Liverpool wanting to negotiate own TV deal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2048026/Liverpool-want-sell-TV-rights.html

Liverpool are talking about wanting to negotiate their own overseas tv deal, using the example of Barcelona and Real Madrid they say they don't want to be left behind.

If they havn't noticed every season Barca and Real are miles clear and the other teams struggle to pay their players and survive and compete. I'm a Man Utd fan and we are one of the most popular cubs around the world and would probably make more than the rest of the league but I really don't like the idea as one of the things that sets the PL apart is the collectivity of the clubs in moving forward and decision making.

This is a typically selfish attitude of LFC really, they no longer get the Champions League money, and no longer have one of the biggest grounds, and therefore can't compete financially with the likes of Man U, Arsenal, City, Chelsea etc; to to combat that, they want to move the goalposts.

However, despite this being an ideal opportunity to have a go at LFC, they are of course, are one of the two biggest teams in the country, and have a massive world wide following, so they would instantly and dramitcally increase their income - The PL is massive abroad and Liverpool and Man U are the teams everyone wants to see - as the OP says, look at Spain as your example of what happens!

But what about everyone else? What about Wigan, Bolton etc, in fairness nobody (expect Bolton, Wigan fans) would watch them, so they will lose out, surely?

Well, aside from Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, City and maybe SPurs, the gap between the top 6 teams and the rest of the league will be almost infinite, and if this is allowed to go through, we will almost definately see a Eurpoean Super League and as a result, the almost death of British league football.

It has already happened in Scotland, obviously on a lesser financial scale, but it wil end up happening to the PL, if this type of deal is allowed!

JDandfries wrote:This is a typically selfish attitude of LFC really, they no longer get the Champions League money, and no longer have one of the biggest grounds, and therefore can't compete financially with the likes of Man U, Arsenal, City, Chelsea etc; to to combat that, they want to move the goalposts.

However, despite this being an ideal opportunity to have a go at LFC, they are of course, are one of the two biggest teams in the country, and have a massive world wide following, so they would instantly and dramitcally increase their income - The PL is massive abroad and Liverpool and Man U are the teams everyone wants to see - as the OP says, look at Spain as your example of what happens!

But what about everyone else? What about Wigan, Bolton etc, in fairness nobody (expect Bolton, Wigan fans) would watch them, so they will lose out, surely?

Well, aside from Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, City and maybe SPurs, the gap between the top 6 teams and the rest of the league will be almost infinite, and if this is allowed to go through, we will almost definately see a Eurpoean Super League and as a result, the almost death of British league football.

It has already happened in Scotland, obviously on a lesser financial scale, but it wil end up happening to the PL, if this type of deal is allowed!

Rrrrrrr didums haha.

Everyone still gets an equal share of British TV rights. As us Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal are the ones up drum up the most support abroad, we should get the lions share and prevent other teams feeding off our success and fan base.

I think it's a great idea and im glad Ian Ayre has pointed out the fact's of the matter. The overseas tv money should be done seperate, as United and Liverpool are so much biggeer than anyone else you then have small clubs like Chelsea recieving money they have'nt earned by living off Liverpool and Uniteds global fanbase. Having said that it will never happen because they need 14 prem league club's to agree and the only club's that will agree are United and Liverpool.

I can see both sides of the coin here. Clubs that do more to promote themselves in far away lands (such as Liverpool, United, Arsenal etc) would undoubtedly want to be compensated for their outlay to make this happen, and the smaller clubs have no real right to say they shouldn't take larger chunks.

On the other side, my own view is that it would make it impossible for smaller clubs to compete with these teams in the PL and it would form an even wider gap than there is between the top 6 and the rest. It clearly paves the way toward a European Super League but until then it leaves 14 clubs fighting for 7th place because they can't supplement their UK income with the foreign money like the big boys.

Conversely, if it doesn't happen, PL teams may find a gap opening up between them and Barca, Real and others.

Rock and a hard place I think.

You see, what I meant about a typically selfish attitude, always moaning about something!

The Premier League is a brand, and that brand is sold abroad, admittedly most people would rather see Liverpool than Wigan (not me), but why should Liverpool get more than others just beacuse of their fan base or history, surely?

