2009 Champions League Final: Who you with?

[Colonel Ronan]

Oops, sorry.

Microsoft co-founder, isn't he? There are a lot of millionaires who own the clubs here in the UK. It's starting to ruin the game, in my opinion, seeing as a club needs to be owned by an extremely rich person if they want to challenge for the title.

 

[Minstrel]

Lamar Odom = punk

Greg Oden = god

Lamar Odom = punk

Greg Oden = basketball god

Odin = supreme Norse god

With luck, Oden can surpass Odin in a few years.

 

[SodaPopinski]

Oops, sorry.

Microsoft co-founder, isn't he? There are a lot of millionaires who own the clubs here in the UK. It's starting to ruin the game, in my opinion, seeing as a club needs to be owned by an extremely rich person if they want to challenge for the title.

I always thought it would be interesting to see some sort of a draft instituted in English football similar to what we have here in the states. Hold a "draft" every Summer where the top young players in England could be selected by the clubs in the premiership. You could set a rule where the players have to be a certain age (say ... 16) before the first league match to be eligible for the draft. Then you go down the list, letting the newly promoted teams select first, followed by the bottom-feeders of the table who managed to stay up, followed by the mid-table, followed by the top-of-table teams. Then you'd have to set up a salary scale for players drafted.

That way the newly promoted teams would get an instant infusion of young talent who would be more likely to see the pitch than if they were drafted by the Man U's, Arsenals, Chelseas and Liverpools (which helps the national team develop their talent). And the Blackburns and Wigans and Stoke Citys and clubs of that nature would get some much needed talent as well to challenge the top table squads.

You might lose a little of the international flavor of the prem, but I doubt it would have that much of an impact.

And back to your original point, you'd theoretically help teams that don't have the backing of a multi-millionaire or billionaire.

Of course ... the only TRUE way to level the playing field would be to set up a salary cap, but I can't see that happening in the prem or any other major league in the world.

-Pop