Ho Hum...Here We Go Again (Premier League 2000 - 2001)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Premier League 2000 - 2001
Date:	06/07/09 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some good games between the top tier clubs

Disadvantages: Too many poor games

I think that the current Premier League setup is going nowhere for the vast majority of football clubs, with the spoils of victory going mostly to the top half a dozen or so clubs and the rest having to fight around the table for the scraps and leftovers. I have no reason to think that the 2009/10 season will be any different, with the likely top four clubs at the end of the season likely to come from Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and possibly Everton and Manchester City.

What leads me to this conclusion? The answer is simple enough. Since its conception in the 1992/93 season the Premier League has only been won by four clubs; Arsenal (3 wins), Manchester United (11 wins), Chelsea (2 wins), and Blackburn Rovers (1 win). It's my opinion that a league that is so biased towards the bigger and more financially successful clubs lifting the title year in and year out is actually bad not only for the lesser clubs but for the top clubs themselves, with the top four in the Premier League qualifying to compete in the European Champion's League. This means that the clubs competing in the Champion's League consistently have a huge fixture list to complete each season, especially if they progress from the group stages into the latter knock-out stage of the competition.

Meanwhile the lesser clubs also have to scramble around for the scraps from the table from European competition, with the old UEFA Cup now being replaced by the newly constituted UEFA Europa League for the 2009/10 season. While this competition (in whatever format) certainly brings in much needed revenue to some of the second string clubs in the Premiership, it certainly doesn't carry the same prestige as competing at the top European level.

It's my opinion that it would be better if the top clubs in the major European leagues broke away from their home-based national leagues and went on to form a truly European League, with say the top ten European clubs competing against each other four times in a season. (Two home and two away fixtures)

Initially this league would probably consist of the top clubs from the Premiership, from Italy's Serie A, the Spanish League, and possibly the German Bundesliga. With European travel now commonplace it would be no great strain for any of these top clubs to travel to different countries to play fixtures. Such a league would be highly competitive and would allow UK football fans to watch a much higher level of competitive football on a weekly basis. Let's face it, would you rather watch a match between say Manchester United and Barcelona, or Manchester United and Burnley! (No disrespect intended to any Burnley fans)

I'm sure that some system of promotion and relegation could be devised for this new European "Super League" which would allow some of the lesser clubs from the various European football leagues to aspire to some day gaining entry into football's elite.

It could be argued that such a setup would mean that the Premier League would no longer hold any relevance in real terms, but I believe that football fans would still come to watch their team on a weekly basis and especially since the new League would be far more competitive than what exists today.

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© KenJ July 2009

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Summary: The Premier League needs rethinking