Saints have played their part in making sure that the big clubs were not able to go through with their plan to make themselves richer.

When the Premier league started in 1992 the writing was starting to become visible on the wall, it was all about making the bigger clubs richer and getting them a bigger share of the cake and casting adrift the smaller clubs.

But the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool had a fatal flaw in their plan back then, they needed some other opposition other than themselves to play, so they could not cast everyone adrift.

But over the past 25 years the goal has never changed for the so called big six and the latest proposal that was on the table was again about letting them share a bigger part of the cake.

This is very short sighted by them, the strength of the Premier League is its strength, the fact that 90% of the league teams in any one season are usually competitive, you can never totally predict the result of any game.

But that is still not good enough for the greedy six, they want more cash as having continually squandered what they have by sacking managers and buying over priced players who underperform they have found themselves falling behind the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG.

So they wanted more money, but Saints stayed firm and like the majority of the premier league teams turned down the proposals.

This is bringing more talk of break away leagues etc, personally I'm sick of the Premier League greed and I like many would not be afraid of Manchester United etc disappearing into a European super league, that would mean the Premier League could return to a format where the majority of clubs could challenge for honours rather than being groomed as merely fodder clubs for the armchair fan to be able to watch being slaughtered by his team.

I am god that Saints have stuck up for themselves and voted against this proposal, perhaps it is the first step in the game being reclaimed from those that care for nothing other than TV rights and a step into money being filtered down the leagues to make sure our game survives.

After all surely something is wrong when the team that finishes bottom of the Premier League receives £100 million more than the team that finishes top of the Championship, it does not make for competition.

Photo: Action Images

steve73 added 08:42 - Oct 5 Rickie's retirement has made me reflect on the last few years and realise that the Premier League is only the 'promised land' for the clubs and players, not the fans. Unless, that is, you like incessant greed, exorbitant ticket prices, soulless mercenary players, fair weather fans who crawl out of the woodwork when the going is good and lots of pundits and experts (haha) ripping everything that is good about your club to bits. Let them have their super league or whatever it is. As a consequence we might get our game back, and passionate players to play it. People used to laugh at some of Nigel's sayings but never at this one...'Together As One'...and we really were. Something that's definitely been lost.

15

LordDZLucan added 09:01 - Oct 5 100% agree with the article and with steve73. I just want Saints to be competitive in the league that they're in which at present is in the Premier League. If the Premier League went the way of La Liga or the Bundesliga (i.e. same old club(s) winning all the time) that would be a big step backwards. I like the idea of the Top 6 in the Premier League *****ring off and joining a European Super League. That would make for an even more competitive Premier League and would probably reduce my Sky subscription as I wouldn't bother paying to watch that Super League!

8

LondonSaint added 09:28 - Oct 5 A great post. Agree with the other commenters posts too but I fear it's just wishful thinking. It feels like a lot of personality has been sucked out of the Premier League, or at least for teams that strive to do more than fight relegation. My favourite part of supporting Saints is the characters we've had that, whilst sometimes not the best footballers, brought a lot to the pride and fun of supporting a team - I'm thinking players recently like Marsden, Papa Waigo, Guly, Jaidi, Chaplow, Kachloul, Benali, even Wayne Thomas scoring from 30 yards! Where do those types of "interesting" players fit into a mid-table PL team these days? I also find it galling that we seem to have completely abandoned our academy/youth promotion after a few years back in the PL. It all feels a bit bland these days, and I don't think it's capturing the imagination of the next generation which is going to be pretty impactful.

3

Whiteknight added 10:09 - Oct 5 100% agree with the above. Steve73's opening comment was spot on. I want to have a connection to the team that I support and I sense that even many UK based fans of Premier League teams let alone fans from abroad don't have this. This in turn erodes the personality of clubs and turns them into faceless commercial organisations - a bit like F1 teams. Bring on the inevitable split. I would rather have a ground half full of vocal, genuine fans than one packed with tourists.

4

halftimeorange added 10:12 - Oct 5 It seems obvious to me. Take the top 4 from England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France (or variations on that theme), give them a Super League, their own TV channel, neither of which I have to watch and the bottom two clubs at the end of each season return to their domestic leagues and the winners of those leagues replace them. There should be a cup, too open only to the super league clubs and those who finish top of their domestic league. Result - each country has a relatively competitive premier division and there is an incentive to win the domestic league.

2

SonicBoom added 10:50 - Oct 5 Not the worst idea. Porential problem I can see is that the top 4 teams in each of those European countries are not always strong. I'm not sure how good the 3rd and 4th teams are in France or Germany for example - relatively speaking. Also the fans. Their team would be taken from them to play league matches across Europe. With modern tourist fans maybe they could afford to travel to watch but a lot of normal fans would be priced out. The odd European trip is one thing but a season of away games would be very expensive. Not that UEFA and the TV companies would care...

1

SanMarco added 12:31 - Oct 5 'I am god...' not sure I would go that far even though it is a very good article. I agree with the comments as well. Sky and the Premier League rode in on the 'greed is good' wave of the 80s and 90s. I suspect they intend to srew us all for a little while longer. I think that the super league is always a threat rather than a serious proposal - after all at least 2 of the 'big six' wouldn't get in. Arsenal might finally get to win the league though...

2

SanMarco added 12:32 - Oct 5 I mock Nick's typo and then leave the c out of screw - serves me right...
0

redandwhitedee added 12:59 - Oct 5 LorddzLucan.. With the exception off Leicester's once in a generation miracle year, the "same old clubs" do already win the Prem lge.. England simply has 3 potential winners each year instead of most other league's top 2.
1

LordDZLucan added 14:03 - Oct 5 Not sure the other three would agree with that!
1

BoondockSaint added 14:24 - Oct 5 This is probably the same conversation as 25 years ago...except the Premier replaced the 1st Division. Now it's a Super League replacing the Prem. It would have the same problems: inflation of wages/tickets/tv rights. Then 25 years on there'll be talk of a Super Duper League. The problems will be the same, just the prices will be higher. The only sports leagues that are competitive are the ones with salary caps-at some point even billionaires get tired of throwing money down a hole.

2

skiptonsaint added 17:58 - Oct 5 Steve73 says it all. also ongoing VVD saga has drained saints fans I feel. I am also not sure the big 6 fans want it as well. Having to travel to Europe all the time. mind you they would prob bring in Rangers and Celtic. The champions league has not been a run away success with numbers falling hence all the revamps. I never bother watching it. also if they did go we would prob be 2nd favourites to win the new league. How exciting would that be !

3

SaintPaulVW added 07:59 - Oct 6 I wish they would just get on with it and leave. Quite clear that when you have a squad costing over half a £Billion you are playing for a global audience rather than your home fans. An NFL of Europe is probably their best model. It would make time for plenty of lucrative exhibition matches overseas.
0

saintmark1976 added 10:21 - Oct 6 Brilliant post steve73. You have summed up exactly how I, and I suspect many other supporters of "lower order" Premiership clubs currently feel.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls