premiership awash with money....

[paul_oshea]

....but how long will it last, and how can "every" club realisitcally compete for 6/7 european places? I just dont understand. They are all full with money, and are all saying the same thing when realistically they need to realise that there are only so many places available. whats everyones view on this?

[Steve Bruce]

My prediction is whoever spends a lot then gets relegated will end up like Leeds.

I also think all these americans and other sugar daddies is going to put a lot of clubs in a terrible position. As a Man Utd supporter this is something I am worried about big time as we where always in the black and able to compete financially with the best out their, now we are 660 million in debt. I cannot see how Manchester United can sustain this if we went through a period of no success.

[RogerMilla]

My prediction is whoever spends a lot then gets relegated will end up like Leeds.

I also think all these americans and other sugar daddies is going to put a lot of clubs in a terrible position. As a Man Utd supporter this is something I am worried about big time as we where always in the black and able to compete financially with the best out their, now we are 660 million in debt. I cannot see how Manchester United can sustain this if we went through a period of no success.

definitely , one fourth place finish and an exit in the knock outs could spell serious trouble with banks looking to call in debt that cannot be serviced. it could then lead to a knock on effect as the team could not be strengthened and the premiership money would be needed for the wages already in place. then suddenly the sponsors are looking elsewhere...

as long as united keep winning they'll be fine also second place is more than acceptable. but below that you are entering a world of risk.

[jebus]

The Premiership needs to worry more about the increasing numbers of fans switching off. Go to any English Foot.ie equivalent and you will see stories of fans Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Everton, etc. going to League Two clubs and starting to support them. The reasons given range from prices of tickets, lack of atmosphere due to corporate seats, lack of community feeling in these clubs, to all of the above. A lot of them are very envious of our situation over here, and to be honest I can see why. I think its might have been in this month's 4-4-2 where a fan of a Championship club says he would rather his team stay in the Championship than move up to the Premiership, as the Championship is more what football is supposed to be about, not the Premier.

If these attitudes take hold than you'll see the Premiership grounds full of foreign spectators on holidays, rather than passionate fans, then the atmosphere will dip and the whole exciting Premiership bubble bursts in Sky's face. And this isn't even mentioning the doomsday situation of United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea walking out of the Premier to form that European SuperLeague, that rears its ugly head every so often. Were that to happen it could bankrupt clubs like Reading, Wigan, Blackburn, etc. as the Sky money disappears into thin air

[superfrank]

TV money. That's how they can all afford to bring in players and challenge for Europe. Every club gets tens of millions of pounds at the start of each season. This goes to transfers and player wages, very rarely is it invested in the club otherwise.

It is by no means smart as if it backfires, you're down in the Championship, less TV money, lower attendances, big wages and it's an awful lot tougher to bounce back from. Imo, investing that money in training facilities or youth academies would be a lot better for the long-term future of football clubs.

[Newryrep]

Artiicle in this months Observer sports magazine on the above topic

[Macy]

If these attitudes take hold than you'll see the Premiership grounds full of foreign spectators on holidays, rather than passionate fans, then the atmosphere will dip and the whole exciting Premiership bubble bursts in Sky's face.
The movement of traditional supporters out of the Premiership grounds has been happening since the early 90's. With all seaters, and vastly increased prices for those seats (totally contrary to the Taylor report btw), the atmosphere has been continually diluted. It definitely isn't a noughties phenomenon and it's a pity these journo's didn't give more coverage back in the early to mid-90's when there was a massive growth in Independent Supporters Associations agitating on these same issues.

There may have been a movement away by the traditional supporters, unfortunately there are lots of middle class mugs quite happy to continue to cough up the money for tickets - anyone still waiting for the bubble to burst probably will still have as long a wait as those of us that have been waiting since 92-93 season!

[reder]

The Premiership needs to worry more about the increasing numbers of fans switching off. Go to any English Foot.ie equivalent and you will see stories of fans Chelsea, United, Liverpool, Everton, etc. going to League Two clubs and starting to support them. The reasons given range from prices of tickets, lack of atmosphere due to corporate seats, lack of community feeling in these clubs, to all of the above. A lot of them are very envious of our situation over here, and to be honest I can see why.

You have said alot of good things there. However anyone I know has stopped going to games has not gone down the road to watch the lower league team due to natural rivalry. They just dont go to games anymore, end of.

[jebus]

I think its might have been in this month's 4-4-2 where a fan of a Championship club says he would rather his team stay in the Championship than move up to the Premiership, as the Championship is more what football is supposed to be about, not the Premier

Just read it again, and it was a Watford fan saying they are happy to be back in a competitive, unpredictable league and out of the Premiership

I know this started in the 90s, with the glamourisation of football, tying it to the Britpop scene and all that, but its really starting to come to a head now, and really needs to be checked by the top clubs, not just the like of Blackburn (who have lowered their season ticket prices by 26% this season I believe)