What do you make of this? I have mixed thoughts at the moment. I'll try to sum them up into point form?

1) It seems a little unfair as not much was made of it when Italian or Spanish teams dominated Europe at some point. Why only now?

2) Is it the fault of the English that their league is the most marketable and therefore most profitable at the moment? Should other leagues instead not look at it from more of a business standpoint now? Real Madrid are government funded and didn't make the last four so is money really everything?

3) I do agree however that English clubs should have a number of homegrown players. It will help English players develop and clubs will also have their identities intact.

i would like to see it happen but 6 homegrown players is too many IMO

I would make it 3+8.

No offense to Arsenal fans but seeing an English team without a single english player is kinda weird

kinda agree...but arsenal is not without an english player, cant remember english secret weapon eh?

but overpriced english player will be even more serious.. darren bent $16M fees, warming the bench earning 80k per week anyone?

With all due respect to you Duke Red but for the last freaking time Real Madrid ARE NOT funded by the Spanish government. It is illegal to be so. We are mostly funded by the 90,000 socios who own the club.

As for the topic firstly I think Blatter is a moron.

Secondly it's hard to compare when the Spanish and Italians were dominating cause the money involved now is astronomical compared to those times. And traditionally their teams involve more of their homegrown players compared to the current English sides. And saying that the other leagues should be looking more from a business point of view is just ignorant when the fact is they have but they just can't compete on the same level (mainly because of the penetration that English football has in Asia)

i know, but the only english player who always play is Theo Walcott. And that's if he doesnt start on the bench

one of the reason why England national team cannot succses is their clubs having a lot of foreign players.

i couldnt agreee with Blatter, yes TS was rite why now only u care?

And what is this due to? It is merely a geographical thing? Language? Not that we listen to what players say on the pitch. Why has English football penetrated the Asian market in the way it has? Are you yourself ignorant enough to think it's because of good luck? Is it purely coincidental that English games are scheduled at hours that are prime time here?

Years ago we got to watch 2 week old highlights of the Serie and English league. I was of course fan of Liverpool but also followed Inter Milan. There were no live telecasts and highlights were I repeat, 2 weeks old. Then came Dunhill who sponsored the "Road to Wembley" games, screening FA Cup Finals. Since then, clubs in England and the English FA identified the potential it had in Asia. Yes I am ignorant so please oh great one point out what initiatives were made by the La Liga or Serie to penetrate the Asian market ? It's the reason I don't follow Inter Milan anymore. Till today though I still remember the likes of Giusuppe Bergomi, Aldo Serena, Walter Zenga, Lothar Mattheus, Andreas Brehme and Juergen Klinsnmann running about.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: May 8 2008, 12:04 PM

I didn't say it was because of good luck.
I'm thinking along the lines of the language factor. The fact that the British had alot of influence on this part of the world. It's the same with South America where they watch more Spanish football over there.

nah,try to take chelsea and manchester united's english players only.we'd have:

GK:Ben foster
Defender:Brown,Rio Ferdinand,Terry,AshleyCole
Mid:J.Cole,M.Carrick,Lampard,Hargreaves
Striker:Rooney (insert any english here and i bet we'd win many teams)

from my POV,England do have their talents everywhere but it depends on whether the managers willing to take them up and utilise them .

Arsenal is like a foreign club that invade into BPL imo.Take theo as their hostages in recent years

u can add g.neville, swp and bridge as well

Aren't we getting live telecasts for Italian games now? Isn't that better than watching 2 week old highlights? So you saying you don't follow Inter now is just an excuse if u ask me. You could argue about the timing of Spanish games but some of the Italian games are not scheduled that late. Let me ask you then if Italian and Spanish games were scheduled live on primetime here would you choose to watch them over EPL games? Why did ESPN Starsports invest so much on EPL coverage (Football Focus, Football Crazy, etc are all mainly EPL shows) while the other leagues barely get a mention? That's because of the market here. It's the same why there are more Spanish programmes over in South America. There are special cases of course like Japan where Real Madrid has a big following.

Edit: Duke I know I probably pissed u off when I called you ignorant. But I get just as irritated whenever someone claims that "RM is funded by the govt". For someone who always encourages people to do their own research with the availability of the Internet, I was abit disappointed. If it offends u I'll take it back.

