Weston Super Saint Posted 1 September, 2008 Share Posted 1 September, 2008 When premiership football in this country consists of a few teams wearing the colours of what used to be English football clubs, but each one owned by foreign "businessmen" and staffed by foreign players and foreign managers, will there come a point at which English fans will turn their backs on it? Already the premiership is planning for matches to be played outside of the UK, one game to start with, and then how many? All that will be needed to finish the transformation will be to end promotion and relegation to and from the premiership as the international league pulls up the ladder. In the short term, we just want our own team to have load-sa-money so if that means Al Fayad, or a Russian oligarch, or an Arab Crown Prince, who cares? Like most people I'd welcome genuine investment, but not at any price. +1 (Can't believe I agree with Professor, but there you go :shock: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 I wasn't there. Does that help? Depends if you're a rich Arab or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan The Flames Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 When premiership football in this country consists of a few teams wearing the colours of what used to be English football clubs, but each one owned by foreign "businessmen" and staffed by foreign players and foreign managers, will there come a point at which English fans will turn their backs on it? Already the premiership is planning for matches to be played outside of the UK, one game to start with, and then how many? All that will be needed to finish the transformation will be to end promotion and relegation to and from the premiership as the international league pulls up the ladder. In the short term, we just want our own team to have load-sa-money so if that means Al Fayad, or a Russian oligarch, or an Arab Crown Prince, who cares? Like most people I'd welcome genuine investment, but not at any price. You would think its all close to breaking point, Man City have upped it again and this will make the other clubs spend money they havn’t got. Every commodity corrects itself at some point but this just doesn’t happen to football transfer fees and wages, but it can only sustain itself by finding richer and richer people. We have gone from local landlords to local business men, to millionaires now to billionaires. The bigger the money the less likely they are going to be English. I agree its only a matter of time before the chairman say that the only way to sustain the investment is to stop relegation, it happened in rugby league. The quicker the big clubs pull away a form a European league the better. But the big clubs want it all, European and domestic football and while they have it all we all suffer. It has to break soon we need a couple of big administrations but they all get saved at the last minute. I would vote for a break away league and leave the top four behind but that would only work if the Tottenhams and Villas come with us but they wont whilst the lure of the European is there. I do fear for the future of the Saints beyond this period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 As posted before. There is a recession. There is a credit crunch. One of the FIRST things companies cut back on is advertising spend without a tangible ROI. One of the FIRST things people cut back on are non-essentials. The TV revenue went up because of competition between Sky & Setanta. Both companies are being impacted by reduced advertising revenues. Setanta's business model of borrow to get the premium tv services and then the money will come in is under strain and their subscription take up rate is not as fast as they planned as people don't spend that extra cash What happens with the next round of negotiations when the TV revenue drops? Sure the rich owners don't care but the rest are screwed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 As posted before. There is a recession. There is a credit crunch. One of the FIRST things companies cut back on is advertising spend without a tangible ROI. One of the FIRST things people cut back on are non-essentials. The TV revenue went up because of competition between Sky & Setanta. Both companies are being impacted by reduced advertising revenues. Setanta's business model of borrow to get the premium tv services and then the money will come in is under strain and their subscription take up rate is not as fast as they planned as people don't spend that extra cash What happens with the next round of negotiations when the TV revenue drops? Sure the rich owners don't care but the rest are screwed I think the arse will fall out of the Premiership very soon, the competition is getting duller and more predictable each year and people have less and less money. Sky & Setanta increased revenue but by totally saturating coverage, there is a limit to how much football people will fork out for, especially when it's overpaid foreign tossers from rubbish little clubs like Wigan and portsmouth, playing meaningless games in front of half empty stadiums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 With nothing having seen the light of day for months, do you now consider any takeover, from what you've heard, dead in the water? With Fulthorpe, we were led to believe before the EGM it would happen, then a few weeks later, then a few weeks later and now a few weeks later. Not a loaded question, just interested in your views. Well done Fulthorpe & Co for managing to prise Keegan away from Newcastle to join your master plan. Offering Shearer in return was a masterstroke. IMHO of course.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 Well done Fulthorpe & Co for managing to prise Keegan away from Newcastle to join your master plan. Offering Shearer in return was a masterstroke. IMHO of course.... no wonder shearer was (apparently) suddenly unavailable...