This was written a VERY long time ago, when I was in my early stages of learning to write so you may notice some aspect of it are a little more dramatic than they should be.
Some time ago the the Blackburn chairman at the time, before they were acquired by that random poultry company and indeed suffered relegation, reported that 82% of the clubs turnover goes to wages alone, which pays testament to the size of the problem presented to the Premier League. Debts mounting for smaller clubs now there are reports of more and more clubs being issued with warnings or winding up orders. A survey was done analysing the levels of debt involved in all uefa licensed clubs, the results at that time the 19 clubs in the premiership (at the time of the survey Portsmouth were in the premiership, and because of their administration they were declined a licence) were collectively in more debt than all the licensed clubs in Europe, keeping in mind that’s around the region of about 300.
Unfortunately a lot of the attraction to the premiership is based on the simple fact of money, Gareth Barry admitted he made his move to Manchester City for the very point of a massive wage rise. Nicknames like cashley cole have been coined (pardon the pun)
The typically narrow-minded hierarchy explained that there is only 1 way of eliminating this problem, which is to set a percentage limit in relation to turnover, say 50% of money made by any one club is allowed to go to wages. This would obviously create a unfair advantage due to the varying sizes of the 20 clubs in the league. So what would be out of the envelope solution I hear you ask?
Keep on reading…
The MLS is well known for its lack of quality in terms of skill and pace, but the wage structure is very strict, each club has a set salary with only 2 players allowed a negotiated weekly income (what is now called the David Beckham rule) which in turn pretty much eliminates the threat of any monetary confusion. It is a little more in depth than that but we will chat about that another day.
So the question is where would the premiership be if there was this kind of arrangement involved?
Would it take the simple task of swallowing the pride of being the richest and most exciting league in the world for the stability and integrity of the clubs that compete in it?