Let's seewco81 wrote:Interesting discussion on 5 Live about proposals to restructure the EPL.
Ideas include bringing in Celtic and Ranger (lot of EPL fans don't want their sectarianism), salary cap, more equitable revenue-sharing, an EPL2 so that relegation isn't so economically punitive.
Even talk of a draft.
Wigan supposedly spends 90% of their "turnover" (revenues?) on player salaries. Other marginal EPL clubs are overspending and getting deep into debt, not to compete for the title but to avoid relegation. So getting into debt to settle for mediocrity.
Other big clubs in Europe such as Roma are struggling because they can't count on CL revenues.
Celtic and Rangers - never. UEFA will oppose it as it will completely can the Scottish league, and both of those two are garbage teams who will go down.
Debt ? So what - clubs in Italy and Spain have been doing it for years, largely illegally.
Roma have been technically bankrupt for years, even when they won the Scudetto. They were bailed out by the bogus tax laws that Berlusconi brought in (described by the head of the Italian accountancy profession as 'a disgrace'), and were twice picked up for passing the financial guarantee criteria that are required in Italy through the use of forged documents listing non-existent deposits in overseas banks.
Draft - never happen, because unlike US sports there is no single point of entry.
Driving force is Bolton's chairman, Phil Garside. He's just trying to cover Bolton's backside if they go down, which I always hope they will, and perhaps take Dave Whelan's pie-eating ego bandwagon at Wigan with them, never to darken our door again.
