FanCasts

Sit back, relax and listen to our FREE Football Podcasts. Subscribe 4 FREE to get your teams show each week.

Blogs

Intelligent, articulate, opinion. Read, rate and comment!

Banter

Create your own discussion and debate - Sign up and get involved!
Latest FanCasts
Top Articles
From the Terraces
Picture of Davis Lowe

Is it any wonder why the likes of Everton & Spurs are trying to bridge the gap?

Posted by: Davis Lowe, Fri 27th Jun 2008
Tagged: Premiership

Football FanCast columnist Davis Lowe looks at the distribution of funds in European competition and sees why the likes of Everton and Spurs are fighting to bridge the gap.

If anyone ever needed proof that a gulf exists between the top four and the Premier League, then this is surely it. Staggering findings, reported on Everton's club website & BBC, shows UEFA's distribution of wealth for the European competitions last season. To say it seems unfair is something of an understatement.

Prize Money - Champions League
Manchester United - £33.9m
Chelsea - £28.7m
Liverpool - £21.1m
Arsenal - £18.3m

Prize Money - UEFA Cup
Everton - £400k
Spurs - £352k
Bolton - £352k

It is scandalous really and I'm glad to see that UEFA are reportedly looking into the situation in hope to find a resolution. Everton's Chief Executive is absolutely right in voicing concerns and the long term damage it could have on the rest on the League. Just take Arsenal and Spurs as the prime example with the red side of North London going an extra stage in their respective competition and yet the difference in prize money is £17.948m and to think UEFA feels it may need renewing.

It got thinking about the whole distribution of wealth within the Premier League and whether we face a similar dilemma. Sky issues out their funds at the start of the season and then obviously clubs get their extra revenues from their respective televised games. Surely this is where the problem lies and something that rightly has to be addressed.

I will bet my bottom dollar that Manchester United and Arsenal will be on TV nearly twice as much as Stoke or Hull City - how is this fair? Why is all the TV money not divvied up equally regardless of appearance? Clubs may feel this is slightly unfair, but could you really see them kicking up stink, given the revenues they receive? Their gate receipts alone are probably double if not triple of the rest.

I know it doesn't resolve the situation about the gaping hole in the division, but surely a bit of parity, especially in light of the revenues they are receiving in the Champions League would be a fairer solution and may go some way in making the Premiership more competitive.

11 Comments
 
More articles by Davis Lowe
  • Average: 3 (1 vote)
Post your comment
Kym
Picture of Kym
You look at those figures
You look at those figures over 5yrs and the gulf is pheonomonal. Agreed about the Premier League money should be distributed differently.

Des
Picture of Des
I didnt realise it was that
I didnt realise it was that great. The PL funds have always amazed me and it would be a huge improvement if funds were distributed equally regardless of appearence money.

Mitch
Picture of Mitch
Its is an obsecene
Its is an obsecene difference and almost makes you wonder the point of the UEFA Cup, its clear the authorities feel the same.

Will
Picture of Will
There are two sides to the
There are two sides to the SKY argument. There is no doubt that Man U V Chelsea is a bigger attraction that Stoke V WBA. However you can also argue taht if we did not have the numbers in the league we do the whole thing would become a farce and just be a constant diet of the top teams playing each other, way to go in killing off the Golden Goose. As for the CL/UEFA Cup it is dispropotionate as Zenit St Petersburg are ranked higher in Europe than Arsenal (I assume as they won the UEFA Cup).

sir billy nick
Picture of sir billy nick
actually it's around the
actually it's around the £800k mark but still poor

hoopspur
Picture of hoopspur
I saw these figures
I saw these figures published elsewhere. Is this actually prize money? Does not the CL money include their share of the TV revenue? I realise that this makes the gap an ever widening one, but there is also the gate receipt and the TV money that Spurs negotiated themselves to take into account. I know the CL clubs received gate receipts also, but I want to make sure it's a level playing field, so to speak! It's still not good news I know, but the EUFA cup stuff also ensures in reality we are pulling in probably £5m more than the others within our league who have not qualified. In theory that over a few seasons will benefit us also?

