If the Premiership League was a person then there is no doubt that it would be considered to be a serial solicitor. And when I say solicitor I don’t mean in the context of a lawyer but rather, in the context of a hooker.   

The announcement made yesterday that the Premiership intends to extend the season by one game to be scheduled for warm foreign climes starting in 2011, just reinforced the belief that when it comes to money nothing will stand between the Premiership and the possibility of collecting another pound note.

The Premiership proposal would have ten additional matches played on one day in January with the draw rigged to ensure that the top five teams do not play each other. The Premiership expects cities throughout the world to bid for the “privilege” of hosting these games that involve teams from what porn-king and reluctant Birmingham City owner David Gold calls the “the greatest league the world has ever known.”

The initial reasons put forward for intensely disliking the proposal – an unbalanced league, a rigged schedule, even greater fixture congestion – are all valid and in most situations would be grounds to mercilessly ridicule the poor sod that hatched the idea. However, none of these compelling arguments will stand in the way of the Premiership pushing forward with the scheme.

After all, what has fairness got to do with it when more money can be made? Particularly when you have a system that now needs an ever increasing amount of cash to feed a seemingly insatiable appetite. Any denomination, any source – no questions asked.

Of course, in support of the Premiership announcement we again read of the totally fictitious 1B people that watched the Arsenal vs. Manchester United league game at the end of 2006 - a number unjustifiable by logic and research but apparently quite reasonable to the fertile imagination of a Premiership P.R. hack.

What’s more we are told the NFL, NBA and NHL all do it so why not the Premiership? These leagues do it for a number of reasons – one of which is they are trying to sell sports that clearly the rest of the world could not give a toss about.

These foreign based match ups should be considered demeaning and a sign of weakness rather than one of strength. A case can also be made that the foreign audience does not actually have an appetite for the Premiership – their appetite stretches to perhaps five or six Premiership teams.

Despite the tone of the self serving announcements the fact that the Premiership intends to ensure that a top five team will be at each of the venues is a clear admission that they know that the core appeal of the Premiership is limited to the usual suspects.

As for the others - toss some money their way and make supportive comments about selling more Birmingham City jerseys to the folks in Miami and that should satisfy them. Rather like the way the Premiership has gone over the last decade. Who cares about winning when mediocrity can be so profitable? Danny Blanchflower called it the “Glory Game” for most it has become the “survival but still make gobs of money game.”

And so is this move inevitable? Probably not. Because no matter how self important the Premiership has become and no matter how insatiable its appetite for money, it is still a midget when set against Big Daddy – FIFA.

After the early headlines had grown stale late Thursday someone got around to asking FIFA what they thought of the proposal. Reuters reported a senior FIFA source as stating "The statutes of FIFA are quite clear, so from a first glance it would seem the Premier League will find it difficult to get their way."

Behind the bureaucrat-speak there are a number of powerful reasons why the Premiership’s idea to conquer the globe is in for a rough ride. First off it is difficult to come up with one national association – even the FA as will see later - who would or should be in favour of this proposal.

How many associations are going to willingly accept the Premiership juggernaut rolling into town, giving prominence to conflicting sponsors, taking attention away from the domestic league and then leaving a few days later with a suitcase of cash that wasn’t spend on supporting the local product?

Then you have sanctioning and jurisdictional issues regarding players, security, officials and a host of other logistical details. All could be overcome given the existence of goodwill on both sides. But how much goodwill can you expect when confronted by a modern day Robin Hood-in-reverse intent on taking from the footballing poor while further enriching pampered players and robber-baron owners?

Beyond possible “host” associations the other associations especially in Europe are not likely to embrace the proposal either. The mammoth income enjoyed by English Premiership clubs already threatens to tip the balance of power between the big five associations (an argument could be made that it already has) and any threat of additional income flowing the Premiership’s way would not be considered as a positive move by the likes of Italy, Spain, Germany, and France.

So these national associations are far more likely to campaign against the idea than sit on the sidelines even though they may initially make some glib semi-supportive noises – just in case.

The implementation date of 2011 is also interesting and should the Premiership eventually succeed and receive FIFA approval there is always the possibility that some residual resentment might surface when the twenty-four man FIFA Executive Committee vote later in 2011 to award the hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup. Is that really a risk worth taking for the Football Association?

But more important than any of these reasons is that if this idea goes ahead and is implemented then a massively important precedent will have been set. Initially it will mean that other leagues will be free the try the same thing with the possibility that patchwork schedules will become the norm rather than an original small exception.

