Premier League games to be played abroad?

[Guest Knightrider]

It actually says a lot about our club and indeed our foreign fans that we actually have any when it would be so easy and so much more rewarding trophy wise to follow a Man Utd or another. Tells me anyway that there is something about our club the others just don't have, silverware or not, something real.

[NG32]

If the Prem takes its business  to foriegn shores, then we the punter who goes week in week out should see a reduced ticket price.

 

IF these greedy prem cunts cant see that then they are truely chasing the $$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

Cunts.

 

If it all goes tits up they'll be needing us .

[robm]

The thing I like least about this is the seeding for the top clubs. If this does go ahead how long before it is suggested for cup games -  more potential giant killer games for tv and less chance of the big four cocking it up.

[chicago_shearer]

A crafty bit of political opportunism from the prime minister. 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7235912.stm

 

 

[merlin]

Speaking from the perspective of a Far East "Glory Hunter," I don't want this either.

 

Our domestic leagues are having a hard enough time as it is trying to interest people who just want to watch the Premiership on the telly. What happens when the Premiership now actually comes in for a weekend every year, steals our stadia from our hometown clubs, and start a media circus which will no doubt leave any interest in the domestic league swept up in the dust.

 

I love Newcastle United and the Premier League too, but who do they think they are, saying that they'll just barge in and hold competetive games here with no regard for what we think. It's not like American football which basically isn't played outside of the US, these foreign countries have leageus and tems of their own. And if the Prem thinks that we're goign to drop everything and open up our stadia for them whenever they decide to waltz, in, they are sadly mistaken. We aren't beggars ffs.

 

The Japanese FA has already issued a condemnation of the proposal, and I'd be highly disappointed if the Korean FA didn't soon follow.

 

So English fans don't want it, and foreign fans don't want it. The only ones who want it are the walnut-for-brains glory hunters who follow Man U/Arsenal but would be hard pressed to name a single player from any other Prem team, and the club owners who seek to make money off those unfortunate souls.

 

Bad idea.

 

Fair point really.  It is a slap in the face to the leagues in Asia and America, although I hadn't really thought of it like that.

 

The FFA(Football Federation of Australia)have said that whilst they are not opposed to the idea as a novelty, their main aim is to improve the quality of the A-League and keep interest in it rising domestically - they do not want(or visualize)these games being played on any other than a very occasional basis.

 

The PL and Sky are just interested in making more & more money - as i said earlier, SKY are cra--ing themselves in case quite a number stop taking Pay Per View or SKYSPORTS ...trouble is that too many haven't got the willpower to do this...just as the Borrow-and-spend Economy has started to hit the rocks, so willthe Prem and SKY - the Market decides in the end and once customers stop paying, they haven't got a business.

[Dave]

Sky doesn't have pay-per-view any more.

[Guest Dev]

I live in Sydney, and thus I would love the chance to see NUFC play live.

 

However I believe incorporating this into the EPL in such a slap happy fashion is simply wrong. Talk of seeding the top teams merely highlights the extent of the wrongness.

 

You are going to take away the atmosphere, and turn it into a circus. You're going to be playing on shit grounds, and players are going to get injured, teams are going to get relegated/miss out on Europe on the basis of a ridiculous lottery and circus show. I really think when I read stuff like this that its money grabbing gone mad. The EPL needs to focus on retaining and improving home attendances in England, not this kind of debacle.

 

It really makes you wonder. For me live football is about watching my local team, Sydney FC, at my local ground, going to the same pubs on the way there, standing with the same bunch and singing the same songs, then walking out together and the end and drinking together to celebrate/commiserate. As much as they would like to turn a football club into a global brand like Toyota, which you can just buy and later change for a different model if it looks newer and shinier, they can't. Supporting a team is to me deeply rooted in tribalism and a sense of place, and belonging. You can't just pick up a team and ship it out with a bunch of new cars to a city on the other side of the world, polish it and have them run about on a new ground. Football is about passion, and while I've grown to love NUFC from afar over the years I'm sure a lot of the passion and feeling I have for the club has come from seeing it from fans on the tv, from feeling it talking to fans in australia and over the web. You start transplanting games all over the world and there will be no passion, only a circus act, a curiousity, a novelty. Novelties die out in a few years and the FA and the EPL should be damn careful of turning their league into one as they are going to lose not only their home fans, but their international ones as a result, who will inevitably lose interest and find some other novelty.

