Does the Champions League structure not also contribute to the rift of T4 and the rest?
Firstly, I think it should be renamed to something else. Champions League – I feel – implies that the Champions of each country fight it out with each other in order to decide who is the Euro champion. Not, the top4 of this country, the top2 of that one, and these ones need to have a play-off. I think this structure, although good for viewing and money, causes the rift to become even greater and loses the true meaning of ‘champions’. Eg. Liverpool won the CL (but have NEVER won the English Premier), Chelsea won the EPL. What exactly did this ‘champions’ mean? Who was the champions, the better team, them or Chelsea?

My comment is more on the predictability of the major leagues (or probably all leagues), since I only partly agree. Yes, it is easy to see who will constitute the top 4 in England next year and probably the year after, but you can’t predict it much further into the future, since there’s actually quite a few changes made historically. I know your point is that it’s an increasing problem, but I think we’ve been saying that for quite some years now, and still there have been changes in the leagues (let’s stick with the 4 major ones). Basically very few teams manage to stay on top for a very long time. By far the most predictable leagues have been Serie A , where Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and then most of the time Roma, have constituted the top 4 (T4) lately, and the Premiership.

I have only looked 5-6 years back, and still there are probably more changes, than most people think. In Germany the only regular contender since the 2001/02 season has, of course, been Bayern Münich – but they have “only” won it 3 times out of 6. All other top 4 teams since then are: Stuttgart, Schalke, Bremen, HSV, Hertha Berlin, Leverkusen, Dortmund – that’s a total of 8 teams in the T4. Bremen have had 4 appearences in the T4, and Shalke and Stuttgart both 3. Quite irregular in general.

In Spain the only team to appear in the T4 every year is Real Madrid (won it 2 times incl this season – my guess). Barca ended 6th in 02/03 (won it 2 times), but has been up there all the other years. Other T4 teams have been: Sevilla, Valencia, Villareal, Real Betis, Deportivo, Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo – that’s a total of 9 teams. Valencia have been in there 4 times, Deportivo 3 times, the rest 2 or less.

In England MU (naturally – have made the T4 in very very many years in a row, quite remarkable imo) and Arsenal have been regulars. Chelsea have had 5 appearences, Liverpool 4, Newcastle 2 and Everton 1. Quite predictable, I agree. But the thing is, a lot of things happen to change these tendencies. Before Abramovich, Chelsea were the Tottenham and Everton of today, fighting it out for UEFA cup spots. I know the argument may not be the strongest when looking at England, but I’m pretty sure that we’ll see changes in not too many years even in England. Tottenham might have a crack at the T4 next season.

My point is that even though the leagues may seem predictable, I think it’s only in the short term, we can really be sure, which is why the sport will continue to be thrilling.

Plus there is, as pointed out by some, the fan factor – everyone has his or her team, and they’ll support it no matter what. The goal of Blackburn will not be the title next season, it’ll be making it to the T6 for UEFA cup. Those not supporting the major teams, use a lot of energy not-liking the major clubs too, and so it’s a game of passion, where every club with its supporters have goals to aim at, and successes to dream of – the game lives more than ever imo.

I hope my points came across and that anybody cared to read my rather long contribution to the matter. Great debate this one.

I agree that the concept of relegation and promotion as well as the established method of scouting early and bringing in 14-15 year olds means that the idea of an amateur draft is pretty much impossible to implement in the football leagues.

That being said, I’m sorry for being unclear in the article about my solution(s). The point of the article was to simply point out the problem I see in the football world and contrast it with the situation in America.

I’m going to work on a follow up article that takes a look at the EPL and how to solve the increasing financial and talent gap.

If anyone has any details on where I can find how the FA distributes revenue/prizes/money to the teams, I’d appreciate it.

Certainly, while the influence of cash is felt at every level, it isn’t the sole determination of success. While it can buy temporary, short-term success (Chelsea), it doesn’t change the simple fact that the way to long-term success is through the creation of a better organization as a whole. In the long run, the business model of an organization such as Chelsea is bound for failure. Simply, no football team can have substainable success wasting such an influx of cash on marginal players, as they have. For every dollar spent on Bollack, it removes a dollar from play on the rest.

The pyschology of a sports fan is interesting. It’s almost like a battered wife; they’re smacked around and around, but still continue to support their team. Because of a simple location and the jersey, the majority of a fans are willing to support a club through its losses, unappreciative foreign players, and continually increasing prices. Each of these have in the past been used to forecast the ruin of the league, but I think the overall cumulative affect will not.

Rather, the only real threat I see is the growing popularity of other sports leagues within traditional football countries. Previous to the 1960′s, MLB was the sole team sport of significance within America, but after the introduction of American football, and the later introduction of basketball, the percentage of the marketplace significantly dropped. Will this equal the ruination of the game? No, of course not. Baseball is thriving with record revenues, as of now. Football will have to grow increasingly competetive and adopt a more fan-friendly atmosphere, though.

Also, while in theory you’re right about MLB teams having an amateur draft, the best prospects still end up with the richer teams by placing wage demands higher than the poor teams are willing to expend for an eighteen year old with less than a fifty percent chance of reaching the major rules.

On the Beckham rule, Corey, I don’t believe the intention was to limit high-priced players, but to allow the club to go outside of the salary cap to have up to two exemptions whose salaries do not count within it.