However, far greater is the potential for such a move to be used to engineer a European league or ultimately a Global league. The G14 may have disbanded just a few short weeks ago but that does not mean that their power base and ideas have evaporated never to return.

UEFA and FIFA know that an Escape Committee could easily be reformed if the scent of more money is in the air and a precedent such as the Premiership is seeking is at hand. So in the end the Premiership can study and fine tune their proposal all they want but do not expect it to be given the green light by FIFA.

Ringo - And go Huntly.... Dundee?

Bobby – Dundee lost to Fraserbough in the 50s in the Scottish Cup so they should not be counting their sheep just because they are playing a Highland League side.

Craigy_f - Best and worst of the FA Cup 3rd Round for you? Which is your favourite CUP? Did you check out Mario Kempes' Perfect XI? Read something about EFC working with some soccer organization in Canada - Is this still going on? What will be your next live football match? Any ties that leap out at you for the fourth round?

Bobby – Best game was the Stoke vs. Newcastle match. Worst display was probably Sunderland going down 3-0 at home to Wigan. Favourite Cup – probably the World Cup, mainly due to the build-up even though it normally disappoints.

Kempes XI – yes I saw it in Four Four Two, it was close to the Dirty Dozen. I know the Argentina victory in 1978 is tainted somewhat but I thought they were a fantastic team. I remember watching Ardiles run the midfield and just being blowing away with how intelligent he was with the ball. Passarella was a rock at the back and good going forward. Tarantini (never worked out at Birmingham) bombing forward as well. Up front Kempes and Luque and then a year after came Maradona. Menotti was intriguing as well.

Everton are/were doing some stuff with the Ontario Soccer Association and GolTV.

Next live match – don’t know. It looks as if I will be busy through the spring and so maybe a trip to Toronto for an early MLS game might have to do.

Fourth round ties – nothing that others have not pointed out. The only thing I might add is that there will be a maximum of nine Premiership sides in the last 16 so it opens up a descent chance again for a “minnow” to sneak into the final..

The RealRico - As the conversation of commentators and brown nosing Bobby continues, I have to ask Bobby, how come you don't do any commentating on FSC? I know you have been asked this before, but I couldn't remember the answer.

Bobby – I have never been asked. I did some Canadian Soccer League stuff twenty years  ago and that was what set the ball rolling and that led to radio, magazines, newspaper, FSR and the blog.  To be honest I am quite happy doing what I am doing. It all fits nicely together with my other stuff and maybe sometime in the future the opportunity might arise but there again maybe not.

As an aside I have found myself watching games more as a colour commentator over the last few years. When we started off in 2001 I think I watched the games with the perspective of telling viewers what happened. It then dawned on me that the viewers knew what happened - what was needed was comments on why it happened – the job of a colour commentator.

I’m not sure that too many colour commentators in North America actually get that. Even though I might be accused of bias I think Christopher Sullivan does an outstanding job of telling the viewers why it happened not what happened.

I hear far too many colour guys in North America (particularly in Canada) acting as ancillary play-by-play guys. I think the other issue is that the more you hear from some of them the more you realize that there is very little depth e.g. no names but the guy that constantly second guesses the referees decision after viewing slow motion replays and then tells us if the official was right or wrong.

As far as the UK colour men are concerned I really enjoy listening to Robbie Earle and Paul Walsh.

In Canada as far as analysts are concerned Paul James gets a check mark from me – solid comments.

AlbertaGooner - Does anybody else remember Danny Blanchflower? He was a wonderful analyst back in the 1970s.

Bobby – He made the News of the World a worthwhile read beyond the stories of dirty vicars in sex scandals. Blanchflower was certainly one of the more intelligent players and analysts – and a wit as well. Unfortunately I think he suffered from Alzheimers for years before his death.

MrMoore - Blackburn are now in a poor run of form, but surely you can now mea culpa on your "dissing" of Roque Santa Cruz? The man is toward the top of the premier league goal scorers and in all competitions looks a pretty decent goal scorer.

Bobby – One season – or part of a season – does not a successful career make. Let’s see him do it for a couple of seasons and that way he can prove Bayern Munich and me wrong. You are in good company so far – Mitch Peacock passed on a message from Steve Nicol telling me I would rue my opinion of Santa Cruz.

Medpanton - Bibby, U have bin tlking abt the gud and sweet football arsenal are playing. do u see them as a team to win the title this season? I wil b listening ur program tonight.