This post has been edited by verx: May 8 2008, 12:24 PM

i juz wanna point out 1 thing to clear up the popular myth :

most of Serie A games (mayb like around 70%) play on 9 or 10pm Malaysia time, even for matches like Derby della Capitale or Derby della Madonnina.

Exactly my point. Cheers for the info Chrisky.

Well I didn't ask you. As I've mentioned, the English FA and clubs have identified the potential of the Asian market and are whoring themselves here if I can use that word. If the Italian and Spanish teams don't follow suit, is it the fault of the English? Obviously timing alone isn't the issue then. You can't pick of one of my points because as I've mentioned, there are other factors. Why not consider my argument as a whole? Other factors to consider like brand building perhaps? What about setting up academies in the East to cultivate interest? Developing their own English language programmes like Red TV? I'm not giving excuses as to why I don't follow Inter play anymore. I identified more with the Premiership because of the efforts they have taken to capture the Asian audience. It made me want to find out more about Liverpool and follow them.



No, for the reasons given above. In summary I follow the English league because more people talk about it and I see it everywhere. I am a victim of commercialism. A glory hunter in the context of football leagues if you will but that isn't the question. I sold my soul but only because the devil came knocking.



When you say, "it's because of the market here", what do you mean? I'd go out on a limb to say viewers all across Asia, to as far as the middle east probably follow the English league more than any other league. It may be an assumption but it's a safe one from what I can tell. How have the English influenced them? I see you connection between Spain and South America but how about England and the Middle East?

At any time I'm wrong, I'd gladly admit it. I've always asked for your opinion on the La Liga even on other threads. From what little I can comprehend, Real Madrid's presidential elections are carried out with the promise of bringing in bigger stars and managers. It's how the garner votes from what I can see. Even successful managers like Del Bosque can get the sack if he doesn't have the backing of the president and a new one promises more. Correct me if i'm wrong.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: May 8 2008, 01:16 PM

If this comes to past, Wenger will be the first to come out with his gun. This will skyrocket the already ridiculous prices of English players.

one reason...that is becoz sepp blatter is french....he hate english...lol
anyway i still remember that time when real madrid valencia n deportivo owning the champion league....when they reach semis....that time their team oso full of non-spanish....haha din see they say anything?

Again you are assuming alot of things here. I won't speak for the other teams but Real Madrid have toured Asia and done their fair share of brand building in Asia (maybe not so much in Malaysia). But their market is stronger over in the Americas. The fact that they have set up Realmadrid TV in English in US proves so. And I can tell u that despite the influx of money coming to the EPL, we are one club that can still compete with the English clubs (Our brand value is the highest in the world). Where the Spanish and Italians have paled in comparison to the English is their league federation. The English league is run miles better than their continental counterparts.


Really? Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that even before the days of live football there were generally more fans of English clubs than there are of the other European clubs. The fact that we are a Commonwealth country will always give the British game a upperhand.


The Spanish league is as big as the English one in the Middle East given that the timings of the games are better for them.

What most around this region know about Real Madrid has largely been because of the galactico era started by Perez. It really put us on a global level. But of course the negatives come along with that. We have since been associated with the things that u relate there. Not all of them false of course but some are unfair criticisms in my view as well. Presidential campaigns were rarely about bringing bigger stars until Perez pulled off that Figo transfer. Since then it has become a trend. But that's what makes us different. We have elections where the fans actually get to vote. For all the shouting from the English that their clubs rightfully belong to the fans, here is one club that is actually legally owned by the fans but we get criticised for it. Go figure. As for Del Bosque, his contract finished and we didn't renew it. He was always not going to continue on as he was just a youth coach who was promoted to do a temporary job but did wonders. He hasn't been successful since he left the club though. And we did go through alot of managers after that..something I'm not proud of but the club is alot more stable now.

And Duke if you must know, I don't blame the English one bit. It's just how it is. And I agree that Blatter is a fool to bring this up now. Cheers.

