International Premiership Games? Thanks, But No Thanks 7 February, 2008
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.trackback
The Premier League have today come up with an idea to stage one Premier League game a season in another continent. The game would be in addition to the usual 38 games but it would still count in the league table. They’re saying that there would be some sort of a draw to decide who plays who but the top five might be seeded; so we would end up playing one team at home, away and one in another country.
The venues they’re thinking about are in Australia, America but mostly in Asia. We all know that the Premiership has a global appeal and it would give foreign supporters the chance to see their beloved team; and of course it would also be a rare opportunity to fans to go out to places they’ve never been before and follow their team.
When I heard about this, this afternoon I was a bit confused, I didn’t really get it. I mean I think it’s a really nice idea, and I can see every reason behind it but this extra game would jeopardise the league’s structure. For example, some teams would have an easy game and others a hard one, and the long-distance travelling could affect the players.
However I think the biggest negative that might be raised by the fans is what I’m thinking tonight. I wouldn’t really want to pay about £1,000 in travelling just to go and watch Arsenal play Birmingham. The response to that would be that these extra games are an opportunity for fans the other side of the world to get to a game. Fair enough, but it’s our club! Shouldn’t they be coming to us?
I don’t know, there will always be loads of positives and negatives. Anyway, nothing’s final yet, it’s just an idea at the moment; however it looks more likely than not that they’ll go through with it. I think it’s an interesting idea but I hope it doesn’t spoil the Premiership.
In other news we…oh hold on, there isn’t any other news, sorry. Our players’ return from international duty today so we’ll be able to see the shape our players are in tomorrow. Fingers crossed. It looks like Flamini could play against Blackburn.
Oh I almost forgot. Alex Song is doing really well at the African Nations Cup with Cameroon. He helped them reach the final tonight putting in a man of the match performance. Nice one Alex!
Thanks for reading.
I think the idea is utter shit. Bring back the old times…
This idea signifies the death of English football as we know it. It’s driven by greed pure and simple and takes the game away from the grassroots fans in the pursuit of screwing ever single last dollar from the global appeal of the English game.
It will make a mockery of the league where currently you play each team twice, home and away, and turn it instead into a lottery. The fact the big five will get seeded makes it both more unjust yet also more likely that they will shut up and go along with it as it will help preserve their status at the top of the pile.
It’s total utter shit and will be, I really fear, the moment at which I, for one, have to turn and walk away from the greed fest the game has become. It’s starting to look like FC United is the true way to the future after all!
Cash Rules Everthing Around Me = CREAM
Although I’m one of the fans that may benefit from this idea (living in the U.S.), I’d have to agree that’s it’s a ludicrous idea. They can keep all their reasons about extending the brand (blah blah blah) and giving international fans a chance to see games live. It would ruin the balance of the schedule and give unfair advantage to some clubs over others. Imagine if you were supporting Wigan in the midst of a relegation fight (all hypothetical mind you) and you were drawn the extra game against Arsenal in your hometown on the other side of the world. I’d imagine you’d be against it, no matter that you got to see it live.
I’d be more than happy with the occasional pre-season trip by the club to the states or a personal vacation in London to see the team live.
Simple solution: Play the Community Shield in a different location abroad every year.
jrockdc – that is actually a sensible idea, which is why it will never happen. The F.A.’s idea would be better if the game in question has no bearing on the premiership as it is too much of a lottery for all teams.
As I’m from the USA, I’m not totally against the idea of the teams going somewhere to play SOME games, but even though I would love to see Arsenal vs anyone else in the league in person, I’d just as soon keep the Premiership fixtures how they are and have teams go to other places for friendlies. Seems like a dumb idea to add another game, there are already so many in the schedule plus more traveling would be too much.
Of all the shitty ideas that have ever come out of the Premier League or the FA, this is the biggest pile of shite ever. It’s based purely on greed, it makes the league competition unbalanced (because some teams will get an easy 39th match and others won’t) and football fans across the country should unite to get rid of this plan along with the men inside football that supported it. Complete and utter shite.
It really is a stupid idea, prepetrate by stupid, greedy gnomes with too much fucking time on their fucking hands. The English Premier League is the most over-hyped shite in the whole fucking world. Its fucking appeal is based on the fucking myth of exciting, fast-paced football. That is a fucking, bald-faced lie. The quality of the average English football team is fucking poor; the excitement comes from a bunch of over-weight, ugly, ugly English fuckers on the sidelines singing themselves hoarse over another bunch of over-paid, ugly, ugly fuckers who run up and down the fucking pitch for 90 minutes. I don’t have a fucking clue why this is so fucking appealing, but it is. It’s like watching fat people run; so fucking hypnotic that you’d spend a fucking fortune to see it.
The problem, once you take the game away from the reason for its appeal (the indigenous fans), you take away most of the appeal. Fuckers abroad will be duped into watching Liverpool vs Chelsea once, but you know the old saying – fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I should move to fucking England to watch these fuckers for fucking real.
The English Premier League belongs in England; like mad cow’s disease, beef wellington and Victoria Beckham.
More like ‘Carry on Soccuuur’.
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!
i live in oz and would go see any team that came out here
Stupid fucking idea. I’m from the US as well and yeah, we want to see the Arsenal, but not at fucking Monster Park in San Fran, or Soldier Field or whatever. We got to go to London, like a pilgrimage if you like. Even more true when Highbury was still standing.
Yeah the US dollar is in the toilet and the pound is fucking inflated so it’s difficult for most of us to travel to England at the moment, but WTF add another game??? Save your money and make a trip right? Part of the experience of a match is being in London or some other place, going to the home ground beating around the city,and to the pub or whatever rings your bell.
The Chastity Shield idea isn’t bad, but not too fair to the supporters in England who care about that piece of crap trophy heh, sorry.
