EPL is so predictable, it's time for change

Two things: 1) the emergence of English kids through Arsenal's youth system, surely they'll grow into valued players before long. 2) the credit crunch. It may force football to go back to basics and become a people's game, once again, since the pendulum has swung too far.

rather than a monetary cap what about a points system similar to that used in the WAFL. essentially locally developed players are worth next to nothing (points wise) and imports are worth progressivelly more depending on wether they are internationals or poached from another club (eg rooney from everton to man u) (bigger penalties could apply if the player comes from a club in the same division than if the club is in a lower division). but the epl really shouldn't be touched, there's competition between the top 4/5 and then morecompetition for uefa cup spots and to avoid relegation. plus it would remove the romanticism of the fa cup where small clubs can take home the silverware on the day

I hope the 6 + 5 rule comes in, might see Spurs, Villa, etc break into the top 4 on a regular basis

wilswils - on a more pragmatic note than my philosophy-based opposition to your post beforem also using the "if it ain't broke don't fix it rule" I wouldn't go anywhere near touching the EPL, let alone suggesting as major a structural change as this... it is a worldwide phenomenon, and is by a huge distance the world leader in every dimension of success that any sport could possibly hope for.

Millster said | Yesterday | Report comment "Blah blah blah blah blah Yes lets introduce a completely artificial system of contraints by which a competition is “re-levelled” to the lowest common denominator. Lets look no further than the most superficial, all say ‘goodo we now have a system where all clubs can be premiers’ and ignore the fact that the very way in which you get there completely and utterly destroys the value and credibility of the premiership that you are seeking. What bollocks this is. If the reality of the world is that some clubs are better than others - whether through infrastructure, funding, player development or whatever - then why the hell would you want a system within a league that distorts this basic truth??" I could not be more vehemently opposed to this article or the principles behind it. You are my hero....

Every major league in the world has its dominant teams, its what essentially makes the league appealing on a number of fronts. You have 1) the underdog beating the dominant team (like fulham vs man utd or to a lesser degree liverpool vs. man utd) 2) that team has the best players which puts bums on seats 3) relegation battles become interesting 4) you have cups where you may knock off the dominant team and continue your fairytale run and win the cup. Fairytales are what makes football so great.

What? does anyone think the EPL needs something like the Paramount decision of 1948?

You will find that a dynasty creates more interest. The strongest leagues as mentioned above have been dominated by few teams. The best example of how a salary cap kills off a comp is the New Zeland provincial rugby Championship (NPC). You will never get fans interested if you water down the competition. NRL, AFL australians have no loyalty to a team they think that if the score is 40 all then the game was entertaining. i have seen many posts of fans no longer supporting NSW because they do not score 8 tries a game and find the six nations game between Ireland and Wales boring because there were only 2 tries. Australians have no concept of traditional sports rivalries. It is to be expected i guess from a new country who's citezens do not support tradditional world sports. long live AFL!

Blah blah blah blah blah Yes lets introduce a completely artificial system of contraints by which a competition is "re-levelled" to the lowest common denominator. Lets look no further than the most superficial, all say 'goodo we now have a system where all clubs can be premiers' and ignore the fact that the very way in which you get there completely and utterly destroys the value and credibility of the premiership that you are seeking. What bollocks this is. If the reality of the world is that some clubs are better than others - whether through infrastructure, funding, player development or whatever - then why the hell would you want a system within a league that distorts this basic truth?? I could not be more vehemently opposed to this article or the principles behind it.

The EPL could learn a thing or two from the AFL and NRL as regards to using salary caps to engineer tight, even competitions in which the premiership regularly moves between many clubs. But, of course, this argument is killed by Ernie Merrick's observation that salary caps really only are practical in closed domestic comps. As good as champions leagues are, domestic comps. and their clubs are increasingly enslaved to them. It's a nasty vicious circle in which the same top teams use their wealth to muscle their way into the C'sL, make even more cash, which then feeds the cycle all over again. The other factor is that many supporters love the EPL's big four because they are winners. A flimsy premise for supporting a club - forget blood and guts loyalty, it's all about commoditisation today. A lot of us would remember the 1970's and 1980's in the VFL/AFL, when only 5 teams won the premiership in 20 seasons. Compare this with the 60's: 7 teams. The 1950's saw the same numberof teams win as the 1970's and 1980's combined. The salary cap came into being in 1987 and put a stop to the sad cycle of the same teams (eg. Haw., Carl.) consistently winning p'ships. Since then, it's been 11 teams in the 1990's and 2000's. Perhaps the saddest thing about global football is that the EPL is the dominant domestic competition at all. Some of you might have read Franklin Foer's "How soccer explains the world : an unlikely theory of globalization" If you have, you would have to lament at how the efforts by sponsors, broadcasters and the Brazilian Football Confederation football in the late 1990's to rid Brazilian domestic football of corruption and turn it into one of the world's biggest domestic leagues fell flat on it's very nemesis - corruption. The entertainment value Brazilian football provides could well have dethroned the EPL. I guess we'll never know. I can't recommend the book enough.For chapter 10, "How soccer explains the American culture wars" one could easily substitute "American" with "Australian."

What kind of Salary Cap are you proposing? You would have to make it low enough for the smaller teams to afford which would lead to an exodus of all the great players out of the EPL to other leagues? If you have a Salary Cap based on turnover then small clubs like Blackburn, Wigan etc wouldn't be able to compete? The EPL will turn into a big city league where only big clubs with big fan bases and turnover would survive? As Dave pointed out, the EPL has become the richest, most popular sports league during this Top 4 aristocracy era? Fans love watching these 'super' teams and all the great players. For the majority of the 92 professional clubs in England, just playing in the premiership is an achievement. As Portsmouth showed last year, you can still win a major trophy without being a Top 4 club. Personally, I find the relegation scrap just as engrossing as the title race. In the next few years we could have a Top 5, 6 or 7 as other clubs with new owners strive to match the Big 4.

This article reeks of complete ignorance of other leagues around Europe. Talk about myopia! (if you consider most Australians are part of the Anglo world).

exactly Stephen Smith. at least the EPL has 4 teams competing, with potential 5th in Villa and Everton (at times) - Real and Barca, Bayern Munich, Inter-AC-Juve.... EPL is alot more open than these leagues. Jleague winners are? Hell even in the hAL there's Melbourne and CCM =)

Its the free market operating...amazingly doesnt seem to have affected interest in the EPL yet! Record TV deals, crowds ave 90% capacity across the league, etc. A salary cap would have to be brought in for all Euro leagues not just in the EPL or it wouldn't work. Signs are that AV and MAn City may well start to push for top 4 positions in coming seasons.

You checked out the other European leagues recently? Italy - Inter, Juve, Milan. Spain - Barcelona, Real Madrid. In France, Lyon have won the last SEVEN titles...and are on top again. It's the same right around Europe...