1.24 billion spent by premier league

[POSHO]

Nuff said

[BiggsyMalone]

When League 2 attracts the numbers around the world, then come back

[POSHO]

So given the current financial climate and clubs going to the wall this amount is acceptable. The premier league have also pleaded hardship and made staff redundant whilst spending this amount of money. Nuff said

[Adz]

When League 2 attracts the numbers around the world, then come back

You're OK with them utilising the government furlough then in light of this?

[JimbO]

If you read all whats going on they're looking into giving the football league a £250 million rescue package just wanting the details on how it's to be allocated. As they don't want to prop up clubs that are being financially mismanaged.

I know it's not just a question of this but what exactly is a mascot doing now to earn being kept on.

His role is quite literally redundant until society returns to a bit more normality.

I'll now don my tin hat and take cover.

[POSHO]

Whilst making big losses themselves. Debts by premier and championship clubs are obscene. Not premier league but Barcelona, a fairly big club , are apparently 820 million euros in debt but can still compete in competition

[OyinbO]

if smaller clubs start going tits up, this will cause some serious rancour in this country

sure, there's loads of people all around the world for whom football has long been an armchair/ online experience, but many of us in this country obtain our joy from actually going to the bleedin' things. Personally, my interest in the Premier League is no greater than it has been over the last few seasons


I'm sure that top flight clubs (at least those that aren't generally in any occasional fear of relegation) don't think they owe the rest of the domestic game anything, but there's a lot of smaller towns and cities in England for whom their football club is a key part of their civic identity, and this doesn't feel like "levelling up" at all

[BoniO]

I couldn't be less interested in the premier league tbh. It's been all about money, just another business opportunity, for so long now. We all know the big clubs are big because they have the financial support of some fabulously rich backer(s). Whilst having such riches available isn't automatically going to make you successful, all the really successful clubs are rich. So where does sport come into it?

They're only interested in results, which equals a big return on investment. They don't give a crap about their supporters, just as long as there are enough of them. They don't support home-grown talent, they'll just buy it in off the shelf. They don't do anything to encourage developing home-grown talent for this reason. Hence why England are pretty crap these days.

Yes, the standard of football in the premier league is high but it's really just about watching a bunch of journeymen, who get paid obscene amounts of money, to run around a pitch for a bit. Most players have little or no "loyalty" to their club and have little, or no, idea of the history of the club, or are interested one jot.

The sooner there is a Global wage limit - yeah, not holding my breath, the better. Why anyone who loves to play football, thus having the best job in the World, should get paid more than £100K a year doesn't make much sense really. If this was a Global cap then players could take it or leave it. What else would most of them do instead?

[BiggsyMalone]

When League 2 attracts the numbers around the world, then come back

You're OK with them utilising the government furlough then in light of this?

Did they all furlough staff? No.

[Dohnut]

if smaller clubs start going tits up, this will cause some serious rancour in this country

sure, there's loads of people all around the world for whom football has long been an armchair/ online experience, but many of us in this country obtain our joy from actually going to the bleedin' things. Personally, my interest in the Premier League is no greater than it has been over the last few seasons


I'm sure that top flight clubs (at least those that aren't generally in any occasional fear of relegation) don't think they owe the rest of the domestic game anything, but there's a lot of smaller towns and cities in England for whom their football club is a key part of their civic identity, and this doesn't feel like "levelling up" at all

Do you not think that if a small club was a really important part of a Civic identity then the people and businesses in those smaller towns and cities may do a little more to support it?

The reality is that in those small towns and cities having a football team may be nice, but not nice enough for them to get off their backsides and offer more than verbal support. That don’t pay the bills.

Truth is that football is a massive part of the lives of the real fans, those who put their hands in their pockets and give up their time, but for all too many their support is little more that watching the results on a Saturday afternoon. I appreciate for some attendance is not possible.

The Premier league have built a brand where quite often people can’t get tickets because it’s sold out whilst some smaller clubs struggle to get a few thousand diehards. I’m yet to be convinced that the inhabitants of many small cities and towns actually really care.

