MADNESS!

[BWFC_Insane]

Paying players silly money, changing kick of dates and times, jazzing up the game etc is one thing.


Fooking around with a format for a league is another thing entirely.

Its an absolutely abysmal idea. Whoever came up with it should be strung up and tortured to death by football fans because honestly thats what they deserve!

[marshall_42]

I'd love to know how this hypothetical situation could be given a positive spin by anyone.

Think they got the idea from Riverdance.

Aye well they're both a bit Irish. (all apologies to M42 et al)

Grrr

[marshall_42]

I thought I heard on the radio this morning that the 39th game wouldn't count to league points. Is this true? If so then why wouldnt every team field their 2nd string, just like Man Ure in the States and Arse in the Carling Cup!

[Whookam]

You know virtually every time someone has talked about the unattractive fixtures they've used Bolton plus A. N. Other as an example.

[Lord Kangana]

I thought I heard on the radio this morning that the 39th game wouldn't count to league points. Is this true? If so then why wouldnt every team field their 2nd string, just like Man Ure in the States and Arse in the Carling Cup!

In which case it'd be even more pointless than the original idea.

I could almost see the point of this if it was in somewhere like Ireland (in a format like Rugby League do the Super Weekend at Cardiff) because there are loads of Premier League fans and its a hop skip and a jump to get there.

But I do mean almost, because this is clearly a simple money-driven plan that doesn't take into account anyone BUT the accountants.

[Lord Kangana]

You know virtually every time someone has talked about the unattractive fixtures they've used Bolton plus A. N. Other as an example.

Good.

Maybe we'll be the fly in the ointment that'll stop this insanity.

[William the White]

so let me get this straight you play 19 teams home and away, then at random play some other team once and in an arbitrary country? And the top 5 avoid each other and in doing so presumably also avoid changing their end of season positions? This is also the league that wanted to reduce the number of teams and therefore games not so long ago

And when would these be played? End of the season - adding a fixture and a trip on to an already long season? Pre-season so as to render them little more than friendlies or at any point in teh seaon so as to make them even more inequitable with some teams having to travel to Thailand say, while others nip over to France?

What difference does it make to make these league games? If they want games in other countries, do a summer cup comp each year and take it to a different country each time - four groups of 5 - 4 games each over 4 days , top 2 go through from each to a knockout, 45 minute games, tournament over 9 days max.

The 'plan' is January, I believe. When all the Prem clubs are playing their second strings in the FA Cup thus leaving room for a really glamorous fixture.

[Worthy4England]

Aye, middle of Jan. That should add a bit of interest to the transfer window.

Good News for the Sunday papers though. Can you imagine how much roasting Newcastle V Wet Spam will turn up when they play eash other in Bangkok.

[fatshaft]

I thought I heard on the radio this morning that the 39th game wouldn't count to league points. Is this true? If so then why wouldnt every team field their 2nd string, just like Man Ure in the States and Arse in the Carling Cup!

No it's a full game

[William the White]

Aye, middle of Jan. That should add a bit of interest to the transfer window.

Good News for the Sunday papers though. Can you imagine how much roasting Newcastle V Wet Spam will turn up when they play eash other in Bangkok.

Hiring an injury-struck Rio ferdinand to organise the post-match social occasion?

[hisroyalgingerness]

just when you all were starting to like him

WANDERERS boss Gary Megson has backed radical plans for Premier League clubs to play abroad.

All 20 top-flight clubs agreed to explore a proposal to extend the season to 39 games, at a meeting in London yesterday.

The 10 extra games, most likely to take place in January and beginning in the 2010/11 season, would be played at venues around the world - and would see the Whites compete in the world's largest cities in the Far East, Australia and the USA.

The idea would be to cash in on existing interest in the Premier League around the world, and the extra money generated from TV would be split equally among the clubs.

And Megson is fully behind the sensational move.

"I think it's great," said the Whites manager. "If it's organised properly and taken to areas where there is not a massive amount of football, but the exposure is there from the television, then I think it's a great idea."

[fozzy]

Is that quote from The Sun?

As the biggest selling tabloid, they will be able to influence a lot of supporters and turn them to the darkside.

[enfieldwhite]

just when you all were starting to like him

WANDERERS boss Gary Megson has backed radical plans for Premier League clubs to play abroad.

All 20 top-flight clubs agreed to explore a proposal to extend the season to 39 games, at a meeting in London yesterday.

