EPL - never so divided

[SW Ranger]

Just looking at the current state of the EPL and seeing that West Brom are currently in 8th position, sitting on 44pts for the season so far, yet just 16 points from a relegation spot. They have just about accrued over 50% of the leaders points tally (75pts having played one game less than West Brom) and are 16pts away from the team in 5th place.

Never has the league been so divided with the top seven teams so split from 'the rest' of 'also rans'. Is their only hope every season to achieve EPL status with no hope of achieving any other honours. All they fight for is to avoid relegation - what a terrible way to look forward to the season.

I would rather play in the Championship and be fighting for a top position, than every season staring down at relegation spots every year for the sake of Sky's 'silver dollar'. All I want is my team to be entertaining, and winning (please note that bit Mr Holloway) - rather than watching defeat after defeat and trying to be brilliant at attaining a mediocre 40pts as success.

So what ways could the EPL be changed to make things much more interesting?
My thoughts?
Follow the US methods perhaps and introduce Salary caps?
Introduce an annual player draft with lowest teams having first choices (perhaps players, who are in the last year of their contact or out of contract, agree/offered by their club to be put into a draft pool and the teams take selections (the player benefits from a higher contract, and the fee is pre-set at paying off their last year salary instead of a transfer fee; or if out of contract there is no fee). Promising youth players can be introduced to the draft where they are not getting match time.

 

[QPR Oslo]

Leicester?

 

[SW Ranger]

Leicester?

Really?
Fantastic for the fans and thats why they had so much support outside of the top teams to make it as underdogs ... but ...
Has happened how many times in EPL history?Struggled this season to the edge of relegation.
Best player bought by top team.
Manager sacked.
Not convinced to be honest.

 

[QPR Oslo]

I just mean Leicester contradicted your argument as I understood it, last season. I don't get why anyone doesn't want their team to play in the top League, and Leicester proved that winning it let alone a top 4 finish isn't totally impossible for other Clubs than those in the top 7 now. Everton are making it top 7 rather than a top 6 this season, an achievement in itself. Then there is European football and the Cups to play for as well as avoiding relegation. Lots of money too!

 

[seagullhoop]

Just looking at the current state of the EPL and seeing that West Brom are currently in 8th position, sitting on 44pts for the season so far, yet just 16 points from a relegation spot. They have just about accrued over 50% of the leaders points tally (75pts having played one game less than West Brom) and are 16pts away from the team in 5th place.

Never has the league been so divided with the top seven teams so split from 'the rest' of 'also rans'. Is their only hope every season to achieve EPL status with no hope of achieving any other honours. All they fight for is to avoid relegation - what a terrible way to look forward to the season.

I would rather play in the Championship and be fighting for a top position, than every season staring down at relegation spots every year for the sake of Sky's 'silver dollar'. All I want is my team to be entertaining, and winning (please note that bit Mr Holloway) - rather than watching defeat after defeat and trying to be brilliant at attaining a mediocre 40pts as success.

So what ways could the EPL be changed to make things much more interesting?
My thoughts?
Follow the US methods perhaps and introduce Salary caps?
Introduce an annual player draft with lowest teams having first choices (perhaps players, who are in the last year of their contact or out of contract, agree/offered by their club to be put into a draft pool and the teams take selections (the player benefits from a higher contract, and the fee is pre-set at paying off their last year salary instead of a transfer fee; or if out of contract there is no fee). Promising youth players can be introduced to the draft where they are not getting match time.

I'm inclined to agree... pretty dull when all you can aspire to is mediocrity at best and self imposed financial armageddon at worst.

Leicester might well be the exception that proves the rule - a freak occurrence that across all the major divisions in work football is rarely (but not never) seen.

I'm not for drafts because they rely on the college football structure which we don't possess in this country. And wage caps would have both pros and cons - the pros would likely be more competition as the playing field would be levelled, plus opportunities for home grown players as overseas player would look elsewhere for the best paid employment. Cons would be fewer of the bigger world 'stars' to watch and the overall status of the PL would be diminished (though inevitably clubs would find ways to pay more in kind e.g. free houses, cars, schooling, image-rights etc.)

