[Archived] Premier League Of Misery

[philipl]

This Everton article pretty neatly sums up the Premier League.

Mind you its not just the fans of the Bottom 16 that are suffering with how things are:

Arsenal fans are upset after three trophy-less years, Liverpool fans are trophyless and living a script straight out of Brookside and Chelsea could end up trophyless, Drogba-less and awaiting another new manager.

In the ultimate of ironies in 06/7, Chelsea won both domestic cups, were runners-up in the Premiership, semi-finalists in the CL and yet most of their supporters and the media considered it to be a season of failure which ultimately caused Mourinho his job!

The fact that the normally-elusive Scudamore rushed into the media the moment KK said the EPL is boring conformed that even the EPL knows it is boring, failing as a sporting competition and increasingly in danger of losing its ability to draw the media. The challenge for the EPL is to clip the claws of the Top 4 to restore itself as a true source of entertainment derived from sporting endeavour.

Here's hoping the two cup competitions going outside the Top 4 is a sign of things to come.

[thenodrog]

Wow that comes as a suprise!

C'mon Philip dos this really need a new thread? We're all well aware of the stupid situation that footballs authorities and money men have reduced our 'First Div' to, and have discussed it at length many times. Even Brian Barwick has publically commented in the imbalance just last month. I've even remarked (to eddie ... I think) that in 'real' terms once the Fantasy Island 4some are discounted lil ol BRFC finished 3rd best team in the land this year.

If there is to be an improvement here are two facts to ponder..

1. In my formative years of the 1960's 9 teams won the top prize in just eleven years.

2. At one marvellous point towards the end of last season ONLY the supporters of QPR knew that they would definitely be playing in the Championship the following year!

The Prem has a lot to learn.

[Mattyblue]

Taking on that point, we all know the quality of football in the Championsip can be poor at times (to say the least) however it has something the Premier League has long lost- competitiveness.

Though I see some of the world's greatest players gracing Ewood Park, it leaves me with such a hollow feeling. We as a club have no chance of providing a home for such players and have ZERO chance of emulating the success of 4 clubs. The last few weeks of the Championship season saw game after game selling out without the need for star players or free flowing football, but because success was on the horizon for their clubs.

[USABlue]

Taking on that point, we all know the quality of football in the Championsip can be poor at times (to say the least) however it has something the Premier League has long lost- competitiveness.

Though I see some of the world's greatest players gracing Ewood Park, it leaves me with such a hollow feeling. We as a club have no chance of providing a home for such players and have ZERO chance of emulating the success of 4 clubs. The last few weeks of the Championship season saw game after game selling out without the need for star players or free flowing football, but because success was on the horizon for their clubs.

Oh goody, here's a plan then. Next season let's make everyone happy and get relegated. Over the years success on the horizon was what kept the few Rovers fans coming back, all 8K of them. Would we sell out with "success" on the horizon. We had success on the horizon THIS season, till the last game, and it was a bloody MOANFEST on here. Nowt wrong with the prem, it's the bloody spoiled fans that are some of the problem.

[yoda]

Oh goody, here's a plan then. Next season let's make everyone happy and get relegated. Over the years success on the horizon was what kept the few Rovers fans coming back, all 8K of them. Would we sell out with "success" on the horizon. We had success on the horizon THIS season, till the last game, and it was a bloody MOANFEST on here. Nowt wrong with the prem, it's the bloody spoiled fans that are some of the problem.

some people don't understand the concept of challenge USABlue, some of the moaners should have had a taste of being relegated to div 3, then they might realise just how lucky they are to be supporting Blackburn Rovers in the top league in the world!

The so called top 4 will not be the top 4 for ever, look what happened to manu after Busby stepped down, Forest after Clough, Leeds after Revie etc etc.

[philipl]

There is an element of fans being "spoilt" and I doubt any of the moaners would seriously swap Premiership football for the standards I saw in the two Palace v Bristol and one Watford v Hull games I have recently witnessed.

My point in starting the thread with that Everton comment is that the moaning is happening at EVERY Prem Club and that the current Prem set-up is upsetting about 90% of its customers because at least half the top 4 fans are moaning as well and looking at an unusually uncertain summer for their clubs.