Bibby – I think I get the question. I think Arsenal’s defense may cost them the league. Am I close? 

Verbal97 - Anyway, I actually have a question this week. Aside from Arsenal, it seems that no players come up from youth levels in "the big 4", and even then its players Wenger bought from another club at a young age. Where's the next Robbie Fowler or David Beckham?

Someone from a Liverpool message board made a good point about Benitez in particular, in that if he were in charge at the time he would have NEVER given Fowler, Owen or Gerrard a chance. My questions are 1) is the pressure to get results at the top prevent the managers from giving youth players a try, 2) is the issue the managers or that the players aren't as good as before and 3) what effects, if any, is this having on the national team.

Bobby –1. There has always been pressure on managers – that is not new. And frankly managers at the top are so well paid that it is not as if they face ruin if they get fired. I just can’t believe that any manager cannot find a place for a promising player if they want to.

2. I would suggest a third option which is that with the money that they have available many of the top Premiership teams find it easier to sign what they consider to be a ready-made answer rather than living through the growing pains of a younger player. 

3. Marginal – the national team is the supposed to be the cream of the crop so I don’t think that a potential national team player is going to be missed.

A more general comment on Premiership youth development - Paul Hart who developed some good talent at Leeds and Nottingham Forest is now in charge of youth players at Portsmouth. It might take a few years but if Portsmouth sticks with Hart then it should produce great dividends.

Getz76 - I know EU trade laws would forbid it as written now, but do you think there will ever be a salary cap in European soccer (ala NFL, NBA)? Do you think it would be beneficial? It seems to have done something in those leagues; while the NFL doesn't have relegation and some teams are insanely mismanaged (Cardinals, Bengals); in general every 4 or 5 years there are new teams that dominate or do well.

Bobby – You are right, as it currently stands EU laws will not permit salary caps. Under the just approved Treaty of Lisbon there is – in theory - always a chance that might change. But I would not hold my breath.

It may work in North America (and in Rugby League in England) but that is not a like for like comparison. Would it still work in North America if there was15 NBAs, 15 NFLs and 15 MLBs? A nightmare is what it would be.

What’s more you have to look at who would be the winners and losers if salary caps where imposed. Prices would not go down, salaries would as well, and so who makes a killing – the owners. Owners then make more money which leads to clubs being sold for ever higher prices.

The owners are the only winners, not the fans and not the players. It is interesting that players are criticized for their salaries but how many people questioned the $100M + made by Martin Edwards when he sold his United shares?

TijuanaTim - I sit back and smile about your regular opinions. However tonight you have excelled yourself. Running down Peter Crouch, where do I start? Firstly you would give your left testicle not only to have him playing for one of low level Dundee jokes let alone Scotland.

His goal scoring rate at international level exceeds both of your heroes...Kenny Dalglish (twice as good) and Dennis Law also. Both of whom scored some of their goals against poorer, less accomplished, less fit and amateur oppositions.

Crouch is loved by top coaches (with more 'soccer' knowledge than you could ever dream of having) and fans globally, especially at major clubs like Liverpool, Southampton and Portsmouth.

Where next, oh yeah 'Richard Cresswell was causing Newcastle problems', Bobby no he was not - he was completely ineffective.

Next 'Kevin Phillips was no threat in the Prem', he was his club's top scorer on repeated occasions and was the last player to hit an amazing 30 Prem goals in one season.

Then James Beattie (same comment as Phillips)...er Bob, he scored almost 100 Prem goals less than 300 games. He joined Southampton as a raw young forward and by the time he had played the same amount of games as Alan Shearer (who also started as a raw young forward at Saints) he had netted over twice as many goals - same league - same level of opponent etc

Bobby, try and be a little more professional and a shade less ill-informed and opinionated without an ounce of analytical back-up.

A bit about me so that you just don't blow me off. I am in my 30th competitive season of coaching, I have coached/managed at all levels. One of my former players won six full England caps and played for your countries greatest club, another was involved in million pound transfers and scored winning goals at Wembley....I am not sure whether this was before or during the time you have been an 'expert' or have been an author of a 'blog'.

Otherwise keep up the good work, it would be cool if you could interview or meet some football people 'in the know', it would add to your insights. BTW, your team Carlos - Jeremy etc are awesome. Happy New Year

Bobby – Oh I am so embarrassed. How could I ever have got it so wrong? Tim, you are of course right on all counts. Please accept my humblest apologies and feel free to correct me in the future.

