Foreign owners 'want end to Premier League relegation'

[BensGrandad]

I think this idea is a disguised prelude to pushing for a 2 division European Super League which the clubs want to safegurad their money income and status.

 

[jackalbion]

I think teams like Newcastle and Sunderland who have loyal fan bases and fans have common sense will vote against it but I think a chairman like tony bloom would vote against it because of their love of the game

 

[ForeverAGull]

Why would the top teams vote for it? They get new blood each year to beat. It's only the ones likely to be relegated and have no soul. If there was a vote it should be the 92 clubs - let's see who wins then.

totally agree with this!

 

[AMEXican Wave]

If there's no relegation, what is there to stop a 'foreign owner' buying any premier league side, reducing the wage bill to pretty much nothing, and taking the £50 million+ a year TV money?

 

[RexCathedra]

....what is there to stop a 'foreign owner' buying any premier league side, reducing the wage bill to pretty much nothing, and taking the £50 million+ a year TV money?

Nothing. This is what happens in effect with three or four franchises in each of the major leagues in baseball. They take the revenue from TV, and particularly the 'luxury tax' payment collected from large-payroll teams, and simply pocket it. In extreme cases the entire payroll for the 24-man roster of one club (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, e.g.) may be equivalent to what two individual players on the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc.... are making.

It isn't impossible to be competitive under those strictures. The notorious Carl Pohlad, tightwad owner of the Twins, managed to put teams in the playoffs off and on for years, and even won a Series -- but it's not easy.

 

[trueblue]

It is the way of guaranteeing that television income in perpetuity. Foreign owners like the idea of that, and they see it done in other countries, notably the USA.

It doesn't guarantee that income if the product becomes meaningless and loses popularity. If viewing drops off, say goodbye to lucrative TV rights. Like so many of the PL owners's greedy and self-centred proposals, it'd be self-defeating long term.

 

[Andrew]

No Premier League anytime soon lads..

BBC Sport - Foreign owners 'want end to Premier League relegation'

 

[blockhseagull]

F.......

 

[farawaysaint]

Love the media sensationalism on this one. It's an idiotic idea, teams like ManU Chelse, City etc would never go for it as they're never likely to be relegated and can hence take the moral high ground. A fair few clubs actually would vote on the moral high ground regardless of whether they're in danger of relegation or not, the FL clubs would be up in arms and I can see even plastic prem fans voting with their feet a la Wimbledon. I'm fairly sure they need 75% of the prem clubs to vote in favour for changes like this anyway and I can guarantee that majority would never vote in favour. On the plus side, if it does happen both our teams are in for a chance of a Euro qualifying place as I doubt UEFA would be happy either

 

[Gary Leeds]

Also, if this did happen then I think between 10-15 clubs would go bust and be gone for good. Can you imagine the spending frenzy in the Championship and from the smaller teams in the Premiership as they all fight for the last remaining places before they closed shop? The wage bill for all these clubs would be through the roof as they go for it in a shit or bust scenario

 

[ewe2]

Turkeys voting for Christmas !

 

[Pavilionaire]

The other thing about US franchises is if you under-perform you lose your franchise, so there's always a turnover of teams relocating, which keeps things fairly fresh.

Teams like the Tennessee Titans, St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens have all reached Superbowls after relocating. Similarly, the Florida Marlins baseball club were born out of nothing and won the World Series just 5 years later. It's also common to see cities lose franchise and then attract other ones.

The domestic game as competitive league died with the advent of the Champions League and the door is now shut on the likes of Notts Forest, Villa, Blackburn Rovers ever winning the league again.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Whelan at Wigan is been an advocate of no relegation, has been for years I think.

Now there's a thing - Wigan Athletic. I'm probably just picking on them, but...


Given their relative lack of history, what right does anyone from that club have to make such an awful claim?

I've never once heard such a suggestion being attributed to Whelan, who has always seemed a decent chairman and general footal man, to me. I be very saddened if this were true. (I don't think it is).

BBC Sport - Scrapping relegation would kill English game - Whelan

Dave Whelan has stated he would pull Wigan out of the Premier League if promotion and relegation were scrapped."If it was to happen I would resign Wigan from the Premier League and go back and play in the Football League," the Wigan chairman told talkSPORT.

"It's the most stupid suggestion I've ever heard in my life."

Whelan said: "It's a worrying thought that if we get 14 or 15 foreign owners [in the Premier League], they come up with some mad idea and it gets voted through.

"It's got to be competitive, every club has got to have that ambition to get to the Premier League, that's why our league is so good. It's an appalling suggestion. It would ruin and kill English football."

"There are at least eight teams in the Championship at the moment with great history.

"What do you say to those eight teams, they can never play in the Premier League?

"You may as well lock the doors. It would be absolute suicide for the rest of the teams in the country, particularly the Championship."




Dave Whelan -TOP BLOKE