Killing the game or the best away weekend ever?

hadrian wrote...

its a terrible idea , and one based soley on cash . the premier league needs tobe carefull here , they already have half the fan's in the country thinking this moneys killing our game , the idea of adding an extra match on the end of the season so the clubs can get more cash is sickening .
top clubs are already brining in a quater of a billion a year , surely there has tobe an point where they need to stop or risk the identity of the premier league .
and lets not forget , this is about our home town's here , its all well and good some guy in japan pulling on a toon shirt and enjoying the football , but the clubs are tied into the very economic fabric of their respective cities , there isnt doom and gloom over in japan when we lose , or a few more pints bought that night if we win .
3 points can end up being worth alot in the premier league , be sickening for any kind of league position to end up comming down to that last game abroad .

Posted by: hadrian  | February 8, 2008 11:49 AM

Wiggy wrote...

Its a difficult one. on one side it's mean Newcastle could boost their fan-base, and allow fans from say the states to see the players they worship live, but then you have the fact that there is an extra game! Couldn't they just say right, we're having a sort of a christmas break, but you'll play one game abroad in that time, which will be sorted out by the fixtures computer, rather than adding an extra game to the calender?

Another great article tho Lee! My best away day was Newcastle beating Notts County 7-1 in the League Cup in 1993/1994 season. First time I'd seen the boys play, and they really turned it on

Posted by: Wiggy  | February 8, 2008 12:33 PM

Anonymous wrote...

I follow the team via Setanta. I'm from North New Jersey, about a 10 minute car ride from Manhattan. If the team would come here they would probably play in Giant Stadium. I would go.

Posted by: Anonymous  | February 8, 2008 12:34 PM

Duncan Baines wrote...

What next? Three legged European Cup semi finals with one game in America?

Posted by: Duncan Baines  | February 8, 2008 1:10 PM

phil matues wrote...

The only beneficiaries would be the divorce lawyers ! I mean can you imagine...OH PET,ME AND THE LADS ARE GOING TO WATCH THE TOON IN BANGKOK,SEE YOU IN A FEW DAYS....I think not !!

Posted by: phil matues  | February 8, 2008 1:34 PM

Hoggy Gateshead. wrote...

I think the idea is absurd. The money men in football are stripping the English game of its local identity. It is now all about brands and how they can be marketed. They have recognised that they have probably just about reached saturation level in this country in trying to milk the last penny out of loyal fans pockets. For their businesses to continue to grow they have decided to expand.
The days of a father taking his son or daughter to the match, to watch their heroes is sadly a rare event these days. If football fans allow this to happen,the days of fathers regulary going to the matchs will also be consigned to tales around the dinner table. "I remember the day...."
There may still be a Newcastle United a Manchester United, or heaven forbid a Sunderland, but it will be in name only.
We cannot allow our football clubs go down the path of other industries this country has built, taken abroad to increase profits and to make money for already rich people and to hell with the consequences.

Posted by: Hoggy Gateshead.  | February 8, 2008 1:55 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

That’s it- Finished!

The end of football is nearly upon us, didn’t think it would come so soon though.

‘Football is no longer a sport, it’s a business’ the wise and accurate words of an elderly relative of mine, but this latest stupid plan will kick football right in the nuts.

The thought of travelling to Bangladesh to watch Newcastle play Wigan isn’t one I even want to entertain, never mind the actual interest levels of the foreign locals to watch Reading v Derby.

This game has gone too far from the ‘beautiful’ game we all want to see back.

What we need is for the game to snap back from where it is now, get the Owens and Ronaldos down to £5,000 a week and slash the Sky Subscription (Currently £45) to £10, get ticket prices down to £15 (Cost to watch a recent Toon v Boro game- £45)

I can walk into pubs up and down the land and watch ANY English Premier League match (Alright it’s not technically legal) but wall to wall coverage of football is absolutely unacceptable and the bubble must burst sometime.

Sky have a lot to answer for in this, after all they injected life into the game the year the Premier League was invented, but now the money swilling around the game is far too over the top and needs to be halted not increased- where will it end? Will this plan result in more money players wages? Bet your life it will. Imagine players on £1 million a week, because it WILL happen sooner or later if this happens.

There’s one way to solve it- cancel your Sky subscription, something I’ve always wanted the British public to do en-mass, it would wake up the company, which would in turn wake up the F.A and so on and so on, until players actually HAVE to take a pay cut.

Now, thanks to billionaire owners, a club can attract no fans to the ground on a Saturday afternoon and STILL players can get their 100 grand a week- The fans are a completely throw away part of football for the major clubs.

