Offside News

Sports

Foreign club owners seek to eliminate relegation

Comment: 0 October 18th, 2011 by: admin

A group of foreign Premier League club owners are intent on killing the relegation and promotion process to ensure investment security.

According to Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Managers Association, although the thought of eliminating those two determining processes from the league seems unthinkable, a large enough support from other owners might increase the likelihood.

‘If we have four or five more new owners (seeking to bring down the relegation and promotion processes), that could happen,’ said Bevan.

He added that the talks are being had amongst American and Asian owners.

Clubs currently in the hands of American owners include Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Sunderland and Aston Villa.

Bevan added that the owners’ intentions revolve around ensuring that the clubs – and in effect their investments – remain secure and uncompromised.

‘[If] you look at sport owners trying to work out how to invest and make money, you’ll find that most of them like the idea of franchises,’ said Bevan.  ‘And if you take, in particular, the Americans, they have without doubt been a number of them looking at possibly having more of a franchise situation.’

Bevan explained that doing so would lead to the elimination of the relegation and promotion process.

‘My point is not whether this is good or bad, although personally it would not be good news for English football,’ he said.  ‘My point is to ensure that the FA is strong enough to ensure the principles on which our clubs are run.’

With the elimination of relegation and promotion spurred by owners’ intentions to increase the club’s share value, Bevan explained that the FA’s involvement and responsibility grows larger than it has been in a long time.

In response to Bevan’s revelations, board members of Aston Villa expressed concern and confusion over the remarks regarding unnamed foreign owners.  The club, reported to not have been involved in the mentioned discussions, have asked for a clarification from Bevan.

‘If he intended this group to specifically include Aston Villa, as could be inferred by his comments, then we would ask him to confirm as much,’ said a statement from the board.

‘We might also add that the founding of the Football League in 1888 was led by a previous chairman of Aston Villa, William McGregor.’

Peter Coates, Stoke City chairman, gave a statement criticising the idea of eliminating relegation and promotion.

‘I’d be horrified to think that was someone’s long-term agenda,’ he told reporters.  ‘Although it happens in America with franchises, our traditions are totally different.’

He continued to insist that such a move would result in massive damage to the game.

‘You’d take away the thing that’s so important: the opportunity to go up and down which creates a mass amount of interest,’ Coates said.  ‘There’s as much interest in the relegation battle as the title battle.’

This is only one of a number of foundation-shaking changes suggested by American club owners.  Just recently Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre suggested the elimination of the Premier League’s collective selling of overseas broadcast rights.  In place of this, Ayre said, could see clubs selling their own TV rights.

Any official steps taken along the lines of Ayre’s suggestions will only be possible should the proposition get a total of 14 votes from the 20 Premier League clubs.

It was instead met with anger and criticism from throughout the league, with managers and owners accusing Ayre of being greedy and ‘diabolical’.

More