No, I’m not talking about money and revenue and all that stuff that fans don’t really care about. I’m not asking whether I think clubs are suddenly going to stop raking it in and we’ll see a return to “the good old days.”
What I’m wondering about is the fact that a lot of the Premier Leagues top stars are being heavily linked with moves away from their clubs to foreign teams and leagues.
First of all there’s that guy that plays right-hand side for Manchester United, I forget his name but I’m sure you must have heard of him…?! He seems content to have won the Premiership twice as well as the FA and Carling Cups, namely all that the English game has to offer and is supposedly seeking a new challenge.
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AC Milan have publicly declared their interest in Adebayor (after Fabregas, arguably Arsenal’s most valued player) and it seems likely at the moment that Chelsea will lose their vice-captain and generally most consistent player Frank Lampard.
Now it’s been sung from the rooftops the past two seasons that the Premier League is the Number One league in Europe at the moment (see recent dominance of semi-finalists in the Champions League)—but if this is really the case, why are so many of its stars looking likely to move elsewhere?
Has the Premier League reached its peak in terms of attracting and keeping the very top players?
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about 1 month ago
Interesting point and a very plausible idea. Their are certainly more instances you could have developed as well.
However, despite the interest on top Premiership-based players, the top players are also linked going the other way. Continued financial investments in clubs like Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea have allowed them to splash on on top quality over the last few years, unrivalled by those on the continent. And this seems to be continuing, The most in demand player in Europe at the moment, David Villa has been constantly linked to the top English clubs mainly. And perhaps Ronaldo will leave united but personally I'm looking forward to the likes of Robinho joining Chelsea and the quality United will buy to replace Ronaldo-up to £80's worth - according to reports.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks, yeah I realise that I could have included and developed some more points and left it a bit short. I did rather rush it off yesterday afternoon. Villa has indeed been heavily linked but I think he would prefer to stay in Spain. I realise Kaka is also linked but I don’t see much in this.
At the moment I think there’s a good balance between the main European leagues – I really don’t think there’s much if anything between the EPL and La Liga which is only a good thing in my opinion. After all it would be pretty boring if one league did really dominate and take all the players. Besides I think England has enough foreign talent and any more would mean absolutley no chance of young English players coming through!
about 1 month ago
Good points Matt. It's not been that great a summer for transfes but maybe it'll pick up.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah it’s been oh so quiet so far – I’m just waiting for the one big move to spark it all off. As soon as one of Drogba/Ronaldo/Eto’o/Ronaldinho/Berbatov/Adebayor goes then we might see a flurry of activity.
about 1 month ago
Well Covered..Matt...It's a big league..Spain and Italy just seems a bit tempting to the players at the moment.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I agree. The dominant league seems to be fairly cyclical and comes and goes without lasting for too long, Italian league was generally strongest in the mid-late 1990s, whereas Spain then took over for half a dozen years at the turn of the century. Now seems to be the Premierships turn – this obviously won’t last forever and I was wondering whether the peak had been reached and within 3-4 years another league would become the most glamourous again.
about 1 month ago
Good article Matt.
I think one of the main problems as well is the fact that the Premier league is becoming as predictable as the Scottish one - you just know that it's always going to be the same top 4 teams battling it out, and then you have the secondary Premier league behind them. Although I'm hoping that the likes of Spurs with their new buys, and maybe Portsmouth again or Everton, can make a dent in there somewhere.
As well as the money involved for players to move, there's also the fact that they might just be bored - after you've won everything there is to win domestically in a league, perhaps it is time to move on and try somewhere new, where a different style of football might test you more.
Not that I'm condoning that selfish right winger from Man Utd that you refer to, of course! ;-)
about 1 month ago
The one good thing that could come out of the transfer problems this summer is hopefully clubs investing a bit more time and money in British players.Its all well and good having the best players but if they don't care who they are playing for what's the point in supporting them?
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