English Premiership

[Big Boy]

guess wrote:

is considering buying Plymouth Argyle with a 500,000,000 Euro budget.

If you changed Euro to baht, and lost 3 zeros you'd probably be closer to the mark. As a lifelong supporter of real football, disappointment is in my blood - it felt really good last season finishing in mid-table of the Championship after such a bad start (I think the only team they could beat up until Christmas was Reading). All of that achieved on a shoestring.

Believe it or not, I think that is the way every team should survive - at the start of each season they should be given the same budget on which to survive. That way, everybody has the same chance. Spending millions of pounds to guarantee success is not really sport. Unfortunately, the so called supporters (making the chairman even richer) of these teams seem to forget that its not the local team that's doing well, its the overpaid imported mercenaries that are winning.


I could probably send my wife down to the market to shop against your wife to see who could do the best deals - if they had the same budget, one would almost certainly win the contest of buying the best bargains. If I sent my wife out with 20Baht, and you sent your wife with 1000Baht, your wife should get the best quality, but it would not necessarily make her the best shopper. Its all relative, but probably just as exciting as being a Chelsea supporter.

[chelsea]

Big Boy, I would suggest that in the Chelsea squad, we have a least 5 of the present England Squad (Terry, Bridge, Lampard, J Cole, Wright- Phillips) and possibly Ashly Cole in the future.
Ok not all play every week, but with all of the years commitments, it is now a heavily based squad game, more than in previous times when the same players played every week, and other players only sitting on the bench until injuries allow them a game.

Compare that to Arsenal, I think that other than Ashley Cole, the only other English Player that is in the squad is Theo Wallcott (who they are now thinking of loaning out for a season). There is a team, that obviously has no youth policy now to bring on English players into the league

Even before the Special One took over, it was Claudio Raniere's idea to base the rebuilding of Chelsea around the best of England's younger players, that was why he went out and bought Lampard & J Cole, Bridge & Wright Phillips to add to the like of John Terry and other players who have since moved on.

Not all of the foreign players that have been signed by the club have made the transition to the premier league, but the ones that have, I think have really improved the overall performance of the team and the standard of the Premier League as a spectator sport.

In relation to relegation this year, in no particular order
Watford, Aston Villa & Charlton

Keep the Blue Flag Flying High,
Flying High Up in the Sky

[Big Boy]

Chelsea,

You seem to be missing the point completely. All that the 'Special One' is doing is buying success. With the money he's spent, if he's not successful, then he deserves to be put up against a wall and shot; and yes, I know many have failed before him. I'm not having a go Chelsea in particular, its football as a whole.

The rich simply get richer, while the rest just struggle along.

All that I'm saying is make every club work on the same budget each season, and you'll soon find out where the best footballers come from. If deprived of overpaid mercenaries, whether from just up the road like Ashley Cole, or from the other side of the world, we'd soon see how good Chelsea or Manchester United really were. Teams would be forced to develop their youngsters just to survive.

Of course, I'm missing the point as well - without Chelsea to launder his dirty money through, Roman would be forced to go elsewhere.

And you think Reading will survive? They even struggled against my team last season at a time when they couldn't have beaten a team of schoolkids.

[Big Boy]

Chelsea,

I've just sent you an e-mail which you might find interesting.

[chelsea]

Big Boy, got the email just now, just out of interest, Greg Norman's boat was built in Freemantle Port at one of the local boatyards here just out of Perth.
There is any old saying, if youve got it flaunt it. I think that email backs up that statement 100%.

Here in Australia, the National Football League was started again under completley new management after about a 2 year break last year.

They have basically made it one team per state now instead of Melbourne and Sydney having the monoply of most of the teams, thus taking out most of the reasons for crowd violence over at the game where you had Greek teams playing Macedonian Teams, Croats v Serbs etc.

The teams compete under a salary cap (same as they do here with the Aussie Rules and Rugby League) of I think 1 Million AUD per club.
Last year you had Dwight Yorke playing for Sydney (taking up most of their salary cap).

The end result of the 1st year was the fact that Sydney won the compotition, most clubs exceeded all expectations of crowd figures, the league got the backing of Foxtel as a regular supplier of cable TV coverage and the grand final with a sell out crowd of more than 40,000 at the Sydney Footbal Ground.

So what you are saying has definitley worked here last year.
Coupled with the success of the Aussies at the World Cup (only failing to the dodgyist of penalties against Italy), it will be very interesting to see how the crowds go this year.

Whether it would work in the UK in the premier league, I do not think so. If they were to bring a salary cap into the Premier League, all we would see would be a mass exedus of players (English Included) to other countries in the world that are still prepaired to pay the money that people want to be paid, and I think we would be left with a very inferior product to watch each week.

That would not only apply to the Premier League, you only have to look at the Championship Squads and the other leagues below, they are full of non English players, so in the end all of the leagues will suffer.