For me playing in the top league isn't something I necessarily aspire to (though I don't criticise those who do) - it's much more about seeing my team play well and entertain me on the pitch. I do think the cut and thrust of the Championship is a much more exciting prospect with our current set up.

Take the example of Brighton who are arguably PL 'ready' and then compare them with us - we are a million miles away from being a team who might compete - and despite their preparedness they are still odds on to be fighting at the bottom of the PL next season - which is a sad indictment of what our top league has become.

Teams do go up - some stay there, but it was no accident that Leicester were 5000-1 to win the league... the bookies rarely (but not never) get it wrong.

 

[Tramore Ranger]

I must admit that I find the Premier League boring, there's only so much hype that one can take and I've rarely watched MOTD this season. With the exception of the top 5, 6 or 7 clubs the rest are little more than top Championship sides, it's quite likely that both Brighton and Newcastle (if they don't blow it, which would have a certain comic quality) will struggle and you can probably select any side from 9th downwards to have their turn as a struggling side.

Certainly the Championship has a more level playing field and on any given day anyone can beat anyone, Brighton have lost 7 times, Newcastle 10, Reading, Huddersfield and Wednesday 12 and so on........Where's the fun in watching your side have an ambition to finish on 40 points to enjoy the money aspect only knowing full well that in reality they haven't a cat in hells chance of ever winning the league title, and in all likelyhood losing far more games than they'd ever win in a season........

This season hasn't been great by any stretch of the imagination, still not fully safe, but I live in hope that next season we might have a chance of a Play Off place as another day out at Wembley would be rather good........

Before anyone says that there's no evidence to point towards such a thing, it's just wishful thinking.......

 

[QPR Oslo]

I must admit that I find the Premier League boring, there's only so much hype that one can take and I've rarely watched MOTD this season. With the exception of the top 5, 6 or 7 clubs the rest are little more than top Championship sides, it's quite likely that both Brighton and Newcastle (if they don't blow it, which would have a certain comic quality) will struggle and you can probably select any side from 9th downwards to have their turn as a struggling side.

Certainly the Championship has a more level playing field and on any given day anyone can beat anyone, Brighton have lost 7 times, Newcastle 10, Reading, Huddersfield and Wednesday 12 and so on........Where's the fun in watching your side have an ambition to finish on 40 points to enjoy the money aspect only knowing full well that in reality they haven't a cat in hells chance of ever winning the league title, and in all likelyhood losing far more games than they'd ever win in a season........

This season hasn't been great by any stretch of the imagination, still not fully safe, but I live in hope that next season we might have a chance of a Play Off place as another day out at Wembley would be rather good........

Before anyone says that there's no evidence to point towards such a thing, it's just wishful thinking.......

If you don't want us to be in the PL then I guess that if we won the play off final then you'd want us to let the losers take the PL place ? And you wouldn't want us to be top 2?

I find the football in the Championship dire to watch, all huff and puff with skills flattened. I rarely watch it when we are not playing. PL better but sadly no longer the best League in Europe.

 

[YappyR]

Just looking at the current state of the EPL and seeing that West Brom are currently in 8th position, sitting on 44pts for the season so far, yet just 16 points from a relegation spot. They have just about accrued over 50% of the leaders points tally (75pts having played one game less than West Brom) and are 16pts away from the team in 5th place.

Never has the league been so divided with the top seven teams so split from 'the rest' of 'also rans'. Is their only hope every season to achieve EPL status with no hope of achieving any other honours. All they fight for is to avoid relegation - what a terrible way to look forward to the season.

I would rather play in the Championship and be fighting for a top position, than every season staring down at relegation spots every year for the sake of Sky's 'silver dollar'. All I want is my team to be entertaining, and winning (please note that bit Mr Holloway) - rather than watching defeat after defeat and trying to be brilliant at attaining a mediocre 40pts as success.

So what ways could the EPL be changed to make things much more interesting?
My thoughts?
Follow the US methods perhaps and introduce Salary caps?
Introduce an annual player draft with lowest teams having first choices (perhaps players, who are in the last year of their contact or out of contract, agree/offered by their club to be put into a draft pool and the teams take selections (the player benefits from a higher contract, and the fee is pre-set at paying off their last year salary instead of a transfer fee; or if out of contract there is no fee). Promising youth players can be introduced to the draft where they are not getting match time.

