Planetarion Forums - View Single Post - [Football] Article on the Big Four and English Football

All Systems Go · 24 Apr 2007, 23:06

Like it or not (and I do not) football is a business. For any of these limits to be meaningful, they have to be Europe-wide. If you cap English league wages at say, £30,000 a week then it is going to make attracting the very best players more difficult when they can play in Spain and earn £150,000 a week.

this goes for all economic restrictions placed on football clubs.

the ability to bring in foreign players (both financially and socially) has vastly increased over the years and with it has brought a higher calibre of player. Before (say) the Premier League all teams has mostly English players so there was only a limited pool of players to pick from. Whilst some players would naturally desire a move to the big clubs, others would remain loyal to their local team (or the one they began their career with etc)

Add to this the less professional training methods and you get a more even* balance between teams. this may make for a less predictable season but the price is a lower level of football.

When you can choose 11 top players from (literally) around the world as opposed to being limited to 1 or 2 top Enlish players and a bunch of mediocrities then you are naturally going to find that you have a greater concentration of world-class players in a smaller number of clubs.

I can't really see how financial regulation is going to reverse this virtual monopoly as the best players are (almost) always going to want to play for the best clubs.

In the 21st Century there are (almost) no limits to which (global) team you play for.

*lower quality

24 Apr 2007, 23:06	#4
All Systems Go Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: London Posts: 3,347	Re: [Football] Article on the Big Four and English Football Like it or not (and I do not) football is a business. For any of these limits to be meaningful, they have to be Europe-wide. If you cap English league wages at say, £30,000 a week then it is going to make attracting the very best players more difficult when they can play in Spain and earn £150,000 a week. this goes for all economic restrictions placed on football clubs. the ability to bring in foreign players (both financially and socially) has vastly increased over the years and with it has brought a higher calibre of player. Before (say) the Premier League all teams has mostly English players so there was only a limited pool of players to pick from. Whilst some players would naturally desire a move to the big clubs, others would remain loyal to their local team (or the one they began their career with etc) Add to this the less professional training methods and you get a more even* balance between teams. this may make for a less predictable season but the price is a lower level of football. When you can choose 11 top players from (literally) around the world as opposed to being limited to 1 or 2 top Enlish players and a bunch of mediocrities then you are naturally going to find that you have a greater concentration of world-class players in a smaller number of clubs. I can't really see how financial regulation is going to reverse this virtual monopoly as the best players are (almost) always going to want to play for the best clubs. In the 21st Century there are (almost) no limits to which (global) team you play for. *lower quality __________________ The 20th century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance. The growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.