18 teams next season?

[i404]

anyone think it'll actually happen?


http://soccernet-att.espn.go.com/design05/images/sw/Chung-Sung-Jun.jpg

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=370415


FIFA demands top Euro leagues to be cut to 18 clubs

MUNICH, June 8 (Reuters) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Thursday all of Europe's top professional leagues should be cut to 18 clubs next year, but his plan provoked immediate opposition.


Blatter said he wanted the reduction to be in place for the 2007-08 season after the 56th FIFA Congress endorsed a package of Task Force 'For the Good of the Game' proposals...

[antifan]

anyone think it'll actually happen?


http://soccernet-att.espn.go.com/design05/images/sw/Chung-Sung-Jun.jpg

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=370415


FIFA demands top Euro leagues to be cut to 18 clubs

MUNICH, June 8 (Reuters) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Thursday all of Europe's top professional leagues should be cut to 18 clubs next year, but his plan provoked immediate opposition.


Blatter said he wanted the reduction to be in place for the 2007-08 season after the 56th FIFA Congress endorsed a package of Task Force 'For the Good of the Game' proposals...
Blatter has said that every year for the past 5 or so years, its not gonna happen.

[ZonaGunner]

If it happens, Spurs should definitely be one of the two teams sent down!

[Rewinder]

It wouldn't be fair for the teams who just got promoted to lose a spot in the premiership so,

Drop #5 and #17 down!

You can't pull 2 teams from the bottom, and the top 4 are in the champions league, so the most just thing would be to take the next lowest team, and the inferior team that agonizingly and painstakingly lost out on a CL spot to the 4th place, more deserving, and clearly better team.

[SLO-Gunner]

It wouldn't be fair for the teams who just got promoted to lose a spot in the premiership so,

Drop #5 and #17 down!

You can't pull 2 teams from the bottom, and the top 4 are in the champions league, so the most just thing would be to take the next lowest team, and the inferior team that agonizingly and painstakingly lost out on a CL spot to the 4th place, more deserving, and clearly better team.


genius...I love it.

[topcatcole]

It won't happen, but Blatter is actually right on this one. Think of it this way. When was the first time you heard of a metatarsal fracture, and how many have you heard of lately?
Yep, that's right. Players cannot play every day. I know that will upset the clubs and national teams, but real flesh and blood humans actually need this thing called rest. Sadly, we are likely to have a rash of injuries next year among our star players from fatigue. Blatter seems (for once) to be picking up on something the clubs aren't- that players are the goose that lays the golden eggs and you can't kill the goose to get all of the eggs at once.

[antifan]

It won't happen, but Blatter is actually right on this one. Think of it this way. When was the first time you heard of a metatarsal fracture, and how many have you heard of lately?
Yep, that's right. Players cannot play every day. I know that will upset the clubs and national teams, but real flesh and blood humans actually need this thing called rest. Sadly, we are likely to have a rash of injuries next year among our star players from fatigue. Blatter seems (for once) to be picking up on something the clubs aren't- that players are the goose that lays the golden eggs and you can't kill the goose to get all of the eggs at once.
I actually think its a good idea, but the clubs will never go for it. And to be honest, unnecessary competitions like the league cup, and useless friendlies are as much to blame for fixture congestion and fatigue. I think the rash of metatarsal injuries is unrelated, did Clichy get his from playing too many games?

[elknco1]

could just have more players on the roster

[Przybylinski]

Blatter can shove it up his ass. There's no chance that they will tell the EPL or any other league to drop to 18. Where the hell did he pull that number out of?

[topcatcole]

I actually think its a good idea, but the clubs will never go for it. And to be honest, unnecessary competitions like the league cup, and useless friendlies are as much to blame for fixture congestion and fatigue. I think the rash of metatarsal injuries is unrelated, did Clichy get his from playing too many games? Agree completely about the unnecesary comps. From what I have read, the metatarsals are particularly prone to overuse fractures. The development of lighter and lighter boots (which have most of the padding removed) also may have added to the effect.

[Rewinder]

Good for the players' health, not good for anyones wallet - won't happen.

[Rick B]

It won't happen, but Blatter is actually right on this one. Think of it this way. When was the first time you heard of a metatarsal fracture, and how many have you heard of lately?
Yep, that's right. Players cannot play every day. I know that will upset the clubs and national teams, but real flesh and blood humans actually need this thing called rest. Sadly, we are likely to have a rash of injuries next year among our star players from fatigue. Blatter seems (for once) to be picking up on something the clubs aren't- that players are the goose that lays the golden eggs and you can't kill the goose to get all of the eggs at once.


