The Stupidest Idea Ever?

There have been two big Football Business stories this week.

One has been bubbling for a while and it is something we have talked about before on the Blog. Namely Overseas TV rights.

Last week saw Ian Ayre, Managing Director of Liverpool saying that he wanted an end to clubs all receiving the same money for games overseas no matter how many times they were on. He was pretty blunt (one of the comments reported was: “who tunes in from Kuala Lumpur to watch Bolton?”)

There has been debate about how the comments symbolised Liverpool’s move from Bill Shankley’s socialist roots to the modern, capitalist new world that football now inhabits – further distancing itself from his working class routes. And while, in fairness to Ayre, there is some merit in what he says: Liverpool are on the TV more than Bolton so it can be argued they should be getting more remuneration for this, it is a premise that we at Football Business wholly disagree with.

One of the strengths, surely of English Football (as opposed to other countries) is that we – just about – sustain over 100 professional clubs, and one of the ways we do that is by collective bargaining. In fact, the overseas TV deal is surely the only thing that is equitable about the Premier League and it must stay that way.

The other is even more stupid. In fact, it must rank as perhaps the single most stupid suggestion that has ever been uttered. A story emerged on Monday from the League Managers Association that some of the Premier Leagues foreign owners wanted to abolish relegation. The LMA’s Chief Exec Richard Bevan explained that these people wanted to move to an American Franchise type system of a closed shop.

Encouragingly this idea looks already dead in the water. A host of football people have lined up to ridicule it. Sir Alex calling it “suicide,” Dave Whelan, the Wigan Chairman, saying in today’s Guardian that he would “resign from the Premier League” if it happened and Venky’s Group – the owners of Blackburn Rovers – releasing a statement yesterday explaining: “We believe that the EPL's success is, in large parts, down to its ability to create such excitement for all who follow it, fans, players and staff and of course we the owners.

"We see no reason why anybody would feel it necessary to change the current format of the competition and are proud and privileged to be a part of such a great League.”

Without core support any plot – if there even was one– to ruin (and that’s not too strong a word for it) our great game will never get off the ground.

We all know what promotion and relegation brings to a league. We know how it has improved the competitiveness of Cricket and Rugby – indeed we always encourage our Franchisees to start more than one division because even in 5 and 6 a side football people want to go up and they want teams who deserve to go down to do just that.

Football is, was and must always be meritocracy. And, actually despite all the hot air this week, I am sure it always will be.