Has the Premier League lost the plot?

If any more evidence was needed of where the Premier League's priorities lie, then surely it was delivered yesterday when it was announced the clubs had voted unanimously to examine the potential of playing matches abroad.

Fans, stand up and unite and tell us what you think:

- If your club agrees to go and play abroad, how will you act? Rip up your season ticket, stay away for a number of games, shrug, sigh, or congratulate your club's powerbrokers on their laudable global ambition?

- How can the league maintain that it is a fair and equal competition when the "international round" seems certain to introduce an element of luck? Would this completely devalue the competition?

- Is the "EPL" now an international laughing stock for the other major leagues in the world, little more than a silly travelling circus? The best league in the world? Are you sure?

- Do you care if the clubs line their already considerable coffers? In all likelihood, as Martin Samuel says, this "lovely global lolly would flow through the game to reappear as a pool of vomit at the end of a night of romance with Ashley Cole, or as a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster that the twentysomething owner is banned from driving". Hang on - here's a funny one - how about if they used the revenues to reduce season ticket prices?

- How can this proposal make sense in an already congested fixture list? And how can the clubs creditably ask for a winter break if they vote in this proposal?

Let us know what you think by posting a comment below - maybe the Premier League's biggest challenge is to protect against the disillusionment of fans, not how to further globalise the competition?

Comments

[John C]

Here's a suggestion. Just get the so called big 4 to play all their games in New York, Beijing or wherever and have their own league. That will make it much more interesting for the rest of us, the true fans who support proper clubs rather than money men. You could call it the First Division, the name seems to be available.

One other point - apart from this credit-card-fuelled over-priced country, where do they think they can take the game where people are prepared to pay £50 for a ticket to watch e.g. Fulham play Blackburn? Admission to the San Siro for example is 12 Euro.

[david horne]

It won't do any good but this is what I e-mailed to the Premiership web-site:

39th Game - a bigger disaster than Munich?

It is perhaps ironic that almost exactly 50 years to the day after -
arguably - the sports greatest ever tragedy you guys propose a scheme
that could be equally disastrous for our national game.

You offend the ordinary supporter's intelligence by pretending that
this flawed concept is not about the money.

As to hiding behind: ' trying to keep the four clubs who will break
away anyway ' then that is pure cowardice.
Do you not recall what happened when Celtic and Rangers threatened
pretty much the same thing recently?

The big four clubs have to have fixtures within their national
boundaries to cover their running costs - why else do they keep
expanding capacity in their stadia?

If they want to run their own tournament pre or post season abroad
then fine - let them. They need the other 16 clubs as much - if not
more than - the other 16 clubs need them.

Statements about: 'responsibilities to the overseas fans' are
ludicrous and self-serving.

If people are lucky enough to have the option and wherewithal to move
abroad then good luck to them. I don't have a problem with that. I DO
have a problem with dismantling the present 'level-playing' field
structure to satisfy an unquantifiable demand from exiled fans abroad.

Sky's hijacking of terrestial football proved that the home-based fan
IS prepared to dig deep for the premiership product. BUT if the
belief
that every club has an equal chance of succeeding in the Premiership
is
sacrificed/sold off to enable this scheme to run then there is a very
real risk that the Premiership product will unravel/fall apart.

The comparison I would make is with the war-time fixtures. Today they
are disregarded as teams were makeshift - had missing players, guest
players and the whole thing became meaningless.
Once any competition becomes transparently unequal it loses appeal.
The declining attendances for the early rounds of what used to be the
League Cup illustrate this as fans concentrate funds on only the
fixtures they perceive as 'important'. (Ironically these lower
attendances will probably be used by you as part of the case for
selling the product abroad: "Proof that the home based attendance
well
is running 'dry'"- see Counter-argument - 'expanding stadia capacity'
above).

People will always go that tournament's final - everybody likes a
'jolly'/day out but that competition does not - and probably will
never
have - the gravitas of the FA cup.

The accountants, market consultants and 'brand engineers' may think
this is inevitable.
Remember that even the great 'Coca Cola' came unstuck when they
messed
with a winning formula.
Please find the backbone to stand up to the proponents of this scheme
and dismiss it for the lunacy that it plainly is.

[Damian Williamson]

I think it is an absolute joke. The Premier League should be seen as unique to England. If there is such high demand for it then the people will come over to watch it for themselves (although granted it is difficult to get tickets even for local fans in cases).

However, what would be most interesting is if all players refused to play. A strike would have more power than any Premier League executive opinion, unless Richard Scudamore is any good at football!

[SWW]

I understand the uproar from football fans in England regarding the proposed Premiership roadshow to cities abroad. However I now speak as someone who moved from the UK to Australia last year and would very much welcome the opportunity to see a competitive premiership match over here. The Premiership or 'EPL' as it is called here is a popular topic of discussion in the office (not just with expats)and as every game is available on the satellite network, is widely viewed by the sport crazy population so the demand is certainly there. Beckham and the LA Galaxy played in Sydney before Xmas and it drew a crowd of 85,000 and to my knowledge, had no adverse effect on A-league attendances which have been growing this season. Infact, a high profile Premier league game is more likely to increase awareness for football in this part of the world to the long term benefit of the local game.

