Share your wealth, Andy Burnham tells Premier League football clubs

[Big Soccer Member]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article6237472.ece

Could prove to be the most important bit of Premier League news in the past few years. I for one like it. They have to share the money, so it will give some much needed parity. I wouldn't like the sharing if it made every team artificially equal. I firmly believe that some teams have got themselves into a football and financial mess and shouldn't be supported by the successful ones. The successful teams still get enough money for it to be a reward, but not too much to make an unbridgeable gap. Perfect.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

Complete bullshit and would never happen.

[Yojimbo]

Amen

[Harry Boulton]

Good idea.

However, this will meet strong opposition from what used to be the G14 clubs. No club is going to accept an enforced reduction in earnings easily.

I do hope, however, that if this idea is puched through, that the rest of Europe follow it as well. What we don't want is EPL clubs sharing their wealth while Serie A and La Liga carry on ploughing their money into the likes of Milan, Barca etc and we find our clubs at a financial dis-advantage again.

[sendorange]

They won't legislate, so unlikely to achieve much. However it's good to see some pressure put on, eventually something will happen.

[COYS]

About time. What was is Kevin Keegan said about the Premier League?

"This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."He also said: "The top four next year will be the same top four as this year."Hardly a great prediction though, is it?

I mean the which teams are going to finish in the top four for next season is bleeding obvious already and this season isn't over yet.

The only question is, whether the points gap between 4th and 5th will increase for the fourth consecutive season :(

Here's another Times article discussing the proposal: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/patrick_barclay/article6251775.ece

[leg_breaker]

Whether it's right or wrong, I don't see what it has to do with the government. Why do we even have a department for culture, media and sport?

[Harry Boulton]

Well, by right the government cannot interfere anyway. FIFA looks dimly on government interference in football anyway.

[The Frederick]

Would love for this to happen. Would love for the Premier League to die, for that matter.

[Harry Boulton]

Oh that nasty premier league. Always winning. What's that all about.

[The Frederick]

Oh that nasty premier league. Always winning. What's that all about.

It's because it's one team that wins everything! Don't you yearn for the days when Everton, Nottingham Forest and even Derby "Worst Premier League Club Ever" County could win the title?

Oh, of course you don't, you're a Man Utd supporter.

[Toon³]

It's because it's one team that wins everything! Don't you yearn for the days when Everton, Nottingham Forest and even Derby "Worst Premier League Club Ever" County could win the title?

Oh, of course you don't, you're a Man Utd supporter.

I do, I wish for a simpler time, when men were men and it cost 2p to get into games. A time when Liverpool won the title 10 times in 18 season, a time when Liverpool dominating the domestic game was completely different to Man Utd dominating the domestic game. A time when a team could hold their hands up and admit they threw away the title instead of blaming everyone else for their failure under pressure.

And Derby aren't the worst Premier League team ever, Sunderland are.

[The Frederick]

A time when Liverpool won the title 10 times in 18 season, a time when Liverpool dominating the domestic game was completely different to Man Utd dominating the domestic game.

It WAS different. At least we were actually being challenged. We had to fight for our titles; we didn't buy them like Man Utd does. And when we were challenged, it was by Watford, Derby, Southampton, Ipswich, Nottingham, QPR, Leeds, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton, and not by Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Arsenal, Chelsea, Chelsea and Chelsea.

[Toon³]

It WAS different. At least we were actually being challenged. We had to fight for our titles; we didn't buy them like Man Utd does. And when we were challenged, it was by Watford, Derby, Southampton, Ipswich, Nottingham, QPR, Leeds, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton, and not by Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Arsenal, Chelsea, Chelsea and Chelsea.

Ah yeah I forgot how Keegan, McDermott, Dalglish, Souness and Rush just turned up at Liverpool for nothing and didn't involve Liverpool using their position as the biggest club in the country and having more money that smaller clubs. I also forgot how Man Utd got given a big bag of money that let them buy all the best players and didn't produce their own young players.

And with the exception of a couple of seasons at the turn of the century Man Utd have been pushed for the title.

[The Frederick]

Ah yeah I forgot how Keegan, McDermott, Dalglish, Souness and Rush just turned up at Liverpool for nothing and didn't involve Liverpool using their position as the biggest club in the country and having more money that smaller clubs.

Liverpool earned their money. Man Utd has a dump truck full of cash driven up to their HQ by Glazer.

I also forgot how Man Utd got given a big bag of money that let them buy all the best players and didn't produce their own young players.

Cantona, Solskaer, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov. All player who came from other clubs.

[leg_breaker]

Liverpool earned their money. Man Utd has a dump truck full of cash driven up to their HQ by Glazer.
No they don't, the Glazers haven't put any money into United they've just taken it out.

[Toon³]

Liverpool earned their money. Man Utd has a dump truck full of cash driven up to their HQ by Glazer.

Cantona, Solskaer, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov. All player who came from other clubs.

It's a well known fact that the Glazers haven't invested in the club but reduced the amount that they have to spend due to the massive loans taken out against it. They can still spend a lot of money because of the huge revenues they create from tickets, TV and merchandise. Also there is the small point that the Glazers bought Man Utd in 2005 so what about all the titles Man Utd won before then?

And I'm not arguing that Man Utd haven't bought players you tit, they have. Just the same as Liverpool did in the 70's and 80's

[The Frederick]

It's a well known fact that the Glazers haven't invested in the club but reduced the amount that they have to spend due to the massive loans taken out against it. They can still spend a lot of money because of the huge revenues they create from tickets, TV and merchandise. Also there is the small point that the Glazers bought Man Utd in 2005 so what about all the titles Man Utd won before then?

And I'm not arguing that Man Utd haven't bought players you tit, they have. Just the same as Liverpool did in the 70's and 80's

Oh come on, how can a club make that much money on tickets, TV and merchandise? That's not possible.

Besides, I was wrong; they get their money from the banks. They just borrow and borrow and borrow, and nobody's going to call them up on it.

[Toon³]

Oh come on, how can a club make that much money on tickets, TV and merchandise? That's not possible.

Besides, I was wrong; they get their money from the banks. They just borrow and borrow and borrow, and nobody's going to call them up on it.

It's very possible and it's exactly how they made became the biggest club in the world. By marketing themselves to the world as a brand, they make millions each season from merchandise and TV deals in the Far East alone. It's exactly what Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona etc all do now, but it was Man Utd who did it first and still do it the best. Don't try and blame your clubs failure on their very good business model.

Who borrows money from banks? The Glazers, yeah it's called a loan which they now have to pay back at an inflated amount which actually takes money out of the club.

[RichardL]

And I'm not arguing that Man Utd haven't bought players you tit, they have. Just the same as Liverpool did in the 70's and 80's
Liverpool did outspend most, but not by anywhere near the margin that the big 4 do now.

Back then there was a lot more emphasis on building a team as squads were so much smaller. Top clubs couldn't just have squads of 30+ internationals, with reserve teams capable of beating most other top division sides.