I don't know how sustainable the ESL would actually be in the medium term

Same clubs always playing each other for no meaningful stakes. There'd be novelty value for the non-fan/casual football-watcher for a year or two, but after that? Barca vs Real for the tenth time this year for the same no-stakes outcome - who's actually turning that on?

The money in football has taken the game ever further from the fans and the communities that clubs are rooted in. A situation where we are one of very, very few clubs in the top couple of tiers who aren't just a "fun" bit on someone else's balance sheet which needs to show ever-increasing return in financial terms over and above all other considerations means the drivers for decisions at the top of the game are skewed away from the interests of the game as a whole.

They should be looking to greatly increase what flows down the pyramid, maybe with some broad-brush restrictions on how much of that can go on player salaries and how much *must* go on facilities and community outreach and so on. This would help teams from tier 9/10 up to grow their own fanbases and develop their own players better. The national game and in time the national side would also benefit greatly and there'd be more people engaged in football across the country. It would mean a small decrease in top-line for the prem clubs (and yes we should certainly put our hands up for our share of that minor haircut).

This does need to be a watershed moment.

Posted By: Old Man, Apr 19, 09:26:11