Do you not think that this is just an attempt to compete off the field, because they can no longer compete on it?

Just be careful what you wish for, this will end up in a World, or at best Euro Superleague, you would not be able to watch any live games, they would all be played in Japan or China, or wherever pays the most money.

Make no mistake, this would ruin English football, like it has done in Spain and in Scotland, unless of course that is what you want?

The thing is that the bigger clubs have the large numbers of supporters in Asia America etc but without the Wigans and Boltons of this world who would they be playing?
As far as I remember when David Gill was questioned about doing something similar to help pay of the Glazers debts he spoke out against it, because it doesn't affect the domestic deal is irrelvant the Sky and ESPN deal bring in large sums but the overseas deals are worth far more.

How is Spanish footbal ruined??? Barcelona are prob the best club team ever and the Spanish national team is one of the best international team's ever. Spanish football is in a much better state than English football with a lot more Spanish player's playing in the league. The English prem would be nothing without overpaid foregin player's that move form league to league for money.

dublfcynwa wrote:How is Spanish footbal ruined??? Barcelona are prob the best club team ever and the Spanish national team is one of the best international team's ever. Spanish football is in a much better state than English football with a lot more Spanish player's playing in the league. The English prem would be nothing without overpaid foregin player's that move form league to league for money.

Simply beacuse there are only two team in it that can win the league, and that is boring, and exactly as it is in Scotland - which get slated at every opportunity!

I do agree about the foreigners in the PL, but that would only get worse if teams got more money, simply beacuse players are (in the main) all mercinaries and there are very few good english players!!

JDandfries wrote:You see, what I meant about a typically selfish attitude, always moaning about something!

The Premier League is a brand, and that brand is sold abroad, admittedly most people would rather see Liverpool than Wigan (not me), but why should Liverpool get more than others just beacuse of their fan base or history, surely?

Do you not think that this is just an attempt to compete off the field, because they can no longer compete on it?

Just be careful what you wish for, this will end up in a World, or at best Euro Superleague, you would not be able to watch any live games, they would all be played in Japan or China, or wherever pays the most money.

Make no mistake, this would ruin English football, like it has done in Spain and in Scotland, unless of course that is what you want?

And what. People actually SUBSCRIBE to the channel cos of the team the support. So if Liverpool encourages 5,000,000 scriptions comapre to Wigans 50'000, surely we deserve more money. Were the ones goin on the tours of Asia and drumming up support. If they want bigger chunk of the rights, they will have to get off there own ar$es and advertise there team in the foreign lands like we do.

dublfcynwa wrote:I think it's a great idea and im glad Ian Ayre has pointed out the fact's of the matter. The overseas tv money should be done seperate, as United and Liverpool are so much biggeer than anyone else you then have small clubs like Chelsea recieving money they have'nt earned by living off Liverpool and Uniteds global fanbase. Having said that it will never happen because they need 14 prem league club's to agree and the only club's that will agree are United and Liverpool.

agreed

well done ian ayre, at last we can move forward

dublfcynwa wrote:How is Spanish footbal ruined??? Barcelona are prob the best club team ever and the Spanish national team is one of the best international team's ever. Spanish football is in a much better state than English football with a lot more Spanish player's playing in the league. The English prem would be nothing without overpaid foregin player's that move form league to league for money.

Are you kidding me? Last season there were more than 20 points between Real in 2nd and Valencia in 3rd, this seasons La Liga ws delayed because of a strike over the number of players that are going unpaid because there are so many clubs in debt.

The Premier League unlike any other league in the world also give part of the TV money to the lower leagues how will this end up affecting them? They struggle enough as it is

Lets not pretend Liverpool need to go to Asia to drum up support, or that if they do it's any hardship to the club or the players.

What you are failing to see is how this will affect the game in England,

Who will Liverpool have to play against if this type of thing is allowed?

Would clubs like Wigan even exist?

As I said before, this is very selfish and short sighted and can only end up badly for every other team bar the two biggest clubs who are massive in Asia and the rest of the World (Man U and Liverpool) or those who have a sugar daddy (Chelsea and Man City).

