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RSS FeedPremier League expansion: Good or bad?
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| Good | 59% | 54 votes | Total: 92 votes | |
| Bad | 41% | 38 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe obvious expansion of Premier League in recent decades started worrying many people. The elderly fans of football remember the old times when their team played not for money, nor for a transfer, but for the fans. Many of the games were high-scoring and the passion of the players faces kicking the ball was enough for the fans to feel satisfied.Today, however, everything is different;players insist for more money every week; they want a transfer in bigger club, leaving out the faithful fans behind. Considerable expansion is noticed in the English Premier League and this is making many people angry. Unfortunately for them this is a process that hardly can be stopped.
Probably many fans think that this same expansion kills the game and makes it very predictable and boring. Maybe they are right, maybe they are not. The important thing that they forget is that football became more of a industry than just a game. The numerous fan stores around the world; the high prices of the tickets and the multimillion transfers big clubs make are based on profit. Manchester United, which is one of the most popular and rich football clubs in the world transformed in a moneymaking machine. It is hard to imagine that the Board of Directors cares about winning trophies anymore.
I can i like the development of football that way. Many fans can disagree with me, but they need to recognize the fact that there is no difference of a fan in England and a fan in South Korea, for example. People want to watch the great game anywhere in the world; they want to jump in front of the TV when goal is scored; they want to cry when they team loses on penalty kicks. I think is fair for this long-distance fans to expand the game and give them the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful game. We live in a globalist world and football is globalizing as well. we cannot expect player and clubs to "close" themselves in a small hole and let only their hometown fans to enjoy them.
Thing change; the world change and football will change as well. The only thing that is left for us , the fans, is to sit back, grab a beer and watch our favorite team winning, or losing. I love my team and i will support it no matter what, but i also need to realize that it will change. Maybe it will be in a bad aspect, but it is still my team. Premier League expansion will not stop and most likely will continue forward. The important thing is not be tempted to cease your support. This is what your teams need, not money, not TV, but support!
Learn more about this author, Mihail Matikov.
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Bad
Players reared in England learn to play soccer at a frenetic pace. They provide ninety minutes of end to end, non-stop entertainment. It is great for the fans to watch. But when the English players come up against the technically more skilled foreign imports, their skill levels are found to be wanting. It is the same at international level, with the England team always disappointing at the major tournaments - if they even qualify. Rember Euro 2008 when the nation sulked as our players were left at home?
We do see some hugely talented stars gracing the Premiership - but they are almost to a man imports from Sain, Italy and other countries where there is a greater emphasis on skill in training from a young age. You are not going to tell me that men from these countries are more naturally gifted than the English - that is blatantly not the case. What happens is that they are groomed in basic skills from a young age, spending hours on the training ground perfecting one-touch 'football' and the like.
So, what has this all got to do with the size of the Premier League? Well, soccer clubs in the top flight play far too many games as it is. It is a never ending trudge of two games a week from August to May. If it is not a leaghue fixture, then there are the two domestic cups, European ties and international matches. As well as the physical effort causing fatigue, there is also a huge mental strain. PLayers are constantly waking up in hotels, travelling back to base overnight and recuperating before the next game. Of course the top clubs have the best medical teams available to ensure any injuries are short lived. But the knocks and bruises still take their toll on young bodies.
If you add just one more club to the Premier League, then all sides would have to play an extra two games a season - home and away. The problem with just one additional club is that there would be an odd number of teams in the league, meaning one side would have to rest each time there was a full fixture list. So, the minimum addition has to be two clubs, meaning an extra four games per club. That would be outrageous, especially given the already congested programs.
Putting two extra clubs in the Premier League could also lead to a bigger divide between the big clubs and the rest. Until recently, clubs promoted from the Championship invariably struggled to stay up at the end of the season. That has levelled itself out somewhat, with the battle for survival involving more clubs these days. It is also encouraging to see Aston Villa challenging the big four domination enjoyed by Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Everton are also threatening to break into the exclusive club. But an extra two clubs in the Premier League would make the lower divisions even less attractive for fans to watch, meaning there would be less money to be shared out.
Clubs actually need to play less soccer than they currently do. As well as allowing players more time to recover from injuries, it would also allow coaches and managers more time with their players on the training pitch, giving them a chance to boost skill levels. The recent friendly between Spain and England showed up the problem of English football. The English huffed and puffed with good old honest endeavor. Spain controlled the ball, putting in long passing movements and the occasional deft pass to split the English defence. The result was a 2-0 win to Spain. The English attitude afterwards seemed to be that OK, Spain played good soccer, but they are currently the best team in the world, so we did not do that badly. That is so negative. We should have an inquest into any defeat. We should say that we want to be the best in the world. How did Spain or whoever beat us? What have we got to do to catch up? Unfortunately, the current set up in English soccer, coupled with the defeatist national psyche, does not allow this. Expanding the Premier League would just mean retreaing further into our shells.
Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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