Seriously, are you still getting at me for making you have a training game the day before the Highbury games...........:D ;)

[wwnyc]

Good for the players' health, not good for anyones wallet - won't happen.

i agree - too much $$$ involved - less games equals less money for the teams and the broadcasters. can't see this happening....

[antifan]

i agree - too much $$$ involved - less games equals less money for the teams and the broadcasters. can't see this happening....
I don't think the players will agree to a pay cut so Sepp can schedule more meaningless international tournaments and friendlies.

[CTGooner]

It won't happen, but Blatter is actually right on this one. Think of it this way. When was the first time you heard of a metatarsal fracture, and how many have you heard of lately?
Yep, that's right. Players cannot play every day. I know that will upset the clubs and national teams, but real flesh and blood humans actually need this thing called rest. Sadly, we are likely to have a rash of injuries next year among our star players from fatigue. Blatter seems (for once) to be picking up on something the clubs aren't- that players are the goose that lays the golden eggs and you can't kill the goose to get all of the eggs at once.
Very true. Some European leagues have made some progress - Winter break! I really think the EPL needs this!

[topcatcole]

Seriously, are you still getting at me for making you have a training game the day before the Highbury games...........:D ;) I think that's the reason for my poor performance in the second half against the Canadians- OVERTRAINING!!!

[PsychedelicCeltic]

It won't happen, but Blatter is actually right on this one. Think of it this way. When was the first time you heard of a metatarsal fracture, and how many have you heard of lately?
Yep, that's right. Players cannot play every day. I know that will upset the clubs and national teams, but real flesh and blood humans actually need this thing called rest. Sadly, we are likely to have a rash of injuries next year among our star players from fatigue. Blatter seems (for once) to be picking up on something the clubs aren't- that players are the goose that lays the golden eggs and you can't kill the goose to get all of the eggs at once.
metatarsal injuries do have a stress component but it's more due to the superlight football boots and the growth of bladed studs, both of which actively aid in situations where the front part of your foot (the toes) get too much grip and get stuck while the other half of your foot's going in a different direction. rounded studs are far more forgiving in this aspect, as are heavier boots.

remember, frank mclintock, george armstrong, and ray kennedy (at NINETEEN), among others, played over 60 competitive football matches in 1970/1971. don't think any of 'em broke a metatarsal. footballers really aren't getting fragged more than they have in years, and the game is much less physical today. no more multicup replays, teams don't send out their best eleven for every game. arsenal in 1979/80 played seventy matches with about fourteen players (i think, might have been more). no metatarsal injuries. i think you're seeing my point.

you'd reduce metatarsal injuries significantly (probably to the point where it would be a rarity) if you had a padding minimum for football boots and banned blades.

[Rick B]

In my personal opinion I would welcome a change to 18 teams. That is coming from a selfish viewpoint and I completly understand the arguments against it. But, it would give the FA the ability to have these International games and make sure the players were able to recover properly instead of having a game mid-week inbetween two Prem games.

I accept that we have had some high profile injuries recently, personally I don't believe that has too much to do with the amount of fixtures we have had. As PsychedelicCeltic posted, players in years gone by coped fine with the amount of games they played.

The main problem as I see it is the so called "see-saw clubs". Those clubs that are always around the bottom of the Prem and the top of the Championship (or whatever the fashionable name is for it this season :rolleyes: ) Those two clubs that would of been in the Prem would lose at least £10Million in revenue a year. That is unacceptable and can't happen. But from a selfish point of view, Arsenal (at the moment) don't look likely to be in that category so therefore fewer games and the ability to have a winter break and some way of alieviating the fixture congestion on players and fans (remember fans had to travel to Sunderland on the Monday and Man City on the Thursday in the last week) would be welcomed. Football is getting too expensive and as an example in the last week of the Premiership I paid out £91 in tickets, £120 in petrol and probably £30/40 in food, drink etc. That is a lot in one week. But again, it's a selfish reason, I don't have a gun pointed at me telling me to go.

[CRASH 4 ARSENAL]

Playing 34 games vs 38 games has one small aspect I like, amongst other big ones…considering how a certain team is now buying the league every year…it would be slightly easier for clubs with more modest budgets to mount a serious challenge over a 34 game campaign than over the longer one.

Not a huge thing, but I like it anyway.

[ZonaGunner]

18 teams makes sense to me, given the fixture congestion. But knowing Blatter, he'd jump at the chance to add more friendlies and such, so in the end I'm not sure going to 18 teams from 20 would really change much of anything. It would be good to find some kind of resolution to the almost nonstop schedule top players face.