there are too-many Proffesional teams in the English leagues, and that the numbers should be cut to below 40 - meaning the Premiership would have to suffer the loss of several 'weaker' sides in-order-to save football as-a-whole from this 'Financial Crisis' that appears to be spreading faster than a cold in winter, thanks to a large-number of overseas and home-grown players deciding they are worth a lot-more than anyone-else around them. "Being Greedy"!
The obvious answer to this problem is to cut players' wage bills. But with players like Beckham and Sol Campbell on weekly figures of around £80-100,000-per-week, with others rising towards that - PLUS scoring and appearence bonuses - that would actually be a lot easier said than to actually have it done!
But if the Premiership-alone was to lose even a small-number of any of it's current clubs competing for whatever they can get their hands-on, then I believe this league would lose a lot of its appeal that has attracted the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Jerzy Dudek to there shores.
Imagine a league with less teams... Say.... 15 maybe...
Not only would there be less competition for the top-spot and those extra places in the Champions' League for the following season (which may have to be reduced), but we may also see only 1 or 2 relegation spots, making it more boring and easily predictable than ever! Why would a Barcelona or Lazio striker who's sees the same team's at the top-and-bottom end of the tables each year want to come to England to play in the Premiership - where it would be a very similar experience but with less teams to play against along with some dreadfull wet-weather that never seems to stop!?? They'd be much-better of staying in Madrid or Rome, if you ask me!
We may even see some of our own much-talked-about stars like Beckham and Michael Owen finally decide to move-on - turning the 'once great' FA Premier League into something no better than what the First - or even Second - Division is today, in-terms of quality and competition.
Peter Kenyon may be a man with a great knowledge of business and financing and all that about running a succesfull company (or No.1 world-wide football team), but I think he should stay-out of the Premiership and leave all that to our Football Association who really know what we want as fans of football, and not money!
Yes! - Even if they did tear-down Wembley Stadium and also appoint Kevin Keegan as England Manager in the past after sacking Glenn Hoddle for something un-related that he perhaps should have kept to himself..... ?
The fact is that the Premiership currently IS the greatest proffesional league in the world, and that it should never change. La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and even Germany's Bundesliga may all have top international players amongst their bigger clubs, but their leagues are mainly all-about one thing, while the Premiership gives you a unique experience of many things - just like England's top-flight used to be for the players of the 1980's and early '90's.
If things were to change, it would be for worse!
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Have you ever really thought-about why Dutch No.1 Edwin van der Saar decided to go to Craven Cottage and sign for Fulham instead of waiting for an offer from a bigger club who have previously shown interest like Liverpool? Or why "The Great" George Weah once turned-out for Manchester City after a fantastic time with Italian giants AC Milan? And why have so-many other European and Wolrd 'Superstars' been linked with multi-million-pound moves to Old Trafford, Anfield, Highbury, St. James' Park, and even Stamford Bridge over the years?? What is it about our country that they like so-much? They've got it better-off over there in Spain with the sun and glory! Much better than all this rain we've been getting!
I'll tell you why....
The Premiership! Highly regarded as the best league in the world with it's high-rate of competition throughout it's 10-month-long seasons with a great mix of young talent and world-class millionaires within each team.
Take a look around and some of the bigger teams - like Arsenal for instance, and you'll notice virtually half the French national side are signed-up with the Gooners at Highbury under Arséne Wenger's control.
And you don't even have to look at a Man United to see a team that could give anyone a run for their money. Why not take a look down the other-end of the table at a team like West Ham with DiCanio, Sinclair, Joe Cole and others that would give any world-class defender a real 90-minute work-out! They may be at the wrong-end of the table, but that doesn't mean they don't offer a challenge - just look at how they played at home to United a few Sundays ago...! And even a team like Charlton, who only made it this far via the Play-Offs, and still have very little money to spend on your Zidanes and Ronaldos of today's game. Yet within their squad lies a team filled with international stars that'll offer you a highly competitive game on a good day.
It simply doesn't matter where you look up-or-down the league, or how good-or-bad that team's finances are, even a team with a laughable reputation in England's top-flight will surprise you (to say the least)!
But during recent years things have changed. And now football is no longer solely about playing the game. Money has taken-over - and it has even driven some players into full-control over their club as they're demands are met by the cowering board after numorous threats of quitting the club if they do not get their own way (eg. David Beckham and Roy Keane!).
Offer any well-respected player from anywhere around-the-world the exact amount of money he is after (no matter how ludicrously high it may be) and MORE, and you can pop a shirt over his head instantly and call him "Yours"!
That's the trouble with football today... Too-much money ruining the game!!
Peter Kenyon (the "top-dog" at Old Trafford) has recently said that he believes there are too-many Proffesional teams in the English leagues, and that the numbers should be cut to below 40 - meaning the Premiership would have to suffer the loss of several 'weaker' sides in-order-to save football as-a-whole from this 'Financial Crisis' that appears to be spreading faster than a cold in winter, thanks to a large-number of overseas and home-grown players deciding they are worth a lot-more than anyone-else around them. "Being Greedy"!
The obvious answer to this problem is to cut players' wage bills. But with players like Beckham and Sol Campbell on weekly figures of around £80-100,000-per-week, with others rising towards that - PLUS scoring and appearence bonuses - that would actually be a lot easier said than to actually have it done!
But if the Premiership-alone was to lose even a small-number of any of it's current clubs competing for whatever they can get their hands-on, then I believe this league would lose a lot of its appeal that has attracted the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Jerzy Dudek to there shores.
Imagine a league with less teams... Say.... 15 maybe...