Verbal97 - "Crouch is not horrible, but he is nowhere near world class" Getz gets it. Can't the haters at least concede that (yes, you too Bobby)?

Bobby – Verbal 97 after an ill-advised comment about Crouch during the World Cup (I think I used the word flop or something close) I retracted soon after. However, his numerous limitations are there for all to see.

Redfan2000 – This whole Crouch debate is nonsensical. Bobby raised it yet again because he failed to impress in the Luton game, in Bobby's estimation. Liverpool have four of five strike options and Crouch is by no means the least able of those available, period.

What failed to come out of the FSR was that Crouch got no little or no service or support. The much vaunted Kuyt and Babel did not get close to providing the kind of support Crouch thrives on. Torres would have fared no better.

If you are left alone up front which is what happened on Sunday, you have little to play with, boxed in by two backs and the CBs. The FSR analysis was more or less just a plain old character assassination, much as some of the comments on here.

A tactical analysis of why Liverpool failed to play well or create many scoring chances would have been far more worthy of the FSR. Luton played ok, but they were allowed to. At least Crouchy poached the goal that saved us a fate, with blushes, as bad as Everton's. It is not like he squandered fifteen attempts because he did not.

Peter Crouch has a role to play at Liverpool which is to score goals, but unless Rafa plays players who will give Crouch (or Torres for that matter) better supply he will not score goals.
The focus of Liverpool's woes needs to be on the tactics and team performance, rather than on one striker or any single player.

Bobby – Just one comment, well ok two. If you really believe that Fernando Torres would not have fared better against Luton Town why the hell did Liverpool pay over $50M for him?

Torres can turn a defense and exploit the space behind the back four something which Crouch is largely incapable of doing.  Character assassination? Come on.

Wiegs9 - Simon Barnes' opinion on Alan Shearer as manager seems at least partially based on Shearer having no managerial experience. I'm fine if this is pure opinion from Barnes, but I'm curious if there is any factual basis. In other words, are players (esp. star players) who don't apprentice at a top division club/nation or start managing at lower-level club/smaller nation before becoming a top division manager generally failures?

Bobby – I stand to be corrected but I cannot think on one manager in the modern era that has moved directly from the role of player to that of a successful manager and succeeded over an extended period of time. Dave MacKay did it for a season or two at Derby post-Clough.

We have had the likes of Gullit and Vialli but they flamed out. The nearest might be Kenny Dalglish and I think it fair to say that Heysel and Hillsborough took away any chance that there might have been to succeed in the long run ala Ferguson and Wenger.

I don’t think you can compare international to club managers given that there is a very different dynamic at play. When you look at the last two decades a major trend has been towards managers who have learned the trade as opposed to the old fashioned view that if you were a player then you could manage.

I think there is a much broader acceptance that teaching and coaching are skills much different than playing while man-management skills and leadership are probably more important than anything else. As Arrigo Sacchi said "you don't have to be a horse to be a jockey."

Djnima -1. What is your opinion of Karim Benzema? He looks to be the hottest property in European football. Do you think he is over hyped due to the fact that he plays in Ligue 1 (a step down for BPL, Serie A, and La Liga I’m sure you would concur)?
2. Do you see Alan Hutton signing for United in the summer? Would you rate him as a long term replacement for Gary Neville?
3. Have you heard of this Skrtel fellow?

Bobby –1. He looks to be the real deal to me. 2. I would not discount Spurs as a final destination yet. 3. No.

And finally…….

TijuanaTim I was only kidding I just wanted to keep you to last.  Where do I start?

 
“Bobby, try and be a little more professional and a shade less ill-informed and opinionated without an ounce of analytical back-up.”
TT practice what you preach perhaps. Or does the comment “you would give your left testicle not only to have him playing for one of low level Dundee jokes let alone Scotland” pass as striking insight and wisdom from 30 years of experience at all levels? If it came to watching Peter Crouch week in and week out I wouldn’t give your left and right ones for that privilege.

“His goal scoring rate at international level exceeds both of your heroes...Kenny Dalglish (twice as good) and Dennis Law also”.
Your comparison of Peter Crouch to Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law?  I’ll let that one stand without comment. Liverpool and Manchester United fans please feel free to chip in. (Crouch’s scoring rate at the international level is better than Fernando Torres as well so I can only assume that you also rate Crouch higher than Torres).

“Crouch is loved by top coaches….. and fans globally, especially at major clubs like Liverpool, Southampton and Portsmouth.”