All that has happened is that there are some new players entered into the ownership stakes over the last few years and the playing field has now changed from the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd, then Arsenal and now with Chelsea leading the way.

If there were a few more Roman's around willing to put their money into the game, it could make things a bit intersting.
I do have to give him his due, he attends most of the games and seems to visibly enjoy his involvement and his investment with the club.

You only have to look at Man Utd's Yankie buyer, I think that you could count the games that he has attended on one hand since he bought into the club and would doubt very much whether the players ever have any contact with him on a personal level (something that is completley different in the Chelsea set up).

Anyway, good luck to Plymouth this year, you never know, you may be celebrating at the end of the season.

[Jim]

Big Boy - a bit harsh on my boys, I think. I had the pleasure of watching both games last season and we actually played much better in the game you won. The one at Home Park was a lousy game on a cold day and bumpy pitch - proper English football - enlived only by the goal of the season, IMHO. And congratulations on the support at the Mad Stad - Plymouth always have the best away support of the season.

You should do OK with Olly this year. I shouldnt say this as I'm based in Exeter these days, but good luck.

[caller]

And Big Boy, don't forget that some of us have been long suffering blues fans for many years!

I grew up as a kid with the the team of Ossie, Harris, Bonetti et al. I wasn't allowed to go to the 70 cup final as I was too young, although I got a ticket.

I saw Chelsea lose at the 73 League Cup final to Stoke, I went to every home game that season.

My first away game out of town (London) was at Wolves - we got beat 7-0. The rot had long set in. I saw us lose at every crappy ground in the Country. I've been to a lot of grounds and have done my time at the Bridge. Was even a steward when it was a voluntary thing to do.

There are a lot like me that still (somehow) go regularly (I don't). But when I do its with a mate I went with as a kid to that League cup final game. In the pubs before the game, I know where to find other mates I went with as a kid - from primary school.

Some of us feel we've earned the success we now have and can enjoy it. Would I still support them without it - of course I would. Its in the blood. Grandfather, Dad, me. The two before me born within spitting distance of the ground. A then solid working class area of Fulham.

Don't begrudge the long standing fans this 15 minutes worth. The game will continue to evolve with more fiefdoms of the mega rich being created, its happened at Portsmouth, it could be coming to you soon!

[Guess]

The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) managed to stop the "progress" in the brewing industry and enable all of us to have a real pint.

Perhaps a campaign to retore soccer to its roots might be the thing. I can just imagine West Ham and Milwall supports travelling down to watch their team play a Plymouth. None of the players shoiuld be paid and all should have proper jobs like fishing and farminmg and Cider should be handed out by rosey cheeked buxom whenches at half time.

[Bamboo Grove]

BTW Chelsea, Chelsea were the first team to field 11 players out of whom none were British. As for Arsenal, they are buying mainly young talent with a fraction of the cost of what Chelskea spend.

[Teabone]

I can't help thinking that Manchester City could be up for it this year, they might even get to be second - below Manchester United who will romp home.
I also can't help thinking that I should put more ice in whatever it is I have been drinking.

Heres hoping for a good seasons entertainment.

Teabone

[Guess]

West Ham will be runners-up to Arsenal

I missed this one the first time. It ios my fault for not properly qualifying the question. The question was reagrding the first teams not the ladies teams.

[chelsea]

Bamboo you may be right in the fact that we may have been the 1st to field a side with no British players in the team, but not on a regular basis like Arsenal
Other than Ashley Cole & Walcott I am not aware of any other English players in your squad, and as for buying mainly young talent at a fraction of the cost of what Chelsea spend, most of them are all overseas players.
I looked at Chelsea's reserve squad after my last post and would say that about 75% of them are all English.
Whether any of them make the grade (who knows), but at least the intention to keep trying to produce home grown talent is more than evident at Chelsea.

[Huahinian]

Only Chelsea has had a go at the relegation candidates and he puts Charlton on his list. As a lifelong Charlton supporter, I cannot agree - my strength, ever ebbing, will keep them up!

[chelsea]

Huahinian, my reason for adding Charlton to the relegation candidates is because after years of stability in the management team, Curbishley has now gone and with a new management regime, I think that it could unsettle the players.
It could be very hard for them after playing under one manager for so long, to adapt to the new ideas and tactics that the new management team brings to the Valley.
I was very supprised with the choice of manager, as I thought that they would have gone for a more high profile and experienced manager to carry on the good work that Curbishley had done in his years at Charlton.
For your sake I hope that I am wrong, but only time will tell.

[Huahinian]

Chelsea, I understand your reasons and, to some extent, share them. Charlton have done a fantastic job in reviving a bankrupt club and their financial management is to be applauded. I believe this thinking has prevented them going for a high profile manager.