The real issue is how the games are organised. A 39th game does compromise the integrity of the Premiership so the only viable way to maintain creditability is to play a regular game out of the 38 abroad. This could rotate between home and away games for each club every other year. Clubs would also need to ensure a level of fairness is maintained with these fixtures so an'overseas round' could be appealing although depending on how the fixtures are drawn, the PL's adminstrators would have to work hard to promote a Wigan v Derby game to bidders at the same time a Liverpool v Man U game was on - a grading system of games could be produced so the bidding cities got value for money.

The Premiership should break boundaries and take the leap forward and actually live by the label of being the best league in the world and take the brand overseas but it is evident there would be a long planning process to overcome to ensure it would be a sustainable and fair arrangement for all.

[Joel]

There have been lots of valid points presented on this topic, but one that I have not seen mentioned is the damage done to the local competitions in the locations that the PL will invade. National leagues around the world already have to compete with the PL on television, let alone having the prospect of having to compete with it in the flesh. I can only hope that sanity prevails and that this nonsense is quashed quickly.

[Tyler Will]

I would love nothing more than English games to come to the United States.

[Toffee Dan]

Typical FA ineptitude. Take a good idea and make a dog's dinner of it.

This is how it would work:

Have 10 games per season abroad - sell it to the high bidders so to speak - no more than one per venue so as to take advantage of the additional coverage in those markets - each team gives up 1 home game every other season (reflected in reduced season-ticket prices) and earns several million from the deal.

Therefore no 39th game to get everyone uptight about, and only 1 home in 38 lost to "overseas venue". Each club makes significant money and exposure from the venture, playing one game abroad per season. The ten games are spread over the season to maximise exposure.

Instead we get a cack-handed idea about playing a 39th game and the proposal is aired before the clubs have given it any sort of approval. Some numpty in the FA has decided to air his "brainchild" before the press got wind of it, without the aforesaid approval. Typical FA.

Toffee Dan

[Ian]

I have just emigrated to Canada from UK. I find this idea totally stupid. Do the clubs forget who pays the money to watch the clubs week in week out. If you start alienating the real fans you'll never get them back. The Premier League might be in favour in the far east or North America for a few years, but when the novelty wears off who are the clubs going to come crying to? I know there is a lot more money to be made, and the people who go to the games only raise a small percentage. But these are the people who have followed the clubs all their lives, they know what it's all about. Over here if you ask someone who their favorite team is , they'll say I like Chelsea and Liverpool and I also like Man U. They just haven't got a clue, it's because it's flavour of the month. And another thing when loyal fans have forked out their hard earned cash for a season ticket to watch 19 games, what happens when the club decide to play 2 of those games 1/2 way round the world? Some poor fella buys his season ticket at O.T.then when the FA decide to shift the game against Liverpool to Beijing for both teams to make more money he gets some cash back to compensate him for it. Are all the big 4 games going to be played on distant shores so all those greedy owners can make more money? Leave the game where it is.It's peoples lives in the U.K.It's just a form of entertainment over here and the far east. Theyll soon get bored with it and go back to NASCAR and bull riding.

[Dave]

Rather than signing a petition against this, how about funding say 500 top hooligans to travel to these locations. Full EPL experience. bring it on!

[David Thompsac]

Football is getting even more crazier than I could have possibly imagined. But these new plans are just an inevitable fact of the way football is going. Money, money and more money. Let’s face it winning is not everything these days. Finishing in the top four and a good cup/Champions League run is what matters to even the big four. Then if you can secure that, try to win something while you are at it. So why not play games abroad if it will generate more funds for the greedy businessmen. However, a more sensible approach would be to restrict it to a play off type competition between the clubs that finish in the top four. 6 games, all played on neutral grounds, 3 played in England and 3 played abroad. What do you think?

[Patrick Li]

I wonder what Master Capello will say to all this. He's demanding more training time - rightly so - and surely these plans will clash with the intrests of our national side.
Leading up to World Cup Finals, it's always the English side suffering from least preparation time. So how on earth are we going to fit in an extra fortnight of Premier League on World Tour?

[Sue Bliss]

What foolish irresponsibility is shown with the proposed Global Project. In a time when awareness to global warming is increasing, met by the government imposing ridiculous taxes to discourage abuse of our charcoal footprint, here goes the FA encouraging unnecessary world travel. As usual money is their law with little regard for the rest of the world

[barry]

the more money that flows into the league, the more great players will want to play in england. this is an opportunity for the premier league to move far ahead of any other domestic league and to improve the quality of the product that english fans get to see each week.

if one of the big four come to the u.s., i cannot imagine anything but sellouts for both games.

i do agree that it would be preferable not to extend the fixture list to 39 games. an unbalanced schedule would weaken the credibility of the table. i would prefer that two teams be sent to each foreign location and play both of their league games there.

