Hey one and all,
I am here to give a short post and update everyone on the latest soccer news over the weekend. Firstly, Portsmouth has gone into administration. This is disastrous for the club as they are already rooted to the bottom of the table, and going into administration would mean points deduction for them. Hence, it is almost all but certain that they would be relegated come the end of the season, and as I have mentioned in my earlier post they can only blame their owners who do not know their own limits and bought the club without having adequate financial muscle to run it well.
Also, this weekend throws up some potentially mouth-watering clashes between great teams. I will be elaborating on the Chelsea vs Manchester City encounter, which is labelled as"the big match" this week. These two teams are not really on fire at the moment, with both of them having lost in their midweek matches against Inter Milan in the Champions League and Stoke in the Premier League respectively. However, it promises to be an exciting clash, pitting John Terry and Wayne Bridge against each other for the first time ever since the scandal where John Terry cheated on Wayne Bridge's girlfriend broke out. It also gives us a chance to compare two on-form strikers, Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez. Also, it can give us a better indication of whether Manchester City will be able to challenge for the big prize soon. Certainly, it is not really decisive, as it will take a huge miracle for Manchester City to get back into the EPL title race, but nevertheless a great mach is still in prospect. I am predicting a 2-1 win for Chelsea at Stamford Brigde for this encounter, simply because they will enjoy the backing of the home crowd today.
And of course, I will be a Chelsea supporter today, as if they emerge victorious, Liverpool will have a better chance of clinching fourth spot come the end of the season(:
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Debt-saddling Owners
Hey one and all,
To kick start my blog, I will like to discuss about a fairly controversial issue in the Barclays Premier League: Clubs being debt-ridden. When I mention this, you might think," Oh, these clubs must be struggling. They must be those clubs threatened with relegation." But no, there are examples of clubs that are debt-ridden but however still do well in the Barclays Premier League, challenging for top honours and consisting of several world-class players. Surprising? I beg to differ.
First, there are two examples of successful clubs heavily in debt. They are, sadly, Liverpool and Manchester United. These two clubs are certainly the two most successful clubs in England's history, winning 18 League titles each. Indeed, this two clubs have great players, with Torres banging in goals for Liverpool and Wayne Rooney constantly scoring goals and inspiring the Manchester United team. They have many die-hard fans accross the world, with huge sales in merchandise and full stadiums at every match. So, indeed, how did these two clubs land themselves in this dire state? Look no further than their greedy owners.
Yes, in my opinion, the cause of this is greed. These owners payed huge sums to buy over the club, boasting and promising eager fans that they were going to splash the cash and bring the club further forward. However, behind all these nonsense talk, they secretly took loans to fund their spending. This was hidden away from the public eye at first, until it somehow finally leaked out. By that time, it was already difficult to change ownership. Prospective buyers will be put off by the shocking amount of debt, which is a few hundred million pounds, they would have to clear and the current owners will be unwilling to sell the club at a cut-price and make a loss. As this owners clearly do not have the financial ability to own clubs of this stature, why did they still want to buy Liverpool and Manchester United respectively? Investing in a club is a long-term business, and you have to be able to spend before you can earn. Apparently, these owners, lured by the financial prospects of owning football clubs, do not understand this logic. Just look at Portsmouth, who is in a much more desperate state compared to Liverpool and Manchester United. They have changed owners numerous times this season, and look certain to have another switch soon. They are as close to Premier League safety as Craig Bellamy is to stop having disagreements with his numerous managers throughout his career. They are under severe threat of going into administration, and that would certainly mean doom and gloom for them. Again, the owners are to blame. They clearly do not have enough money to run the club, yet they still buy over it and throw the club and even themselves into financial turmoil. Completely irresponsible behaviour.