It's called COMPETITION in a league, for a reason.
It's always like this, now, with the immense amount of global moneys.
And by that I mean, would you have stopped foreign investment? That is, foreign owners? It started with foreign players in the early days and now it's completely filled with global players. Would you have predicted that Chelsea would be what it is now, back in the day before Abramovich?
There was always going to be a global shift coming, and even then, they always talked about the great top clubs of the big European leagues. Why would they even have a title like El Classico in Spain if they didn't create such a "big team" rivalry that excluded the small teams? There will always be smaller teams.
Before salary caps, should we look at foreign player caps and only allow a certain number of foreign players that is allowed to be fielded at any given time? That's such a difficult discussion with foreign owners and foreign moneys. We would be called prejudiced and racist and whatnot, and with Brexit, it's bad enough. Nobody in their right minds in Europe will ever adopt the US system. The US system exists because their teams don't get relegated, as pompous and "protectionist" and typically American as that concept is.

 

[Tramore Ranger]

If you don't want us to be in the PL then I guess that if we won the play off final then you'd want us to let the losers take the PL place ? And you wouldn't want us to be top 2?

I find the football in the Championship dire to watch, all huff and puff with skills flattened. I rarely watch it when we are not playing. PL better but sadly no longer the best League in Europe.

All down to opinions Os........off course I'd love to see the R's back in the top flight and punching above our weight as we did in the 70's, 80's and early 90's but I'm not going to hold my breath as it's unlikely to happen and if we were to get back there the chances of breaking into the top 6, which is virtually a closed shop are slim to none........Yes Leicester last season was a one off unlikely ever to be repeated which is a shame as like you I can remember when teams like Norwich, Ipswich, Coventry all were established top flight sides and successful........Being realistic I just can't get excited about watching the R's lose week in week out which is what would probably happen in the Premier League.......

 

[QPR Oslo]

There is hope for us all Tramore! Who for example expected Huddersfield to be making a good promotion challenge this season?

 

[SW Ranger]

It's called COMPETITION in a league, for a reason.
It's always like this, now, with the immense amount of global moneys.
And by that I mean, would you have stopped foreign investment? That is, foreign owners? It started with foreign players in the early days and now it's completely filled with global players. Would you have predicted that Chelsea would be what it is now, back in the day before Abramovich?
There was always going to be a global shift coming, and even then, they always talked about the great top clubs of the big European leagues. Why would they even have a title like El Classico in Spain if they didn't create such a "big team" rivalry that excluded the small teams? There will always be smaller teams.
Before salary caps, should we look at foreign player caps and only allow a certain number of foreign players that is allowed to be fielded at any given time? That's such a difficult discussion with foreign owners and foreign moneys. We would be called prejudiced and racist and whatnot, and with Brexit, it's bad enough. Nobody in their right minds in Europe will ever adopt the US system. The US system exists because their teams don't get relegated, as pompous and "protectionist" and typically American as that concept is.

Unfortunately Yappy, it is called competition by name only, as there clearly isn't too much competition.
The season revolves around six clubs each year' the sports stations talk endlessly about which of them will make the top four league positions.
Everyone else spends their season trying to stave off losing week after week to avoid relegation, players walking away and the owners losing millions. What happened to the fans in all this? Look at West Brom, scratching their way to safety and feeling they've achieved their target - yet they are 8th.
Yes I would love to see us back in the EPL, and I'm with Tramore here, but I don't want to watch endless weeks of my team losing while our fans, players, management and owners tear each other and the club apart through the season until relegation and complete upheaval ensues (and you end up worse than when you competed for promotion). I want to see a league where competition is what it says - competitive and interesting every year, where teams can make a challenge for the title or for Champions league. Even our coveted FA cup 'competition' has become a joke. Where teams put out youth teams until the final rounds, they just don't care about it. So sad.
It will be very interesting to see how Brighton, a club touted to have done it 'the right way' cope next season. I hope that they have a better experience than many, I truly do.