 

If I want to see NUFC live I'll go to England and see them at SJP one day, when I can afford it. It'll be real, the people there will care, and I won't feel like I'm purchasing some artificial mass produced football 'product'. Live football is about home grounds, history, and passion. This idea removes all of that. Total garbage.

[Nate]

"It's a strange and comical idea," the former France international said. "I was laughing. I laughed because it will never be received by Fifa, by the fans and by the national associations. It's a nonsense idea. It's like if I am president of Uefa and I put the house of Uefa in China."

 

"It's ironic. Soon you will have in England no English presidents, you already have no English coach, you have no English players and maybe now you will have no clubs playing in England. It's a joke."

 

-Michel Platini.

 

[Syrette]

"It's a strange and comical idea," the former France international said. "I was laughing. I laughed because it will never be received by Fifa, by the fans and by the national associations. It's a nonsense idea. It's like if I am president of Uefa and I put the house of Uefa in China."

 

"It's ironic. Soon you will have in England no English presidents, you already have no English coach, you have no English players and maybe now you will have no clubs playing in England. It's a joke."

 

-Michel Platini.

 

 

Don't particularly like the guy, but he's 100% correct.

[johnnypd]

"It's a strange and comical idea," the former France international said. "I was laughing. I laughed because it will never be received by Fifa, by the fans and by the national associations. It's a nonsense idea. It's like if I am president of Uefa and I put the house of Uefa in China."

 

"It's ironic. Soon you will have in England no English presidents, you already have no English coach, you have no English players and maybe now you will have no clubs playing in England. It's a joke."

 

-Michel Platini.

 

 

Don't particularly like the guy, but he's 100% correct.

 

agree.

[ChrisJbarnes]

http://hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7831509833

[Guest Strunz]

Make no mistake, this is the first explicit sign of the American influence in our game, and another sign that the FA are spineless, fawning maggots of the worst kind by allowing our clubs to be bought by just about anyone.

 

American football is merely a platform and vehicle for making as much money as possible - the reason it lasts so long is to provide sufficient ad breaks on the TV coverage. 

 

As with that treachery that led us into a neverending and pointless war, we're too close to the States and too weak and pathetic to tell them to piss off. 

 

This country....

 

 

[Guest Sniffer]

........is basically a country in decline brought on by the policies of new labour. The wishes of English people are not considered in any facets of modern day society in our own country. Why should football be immune from this?

[S.S.R.]

I'm relieved our benevolent owner rightly refused this idiotic idea, with him not being in it for the money.

 

Thanks for the scoreboard - Greedier men would have rather put up a hideous logo of their cheap tat company in a very prominent place on the Gallowgate end.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

I'm relieved our benevolent owner rightly refused this idiotic idea, with him not being in it for the money.

 

Thanks for the scoreboard - Greedier men would have rather put up a hideous logo of their cheap tat company in a very prominent place on the Gallowgate end.

 

You're right.  We were the only club out of 20 to back it as an idea.

 

Its a great idea for all the clubs, but a bad idea for the fans.  But will our opinion count?  Probably not.  Will ticket sales suffer? Probably not.  Will it mean we have more money to spend? Definately.

 

If they decide to do it, we'll just have to live with it.  No amount of silly facebook groups is likely to change that.

