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Blatter has Premier League doubts

Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by mawspurs, Mar 6, 2009.

  • by mawspurs, Mar 6, 2009 at 11:04 AM
  • mawspurs Moderator

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    Source: BBC

    Fifa president Sepp Blatter is worried that the Premier League's worldwide appeal is damaging the global game.

    "I have my concerns because the Premier League is the strongest in the world, definitely," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

    "It is taking over in such a manner that the other leagues have difficulties to match it."

    Blatter also believes that the England's top flight has an unhealthy imbalance of power, with only a handful of clubs contesting the title.

    "In a competition where two-thirds or three-quarters of the participants in the league play not to be first, but not to be relegated, there is something wrong," he added.

    Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992 there have only been four different winners, compared to six different champions over the previous 16 seasons.

    Blatter is also concerned about the influx of foreign players and owners into England's top clubs that has accompanied the Premier League's runaway commercial success.

    He said he would attempt to convince Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to impose a minimum requirement for home-grown talent on the pitch and warned that domestic owners might provide better stewardship through the economic downturn.

    "I want to try to, if not persuade him (Richard Scudamore), then at least influence him in his thoughts that to have a minimum of local players will enhance the quality of his league," he said.

    "Foreign ownership is definitely a risk, it is not the basis of football, but here we can do nothing.

    "At the moment in the economic crisis, maybe the big investors and the big companies, will have less money to go in than local or regional investors who will be there because they identify themselves with the club."

    And Blatter warned that England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, a key part of a so-called "golden decade" of sport for the UK, faced serious competition.

    Nine other expressions of interest have been made, with Russia and joint bids from Spain and Portugal and the Netherlands and Belgium making up the competition from the rest of Europe.

    "What is the advantage of England?" said Blatter.

    "If you look at the the technical infrastructure for stadiums and the organisation of football matches on the level of 50,000 people and upwards then they are ready to organise it, but they are not the only one."
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Comments

Discussion in 'Spurscommunity Front Page News' started by mawspurs, Mar 6, 2009.

  1. sheringmann
    iTS COMING HOME!! FOOTBALLS COMING HOME!! WC2018:)
  2. theMAXILOPEZpsycho
    He's right with everything he says here. More candid remarks than you'll ever hear from a pundit or a journalist. Its become the second most boring and predictable league in the world after scotland.
  3. avonspurs
    Although I agree with some of his comments (the fact that very few clubs can seriously mount a title challenge - - not sure, but what is it like in other leagues?!), the fact that the PL is the most "appealing" globally is something that we should be proud of. Other leagues should be working to catch us up. I believe that our league is globally the most appealing because our fans ensure that (in the majority of cases; although I realise recently they have been falling) grounds are full (or near to full) and a great atmosphere is created. Also our games are fast and furious and have loads of goals (put that down to poor defending, I dont care, its exciting) and yet still highly skillful.
  4. badajozjim
    His claims are rubbish, you look at the Spanish league and there have been 4 winners, Barcelona, Real madrid, Valencia and Deportivo in the past ten years. The same in Italy with Inter, AC Milan, Juventus and Roma so I don't really understand his point. As a Spurs fan i don't like it as it has become impossible to win the league but the premier is the same as any other.
  5. Lilbaz
    Easy way to remedy it, make the champions league for just the champions. But no they will lose money.
  6. JuanRebelde

    Why are they rubbish? Firstly he uses the period since the start of the EPL and not the last 10 years and in Spain 5 different winners have achieved it with 4 in England. Also, Barca and Real Madrid have on occasions gone several years without winning or even challenging.

    If you discount blackburn as the one off it was as jack Walker bought the title and then let it decline rapidly the picture looks worse. In Spain outside fo the two giants Valencia won the title twice and came very close on other occasions. Depor also won it and came very close on a couple of occasions too. So La Liga has been far more unpredictable than the EPL over the same period.

    When you look at the spread of title in the two leagues over the last ten years it looks like the EPL is virtually a monopoly for manure (6 title to the nearest 2 of Arsenal and Chelsea). The same can't be said in Spain with Reals' 4 to Barcas 3 Valencias 2 and Depors 1.

    I think foreign ownership is dangerous and moves us closer to football franchises in the EPL and the voice of fans is virtually redundant today. In Spain ownership is based on Club members electing Presidents and so they do have a say in the club and how it is run.

    I also think the purchase of cheap foreigners to fill squads is steadily having a negative effect on the English national side especially as many of these foreigners are no better than the english equivalent who is usually extremely over-priced. In Scotland they did the same and then saw their national side decline for ten years or so.

    I personally thing Blatter is probably talking more sense than Platini appears to want to create his very own French vision of UEFA with a kind of 'socialist flavour' but if they want to do anything to preserve football I think a wage and transfer budget cap should be imposed to bring some business logic to football.
  7. adwanhussein
    the EPL is the place to be,very civilized hours ,and the best place to watch football in the cradle of football ,May it last long because it is about time that the creators of the beautiful game get a stranglehold globaly on the game.The highlltes of my spectacles on TV is to watch the EPL and those very enterprising players grafting the best moments in football .Don't envy the Brits for what they have achived because it is all well deserved.
  8. adwanhussein
    And i am turning to commmentary before the Spurs Game against Sunderland ,IT is live here like all Spurs games and it is a manifestation about the EPL and about Spurs .

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