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Ive decided to write down in a little more detail my opposition to the proposals to play a 39th league game abroad. I dont know if anyone will read it but I really need to get this off my chest.
1: The proposal would see an end to the most basic principle of sport... that it must be fair. Teams would be drawn against each other in a seeded draw for game 39 which would prevent the possibility of the top six teams being drawn against each other.
This leads to many potentially unfair scenarios, but I will highlight three:
SCENARIO ONE: Aston Villa, in sixth place are only one point ahead of Middlesborough in seventh. But Villa will not have to play the top five teams above them, including Man Utd, Arsenal etc because they are seeded. Subsequently Middlesborough, who are not seeded, are drawn against an in-form Chelsea and get beaten, while Villa are drawn against the league's worst team that year, lets say Birmingham, and comfortably win.
SCENARIO TWO: Derby, in 18th place are drawn against Arsenal and get beaten as expected.
While relegation rivals Wigan are "luckier" in the draw and play struggling Birmingham, who are in 13th place, and manage to get a valuable draw. Also, Wigan's game was played closer to home and they suffer less fatigue than their rivals.
SCENARIO THREE: Liverpool, in first place after a good start to the season, are handed a match against Everton, just outside the top six and also their local local rivals. They then face a mentally grueling match against an Everton team who are doing well anyway that season, and Liverpool get beaten. Meanwhile, their closest competitor for the title get Derby and cruise to an easy three points while resting several key players.
2: This is not just about messing about with the Premiership, but the top flight of English football as it has been for over 120 years. Not for any good reason, but just so a few rich people can get a little richer. And what of the money? 5 million a year for each club is the amount being talked about... its not even very much!! If the clubs are apparently willing to do this for only five million, what will they do next? If one match abroad, why not two? Why not four? Why not big adverts painted on the pitch and quarters instead of halves so we can have more advert breaks? You might scorn at that, but you would have also laughed at the possibility of premiership matches being played in Australia before these proposals were made public.
3: The press, or large sections of it, can not be trusted to report on this issue reliably because they have an interest in it going ahead. This is particularly true of the Sun, The Times, Sky News, Sky Sports etc. Notice haw the Sun, for example, seem to focus on the issues that are petty and irrelevant... eg the "honest, hardworking fan" not being able to afford to fly to Rio to watch his beloved club... this style of "dumbing down" journalism is corrupt and designed to avoid talking about the important issues, thus keeping opposition to a minimum.
For the same reason, polls of fans' opinions on the subject by the media should not usually be trusted.
4: If, for the reasons I laid out in point one, the Premiership is not fair and in addition is more a traveling circus than a serious football league, then where does that leave the integrity of the League Title? And even more importantly, where does it leave the integrity of the clubs?
I am an Arsenal fan. My club has built its very existence in recent years around trying to win the league each year. Its the bread and butter of what they do. So how can they be taken seriously if the prize they are trying to win is a world-wide laughing stock? They answer is, they can not.