I think Blatter is Swiss.. not french.

ahaha yeah he is a swiss....juz browse thru wikipedia...
sorry for my mistake

actually sepp blatter is full of crap
here is some of his criticism

Criticism

[edit] Marc Vivien Foe's Death

The handling by Blatter of the death of Marc-Vivien Foé on the pitch during the 2003 Confederations Cup has been heavily criticised by many within the sport. Blatter's comments in the days following the player's death, and his decision to allow the minor tournament to continue afterwards angered many within the game.

[edit] Allegations of corruption

Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFA President Lennart Johansson occurred amidst much controversy.[2][3] His 2002's candidacy has also been marked with rumors of financial irregularities and backroom dealings,[4] culminating with direct accusations of bribery made in the British press by the Farra Ado, vice-president of the CAF and president of the Somalian football association, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter. "The night before the election people were lining up in Le Meridien Hotel (in Paris) to receive money. Some told me they got $50,000 before the vote and the same the next day, after Blatter won".[5]

Also in 2002, FIFA's general-secretary Michael Zen-Ruffinen, drew up a dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation.[6] The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA’s marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson,[7] and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but in the end no action was taken.[8] Also, an internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter, which was seen by many as proof of his guilt.[9] Zen-Ruffinen was removed from office by Blatter immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002.[10]

In May 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings' book Foul[11] caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL, and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also spoke of blatant vote-rigging that went on behind closed doors in the fight for Blatter's continued control of FIFA.

This is an extract of a review made by David Goldblatt for the British paper The Independent and published on June 9, 2006: "Official FIFA business, always an opulent inter-continental affair, has spiralled to grotesque levels. The massively enlarged carbuncle of football bureaucrats, created by Blatter as a phalanx of kept support, have lived the high life. In addition to the five-star, business-class, black-Mercedes arrangements, all have been allowed a daily expenses rate of 500 euros, for which no receipts or accounts are required. Members of the executive committee were handed $50,000 honorariums. President Blatter's salary and accounts remain, despite repeated requests, a matter of complete secrecy".[12] The publishing of the book in Switzerland was banned since Zürich-based FIFA sought and obtained a temporary injunction.[13]

On a BBC Panorama documentary, 'The Beautiful Bung - Corruption and the World Cup' was broadcast on Sunday 10 June 2006, revealing mass corruption throughout the FIFA ranks and heavily implicating Blatter amongst others.

[edit] 2006 FIFA World Cup

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium events was noted and criticized in international media, as it was considered odd by many that FIFA's president was not present during the climax of FIFA's biggest event.

Blatter also made the press for comments made after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issuing a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards. After the match, Blatter lambasted the officiating, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee.[14] However, on the day when Ivanov turned 45, Blatter said he regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov.[15]

Furthermore in an interview with an Australian channel where he said that Australia should have won and not Italy (a controversial penalty was given to Italy, in the dying seconds, when it had appeared that Fabio Grosso had dived). He claims that the penalty given to Italy was not a penalty. The statement angered the Italian football federation FIGC which has asked for an apology. Blatter the next day said that he was misinterpreted and that he wanted to say to the Australian fans that their team had played a great game.[16] Many Italians reacted to Blatter's comments by starting online petitions to have him removed from FIFA, and football completely.[17]

[edit] Comments about women's football

Blatter incurred the ire of women footballers the world over in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts".[18] we support this!!!!

[edit] Opinion on Martin Taylor's tackle on Eduardo

Blatter launched an attack against Martin Taylor after his tackle which broke Arsenal player Eduardo's leg. He regarded the challenge as an 'attack' on Eduardo and announced that he may take it further by overruling the F.A.'s decision to leave the ban as a three-match ban. This angered many football associates as he was implying that the F.A. cannot do their job properly.

This post has been edited by leongtat: May 8 2008, 02:09 PM

About the Arsenal team being full of foreigners, I'd like to point out that most of these foreigners were actually brought into Arsenal at a young age and probably could, if they chose to, play for england (Almunia for example).

Players like Clichy, Fabregas, Song, Denilson etc could potentially play for England (or get a UK passport) if they wanted to.

So who is foreign now?

In fact the teams who go traditionally around poaching established foreign players are the mega clubs like Real Madrid (even in the 1950s they poach Puskas & Di Stefano), Inter Milan & Juve.

Lastly, Sepp is an ass who should go back to suggesting women play in short skirts rather than disturbing football.