by Tim Carter

Created on: August 17, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The purpose of taking English Premiership games abroad has been sold to the media as promoting the brand of football to a wider audience whilst the notion of playing a thirty ninth game has been sold to existing Premiership clubs with the sweetener that they will get 5 Million for their troubles.At first glance it sounded like a win win situation,but scratch under the surface and the whole idea should be consigned to the history books without further consideration.

The Premiership like any properly organised league runs on the basis that you play the same number of games at home and away. If you were to introduce the possibility of an additional game then the whole concept of fairness would be questioned every year.How would you decide who plays who in the extra game.There would never be a convincing argument for any format as invariably the extra match ups would unduly influence important outcomes at the end of the season. A second factor that would cause controversy and debate would be the decision on whereabouts in the world the extra games would be played.Some teams could be heading off for America,Australia or Asia whilst if there was an option on a day return,no jet lag trip to Europe then the double headed coin could be brought out to ensure a visit across the Channel rather than an Ocean.Similarly if a club were placed in a previously visited location,maybe from a pre-season tour,they could receive a significant amount of "home" support which would once again favour one team over another.

Trying to keep the brand of English football at the top and the most popular in the World is an admirable business proposition,but the risk of making it appear a lucky dip circus would be the more likely outcome from organising a 39th Premiership match each season. If a proper match with a trophy handed out at the end was deemed to be a suitable alternative then maybe the Charity Shield could be taken around the World.With such a proposition there could be no dispute about which teams take part and where the funds go. The actual fixture would have to be re-scheduled to ensure a quick hop over to Australia the week before the season started didn`t interfere with the preparations of the defending league and cup champions.

The final reason why the Premiership should not its` matches in the way that it is suggested is that this fundamental change is the brainchild of just one man and significantly is not backed by a large majority of the clubs themselves. The preference of these "no" voters is that they want to retain control of their own marketing and do not wish the footballing element of this to be tampered with.

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