[Thespence]

I wonder what will happen if the likes Fulham or Wigan get more fans abroad, would they look to move

[Guest optimistic nit]

its an absolutely diabolical idea. set aside the fact that this is completely motivated by money and playing 39 games a season is just plain stupid (38 is equally stupid as it means that 10 teams will play 18 home games and 10 will play 19 home games, which is completely unfair) seeding the draw only means that the 'bigger' teams will have more of an advantage over the smaller teams, seperating more. i'm really pissed off about this. just keep the premierleague in england. if you want a seperate tournement to run aside the fa cup and premier leauge (just scrap the carling cup, its shite) then that may be more workable.

[Taylor Swift]

Speaking from the perspective of a Far East "Glory Hunter," I don't want this either.

 

Our domestic leagues are having a hard enough time as it is trying to interest people who just want to watch the Premiership on the telly. What happens when the Premiership now actually comes in for a weekend every year, steals our stadia from our hometown clubs, and start a media circus which will no doubt leave any interest in the domestic league swept up in the dust.

 

I love Newcastle United and the Premier League too, but who do they think they are, saying that they'll just barge in and hold competetive games here with no regard for what we think. It's not like American football which basically isn't played outside of the US, these foreign countries have leageus and tems of their own. And if the Prem thinks that we're goign to drop everything and open up our stadia for them whenever they decide to waltz, in, they are sadly mistaken. We aren't beggars ffs.

 

The Japanese FA has already issued a condemnation of the proposal, and I'd be highly disappointed if the Korean FA didn't soon follow.

 

So English fans don't want it, and foreign fans don't want it. The only ones who want it are the walnut-for-brains glory hunters who follow Man U/Arsenal but would be hard pressed to name a single player from any other Prem team, and the club owners who seek to make money off those unfortunate souls.

 

Bad idea.

 

Tbf oldtype, how many strong Asian leagues are there? I reckon the Japanese one is the strongest, and then you have the middle-eastern leagues (Al-ahli etc.) and the Korean league. What other leagues are there? The Chinese league is wank and most of the leagues in South-east Asia are of the same low quality. Trust me, there are many knowledgable football folk in and around Asia who will receive the clubs with open arms. And with regards to the Australian league, it's really not a priority seeing as Rubgy and Aussie Rules are more popular.

 

But, we all have a different perspective anyway. For someone like me who's gonna be heading back after university/couple yrs of work, then I like this idea because it'll give me a bigger chance of getting to see us play competitively without having to visit England/Europe. So as a fan, I welcome this idea.

[bobbydazzla]

it's a fucking shite idea.

 

just another example of how the money men and global corporations are raping our national game.

 

if the global fans want to experience a premiership game then they should get their fucking arses over to England and pay to watch a game like everyone else has to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest batfink0]

Lerner spells out the home truths

EXCLUSIVE By RALPH ELLIS and NEIL MOXEY - More by this author » Last updated at 21:47pm on 12th February 2008

 

 

Aston Villa's American owner Randy Lerner is against the plan to take the Premier League around the world.

 

The billionaire boss of the MBNA Bank was not at last week's London meeting when chief executive Richard Scudamore spelled out his controversial Premier League plan for a '39th game' to create a platform for global expansion.

 

Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner

 

Staying power: English football must only be played in England, says Lerner

 

 

 

So far Villa have not made an official comment because they do not want to break ranks with the other 19 clubs who voted to explore the idea.

 

But the message from Lerner is that somebody will have to make a very convincing argument for him to change his stance that English football should be played in England.

 

He backs up his views in the sort of marketing speak that Scudamore and his Premier League cronies will understand: 'The core value of the Premier League brand is the passion of the supporters who follow it.'

 

Lerner, who also owns American Football side the Cleveland Browns, spoke out in October against shifting match venues.

 

In the run-up to the NFL game at Wembley between Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, he said: 'I wouldn't be comfortable with Villa v Manchester United, for instance, being played in Cleveland or New York or Beijing.

 

'You go to Goodison or Villa Park or St James' and the environment is vital. You take two teams and don't have the home fans — and don't have what is brought by the fans who have travelled — then you're dismantling something. I find that concerning.'

