Today we celebrate (or not) 25 years of the Premier League. Judging from feedback on Radio 5, fans are pretty divided about the merits or otherwise of the top flight. Mind you, fans often change their mind when their club gets into it.
Today we celebrate (or not) 25 years of the Premier League. Judging from feedback on Radio 5, fans are pretty divided about the merits or otherwise of the top flight. Mind you, fans often change their mind when their club gets into it.
I support a League One club (Charlton Athletic) which had a spell in the Premier League, but at best can hope to get back into the Championship. I am also involved as a volunteer with a non-league club. I still very much enjoy watching the quality and skill displayed in the Premier League, albeit local council regulations mean that I cannot have Sky or BT.
I once dedicated a book on the Common Agricultural Policy to then Charlton manager Alan Curbishley. He was actually really flattered (it has sold over 6,000 copies which is a decent sale for a book of that kind). People using the book in seminars used to have fun by pointing to the dedication and asking: which is the more difficult task – reforming the CAP or Charlton winning a trophy.
The point was made on Radio 5 this morning that club teams are now stronger than international teams and that what top players really want is to compete in the Champions League rather than represent their country. If your primary interest is international rather than club football, this is clearly bad news.
The anniversary is a chance for firms to get publicity from ever more bizarre tables and apparently Chelsea would be relegated from the Credit Worthiness Premier League. Apparently it’s mainly to do with their debt/asset ratio.
Given that most of this debt resides with their wealthy owner, I don’t see this as a problem as he has never given any sign of getting rid of Chelsea. Even his latest divorce should not put a big dent in his fortune.
A somewhat bigger problem is the manager’s wish to make short-term signings of older players who would have little resale value. The board wants to invest for the long run. An interesting conflict, given the volatility of the manager.