CUT THE PREMIER LEAGUE TO 16 TEAMS

Anyone else see this article on Barca wanting to cut the Premier and other top league down to 16 teams for the sake of the Champions League?

Any thoughts on this? Can't understand why it needs to be 16 teams and not 18 to be honest? It's hard enough to break through as it is!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15748287.stm

I'm lost on this one !! - The Premier League has 20 teams the same as in Spain ( primera liga ) and Italy ( serie A )

It was only last month when there was talk of NO Teams going down each season from the Premier League

the only reason they want to do this is to play champions league games on the weekend and not in the week. basically for more money again.

they think that reducing the number of teams will solve this.

why they didnt work out is why dont they just swap weekend league fixtures for the midweek champions league fixtures.....

I heard that it is Barcelona and real are putting it out there that they want this to happen so they can edge towards a European super league because they are being held back by the attraction of the other teams in La Liga! I can see the Super League happening in the next 20 years but not anytime soon!

I have predicted this before. It could be as soon as 2014. Lets face it, if the top European clubs get together and decide to take themselves and their TV money away, there is absolutely nothing UEFA can do about it. Therefore, if those same clubs say they will withdraw, they can also dictate the number of clubs in each of the Premier League divisions.

If you aren't old enough to remember (like me!), then look up what Kerry Packer did for world cricket in the late 1970s. He put his money behind all the world's top players and invited them to play in his own tournament in Australia. The established cricket authorities refused to sanction it, but the players didn't care because of the wage boost they received. The authorities banned the players from playing established international cricket, and the players said "So what". They were still getting paid. Eventually, the authorities had to bow down to the pressure and sanction the Packer Circus, as their own product was vastly inferior without all of the world's best players.

I could see the European clubs pulling the same stunt, as if they threatened to set up their own competition then all ofthe players wouldn't care, as they still get paid. The TV companies wouldn't care, as they only get decent ratings for the top clubs anyway (which means they can sell more advertising).

I'm not sure where that leaves us, mind you.

Within the next 10 years, I envisage:-

16 club Premier League
24 club Premier Division 2
4 up and 4 down every year.
No relegation from Division 2

You get in the league on the type of ground you have and how much you pay for the franchise - lets hope we're in it.

I don't like it, but I have a feeling this is what its going to be like.

I have predicted this before. It could be as soon as 2014. Lets face it, if the top European clubs get together and decide to take themselves and their TV money away, there is absolutely nothing UEFA can do about it. Therefore, if those same clubs say they will withdraw, they can also dictate the number of clubs in each of the Premier League divisions.

If you aren't old enough to remember (like me!), then look up what Kerry Packer did for world cricket in the late 1970s. He put his money behind all the world's top players and invited them to play in his own tournament in Australia. The established cricket authorities refused to sanction it, but the players didn't care because of the wage boost they received. The authorities banned the players from playing established international cricket, and the players said "So what". They were still getting paid. Eventually, the authorities had to bow down to the pressure and sanction the Packer Circus, as their own product was vastly inferior without all of the world's best players.

I could see the European clubs pulling the same stunt, as if they threatened to set up their own competition then all ofthe players wouldn't care, as they still get paid. The TV companies wouldn't care, as they only get decent ratings for the top clubs anyway (which means they can sell more advertising).

I'm not sure where that leaves us, mind you.

Within the next 10 years, I envisage:-

16 club Premier League
24 club Premier Division 2
4 up and 4 down every year.
No relegation from Division 2

You get in the league on the type of ground you have and how much you pay for the franchise - lets hope we're in it.

I don't like it, but I have a feeling this is what its going to be like.

Utter bollocks. Cute though.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... teams.html