[POSHO]

Maybe its time for a club cull, so that the big clubs can prosper further through tv revenue, although it would be interesting who decides who is a big club. After all most of Orient supporters have a premiership club alternative. Perhaps a european league is now warranted. For me after supporting Orient for over 60 years, there is no alternative. Football would end for me and there are other interests to find

[Winchesterfan]

The formation of the Premiership started the rot in English Football. Anyone, with enough money, can make a football club 'successful'. But how that success is judged is the all important thing. Is it by having a wage bill of tens of millions, is it by having the best footballers in the world or is it because fan loyalty wants entertainment at reasonable prices?

Going to a Premiership ground, like the Emirates, is great when going to support the O's but as a general football experience, give me Brisbane Road every time. Premiership clubs are essentially for the wealthy, as so many fans can't afford single tickets let alone season tickets, and that's assuming you can even get one. You only have to see the acres of empty seats at many clubs after the interval, or at Wembley for cup final games, to realise that for many the football itself is not as important as the networking and hospitality.

The day is coming when the bubble will burst, the wealthy start to fall out of love with football and fans get bored of watching the same teams win on tv. Yes, the standard of football is incredible at the top level but without the lower divisions where would many youngsters start their career? Where is the local connection and ability of being able to watch football close up with a passionate crowd, at reasonable prices, and to whom their club means everything?

The magic of travelling to places you didn't even know existed for a cup game on a freezing cold Tuesday night or the local derby at Woodford Town. Both awful matches but ones that I still remember and treasure. This is football at grass roots level and must be preserved.

The current crisis, apart from anything else, is a real wakeup call to football. Whilst we see unemployment in the country shooting up, professional people happy to take on cleaning jobs rather than accept a state handout, the obscene wages and money available in the top flight of football is immoral.

[POSHO]

But grass roots football and its emotional connection to the area and social standings is old hat now and actually covers fewer people as the years go by. Not that many people really care any more as against supporting big clubs through their tv

[OyinbO]

Attendances in the lower divisions are fairly similar to what they were in the 1980s, before the top flight breakaway. It's not that fewer people are interested, it's that the costs have gone up (mostly player salaries)

[Winchesterfan]

Sorry this is 'old hat'. I don't agree with you and I can't be alone in finding the excess of football on tv boring and long for the chance to attend a match with real people in a real stadium. It is not just the football on the field, it is the atmosphere created by the fans, the build up before and after the match in the wonderful supporters club and the genuine friendship and interest shown from Nigel T at the top to everyone else who is connected with the club. Whilst I am, of course, biased to our club I am sure the majority of fans at all levels of the Football, National and local leagues feel the same.

[Rich Tea Wellin]

if smaller clubs start going tits up, this will cause some serious rancour in this country

sure, there's loads of people all around the world for whom football has long been an armchair/ online experience, but many of us in this country obtain our joy from actually going to the bleedin' things. Personally, my interest in the Premier League is no greater than it has been over the last few seasons


I'm sure that top flight clubs (at least those that aren't generally in any occasional fear of relegation) don't think they owe the rest of the domestic game anything, but there's a lot of smaller towns and cities in England for whom their football club is a key part of their civic identity, and this doesn't feel like "levelling up" at all

Do you not think that if a small club was a really important part of a Civic identity then the people and businesses in those smaller towns and cities may do a little more to support it?

The reality is that in those small towns and cities having a football team may be nice, but not nice enough for them to get off their backsides and offer more than verbal support. That don’t pay the bills.

Truth is that football is a massive part of the lives of the real fans, those who put their hands in their pockets and give up their time, but for all too many their support is little more that watching the results on a Saturday afternoon. I appreciate for some attendance is not possible.

The Premier league have built a brand where quite often people can’t get tickets because it’s sold out whilst some smaller clubs struggle to get a few thousand diehards. I’m yet to be convinced that the inhabitants of many small cities and towns actually really care.

Ahhh, capitalism is so heart warming.