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 2 September, 2008 Share Posted 2 September, 2008 I think the arse will fall out of the Premiership very soon, the competition is getting duller and more predictable each year and people have less and less money. Sky & Setanta increased revenue but by totally saturating coverage, there is a limit to how much football people will fork out for, especially when it's overpaid foreign tossers from rubbish little clubs like Wigan and portsmouth, playing meaningless games in front of half empty stadiums. The thing is that the value to Sky of the worldwide syndication rights continues to increase. More and more countries are watching live prem games and paying for the priviledge even as English fans get disenchanted with the whole charade. We could end up with prem games being shown live to 500m people worldwide - but in half empty stadiums. What happens then? Do some clubs start to relocate becoming Abu Dhabi Everton and Kuala Lumpur Pompey (not all bad then) or do the worldwide viewers wonder if the product is not so great after all if the locals cant even be arsed to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 The thing is that the value to Sky of the worldwide syndication rights continues to increase. More and more countries are watching live prem games and paying for the priviledge even as English fans get disenchanted with the whole charade. We could end up with prem games being shown live to 500m people worldwide - but in half empty stadiums. What happens then? Do some clubs start to relocate becoming Abu Dhabi Everton and Kuala Lumpur Pompey (not all bad then) or do the worldwide viewers wonder if the product is not so great after all if the locals cant even be arsed to go. Well, if they've got any sense, the half empty stadiums will put the prices down to re-attract the 'locals', and fill the stadiums again. Then they'll put the prices back up and it will start all over again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Just got this link from my Football Supporters' Federation email newsletter. http://www.fsf.org.uk/AgainstModernfootball.php I've always liked the Football Philosophy T-shirts - I might just get this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Yet another great article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/03/manchestercity.mergersandacquisitions Says it all, really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Shot Posted 3 September, 2008 Share Posted 3 September, 2008 Yet another great article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/03/manchestercity.mergersandacquisitions Says it all, really Yes good article - I wonder deep down whether the true City fans are really that pleased. Personally I would like just about enough money to pay off our debts and be able to keep hold of any youngsters long enough to enjoy them. It still pains me to see Bale hurtling down the Tottenham left as he was on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delmary Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 :-$ it's Fri tomorrow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaroid Saint Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 (edited) I think the arse will fall out of the Premiership very soon Arsenal? Relegated? You think?:wink: Seriously I agree to a large extent. But those teams with a well established sugar-daddy (or stoopidly high financial turnover) will have the option of splitting off to the fabled euro super league. This will be the end of the Football League as we know it. At either ends of the football league there is a financial disparity that is threatened to cripple the game. Teams dropping out of Div2 into the conference have the opposite problem to teams trying to get into the Prem. Conference teams are often better structured with no history of debt compared to teams - like Torquay to site a recent example - who have been struggling for years. As a result the better funded ex-conference teams have a greater chance of survival, possibly even success, in Div2 just like the at-least-one-year-of-sky-cash-plus-parachute-payment teams dropping down into the CCC have an (financially weighted) advantage of going straight back up. Whilst I appluad a league structure that allows smaller/newer clubs to enter the football league, having the top lopped off and a disprotionate number of (IMHO) under-supported teams (sorry Rusden et al) replacing large town and city teams in t e Football League is simply not good for the game, for clubs, for fans or even for the neutral spectator. Homers mythical IThaKa Edited 4 September, 2008 by Polaroid Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyR Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 I sincerely hope the arse falls out of football very soon. I miss the days of going to the Dell and paying more to get there on the bus, than the entrance fee through the stiles into the Milton.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Whilst having loads of unlimited dosh is crucial, it could be argued that perhaps more important is the kind of stability that evolves over a long time when all parties are pulling together for the common cause. Saints under Ted Bates had this, which is one reason that we were promoted to the old Div 1 and over-achieved for years, despite being paupers. Wenger's Arsenal have that unity of purpose. But Lowe's Premiership Saints and subsequent regimes here really didn't, which is one reason that we gradually disintegrated and find ourselves where we are now.. IF this common sense of purpose and unity can be achieved by Lowe/Poortvliet/Wilde et all we could surprise everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek2003 Posted 4 September, 2008 Share Posted 4 September, 2008 Well, if they've got any sense, the half empty stadiums will put the prices down to re-attract the 'locals', and fill the stadiums again. Then they'll put the prices back up and it will start all over again the revenue from the turnstile will become so incidental that they probably will let the fans in for next to nothing just to fill the stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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