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Dropping People Re-Energises Poor Performers
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How to take the Premier League forward
10th February 2007 - Updated 13th February
Ok we have heard the EPL suggestion and had the ridicule of Michel Platini. Indeed FIFA can apparently kill the suggestion dead where it belongs. Indeed as news gets out national associations are also somewhat less keen to have their domestic game under mined.
Anyway in a helpful and argumentative spirit I have a several point plan for the Premier League to make it the best in the world, spread its wings, make everyone even richer, get rid of dismal UEFA competitions as more than side shows and help the national side to boot.
I am aiming at more domestic young players, better domestic competition and quality. The aim really is if not to replace the Champions League to make it less important. It is already a bloated pointless endurance test and watching teams like Liverpool not even try for our title to save their manager with a cup run annoys me. The way I intend to do this is explained below but it is to create more big games overall and relative to the number of games - 6 big teams is 30 big games - 1 a week in my presciption of 16 teams.
As Rowan Williams should have said this is a straw man and feel free to pick it apart.
Youth, Youth and Youth
One thing Plats did hit the nail on the head with was we are producing few players. Ironically probably not since the Munich Air Crash have we had more star players (unlike the babes this lot prove that stars do not necessarily make a team). Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry and Owen have all top 10'd in the 2 big player of the year awards. Rooney may be blowing his talent away but at his age is still in advance of Joe Cole and other players who found a role and position under positive management.
Indeed Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand maybe highly prized as well.
The key problem is found as when discussing Newcastle that their is a lack of real role players out there. It staggers me that players cannot find a way to emulate the likes of Gary Neville who improve throughout their career within physical limitations. It is shocking how little Wes Brown and Ashley Cole have improved despite their physical equipment being greater than Gary Neville. Thankfully Capello delivered a wake up call to Micah Richards this week.
We have to examine our youth systems and policies which sees clubs spend large amounts of money on loads of players but we seem to be getting no results. James Milner is the poster boy here with a world record under 21 caps... He's not advanced in 5 years. Even Rooney's improvements have come as his ceiling has crashed down so far that he is being asked to play for the team not himself by Sir Alex Ferguson.
16 Teams
One other thing that has to happen is that the number of teams is reduced. This will force more talent by cutting down the bloated 2nd tier who seem to have money to burn. Seriously Spurs, Boro, Newcastle et al all bid up the price of players who are little better upgrades than youth prospects surely.
30 games a year also opens up the schedules and helps the England team. I am tired of silly men like Benitez complaining about the international weeks like they are not scheduled a couple of years in advance and hit his team unexpectedly. Someone who rotates so much for an end of season team should welcome disruption like this frankly or his position on team selection makes less sense.
Even if nothing else changes then I think this would help the national team and combined with increasing the number of big clubs (see later) would with 2 down make the competition more competitive and more quality than quantity. The key is to create extra gaps and breaks for the players to rest and get over injury.
One Real Cup
Sorry but the FA Cup will have to start and finish sooner. Last seasons final was like the march of the dead. The idea that Chelsea or Man United could have won a Champions League Final even against Liverpool is so laughable as to be nonsense. Less premier games and rationalising the Carling would help.
The Carling if it is kept should be an under 24 competition or something like the Arsenal use it anyway. Allow a keeper and say 3 older players in.
Celtic And Rangers
It makes no not to over double the number of big games. Celtic and Rangers are in the same country as us and if Cardiff can toil away in the lower leagues they can grace our top division. 6 top clubs is 30 big games 4 is 12 and 3 is a lousy 6 if Chelsea went away (or Liverpool or anyone).
That would be 1 big game a week giving the weekend focus and allowing TV to build up to it every week.
Premier Cup
This is the real straw man and you'll note the last paragraph lists the impracticality of it all.
OK. We want the world's fans to see our players they watch and pay for in games in their country. We want to see them in competitive games as well. The answer is to finish all the domestic competitions in early April and have a money and incentive laden competition at the end.
The advantages of this are we could have round robin groups in 4 continents with a semis and finals structure on top.
I believe with the correct marketing this could generate more money than 90% of Champions League games like Arsenal Sparta Prague! (no offence to Prague). Indeed the aim would be to promote this competition such that Domestic clubs give the Champions League the finger (not essential for this plan).
It would also give more fixtures without quite the competitive edge of a league fixture. Allowing more youth players a chance in dead rubbers or by team decision. Injured players could get work outs before championships and top England/Scotland players could be rested (just make sure all the Johnny Foreigners play!!!).
The key is to make this so lucrative that the paltry 15 million from the CL to 1 or 2 clubs is eventually replicated.
I am not sure this will be an over night success but with sponsorship and perseverence not to mention likely full stadiums it could become something.
The fear is of course in the hands of Scudamore and the people who operate him that the attraction of including guest nation's sides would dilute it into little more than post season friendlies.
Of course the problem with this is that no country will be exactly bursting at the seams to have its league rendered irrelevant. MLS will welcome this like a turd on its doorstep. Many countries may want Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal but be as enthusiastic about the others as a state visit by Gordon Brown.
Anyway there is a vision. Like it hate it well send a note to Feedback
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