If this goes ahead, there will be some sort of super league in a few years and you will ONLY be able to watch Liverpool on TV, beacuse all the games will be played abroad, where the money is - Would you be ok with that SOldier??

marty2086 wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:How is Spanish footbal ruined??? Barcelona are prob the best club team ever and the Spanish national team is one of the best international team's ever. Spanish football is in a much better state than English football with a lot more Spanish player's playing in the league. The English prem would be nothing without overpaid foregin player's that move form league to league for money.

Are you kidding me? Last season there were more than 20 points between Real in 2nd and Valencia in 3rd, this seasons La Liga ws delayed because of a strike over the number of players that are going unpaid because there are so many clubs in debt.

The Premier League unlike any other league in the world also give part of the TV money to the lower leagues how will this end up affecting them? They struggle enough as it is

Exactly - glad to see someone without blinkers on!

Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

I can understand Liverpool wanting to try and keep up with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the finacial stakes and i do think its not right that the Spanish league are allowed to sort there own tv rights out . However i wouldn't like to see the Premiership follow suit .

Dont get me wrong i want my club to be the most successful they can be , but not at the expense of the English game .

If this TV deal is allowed to happen the so called smaller clubs would obviously receive less income making them less competative . The Big clubs get bigger and the league becomes stale eventually the Big clubs will all get together and form a European Superleague all because of greed !!( sorry im going into a rant ) .

Money has ruined football imo , from inflated transfer fees to ridiculous player wages .

marty2086 wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:How is Spanish footbal ruined??? Barcelona are prob the best club team ever and the Spanish national team is one of the best international team's ever. Spanish football is in a much better state than English football with a lot more Spanish player's playing in the league. The English prem would be nothing without overpaid foregin player's that move form league to league for money.

Are you kidding me? Last season there were more than 20 points between Real in 2nd and Valencia in 3rd, this seasons La Liga ws delayed because of a strike over the number of players that are going unpaid because there are so many clubs in debt.

The Premier League unlike any other league in the world also give part of the TV money to the lower leagues how will this end up affecting them? They struggle enough as it is

The debt of Spanish clubs is because their economy if fooked and no bank in thier right mind will lend the club's in debt any more money. The bank's are still throwing money at English club's that are in debt otherwise they would be same in the same trouble as the debt ridden Spanish club's.

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

Not at all.

In Spain 2010/11 there were 21 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 34 points seperating 1st from 4th (47 points seperating the top 8)
In Spain 2009/10 there were 25 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 36 points seperating 1st from 4th (45 points seperating the top 8)

In the Pl 2010/11 there were 0 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 12 points seperating 1st and 4th (31 points seperating top 8)
In the PL 2009/10 there were 5 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 16 points seperating 1st and 4th (25 points seperating top 8)


With a gap of an average of 23 points between 2nd and 3rd in Spain, how on earth is it competitive, and how on earth is anone going to win another 7 games a season to catch the top 2 and how is anyone outside the top 4 going to catch up???

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

And all 4 teams almost bankrupted themselves doing it Deportivo came close to relegation Valencia needed to sell Villa Albiol and Silva to fend off the bank Real had to sell their training ground and Barca have had to take a big sponsorship deal to keep going wereas Arsenal and United are 2 of the best run clubs in the world and Chelsea have Abramovichs money, what is needed is not more money but more sense when spending which is rare in football

JDandfries wrote:Lets not pretend Liverpool need to go to Asia to drum up support, or that if they do it's any hardship to the club or the players.

What you are failing to see is how this will affect the game in England,

Who will Liverpool have to play against if this type of thing is allowed?

Would clubs like Wigan even exist?

As I said before, this is very selfish and short sighted and can only end up badly for every other team bar the two biggest clubs who are massive in Asia and the rest of the World (Man U and Liverpool) or those who have a sugar daddy (Chelsea and Man City).

If this goes ahead, there will be some sort of super league in a few years and you will ONLY be able to watch Liverpool on TV, beacuse all the games will be played abroad, where the money is - Would you be ok with that SOldier??

Liverpool goes on a tour of Asia every season so yes they do that to advertise the brand and drum up support.