Not only would there be less competition for the top-spot and those extra places in the Champions' League for the following season (which may have to be reduced), but we may also see only 1 or 2 relegation spots, making it more boring and easily predictable than ever! Why would a Barcelona or Lazio striker who's sees the same team's at the top-and-bottom end of the tables each year want to come to England to play in the Premiership - where it would be a very similar experience but with less teams to play against along with some dreadfull wet-weather that never seems to stop!?? They'd be much-better of staying in Madrid or Rome, if you ask me!
We may even see some of our own much-talked-about stars like Beckham and Michael Owen finally decide to move-on - turning the 'once great' FA Premier League into something no better than what the First - or even Second - Division is today, in-terms of quality and competition.
Peter Kenyon may be a man with a great knowledge of business and financing and all that about running a succesfull company (or No.1 world-wide football team), but I think he should stay-out of the Premiership and leave all that to our Football Association who really know what we want as fans of football, and not money!
Yes! - Even if they did tear-down Wembley Stadium and also appoint Kevin Keegan as England Manager in the past after sacking Glenn Hoddle for something un-related that he perhaps should have kept to himself..... ?
The fact is that the Premiership currently IS the greatest proffesional league in the world, and that it should never change. La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and even Germany's Bundesliga may all have top international players amongst their bigger clubs, but their leagues are mainly all-about one thing, while the Premiership gives you a unique experience of many things - just like England's top-flight used to be for the players of the 1980's and early '90's.
If things were to change, it would be for worse!
I'll tell you why....
The Premiership! Highly regarded as the best league in the world with it's high-rate of competition throughout it's 10-month-long seasons with a great mix of young talent and world-class millionaires within each team.
Take a look around and some of the bigger teams - like Arsenal for instance, and you'll notice virtually half the French national side are signed-up with the Gooners at Highbury under Arséne Wenger's control.
And you don't even have to look at a Man United to see a team that could give anyone a run for their money. Why not take a look down the other-end of the table at a team like West Ham with DiCanio, Sinclair, Joe Cole and others that would give any world-class defender a real 90-minute work-out! They may be at the wrong-end of the table, but that doesn't mean they don't offer a challenge - just look at how they played at home to United a few Sundays ago...! And even a team like Charlton, who only made it this far via the Play-Offs, and still have very little money to spend on your Zidanes and Ronaldos of today's game. Yet within their squad lies a team filled with international stars that'll offer you a highly competitive game on a good day.
It simply doesn't matter where you look up-or-down the league, or how good-or-bad that team's finances are, even a team with a laughable reputation in England's top-flight will surprise you (to say the least)!
But during recent years things have changed. And now football is no longer solely about playing the game. Money has taken-over - and it has even driven some players into full-control over their club as they're demands are met by the cowering board after numorous threats of quitting the club if they do not get their own way (eg. David Beckham and Roy Keane!).
Offer any well-respected player from anywhere around-the-world the exact amount of money he is after (no matter how ludicrously high it may be) and MORE, and you can pop a shirt over his head instantly and call him "Yours"!
That's the trouble with football today... Too-much money ruining the game!!
Peter Kenyon (the "top-dog" at Old Trafford) has recently said that he believes there are too-many Proffesional teams in the English leagues, and that the numbers should be cut to below 40 - meaning the Premiership would have to suffer the loss of several 'weaker' sides in-order-to save football as-a-whole from this 'Financial Crisis' that appears to be spreading faster than a cold in winter, thanks to a large-number of overseas and home-grown players deciding they are worth a lot-more than anyone-else around them. "Being Greedy"!
The obvious answer to this problem is to cut players' wage bills. But with players like Beckham and Sol Campbell on weekly figures of around £80-100,000-per-week, with others rising towards that - PLUS scoring and appearence bonuses - that would actually be a lot easier said than to actually have it done!
But if the Premiership-alone was to lose even a small-number of any of it's current clubs competing for whatever they can get their hands-on, then I believe this league would lose a lot of its appeal that has attracted the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Jerzy Dudek to there shores.
Imagine a league with less teams... Say.... 15 maybe...
Not only would there be less competition for the top-spot and those extra places in the Champions' League for the following season (which may have to be reduced), but we may also see only 1 or 2 relegation spots, making it more boring and easily predictable than ever! Why would a Barcelona or Lazio striker who's sees the same team's at the top-and-bottom end of the tables each year want to come to England to play in the Premiership - where it would be a very similar experience but with less teams to play against along with some dreadfull wet-weather that never seems to stop!?? They'd be much-better of staying in Madrid or Rome, if you ask me!
We may even see some of our own much-talked-about stars like Beckham and Michael Owen finally decide to move-on - turning the 'once great' FA Premier League into something no better than what the First - or even Second - Division is today, in-terms of quality and competition.
Peter Kenyon may be a man with a great knowledge of business and financing and all that about running a succesfull company (or No.1 world-wide football team), but I think he should stay-out of the Premiership and leave all that to our Football Association who really know what we want as fans of football, and not money!
Yes! - Even if they did tear-down Wembley Stadium and also appoint Kevin Keegan as England Manager in the past after sacking Glenn Hoddle for something un-related that he perhaps should have kept to himself..... ?
The fact is that the Premiership currently IS the greatest proffesional league in the world, and that it should never change. La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and even Germany's Bundesliga may all have top international players amongst their bigger clubs, but their leagues are mainly all-about one thing, while the Premiership gives you a unique experience of many things - just like England's top-flight used to be for the players of the 1980's and early '90's.
If things were to change, it would be for worse!