Pity he isn’t loved by the Liverpool manager. Once again if you are going to call me on lack of analytical back-up then I expect more than grandiose statements from you.

How about some insightful comment about Crouch’s skills and how he compares to the likes of Adebayor, Drogba, Torres or Berbatov? How many times in his career has Crouch actually turned a defender and created a chance let alone scored?

Strength, mobility, movement, power in the air, finishing on the deck (the only thing I would give him close to a pass mark for), pace, touch, creativity?

No let’s just dismiss all that stuff because Crouch supposedly has a good touch for a big man - as if big players should not be able to control a ball.  Crouch is a starter at a mid-table Premiership side – nothing more. He is, as I have said repeatedly, a very limited player and certainly not one that should be playing for a side like Liverpool.

“Where next, oh yeah 'Richard Cresswell was causing Newcastle problems', Bobby no he was not - he was completely ineffective”
Stoke had Newcastle on the rack for most of the second half and Cresswell was part of it stretching the Newcastle defence on their right side and forcing saving tackles and saves. He was so ineffective Tony Pulis kept him on for the full game. Maybe it had something to do with the two great last ditch saves he forced.

“Next 'Kevin Phillips was no threat in the Prem', he was his club's top scorer on repeated occasions and was the last player to hit an amazing 30 Prem goals in one season”
If you going to quote me please quote me correctly and in context. Phillips scored 30 goals in the Premiership…………over 8 seasons ago. His last scoring season in the Premiership was 2005/06 and he scored 4 goals in 23 appearances. (As an aside Phillips was not the last player to score 30 goals in the Premiership.)

The question related to the Coventry striker Michael Mifsud and whether or not he could step up to the Premiership. The point I was making was that there is a large gap between the two leagues and you only have to look at the top scorers in the Championship (Beattie and Phillips) and compare how they were doing in the Premiership before dropping down a division. Phillips last scoring season in the Premiership I have noted above; Beattie has scored 13 goals in 20 plus Championship matches this season. He took him 76 games in the Premiership to score his last 13 Premiership goals.

“He (Beattie) scored almost 100 Prem goals less than 300 games. He joined Southampton as a raw young forward and by the time he had played the same amount of games as Alan Shearer (who also started as a raw young forward at Saints) he had netted over twice as many goals - same league - same level of opponent etc”
If 81 goals are almost 100 then you are correct. I wasn’t aware that Alan Shearer had ever played for Southampton in the Premiership. I thought he joined Blackburn from Southampton just before the Premiership kicked-off. There was almost a decade between Beattie starting for Southampton after his move from Blackburn and Shearer but if you are going to compare Crouch with Dalglish and Law then why not compare Beattie with Alan Shearer?
 
If you consider me an “expert” then that is your word but it is not something I have ever called myself and it is not something I would be comfortable with. I learn something new about the game every week and only wish that when I was younger I had been more observant and would have had more access to how other countries played the game.

There are a lot more people with far greater insight than me but there is also a lot of rubbish and clichés that comes out of the mouths of ex players and coaches. To put forward the notion that only people “in the know” can intelligently comment on the game is elitist and wrong.

I find that intelligent comment and analysis comes largely from what you would probably consider outside of the game rather from within it. Or maybe you can provide a list of sources of intelligent comment on the game that you approve of?

There was a lengthy post on Crouch on November 6 2007. 

 

Thank you to all the great people I met at the Toronto FC, DC United game on Saturday. A shout goes out to all of you.

Cathal Kelly writing about Baseball GM Billy Beane and his love of soccer.

Champions League reform?  This one is guaranteed to be divisive.

Gabriele Marcotti on Tottenham’s managerial debacle.

Graham Hunter takes a dim view of Real Madrid’s summer buying spree.

Jason Burt speaks with Obefemi Martins.

David James on goalkeeping.

Rob Hughes takes a look at the captains of Inter, Milan, Roma and Juventus and loyalty.

Klinsmann to LA Galaxy story – don’t be surprised if this move happens very soon.

An extract from Sir Bobby Charlton’s latest autobiography. I still have one he wrote in 1964 called "My Soccer Life" so it will be interesting to contrast it with the book that is about to be published.

This piece is for the old timers. The last chapter of the 1964 book Charlton picked his best British eleven. The side he picked in the old 2-3-5 was - Bert Trautmann; Jimmy Armfield, Ray Wilson; Danny Blanchflower, Neil Franklin, Duncan Edwards; Stanley Matthews, Wilf Mannion, Tommy Taylor, Denis Law and Tom Finney.