British TV right would still exist so yer teams like Wigan and that will exist. As I said, it will be on the own clubs initiative to advertise there club and try and drum up the support. So its fair that the Premier League clubs feeds off the success of Liverpool and Man U?

Super League? Now you talking nonsense.

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

Not at all.

In Spain 2010/11 there were 21 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 34 points seperating 1st from 4th (47 points seperating the top 8)
In Spain 2009/10 there were 25 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 36 points seperating 1st from 4th (45 points seperating the top 8)

In the Pl 2010/11 there were 0 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 12 points seperating 1st and 4th (31 points seperating top 8)
In the PL 2009/10 there were 5 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 16 points seperating 1st and 4th (25 points seperating top 8)


With a gap of an average of 23 points between 2nd and 3rd in Spain, how on earth is it competitive, and how on earth is anone going to win another 7 games a season to catch the top 2 and how is anyone outside the top 4 going to catch up???

Your totally changing the subject here. You said Spanish football was ruined, I asked how and you responded by saying "Because there are only two team's that can WIN IT and that is boring" I proved you wrong by showing you that 4 different Spanish team's have won it over the last ten year's compared to 3 different English team's in the same time period. You then start bringing up point's gap's between 1st and 4th and 2nd and 3rd for some reason??

dublfcynwa wrote:

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

Not at all.

In Spain 2010/11 there were 21 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 34 points seperating 1st from 4th (47 points seperating the top 8)
In Spain 2009/10 there were 25 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 36 points seperating 1st from 4th (45 points seperating the top 8)

In the Pl 2010/11 there were 0 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 12 points seperating 1st and 4th (31 points seperating top 8)
In the PL 2009/10 there were 5 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 16 points seperating 1st and 4th (25 points seperating top 8)


With a gap of an average of 23 points between 2nd and 3rd in Spain, how on earth is it competitive, and how on earth is anone going to win another 7 games a season to catch the top 2 and how is anyone outside the top 4 going to catch up???

Your totally changing the subject here. You said Spanish football was ruined, I asked how and you responded by saying "Because there are only two team's that can WIN IT and that is boring" I proved you wrong by showing you that 4 different Spanish team's have won it over the last ten year's compared to 3 different English team's in the same time period. You then start bringing up point's gap's between 1st and 4th and 2nd and 3rd for some reason??

You hardly proved me wrong, and you oviously you totally missed the point that I made and the observation the other poster made - Where are those other two teams now?

Which teams other than Barca or Real can win the SPanish League this season? Barca have scored 18 goals at home in 3 games and have not conceded, real have a GD of + 15 after 6 games?? It is ruined !!

With a gap that big between Real, Barca and the rest of the league, who realistically is going to challenge them?

ANSWER - quite obviously is NO ONE, certainly not in the next 10 years at least!!

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

Not at all.

In Spain 2010/11 there were 21 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 34 points seperating 1st from 4th (47 points seperating the top 8)
In Spain 2009/10 there were 25 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 36 points seperating 1st from 4th (45 points seperating the top 8)

In the Pl 2010/11 there were 0 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 12 points seperating 1st and 4th (31 points seperating top 8)
In the PL 2009/10 there were 5 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 16 points seperating 1st and 4th (25 points seperating top 8)


With a gap of an average of 23 points between 2nd and 3rd in Spain, how on earth is it competitive, and how on earth is anone going to win another 7 games a season to catch the top 2 and how is anyone outside the top 4 going to catch up???

Your totally changing the subject here. You said Spanish football was ruined, I asked how and you responded by saying "Because there are only two team's that can WIN IT and that is boring" I proved you wrong by showing you that 4 different Spanish team's have won it over the last ten year's compared to 3 different English team's in the same time period. You then start bringing up point's gap's between 1st and 4th and 2nd and 3rd for some reason??

You hardly proved me wrong, and you oviously you totally missed the point that I made and the observation the other poster made - Where are those other two teams now?

Which teams other than Barca or Real can win the SPanish League this season? Barca have scored 18 goals at home in 3 games and have not conceded, real have a GD of + 15 after 6 games?? It is ruined !!

With a gap that big between Real, Barca and the rest of the league, who realistically is going to challenge them?

ANSWER - quite obviously is NO ONE, certainly not in the next 10 years at least!!