[Gary Van Gelder]

Fast forward to Houston, Texas 2011. Here comes the special Premier League match that Reliant Stadium bid for. Tickets are $200.00 each. I buy the tickets and sit back and watch the exciting match between Hull City and Ipswich.
Yippee!
(Hey it could happen).

[Marcel Villeneuve]

Living in Canada and watching Premier games on TV every week, I think its great that teams would possible come here and play.
You can expect a warm welcome from all football fans here in Toronto and a full stadium, even if its Derby vs Wigan.

[Bryan Ingleby]

Let the first teams play all of their games abroad, then we can have the under eighteens playing on a Saturday afternoon.

Pure football until it is coached out of them as they 'progress' into the first squad.

[Wolfy]

Googly?

The reaction of many of the commentators on the Premier League’s (PL) proposal to play a few games abroad strike me as being Little Englanders in their outlook.

Do we want the top flight of football in the UK to return to its golden era? Why not have rules restricting those eligible to play for a team to having been born, bred and resident within a ten mile radius of the ground. Let’s impose a maximum wage; to stop players becoming indulgent celebrates. Let’s ensure the club ownership is restricted to local businessmen who have more money than sense, and that they run their clubs as a loss making hobby. Ban all television coverage of every match, and ensure that the attendees at games also have to produce proof that they live close to either the home team or their opposition. I’m sure that attendance would fall, and entry to any game would then become much cheaper.

I don’t think that what any of the fans really want.

The PL is a global phenomenon. Many of the players are overseas nationals, and that’s before taking into account that in an ‘English’ league Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh players should also be considered to be overseas players. A large number of clubs have been bought by foreign nationals, who seem to think that they are worth much more than the English are prepared to pay for them. And the majority of the half a billion television audiences who regularly watch the matches every week are overseas residents (300 million of them living in China).

When you consider this in a contrarian ‘is it half full or half empty’ context, English supporters should consider themselves luck that so many Englishmen are still participating in the PL. They should also be lucky that currently all of the games in this global entertainment exercise are played within England. Although this could easily be changed next season if Cardiff are promoted from the Championship.

So credit to the management of the PL. They are to embark on the next logical step, in considering whether or not to reward some of it loyal global fan base, by playing a few games in their neighbourhood. Football is big business. It constitutes an invisible export, conceived and based in England, and for which we should be proud. It is sensible for the PL to try and consolidate its position in this new market. If they do not, then it is quite possible that some other enterprising football body might seize this neglect opportunity. And English football fans will become much poorer, as the talent, management and audience will move away to a new more rewarding base.

I would suggest that the following step would be to invite some rich foreign clubs to join the PL. This would avoid the current set up being dominated by the current big four.

And I’m a Wolves fan!

[Malc]

If you have to do this stupid thing, don't do it in this stupid way. It totally destroys the concept of league play. If it has to happen - two suggestions. Rather than adding a game have teams play both the matches between them abroad, this maintains the 38 games and removes the who looses a home game probem; or - take 2 or 3 all premeirship team FA cup ties from round 3, 4, 5 and play them abroad

[Nigel Sloan]

The Premier League certainly hasn't lost the plot. It's been on script since 1993.

It's supporters who have lost the plot. The fans are ripped off at every turn by apathetic players, replica shirt price fixing, arrogant owners,ever increasing ticket prices, bad food - even worse beer and they keep piling through the turnstiles.

When will supporters realize that they're merely extras in a lavish production? Mind you extras get paid don't they?

[paul simm]

what do you expect with so many foreign players,managers and owners [not forgetting slime-ball agents who own players contracts] teams are not 'local lads'so they don't care where they play only what's it pay

[Bootbear]

This proposal defies belief.. !

1. I thought the fixture list was already too congested

2. The pairing of clubs would be crucial as the points 'available' will distort the table

3. Will foreign fans really pay to watch unfashionable clubs?

4. Clubs may well leave key players at home to avoid overloading them

5. All leagues are based on teams playing each other twice

6. Would managers fancy playing an extra game against a 'superior' team?

7. How much time would clubs be allowed to prepare for and recover from a fixture in say Melbourne?

8. Qualification for Europe or relegation could depend on the 'luck of the draw'

9. In most 'football mad' countries one can watch Premier League matches on TV .. just like most of us do in this country

Hopefully potential hosting cities will decline the offer if the EPL pursues this stupid idea any further

[Michael.]

As fans of the game, I would suggest if this ridiculous idea is implemented that all fans, press and statisticians ignore the fixture. The results of these matches would not be recognised within this country and not reflected in the printed final league tables.
Come on fans let us take control of OUR game!

[Frank Upton]

How will the Japanese cope with pronouncing 'Blackburn Rovers'?

[CHIN]

Moot argument, I can't see FIFA ever allowing it due to the encroachment on local leagues.

[rod smith]

the clubs are owned by people to whom 100 yrs of tradition mean nothing and because of the absurd players wages are desperate for any source of income.
i would suggest that noone renews their season tickets until this is dropped and the Times should start
an official websight where people can pledge publically that they will do this. i think at 200,000 they will lose their nerve.