To eliminate this problem, the Premier League has to play its part. They have to ensure that prospective buyers of Premier League clubs have enough financial muscle to deal with the demands of running a Premier League club, and prevent those owners looking to make quick financial gains from landing their on one of these unfortunate clubs. Also, FIFA and UEFA could have a rule stating that clubs should be debt-free before they are allowed to participate in major tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League. This would remind buyers that owning a football club is a huge responsibility and something that is certainly not easy.
And of course, I especially hope that Liverpool gets over their financial problems soon(:
To kick start my blog, I will like to discuss about a fairly controversial issue in the Barclays Premier League: Clubs being debt-ridden. When I mention this, you might think," Oh, these clubs must be struggling. They must be those clubs threatened with relegation." But no, there are examples of clubs that are debt-ridden but however still do well in the Barclays Premier League, challenging for top honours and consisting of several world-class players. Surprising? I beg to differ.
First, there are two examples of successful clubs heavily in debt. They are, sadly, Liverpool and Manchester United. These two clubs are certainly the two most successful clubs in England's history, winning 18 League titles each. Indeed, this two clubs have great players, with Torres banging in goals for Liverpool and Wayne Rooney constantly scoring goals and inspiring the Manchester United team. They have many die-hard fans accross the world, with huge sales in merchandise and full stadiums at every match. So, indeed, how did these two clubs land themselves in this dire state? Look no further than their greedy owners.
Yes, in my opinion, the cause of this is greed. These owners payed huge sums to buy over the club, boasting and promising eager fans that they were going to splash the cash and bring the club further forward. However, behind all these nonsense talk, they secretly took loans to fund their spending. This was hidden away from the public eye at first, until it somehow finally leaked out. By that time, it was already difficult to change ownership. Prospective buyers will be put off by the shocking amount of debt, which is a few hundred million pounds, they would have to clear and the current owners will be unwilling to sell the club at a cut-price and make a loss. As this owners clearly do not have the financial ability to own clubs of this stature, why did they still want to buy Liverpool and Manchester United respectively? Investing in a club is a long-term business, and you have to be able to spend before you can earn. Apparently, these owners, lured by the financial prospects of owning football clubs, do not understand this logic. Just look at Portsmouth, who is in a much more desperate state compared to Liverpool and Manchester United. They have changed owners numerous times this season, and look certain to have another switch soon. They are as close to Premier League safety as Craig Bellamy is to stop having disagreements with his numerous managers throughout his career. They are under severe threat of going into administration, and that would certainly mean doom and gloom for them. Again, the owners are to blame. They clearly do not have enough money to run the club, yet they still buy over it and throw the club and even themselves into financial turmoil. Completely irresponsible behaviour.
To eliminate this problem, the Premier League has to play its part. They have to ensure that prospective buyers of Premier League clubs have enough financial muscle to deal with the demands of running a Premier League club, and prevent those owners looking to make quick financial gains from landing their on one of these unfortunate clubs. Also, FIFA and UEFA could have a rule stating that clubs should be debt-free before they are allowed to participate in major tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League. This would remind buyers that owning a football club is a huge responsibility and something that is certainly not easy.
And of course, I especially hope that Liverpool gets over their financial problems soon(:
Hello everybody!:D
I see you have found my blog. Great!(: For my first post, I shall give a brief introduction of myself. Well.. My name is Jeremy and my hobbies are playing soccer and tennis. My favourite colour is blue! :D:D I play soccer for the Young Lions footall academy and as many of you might know, I am a die-hard Liverpool fan. This blog will mostly cover various soccer issues, but there might be a few posts on some major sporting events in the world too. Hope you enjoy my blog, and look out for my first real blog post!
I see you have found my blog. Great!(: For my first post, I shall give a brief introduction of myself. Well.. My name is Jeremy and my hobbies are playing soccer and tennis. My favourite colour is blue! :D:D I play soccer for the Young Lions footall academy and as many of you might know, I am a die-hard Liverpool fan. This blog will mostly cover various soccer issues, but there might be a few posts on some major sporting events in the world too. Hope you enjoy my blog, and look out for my first real blog post!
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