[OscarRaven]

So let me get this right you can't be against the obvious decreasing competitiveness of the premier league becuase it might mean we get relegated?

Its good for us, lets not rock the boat? Anything other than relegation is a good season? 7th and contesting the mighty intertoto - fantastic season?

We do well in the current climate but the current climate is wrong, anti-competititive and quite frankly not sporting in any way.

So sign me up to the moaners who clearly want us to live in the dark ages.... there is an alternative I will point out.

[S15]

We do well in the current climate but the current climate is wrong, anti-competititive and quite frankly not sporting in any way.

I think that's right.

[yoda]

So let me get this right you can't be against the obvious decreasing competitiveness of the premier league becuase it might mean we get relegated?

Its good for us, lets not rock the boat? Anything other than relegation is a good season? 7th and contesting the mighty intertoto - fantastic season?

We do well in the current climate but the current climate is wrong, anti-competititive and quite frankly not sporting in any way.

So sign me up to the moaners who clearly want us to live in the dark ages.... there is an alternative I will point out.

OK, how would you make it competitive?

[S15]

I think one of two things could work, or certainly help..

1. Each team can only register a certain amount of players eligable for the league, say 25. This 25 can only be changed during the Transfer window.

2. Each team only aloud a certain amount of transfers per year, and you decide how many you use in each window. Ie, you have 6 transfers, you can use them all in one window if you wish, etc etc.

Both these being implimented I think would certainly make teams think more about signings, and would increase the chances of Rovers signing players like Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell and SWP, or those players never leaving their clubs in the first place. This would allow clubs like Rovers to build squads and teams that can sustain success over a long period, withour big clubs nabbing their top players willy nilly.

[bluebruce]

A very strange time to go on a moan about how English football is uncompetitive and dominated by the Big Four, when both domestic cups have just been won by teams that finished 8th and 11th.

[Blackpool_Rover]

If you think the league is getting boring you wanna try having a season ticket in the czech premier league...it may cost 27 quid but its like watching paint dry.

The only way i can see it improving is if they brought in some sort of wage cap. It would be brilliant...the fact is clubs like ours are never going to be able to draw players ahead of the big boys because 99% of them are only interested in money.

[bluebruce]

The only way i can see it improving is if they brought in some sort of wage cap. It would be brilliant...the fact is clubs like ours are never going to be able to draw players ahead of the big boys because 99% of them are only interested in money.

That's unlikely to work since all the talk about wage caps is linked to club turnover. Thus we wouldn't benefit at all, since the big boys have huge turnover and would continue thrashing us on high wages. Maybe if they did it so that no player could earn more than 30k a week, we'd be sorted. But they won't, and we wouldn't be able to attract the big stars to the English league anymore.

[OscarRaven]

OK, how would you make it competitive?

I have a number of ideas ranging from the reasonable to off the wall, such as the more equal distribution of wealth amongst ALL clubs to centralised player contracts and a NFL stlye draft.

I don't feel my ideas are particulary novel and to be fair anything that disconects money from influencing sporting success will do the trick.

Is that not what clubs want? money to keep rather than constantly fritter on transfers and wages?

[ABBEY]

how would a draft work? where would the college kids come from?imagine the best young player being drfted by wrexham.

[bluebruce]

how would a draft work? where would the college kids come from?imagine the best young player being drfted by wrexham.

Cool?

[ABBEY]

or how wrexham could afford to pay him £150,000 a week?

[brian_gallagher85]

A very strange time to go on a moan about how English football is uncompetitive and dominated by the Big Four, when both domestic cups have just been won by teams that finished 8th and 11th.

Never mind the Premiership being dominated by them, how must the rest of Europe be felling when 3 of them made the Semis of the Champions League?

[philipl]

The hunger for 24 hour news in football also causes a huge amount of unrest whereas previously transfers were a case of waking up and reading in the paper that a player had been transferred, or offered for sale or there was a bid in for him and the milkman has not been paid.