Anyhow my 2 fucking dollars worth=2 pence.
Seeing as Arsenal fans in Asia, the U.S. and everywhere else also contribute considerable sums of money to the Premier League and it’s clubs through satellite TV fees, merchandise, Arsenal TV and the like, why not give them the chance to see the club they support too? The Premier League would look more like League One without international support and funding, so bring it on… One game a season overseas isn’t going to kill anyone, and will help to make our league even more dominant in terms of popularity.
Look, it’s the English Premier League. If you live in Asia, India or Australia tough fucking titty. You choose to live there. I don’t bemoan the fact that I can’t pop round the corner to watch Kabbadi or decent cricket. I pay over a thousand pound a year for my season ticket and go to most away games because it’s our football in our country, if you live in Oz and don’t like it fucking move. BTW there is a petition on Vital Arsenal.
Steve,
Just checked out that petition on Vital Arsenal and I’m a bit confused. Whats the point of petitioning for Hairdryers in the Emirates Toilets?
@TJ
You’re saying that since we contribute money to the club through merchandise etc that the club should come to our city and play? Sorry to be harsh but that’s a ridiculous point. Arsenal ain’t the fucking Rolling Stones man.
By your gear, pay for the TV or drink your pub dry or whatever, but do it because you love the club, don’t expect some type of absurd payback in the form of a fucking stupid 2000 mile traveling league match.
Save your money, go to London, it will be worth every fucking *fill in currency here*
Maybe we should play a couple of league games in Cumbria because a bloke there bought his son an Arsenal cushion for his birthday. Fucking stupid.
Oh, the wonderful irony. Having defended Arsenal for years against accusations of not being English enough, it’s now too English to play a game overseas.
For sure if I was still in the UK I’d probably be slagging this off, but the fact is Arsenal and the Premier League are now global ventures, and having Arsene and the crew turn up for a competitive game down the road is something I’d have to support. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather see the Arsenal at the Emirates than anywhere else (and I’ve spent plenty of cash on tickets and airfares to do that when I can, including a small fortune for the Champion’s League final), but I and millions of others would be more than happy with a game in our backyards. Proclaiming that it should never happen due to the “Englishness” of Arsenal and the Premier League is just hilarious, as they’ve thrived on foreign money and foreign involvement. There’d be nothing wrong with a little (and I mean a little) pay back, especially if the global popularity of and funding for the game increased.
Having said that, an extra game in the league is probably never going to work, but at the moment all they’ve said is that they’re exploring possibilities, and if they can find a way to make it work then great.
It’s nothing to do with the “englishness” of Arsenal Tj, it is an English league based in England. To that there is no argument.
One Song we’ve only got one Song.
Connolly’s agent u r a muppet
It really is a stupid idea, prepetrate by stupid, greedy gnomes with too much fucking time on their fucking hands. The English Premier League is the most over-hyped shite in the whole fucking world. Its fucking appeal is based on the fucking myth of exciting, fast-paced football. That is a fucking, bald-faced lie. The quality of the average English football team is fucking poor; the excitement comes from a bunch of over-weight, ugly, ugly English fuckers on the sidelines singing themselves hoarse over another bunch of over-paid, ugly, ugly fuckers who run up and down the fucking pitch for 90 minutes. I don’t have a fucking clue why this is so fucking appealing, but it is. It’s like watching fat people run; so fucking hypnotic that you’d spend a fucking fortune to see it.
The problem, once you take the game away from the reason for its appeal (the indigenous fans), you take away most of the appeal. Fuckers abroad will be duped into watching Liverpool vs Chelsea once, but you know the old saying – fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I should move to fucking England to watch these fuckers for fucking real.
The English Premier League belongs in England; like mad cow’s disease, beef wellington and Victoria Beckham.
WTF u have some serious problems m8
ps i fucked ur mama hardcore
To TJ – the REAL problem is that it ruins the integrity of the Premier League. 39 games in a home-and-away league doesn’t work. If the FA was serious about this, they’d grab hold of their testicles and take AWAY one of those 38 games and show it abroad. That’s the only fucking fair thing to do.
To Chevre Chaude – you’re the one with fucking problems. My fucking momma’s a fucking cow. How do you like fucking cows, M8?
To Mum – I’m still angry that you’re fucking a worthless fucker like Chevre Chaude. I know Dad’s a creepy pervert who likes to watch me toss off, but still… did you have to do Chevre Chaude?
To the rest of you fuckers – I stand by my conviction that the EPL should be quarantined in England. Take it out of its natural habitat, and like any big, dumb, crass animal, it’ll be unsuccessful.
That said, I’m fully behind the establishment of overseas friendlies, tour matches and NEW club tournaments. A handful of clubs have a global support base, and they should take the opportunity to play in front of their overseas fans. It’s only right. I’ve got a suggestion – European clubs with pretensions of global dominance should withdraw from their domestic cups (no one takes them seriously, anyway) and set up a mini-superleague in Japan, America, China, Dubai… anywhere it takes their fancy. That’ll please the market men, the overseas fans, and the insular domestic ones who shriek like little girls at the prospect of being ripped off because their team is playing an EXTRA game that they can’t attend.
Until tomorrow, fuckers.
The other thing that the FA could do is to buy one of the tin-pot, struggling clubs (like Tottenham), and turning them into the “international” side which plays its home games overseas. That’ll keep the integrity of the home-and-away system while providing 19 matches that could be played at overseas locations. The problem of lengthy travel can be alleviated by rigging the roster and scrapping the Carling Cup.
To Chevre Chaude – you’re the one with fucking problems. My fucking momma’s a fucking cow. How do you like fucking cows, M8?
i find them very satisfying thank you very much
PS youre a muppet
calling me worthless now
you rascist white bastard