It’s a sad fact, but very, very true, we don’t count in the thought process of the F.A, nor the majority of players and chairmen. The T.V audience has overtaken the stadium audience, after all there’s more money in the Sky and overseas T.V deals than the paying plebs that come through the turn-styles.

Time for a revolution I think.

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | February 8, 2008 2:04 PM

Geoff Forster wrote...

Great idea.

Promote the league = more TV cash - bigger fan base for merchandise etc.

More cash means better players in the league creating a positive upwards spiral.

One thing that does puzzle me .... as the points count and it means we'll play one team three times - how will the extra fixture be decided. It could be very vital.

Posted by: Geoff Forster  | February 8, 2008 5:25 PM

Anonymous wrote...

What psychology is O'neil using. He's talking about the greatness of Duff and Milner. His team must feel really good about themselves. Tell him to wacth his own team because they are in for a good old fashioned beating.

Posted by: Anonymous  | February 8, 2008 5:26 PM

Anonymous wrote...

I think this is actually a fairly good idea in principle. Just look at the demand for 500,000 tickets for the regular season NFL game hosted at Wembley last year. It shows that demand for top level sport from other nations is there in this country and doubtless others.

I would take issue with there being an extra game, worth points, at the end of the season though. It would therefore be feasible for a team to be relegated because they had to play Manchester United 3 times where as another could stay up because they drew Bolton for example.

I think if this were to go ahead one of the existing 38 fixtures should be played abroad. This would result in half of the teams losing a home game but would be far fairer than a team being relegated because they were unfortunate enough to draw one of the top teams.

Posted by: Anonymous  | February 8, 2008 11:23 PM

ROBERT SMITH wrote...

Don't worry Lee about eating bacon butties in faraway places following the Toon. This is because based on the Toon's current trajectory - West Bromwich will probably be your exciting destination. Kev promised excitement on his return - and he is right - the Toon will have to fend off a relegation battle. So Lee for the purposes of analysis and debate - let us assume that the Toon finish 16th this season - can you please explain to me how the Messiah is going to attract world class players to the Toon??? I look foward to your reply (an excellent exercise in creative writing and the use of a fervent imagination!!!)

Posted by: ROBERT SMITH  | February 9, 2008 7:04 AM

jac mills wrote...

Paul Patterson, the football you refer to has always been a "business." It is a "sport" only when you and I play on a Sunday morning, knock our mates about a little, have a few pints, a good Sunday dinner and a snooze. Whatever the FA and PL do these days, the objective is to make money.

As for the overseas games, they are not for you at home. The plan is to fill the 70,000-plus stadiums around the world with locals. In the U.S. for instance, many will attend, even if they have never seen a game before. That is money in the bank, and the FA knows it. British fans were never a priority in this scheme. Nothing wrong with that, considering that the game played overseas will be an "extra" game on the season's schedule.

And good luck, Paul, getting an "en masse" movement to boycott Sky. It'll never happen, mate.

Posted by: jac mills  | February 9, 2008 2:01 PM

dexter wrote...

why does it matter. We are in serious danger of relegation. After watching another collapse in the second half. when are the players going to realise a game last 90 mins. I think keegan needs to roast those lads in the press and tell them they are playing for their shirt. Let them rot in the reserves. I'm sick of watching a lack of commitment and rubbish players. How come our players lack so much energy?

Posted by: dexter  | February 9, 2008 2:47 PM

deano wrote...

KEEGAN...... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get rid of stephen Carr!!!! He is at best hopeless. Mind you thats the first of many changes that need to be made. Smith, Butt, Barton, crapa (you know the so called defender) oh the list of rubbish goes on longer than a row of empty seats at the stadium of light. We ARE in serious trouble now, with man united up next at home and blackburn and liverpool to follow. We need points asap to get us safe then the clear out can begin. I also think some kind of serious punishment should be brought in for people like carr...... maybe 50 lashes in front of 'The monument' or eaven a good stoning!!! Roll on the summer when we can rebuild, hopefully for a premiership season.

Posted by: deano  | February 9, 2008 4:07 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

Jac Mills, I know- the British public are too spineless. If we in this country want a revolution we can have it, in the case of Sky, just cancel your subscription and they can't stay in business.

But we British seem to enjoy our moaning to much to change anything.

On the subject of the one extra game, why not actually organise tours as part of pre-season, with two premier League clubs involved, something we almost do now. That would do exactly the same thing.

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | February 10, 2008 5:01 PM