 

Sportsmail has led opposition to Scudamore's campaign and Lerner, who has invested heavily in restoring Villa's tradition and history, is the first significant club owner to spell out the reasons why it is a bad idea.

 

Lerner said: 'The soul of English football is characterised by tradition.'

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=513965&in_page_id=1779&ito=1490

[merlin]

Speaking from the perspective of a Far East "Glory Hunter," I don't want this either.

 

Our domestic leagues are having a hard enough time as it is trying to interest people who just want to watch the Premiership on the telly. What happens when the Premiership now actually comes in for a weekend every year, steals our stadia from our hometown clubs, and start a media circus which will no doubt leave any interest in the domestic league swept up in the dust.

 

I love Newcastle United and the Premier League too, but who do they think they are, saying that they'll just barge in and hold competetive games here with no regard for what we think. It's not like American football which basically isn't played outside of the US, these foreign countries have leageus and tems of their own. And if the Prem thinks that we're goign to drop everything and open up our stadia for them whenever they decide to waltz, in, they are sadly mistaken. We aren't beggars ffs.

 

The Japanese FA has already issued a condemnation of the proposal, and I'd be highly disappointed if the Korean FA didn't soon follow.

 

So English fans don't want it, and foreign fans don't want it. The only ones who want it are the walnut-for-brains glory hunters who follow Man U/Arsenal but would be hard pressed to name a single player from any other Prem team, and the club owners who seek to make money off those unfortunate souls.

 

Bad idea.

 

Tbf oldtype, how many strong Asian leagues are there? I reckon the Japanese one is the strongest, and then you have the middle-eastern leagues (Al-ahli etc.) and the Korean league. What other leagues are there? The Chinese league is w*** and most of the leagues in South-east Asia are of the same low quality. Trust me, there are many knowledgable football folk in and around Asia who will receive the clubs with open arms. And with regards to the Australian league, it's really not a priority seeing as Rubgy and Aussie Rules are more popular.

 

But, we all have a different perspective anyway. For someone like me who's gonna be heading back after university/couple yrs of work, then I like this idea because it'll give me a bigger chance of getting to see us play competitively without having to visit England/Europe. So as a fan, I welcome this idea.

 

You are totally wrong about football in Australia - Aussie Rules and Rugby have been heavily-backed by the Aussie media, but there are now more kids playing football at school than the other two codes - the interest is great and growing ; World Cup ties etc draw crowds over 50,000 and in one qualifier at Melbourne they had 96,000 in the MCG...think again - there will eventually be more really good players from Oz and only its geographical position makes players leave for Europe.

[oldtype]

Speaking from the perspective of a Far East "Glory Hunter," I don't want this either.

 

Our domestic leagues are having a hard enough time as it is trying to interest people who just want to watch the Premiership on the telly. What happens when the Premiership now actually comes in for a weekend every year, steals our stadia from our hometown clubs, and start a media circus which will no doubt leave any interest in the domestic league swept up in the dust.

 

I love Newcastle United and the Premier League too, but who do they think they are, saying that they'll just barge in and hold competetive games here with no regard for what we think. It's not like American football which basically isn't played outside of the US, these foreign countries have leageus and tems of their own. And if the Prem thinks that we're goign to drop everything and open up our stadia for them whenever they decide to waltz, in, they are sadly mistaken. We aren't beggars ffs.

 

The Japanese FA has already issued a condemnation of the proposal, and I'd be highly disappointed if the Korean FA didn't soon follow.

 

So English fans don't want it, and foreign fans don't want it. The only ones who want it are the walnut-for-brains glory hunters who follow Man U/Arsenal but would be hard pressed to name a single player from any other Prem team, and the club owners who seek to make money off those unfortunate souls.

 

Bad idea.

 

Tbf oldtype, how many strong Asian leagues are there? I reckon the Japanese one is the strongest, and then you have the middle-eastern leagues (Al-ahli etc.) and the Korean league. What other leagues are there? The Chinese league is w*** and most of the leagues in South-east Asia are of the same low quality. Trust me, there are many knowledgable football folk in and around Asia who will receive the clubs with open arms. And with regards to the Australian league, it's really not a priority seeing as Rubgy and Aussie Rules are more popular.