Malaga can

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:

JDandfries wrote:

dublfcynwa wrote:Since the year 2000, 4 different Spanish teams have won the league Deportivo La Coruna, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Barca.

Since the year 2000, 3 different English team's have won the league
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.

Almost every major league in Europe is dominated by the same team's every year. The annual bul*sh*t fest from sky tells people the prem is best league in the world and it's wide open between the top four, but yet the same team's alway's win it. It's as predictable as any other league.

Not at all.

In Spain 2010/11 there were 21 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 34 points seperating 1st from 4th (47 points seperating the top 8)
In Spain 2009/10 there were 25 points seperating 2nd and 3rd, and 36 points seperating 1st from 4th (45 points seperating the top 8)

In the Pl 2010/11 there were 0 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 12 points seperating 1st and 4th (31 points seperating top 8)
In the PL 2009/10 there were 5 points seperating 2nd and 3rd and 16 points seperating 1st and 4th (25 points seperating top 8)


With a gap of an average of 23 points between 2nd and 3rd in Spain, how on earth is it competitive, and how on earth is anone going to win another 7 games a season to catch the top 2 and how is anyone outside the top 4 going to catch up???

Your totally changing the subject here. You said Spanish football was ruined, I asked how and you responded by saying "Because there are only two team's that can WIN IT and that is boring" I proved you wrong by showing you that 4 different Spanish team's have won it over the last ten year's compared to 3 different English team's in the same time period. You then start bringing up point's gap's between 1st and 4th and 2nd and 3rd for some reason??

You hardly proved me wrong, and you oviously you totally missed the point that I made and the observation the other poster made - Where are those other two teams now?

Which teams other than Barca or Real can win the SPanish League this season? Barca have scored 18 goals at home in 3 games and have not conceded, real have a GD of + 15 after 6 games?? It is ruined !!

With a gap that big between Real, Barca and the rest of the league, who realistically is going to challenge them?

ANSWER - quite obviously is NO ONE, certainly not in the next 10 years at least!!

Malaga can

Get yourself a bet on, they are 110/1 on Betfair!!!

To win the league in the next 10 years?

Which team other than United or Chelsea(city outside chance) will win the prem this year?? the English league is just as predictable as any other league, it's just a lot of people are brainwashed into thinking different by sky it's the same with the boxing they show they brainwash stupid people into paying money for terrible fight's.

Team's being bankrupted in Spain is because of the economy and 3 of the team's mentioned are still in the primera league, and have not been bankrupted, some top English clubs have been bankrupted by trying to buy success like Leeds and Portsmouth, and it's only a matter fo time before it happen's to more club's in England as English football debt is the highest in Europe by far, with only 4 English team's actually making money annually.

With the amount of money Malaga have now they almost certainly will win the league or at the very very least challange Barca and Real within the next 10 or so years

the English league is predictable, but not as predictable as teh Spanish or the Scottish, which, if the richer clubs are allowed to sell their TV right seperately, will get worse.

This can only make the already dieing English game worse!

dublfcynwa wrote:Which team other than United or Chelsea(city outside chance) will win the prem this year?? the English league is just as predictable as any other league, it's just a lot of people are brainwashed into thinking different by sky it's the same with the boxing they show they brainwash stupid people into paying money for terrible fight's.

As with the point that was made earlier there is less points between the top 4/6 than there are between the top 2 and 3rd in Spain, most leagues have 2 or 3 teams who are ahead of the rest but how many are as tight as in England?

Teams in Spain have been struggling for 10 years Deportivo fell fast after winning the league and had to sell players to keep going the economys not to blame if that was the case how were Barca and Real able to speend big on players in the last few years? The smaller teams in Spain earn the less from TV as the PL give to the the Football League

Irish Curry wrote:With the amount of money Malaga have now they almost certainly will win the league or at the very very least challange Barca and Real.

When?

It won't be this year, and just because a club has money (nowhere near as much as Barca or Real) that they will automatically challenge - 110/1 to win the league this year tells u everyting!

110/1 is double what Spurs are to win the PL and the same as St johnstone to win the SPL - ie its not going to happen

Not this year obviously any fool would know that I ment in the next 10 years, I should have been clearer though so apologises.

