The Barclays Premier League thread 2015/2016

[METALMAN]

I've just come off the Paris Metro where I saw a huge big advertisement for the new Chelsea kit at one of the platforms.

Bit inappropriate. :/

Edited August 31, 2015 by metalman

[stokeriño]

Speaking of which, there was a report the other day of Manchester United fans being arrested for racist abuse on a train. I'm sure you'll have seen the daily television coverage, read the biographies of all those involved that were published in the newspapers, and heard the Prime Minister's official comment on the matter already, so really there's little point me adding anything to it here.

 

 

[Rich]

Speaking of which, there was a report the other day of Manchester United fans being arrested for racist abuse on a train. I'm sure you'll have seen the daily television coverage, read the biographies of all those involved that were published in the newspapers, and heard the Prime Minister's official comment on the matter already, so really there's little point me adding anything to it here.

 

 

It wasn't caught on video

[stokeriño]

So the outrage about racist football fan abuse goes away goes away so long as we don't have to listen to it first-hand? That's nice.

[Rich]

So the outrage about racist football fan abuse goes away goes away so long as we don't have to listen to it first-hand? That's nice.

I was being sarcastic?  

[stokeriño]

Fair enough. Different people use  in different ways, so it can be difficult to interpret.  

[Rich]

I have no idea what you speak of

[stokeriño]

[MDK]

[METALMAN]

I've just come off the Paris Metro where I saw a huge big advertisement for the new Chelsea kit at one of the platforms.

Bit inappropriate. :/

And this morning I was pushed off the Metro by a black woman. Justice has been done.

[Lineker]

Bloody hell, Fergie has written another book? He must be so incredibly bored...

Elsewhere, double-whammy for Bournemouth, new signings Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings are out injured for six months and a year, respectively. Joe Bennett has been signed as cover on a six-month loan from Aston Villa, but that's terrible luck.

[DavidMarrio]

The only teams to win at home this season are Southampton, Man.Utd, Crystal Palace, Swansea (twice), Man City (twice) Liverpool and Leicester. Tottenham and Watford are both unbeaten at home but haven't won a game yet whilst Man.Utd although unbeaten at home have one won and drew one.

Only City and Swansea have a 100% home record.

Found it quite interesting really, out of 40 games there has been 9 wins. 14 games have been draws and there have been 17 away wins.

Edited September 4, 2015 by David Marrio

[Lineker]

Saido Berahino is back in training at West Brom.

[FLiam]

He'll get a heroes welcome at the Hawthorns I'm sure.

[Lineker]

The Football Association has cleared the way for Chelsea and Tottenham to play at Wembley while their grounds are under development. The FA’s chief executive, Martin Glenn, said he would support clubs using the 90,000-seat arena in those circumstances.

Chelsea may have to vacate Stamford Bridge for at least two seasons if their £500m plan to increase capacity to 60,000 comes to fruition. Tottenham expect to spend the 2017-18 campaign away from White Hart Lane as they build a ground that will also host NFL games. Both clubs are interested in a temporary relocation to Wembley.

“I won’t comment on clubs but if that’s an opportunity then we will follow it,” Glenn said. “We are there to provide help. We can run the FA for less costs and we can raise more. There’s a range of things. It’s primarily a football stadium, football matches are more profitable to run than concerts and other things.

“We are the national stadium and seeking to use it more is what we are all about. We have an obligation to football. I’m not talking specific clubs but it’s in our interest as an association for clubs to redevelop their grounds, make superb facilities and if it’s possible to help them in that transition by using Wembley, we are absolutely supportive of that.”

The Premier League would give the go-ahead for Chelsea and Spurs to share Wembley for a season but would not allow a club to play home league matches at more than one stadium in a season.

[Lineker]

The government could impose a levy on the Premier League’s broadcasting fortunes for distribution to football’s grassroots if the league does not share more money voluntarily, the minister for culture, media and sport has said.

John Whittingdale, setting out his department’s priorities to the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee, said the Premier League needs to make more of its “vast amount of money” available to help local clubs which are struggling. he league’s 20 clubs, whose combined UK and international TV rights deals for 2016-19 are expected to exceed £8bn, do not distribute more of that “bonanza”. Similar comments were made in June by the sports minister, Tracey Crouch, whose position is junior to Whittingdale’s in the department, when she said she was “genuinely appalled” by how little the Premier League distributes and that it should give “much more” to the grassroots.

Whittingdale told the committee: “The Premier League is enjoying a complete bonanza now. There is a huge amount of money coming in but the proportion of that that reaches the lower divisions and the grassroots in particular is still very small. Should they be doing more? Without any question.”

On the question of whether the government could intervene, he said: “If the Premier League absolutely refuses to increase the amount of money that passes down through the system to the benefit of grassroots sport, then I think we would certainly look at what options we have available to us to ensure that is the outcome. I hope that can be avoided. It would be perfectly possible for the Government to intervene to achieve that outcome, maybe through a levy.”

The Premier League is paid £5.5bn from broadcasters for its current, 2013-16 TV deals, from which it contributes only £12m a year to the Football Foundation, whose role is to improve grassroots football facilities nationwide. The Football Association matches that contribution, while Whittingdale’s department, via Sport England, invests only £10m. Whittingdale’s government and the previous Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition have also imposed billions of pounds in cuts to local authorities, which from 2010-14 resulted in a £400m reduction in spending on sport and leisure, including on grassroots football facilities, according to the Local Government Association.

The Premier League says its current total contribution to grassroots facilities, community projects and other “good causes” is £168m a year, amounting to 3% of its TV income. Payments to the Football League and Conference in “solidarity‚“ are £161m a year, also approximately 3%.

In 1999 following the Labour government’s support for Premier League clubs to maintain the lucrative right to sell their broadcasting rights as a collective group of 20, the Premier League pledged to distribute 5% of its total income to grassroots facilities and projects, but it now considers that pledge to have lapsed.

The Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Scudamore, has already said it will distribute £1bn of its expected 2016-19 TV income outside of its 20 clubs, but a substantial portion of that, as Whittingdale and Crouch have pointed out, will be in parachute payments to professional clubs relegated from the Premier League.

“The real challenge is to get right down into the grassroots,” Whittingdale said. “Every MP will have local clubs who are struggling, and in some cases failing, to survive, and yet there is this vast amount of money at the top of the game.”

The league is yet to finalise what its distributions will be to each area of the game, but as the broadcasting income is due to increase so spectacularly, it is expected to contribute more money to the grassroots, even if the proportion distributed remains 3%.

Governments have threatened the Premier League and FA with legislation and other interventions several times over the years of financial boom for football, but none have translated those threats into action.

 

[MDK]

Some of that money should trickle down to outside of the FL. EAT THE RICH!

Not our Rich, altho I reckon his buttock would be a mighty fine BBQ centrepiece.

[Colly]

I'd vastly prefer it to trickle down to lower ticket prices (particularly away games), since then I could use the money saved to support my grassroots sides by actually watching them.

[brenchill]

He'll get a heroes welcome at the Hawthorns I'm sure.

He will once he scores a few goals all will be forgotten.

[The Lusophone]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34215312

Wat.