Now we have

When Manager A (Guardiola) eventually takes over from Manager B (Rijkaard) at Club C (Barcelona) he will probably sell players D (Henry), E (Gudjohnsen), F (Ronaldinho) and G (Deco) which means he will need to replace them. He might approach club H (Arsenal) whose Manager I (Wenger) doesn't want to sell player J (Adebayor) who may or may not want to leave depending on how I's budget of £50m is divided between new players and more wages for himself (J). If J joins A at C after D, E, F and G have been sold by A (to clubs X, Y, Z and Alpha Centora), then Manager I might go to club K (Blackburn Rovers) to buy player L (Roque Santa Cruz) who has said he is really happy at K and actually sounds like he means it. However, the supporters of club K are still going to get into a mighty big fret about it and the phrases "don't let the door slam behind you" and "I'll drive you down myself" will be uttered by some who are 1) the worse for drink, or 2) cannot be bothered to read the small print but get wound up by red top headlines, or 3) are so cheesed off with the whole thing they just say the first negative phrase that comes into their head.

[Florida Rover]

Brilliant summation of the current status. Quite ridiculous isn't it?

[USABlue]

OK, how would you make it competitive?

A good start would be to make sure the laws of the game are applied fairly and equally to all teams. HEy how about if you are unsure of a decision, give to the little guy instead of the big fish

I think the prem is quite competetive. Chelsea could become another also ran anytime Roman pulls his money. Liverpool are in turmoil, anything could happen. Had they not shelled out the big bucks for Torres, which with hindsight is money well spent, the could have finished mid table. Man U and Arse are here for a while but I think if the other teams are given their fair share of breaks someone could break in there.

Look at the other leagues abroad, they all have dominant dynasties. They have been so for a lot longer than Man U, remember it's not that long since Liverpool won everything so things change. I foresee soon a smaller team breaking into the big 4, and with the right purchases for the playing staff, luck with reffin and injuries I see no reason it could not be us.

[philipl]

But isn't the Fair Play League an unwitting yet simple statement and accurate measurement of the institutional bias in the refereeing of the game?

Unlike other teams (such as Manchester United), I am struggling to think of a single really viscious/dirty tackle/foul committed by a Rovers player this season. Equally, Rovers were supposedly most fouling/most fouled against in the Premier League but I did not see the Rovers involved in a single dirty or difficult to referee game all season.

I have seen certain referees destroy games at Ewood as a spectacle with a veritable whistle fest of picky decisions.

[Jason Rover]

But isn't the Fair Play League an unwitting yet simple statement and accurate measurement of the institutional bias in the refereeing of the game?

too early for all that mate ..

err ill agree tho

[philipl]

Ok, put it another way. Ask most supporters which clubs play the fairest and no way would they come up with the Fair Play league table.

Ask supporters of Premier League teams which clubs get the most beneficial treatment from officials, I bet it looks like this:

Spurs

Liverpool

Man U

Arsenal

at the top and

Derby

Brum

Bolton

Boro

Rovers

at the bottom which is actually how the Fairplay league table ended.

In other words the Fairplay league confirms that there is favouritism by officials and actually measures the extent to which clubs are favoured.

[thenodrog]

Ok, put it another way. Ask most supporters which clubs play the fairest and no way would they come up with the Fair Play league table.

Ask supporters of Premier League teams which clubs get the most beneficial treatment from officials, I bet it looks like this:

Spurs

Liverpool

Man U

Arsenal

at the top and

Derby

Brum

Bolton

Boro

Rovers

at the bottom which is actually how the Fairplay league table ended.

In other words the Fairplay league confirms that there is favouritism by officials and actually measures the extent to which clubs are favoured.

I know of no other team's players better than BRFC's at getting up, shaking hands and getting on with it, after a foul challenge. So many other players scream and roll around feigning injury in obvious attempts to get the ref to card the opposition players. Prob is it nearly always works..... but of course thats not reflected in that daft table either. We make the refs job so much easier yet get little recognition apart from some stupid stat that our players are actually most disrespectful! It should be a joke but it's wearing too thin.

btw Did RSC get his yellow rescinded by Webb after reviewing the vid? He should have! ..... And at that stage of the match Webb might just have cost us European football next season or handed it to Villa on a plate... depending on ones point of view.