First off, I love the product. Absolutely love it. I will always be a supporter of the EPL. So with that as my personal backdrop, let's discuss ways you can improve your game so that you don't have protests over foreign investors and raid fields to stop games:
1. Maybe think about holding onto your own clubs. I don't know that you should be so much upset at investors like the Glazers who saw an opportunity to invest and make money as you should be at the people who sold your teams to foreign investors. Expecting outsiders to value your teams in the same way you value them is ridiculous and won't ever happen.
2. If you really want all the teams to have open opportunity, then develop a financial fair play system (or cap on salaries) and enforce it. Talking about a dream of West Ham going to play Barcelona in the UCL is nice, but as long as you allow clubs to spend what they want on transfers with no consequences then it will largely remain a pipe dream. You are the big product, it is okay to bully UEFA a bit on a cap.
3. Insist the EPL and FA have a system of approving owners that mandates how proceeds can be spent.
4. I didn't like the idea of the Super League, but realize that the Super League was wanted by the big clubs because of the issues with UEFA.
5. If you want your clubs to remain in your hands then cap the expenditure side of soccer, so clubs don't have to pay astronomical fees for bringing in players. The NFL system allows for all 32 clubs to have a chance because their market is largely irrelevant to their success. The Cowboys are worth almost three times as much as the Buccaneers, but the system allows them to compete evenly. Your system does not.
I know there are differences in the US System and UK-Europe, but it is time the EPL use its power to make substantive changes so that your league can be held by local ownership and all teams have an equal opportunity at competition.
1. Maybe think about holding onto your own clubs. I don't know that you should be so much upset at investors like the Glazers who saw an opportunity to invest and make money as you should be at the people who sold your teams to foreign investors. Expecting outsiders to value your teams in the same way you value them is ridiculous and won't ever happen.
2. If you really want all the teams to have open opportunity, then develop a financial fair play system (or cap on salaries) and enforce it. Talking about a dream of West Ham going to play Barcelona in the UCL is nice, but as long as you allow clubs to spend what they want on transfers with no consequences then it will largely remain a pipe dream. You are the big product, it is okay to bully UEFA a bit on a cap.
3. Insist the EPL and FA have a system of approving owners that mandates how proceeds can be spent.
4. I didn't like the idea of the Super League, but realize that the Super League was wanted by the big clubs because of the issues with UEFA.
5. If you want your clubs to remain in your hands then cap the expenditure side of soccer, so clubs don't have to pay astronomical fees for bringing in players. The NFL system allows for all 32 clubs to have a chance because their market is largely irrelevant to their success. The Cowboys are worth almost three times as much as the Buccaneers, but the system allows them to compete evenly. Your system does not.
I know there are differences in the US System and UK-Europe, but it is time the EPL use its power to make substantive changes so that your league can be held by local ownership and all teams have an equal opportunity at competition.