The Spanish League is like the Scottish League now, due the financial dominance of Baraca and Real - therefore I think closer to 20 years is how long you might have to wait for another team to challenge!

Well Malaga are very rich according to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_bin_Nasser_bin_Abdullah_Al_Ahmed_Al_Thani

Malaga won't be challenging for a while because of the type of players they are buying, not players that can win you the title.

This TV deal is pretty much a dead topic because the entire league need to agree on this, and only about 5 or 6 would benefit.

Churchill wrote:Malaga won't be challenging for a while because of the type of players they are buying, not players that can win you the title.

This TV deal is pretty much a dead topic because the entire league need to agree on this, and only about 5 or 6 would benefit.

Malaga arent goin to attract world superstars overnight, but after couple of good finishes in La Liga, Man City type wages on offer, the chance of first team football and a sunnier climate. They could be up there sooner then you think.

I think they have bought well during the summer, especially after the capture of the highly rated Santi Corzola. Plus Demichelis, Toulalan, Joaquín, Buonanotte and (to a lesser extent) van Nistelrooy. They are improving.

On a side note did anyone see Bapitisa's overhead last week?

Well, I think we can all cite examples of money not always equalling success, although there's no denying it helps.

Thing is, as others have commented, since Sky got the rights to Premier League football, the whole sport has just gone insane with greed.

Clubs suddenly found themselves with more money than ever before. To try to prevent having their best players poached, (or simply to raise more money), they start grossly inflating player transfer fees. Agents want to get in on the action and start asking 6-figure sums for their services, as well as negotiating stupid wages for their clients.

As a result, the cost of simply running a top-flight club went through the roof and to mount a serious title challenge, or even get a European spot, clubs now need to be backed by consortiums or billionaire tycoons.

On top of that, ticket prices and merchandise costs soar, as do fan expectations, who are then left feeling cheated when their club fails to live up to their expectations (unless they support one of the top 4 clubs).

I'm happy that some clubs have started to try to break this vicious circle of ever-increasing operating costs and started living within their means. Problem with that, as has already been pointed out, is it means no-one outside the already-rich and successful elite has a chance at any kind of success, bar the odd FA or League Cup.

A very sad state of affairs, but one which seems to have no remedy.

This would just send the PL further down the road of an uncompetitive league. No point in winning something that no one cares about any longer.

This is about overseas tv money anyway nothing to do with the domestic tv money deals at all. The bottom line is almost all the Asian prem league fans are Man u or Liverpool fan's so Ian Ayre simply said it's not really fair if other prem club's are gaining off Liverpools popularity in Asia. David Gill said the exact same thing a couple of year's ago about United.

dublfcynwa wrote:This is about overseas tv money anyway nothing to do with the domestic tv money deals at all. The bottom line is almost all the Asian prem league fans are Man u or Liverpool fan's so Ian Ayre simply said it's not really fair if other prem club's are gaining off Liverpools popularity in Asia. David Gill said the exact same thing a couple of year's ago about United.

Liverpool need those other clubs to be competitive. Reducing their revenues is one way to ensure that won't be the case. If the league becomes increasingly uncompetitive, the value of winning it diminishes.

Btw, I totally understand why Ayres is proposing this. He's looking after Liverpool Football Club's business interests, which is his role. I just don't think his reasoning is very sound. He says, bartering for your own deals will benefit all clubs in the long run. I struggle to see how this will be the case for the likes of WBA, Bolton and Wigan (although seeing Dave Whelan go bust would make my day). They each get 18m every year from overseas TV rights. Who is going to pay them that for an individual deal?

dublfcynwa wrote:This is about overseas tv money anyway nothing to do with the domestic tv money deals at all. The bottom line is almost all the Asian prem league fans are Man u or Liverpool fan's so Ian Ayre simply said it's not really fair if other prem club's are gaining off Liverpools popularity in Asia. David Gill said the exact same thing a couple of year's ago about United.

If Im not mistaken Gill said something along the lines of Utd being the most popular PL team in Asia and could make a killing there but that Utd are nothing without the rest of the teams so Utd wont be breaking away from the current structure