 

But, we all have a different perspective anyway. For someone like me who's gonna be heading back after university/couple yrs of work, then I like this idea because it'll give me a bigger chance of getting to see us play competitively without having to visit England/Europe. So as a fan, I welcome this idea.

 

The Japanese League is very strong, probably on par with some of the mid-tier European Leagues. They have a solid two-tiered(J-League and J2-League) system in place and most teams seem to have solid youth development programs. Matches for the most popular teams usually sell out. Clubs like Urawa Reds (who were in the Club WC this year) are legendary for their amazing support.

 

The Korean League actually usually has stronger teams (they consistently beat the Japanese in continental competition) but the institutions are a lot weaker. The league is three tiered (K-League, N-League, and K3-League) and while a promotion system was instituted two years back, no lower tier club has actually successfully promoted itself to the top flight yet. (They don't have the required stadia, can't handle matchday expenses etc.) Youth development is also pretty suspect, although to be fair youth athletes in Korea are usually developed at schools like they are in America. Attendances for most top-flight teams is pretty weak (less than ten thousand for most.) Although about three~four teams get 10,000~20,000 and the derby match between the league's two best supported teams usually draws 50,000+. Of course, our international matches usually sell out no matter what and draw by far the most fervent support that I have seen at any sporting event period, so the interest in football is certainly there.

 

I know very little about the A-League but I've heard that it's doing quite well.

 

Similarly I have no idea what the middle eastern leagues are actually like but they will always maintain a pretty high standard of football just by using their oil dollars to bring in top players. Statistically I think team's form the Saudi Arabian league have the best record of any country in Asia for continental club competitions.

[Thespence]

Since this prick is called Richard can everyone pleaes call him Dick form now on.

[S.S.R.]

Lerner spells out the home truths

EXCLUSIVE By RALPH ELLIS and NEIL MOXEY - More by this author » Last updated at 21:47pm on 12th February 2008

 

 

Aston Villa's American owner Randy Lerner is against the plan to take the Premier League around the world.

 

The billionaire boss of the MBNA Bank was not at last week's London meeting when chief executive Richard Scudamore spelled out his controversial Premier League plan for a '39th game' to create a platform for global expansion.

 

Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner

 

Staying power: English football must only be played in England, says Lerner

 

 

 

So far Villa have not made an official comment because they do not want to break ranks with the other 19 clubs who voted to explore the idea.

 

But the message from Lerner is that somebody will have to make a very convincing argument for him to change his stance that English football should be played in England.

 

He backs up his views in the sort of marketing speak that Scudamore and his Premier League cronies will understand: 'The core value of the Premier League brand is the passion of the supporters who follow it.'

 

Lerner, who also owns American Football side the Cleveland Browns, spoke out in October against shifting match venues.

 

In the run-up to the NFL game at Wembley between Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, he said: 'I wouldn't be comfortable with Villa v Manchester United, for instance, being played in Cleveland or New York or Beijing.

 

'You go to Goodison or Villa Park or St James' and the environment is vital. You take two teams and don't have the home fans — and don't have what is brought by the fans who have travelled — then you're dismantling something. I find that concerning.'

 

Sportsmail has led opposition to Scudamore's campaign and Lerner, who has invested heavily in restoring Villa's tradition and history, is the first significant club owner to spell out the reasons why it is a bad idea.

 

Lerner said: 'The soul of English football is characterised by tradition.'

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=513965&in_page_id=1779&ito=1490

 

Pontius Pilate washing his hands of it.

 

Doing nowt to stop it, but voicing his disapproval. If it gets cancelled, he's a hero; if it doesn't, he's still a hero and rakes in the money like everyone else.

[Guest alex]

Great news from the head of the Asian Confederation, so far anyway. Financial pressure may change his view I fear.