madladdy
Picture of madladdy
Well since all 4 of those
Well since all 4 of those clubs have bigger stadiums than Spurs the gulf in money INCLUDING gate receipts will be even BIGGER - not smaller! Basically its a ridiculous situation to have the difference between finishing 4th and 5th in the league £20m! Or something like 50% of revenue. Its since the introduction of the Champions League 'top4' placements that we have seen such disparity and have turned the title race into a boring 2/3/4 horse race. Before the CL changed to the "top 4" places in 2001 and even WITH Sky Sports money the League had seen Leeds, Blackburn, Villa, Norwich, Newcastle, Notts Forest all challenging and finishing top 4.. Hell even QPR & Ipswich finished 5th - can you ever see this happening again whilst it stays the same!

Mike
Picture of Mike
I expect that to change now
I expect that to change now that AC Milan and Valencia are in the UEFA cup. I certainly cant imagine AC Milan, one of the biggest clubs in the world, settle for that sort of money. Even if it is for just one year.

JD
Picture of JD
THIS INSULTING DIFFERENCE
THIS INSULTING DIFFERENCE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR DONKEYS YEARS ! WE ALL KNOW IT IS WHO YOU ARE THAT GETS THE CREAM IN ANY ASPECT OF LIFE , AND THE BIGGER THE ARSE LICKER YOU ARE AND THE BIGGER FAVOURS YOU DO FOR PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES GETS YOU THE ICING ON THE CAKE . AND FOR DONKEYS YEARS US FANS ARE MADE BELIEVE THAT THE BEAUTIFUL GAME IS NOT ONLY FREE FROM DIRTY DEEDS AND DIRTY DEALINGS BUT THE PLAYERS ARE PERFACT ANGELS AS WELL , JUST GO TO ANY DINNER SPEECHES THAT EX PRO`S ARE AT AND YOU NOT ONLY WILL HEAR THE TRUTH BUT YOU WILL BE ASTOUNDED OF WHAT YOU HEAR , OF COURSE IT IS ALL PURE SPEC THEY WILL SAY AND WHY WOULD`NT THEY NO ONE IS GOING TO COME OUT AND SAY SO ARE THEY , THE WHOLE GAME RIGHT ACROSS THE WORLD NEEDS CLEANED UP TO MANY BIG BUGS AND TO MANY SO CALLED BIG AGENTS WITH BIG MONEY ARE MAKING EVEN BIGGER MONEY IN THESE REPORTED SCANDLES JUST LOOK AT THE ITALIAN JOB A FEW YEARS BACK ,MONEY TALKS ALL LANGUAGES AND UNFORTUNATLY THE LANGUAGES THAT ARE TALKED ARE NOT ALL GOOD .

jj
Picture of jj
Here's my idea. Carling Cup
Here's my idea. Carling Cup and Fa Cup recieve a Champions League place. It means these competitions would be more competitive. Also as the winner is champion of that tournament they are actually champions rather than 3rd or 4th place teams. 1st and 2nd place in the league are champions league places as they are champions and runners up! Uefa cup winners get a champions league place for the following season. Uefa cup places go from 3rd place down to 6th. And a place is awarded for intoto in 7th and of course another place for fair play if English teams top it. It makes every competition more exciting and teams finishing for example 3rd and 4th like arsenal and liverpool may end up in the uefa cup making it more prestigeous! It would make the champions league just as good an throw in some boogie teams and also make the uefa cup more appealing and bring it on near enough the same level as the champions league. An lets face it..the champions league should be only for champions. Yes you might think its a bad idea giving a champs league spot to the carling cup winners, but in a few years time the league cup would be regarded as a top competition again and teams like arsenal would take it seriously. Imagine for example arsenal with there 1st team out, playing more games a year because the league cup gets you into champs league, with there small squad would they still finish 1/2/3/4 who knows but it makes it more interesting!

12next ›last »
Post your comment

Teams