The Premier League is widely thought of as the best and most exciting about, with world-class players and facilities that are the envy of the world.
The birth of Sky Sports and the money they have invested in the game has obviously helped but many clubs have been taken over by millionaires and billionaires who have a seemingly bottomless bit of money.
The highest profile would be Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, while clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been bought by wealthy businessmen – and the question remains why?
There is the obvious passion for football but that thirst could be quenched by buying a season ticket and watching from the stands, and so there must be another reason why the mega-rich want to get involved in the game at the top level.
There are a lot of egos in business and to be seen at the helm of a top club would be the ultimate in one-upmanship but it is not a money-making scheme, with most clubs in debt to the tune of millions.
It is a risk that has sounded the death knell for a few, with Leeds United fans all too aware of what can happen when people who do not really know what they are doing are let loose on the purse strings.
Peter Ridsdale virtually bankrupted the club and, a decade on, they are still trying to get back to the summit.
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A club such as Darlington, for so long a fixture in the bottom tear of English league football, was ruined by George Reynolds – an ex-convict got rich who promised much but forced the club into administration by building a stadium they could not afford.
There is no point having a 25,000-seater with crowds of fewer than 3,000.
Salford City and Billericay Town are the latest two from the lower echelons of the game to receive financial backing above their status, with the ‘Class of 92′ ex-Manchester United footballers investing in Salford.
‘The Only Way is Essex’ star Mark Wright, who enjoyed a career on the peripheries of the professional game, has bought a stake in Billericay, but will it all end in tears?
Salford should be in good hands due to the men involved but it is open to debate whether the Essex club will fare so well.
Clubs on the continent have gone down the same route, with the likes of Paris Saint Germain and Monaco recently falling into the hands of wealthy businessmen and both have improved as a result.
It does seem that success is linked not to the amount of cash invested but to the quality of the people running the club.
The question is regularly asked ‘is money killing the game’?
Opinion will always be divided on the matter but surely it is not the volume of money but the way it is spent and distributed among underserved recipients such as agents that is the problem.
Mediocre players get rich at an early age and feel they have made it when it may well be more prudent to make them wait a bit longer for the riches on offer to prove they have the hunger to succeed.
Money is not killing football but it has to be managed carefully otherwise the cancers that do lurk in the sport will spread.
The lack of play offs results in lack of revenue. Level nine and below; there are no play offs! This being case is it any wonder interest slumps due to one club promotion; crowds remain the same or fall as this one place fades away. but players still need paying! Those play offs at end of season bring in revenue for top five clubs and if club well placed from February onwards continued revenue. This will result in mediocre and worse standard clubs; we all know of these, either having to combine or disappearing, so no bad thing in long term aim of system change.
could not agree more it would keep interest and a good competive attitude going.
nice weather around no local or near vicinity football around