The 10 extra games, most likely to take place in January and beginning in the 2010/11 season, would be played at venues around the world - and would see the Whites compete in the world's largest cities in the Far East, Australia and the USA.

The idea would be to cash in on existing interest in the Premier League around the world, and the extra money generated from TV would be split equally among the clubs.

And Megson is fully behind the sensational move.

"I think it's great," said the Whites manager. "If it's organised properly and taken to areas where there is not a massive amount of football, but the exposure is there from the television, then I think it's a great idea."

Scripted. FACT

[hisroyalgingerness]

from Bolton Evening News or whatever its called now

[Backgammon]

Who the F*** are the English Premier League to waltz into another country and start playing games there?

I don't care what country they're planning to invade, but that country will have it's own domestic league(s). That country will have its own FA trying to govern the sport and develop players and teams. Why should they suffer the English Premiership machine rumbling into town, taking as much money from them as humanly possible (be it through advertising, tickets, merchandise, tv rights), taking fans away from the domestic game, then roll on out again.

I'm trying to think of it from their point of view; I'd tell the English to F*** right off.

It stinks of arrogance.

[Hoboh]

Who the F*** are the English Premier League to waltz into another country and start playing games there?

I don't care what country they're planning to invade, but that country will have it's own domestic league(s). That country will have its own FA trying to govern the sport and develop players and teams. Why should they suffer the English Premiership machine rumbling into town, taking as much money from them as humanly possible (be it through advertising, tickets, merchandise, tv rights), taking fans away from the domestic game, then roll on out again.

I'm trying to think of it from their point of view; I'd tell the English to F*** right off.

It stinks of arrogance.

Might be more..........................we thought of it first in football terms!!

[Backgammon]

Who the F*** are the English Premier League to waltz into another country and start playing games there?

I don't care what country they're planning to invade, but that country will have it's own domestic league(s). That country will have its own FA trying to govern the sport and develop players and teams. Why should they suffer the English Premiership machine rumbling into town, taking as much money from them as humanly possible (be it through advertising, tickets, merchandise, tv rights), taking fans away from the domestic game, then roll on out again.

I'm trying to think of it from their point of view; I'd tell the English to F*** right off.

It stinks of arrogance.

Might be more..........................we thought of it first in football terms!!

And look what we're doing to it... Bastardising it...

[runningonbravado]

I can see why Megson is backing it. £5M for an extra game. For Bolton, that's a decent new player. If the matches didn't count towards league position, fine, I'll accept it, just have some useless Premiership friendly in another country. Everybody wins. For the first season.


See, all thats going to happen is that there'll be five sell out games: Chelsea, LPool, Scum, Arsenal and some other flavour of the month team. These here 5 seeded games. And they wont be high selling because of the game either, just the reputation of the big club. They'll all draw some uninspiring team who NEED the points. Say Bolton draw Liverpool. What are we going to do? Cause their back four problems and be on the offensive for 90 minutes? Are we feck. We'll clam up, play long ball and grind out a useless 0-0 draw. What happens then? Well all the people who were looking forward to seeing a top class game just paid the equivalent of 30 quid (probably more because it's a one-off cash-in event) basically just paid to see waves breaking on rocks for 90 minutes.

Even then, who is to say we'd field our first XI? I know I'd keep my best players for the busy Xmas fixtures like any sane manager would. I'm not sending them off on a 12 hour flight to play in conditions they aren't used to. It just REEKS of money spinning.

There's absolutely NO tangible benefits for this thing. The Premier League is consistently tense and exciting because it's fair. There's no excuses. Just people playing each other twice. Once at home. Once away. Whoever wins the most games (near as damn it) wins a shiny trophy and a nice cheque. NOTHING wrong with that.

[CrazyHorse]

Been thinking a bit more about this...if I understand it right it goes something like this
5 seeded 'top' teams and
5 cities to bid for the rights to play TWO games (one on Saturday, one on Sunday)

i.e. One top team and three others go off to play the games over a weekend in a foreign city. For example Man United go off to Tokyo with say Fulham, Blackburn and Portsmouth. Fixtures are Blackburn V Portsmouth on the Saturday and Man U V Fulham on the Sunday. The Sunday game is a sellout, worldwide tv bonanza and the no one watches the other. Man U sells half a million replica shirts outside the stadium and the Blackburn team end up with food poisoning.

How long before the top team realise that they're actually carrying the other three and decide they want to take 90% of the revenue?

[Lofty]

I think some sort of protest is in order. Some banners and chanting on Saturday, anyone?