Barclays Premier League

According to a new research carried out by SPORT+MARKT, a sports business consultancy firm, Premier Leagues is the most watched League in the World. With a stomping 70 percent of the world’s football watching population getting high on Barclays Premier League most of the weekends and some mondays.

This should not comes as a surprise to anyone who follows Football on a regular basis. EPL has dominated every other league since it was taken over by Barclays in 1992. The league has grown every year and amount of money that it generates and then splashes back at buying players is astounding.

Read the rest of the article here.

Source: www.premierleague.com

Manchester United vs Manchester City | EPL | 23 Oct 11 | Match Preview

Kick Off: 13. 30 Hrs (UK time)

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Heavy duty stuff is what this derby match would be, hopefully. Top of the table clash, this one fixture would be for the legendary banters. A win for either side will be monumental. While leading the points table, the winner of this fixture will also have the right to be a smug till the other club wins the next derby between the Manchester clubs. Smugness is basically related with the supporters of a club rather than the players and manager. If we can come to terms with the theory of smugness, we might as well proceed with the task in hand here.

Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa  4- 1 at home in their previous game. Whereas Manchester United were the second best in their clash against Liverpool. United were able to hold on to one point as Liverpool could not convert any of their chances and they had a lot of chances. Nemanja Vidic could return for this fixture which will go do well with gaffer. Rio Ferdinand and Johnny Evans, both were caught out of positions against Liverpool. Rooney & Nani should start against City with Welbeck in front.

Manchester City does not have a problem with their squad as it is filled with quality everywhere. James Milner &Mario Balotelli both scored great strikes against Aston Villa and have put down a solid case to start against United. Roberto Mancini has a tough task choosing a winning side and it becomes harder if everyone is playing well.

Speculating on form, City would probably edge United out but Old Trafford is bitch of place to win any match against Manchester United.

Less than 6 goals in the match will be very unfair to the supporters even the neutral ones or specially the neutral ones.

Part 1

So last we were doing this, we had seen the power of money displayed by Manchester City. With respect to transfers, the 2010 January window was very quiet with only Patrick Viera, the only big name, joining the Blues on loan from Inter Milan.

With that we come to 2010 summer transfer window which saw other clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United & Chelsea also buying big. Especially Liverpool, who were recently taken over by the John W Henry led New England Sports Ventures. We shall be looking in to Liverpool’s progress this season too.

Players bought during summer 2010

1) David Silva (from Valencia)

2) James Milner (from Aston Villa)

3) Yaya Toure (from Barcelona)

4) Mario Balotelli (from Inter Milan)

5) Jerome Boateng (from Hamburg)

Again more than 100 million pounds utilized in the transfers. But the 2011 winters transfer saw Edin Dzeko as the only major buy for the club. Wolfsburg got a whopping 27 million pounds for the Bosnian striker.

Players bought during summer 2011

1) Gael Clichy (from Arsenal)

2) Stefan Savic (from Partizan Belgrade)

3) Sergio Aguero (from Atletico Madrid)

4) Owen Hargreaves (from Manchester United)

5) Samir Nasri (from Arsenal)

Little more than 80 million spent on the transfers. But some very astute buys which included 2 players from Arsenal & 1 Manchester United personnel and a super star striker from overseas. It indeed looks like Manchester City have played this very smartly this time around. It all depends upon Roberto Mancini now, as to how does he handle his resources this season. The club is playing for top honors in England and in Champions League. They have the squad for the challenge in front of them. All it needs is smart & proper usage of their resources.

Now the question of concern is, can money buy success? And thats’ where it is still at. Manchester City might have just won just one trophy since 2008  but they have gradually climbed the ladder and the results are just starting to show. Just like Liverpool, all the blue mancs think that this is going to be their season. And they do have a case much more than their Anfield rivals.

Manchester City

This post is kind of a story/review/memoir of the blue side of Manchester after 2008. Precisely after the takeover from the Abu Dhabi United Group. Manchester City after 2008 has been hard to ignore. Be it playing wise or the substantial amount spent on transfers of players or the controversies generated by all some of the superstars of the game. And its not just Carlos Tevez creating drama, there have been plenty more of them hoopleheads.

So we basically start when Mark Hughes was the manager at the club. Lets have a look at the major signings Manchester City has had since 2008.

Sheikh Mansour

picture source – www.footyfactor.com

Players bought during summer 2008

1) Vincent Kompany (from Hamburg)

2) Shaun Wright Phillips (from Chelsea)

3) Zabaleta (from Espanyol)

4) Robinho (from Real Madrid)

About 75 million pounds were paid to get the services of all the players during the summer transfer window of 2008/09 season. Since then Komapny & Zabaleta have prove their worth in the Premier League. High flying also started well but just wasn’t destined to be a blue manc.

Players bought during January 2009

1) Wayne Bridge (from Chelsea)

2) Shay Given (from Newcastle United)

3) Craig Bellamy (from West Ham United)

4) Nigel de Jong (from Hamburg)

A less successful transfer window for the club, still more than 35 million pounds were used in the transfer window. A very prominent figure for a Premier League in the January window.

Now we have the best & the most exciting list of players bought during the summer transfer window of 2009. Here we go.

Players bought during summer 2009

1) Joleon Lescott (from Everton)

2) Kolo Toure (from Arsenal)

3) Carlos Tevez (from Manchester United)

4) Emmanuel Adebayor (from Arsenal)

5) Gareth Barry (from Aston Villa)

6) Roque Santa Cruz (from Blackburn Rovers)

Mother of all transfers in the history of football & the world possibly, Manchester City splashed money above 120 million pounds. They got two defenders, 3 strikers & a defensive midfielder. Everyone was astonished with the price tag of a certain Joleon Lescott back then. Some of them still are, but he has proved that he is as good as anybody in the team right now.

Part 2

Alright, this could be a debate which would probably divide the world amongst Scousers & other people. Now that it is proven inevitable, lets proceed with the argument at stake here. Managing Director of Liverpool Football Club has made a statement about dividing the TV rights equally amongst all Premier League clubs.

Ian Ayre, Managing Director, has demanded the Spanish model to be applied for the division of TV rights. Clubs in Spain such as Barcelona & Real Madrid negotiate their own TV rights, which is miles better than the other La Liga clubs. Which makes the rich a little more richer.

He said  ”Maybe the path will be individual TV rights like they do in Spain. There are so many things moving in that particular area. With the greatest of respect to our colleagues in the Premier League, but if you’re a Bolton fan in Bolton, then you subscribe to Sky because you want to watch Bolton. Everyone gets that. Likewise, if you’re a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, you subscribe.”

But it can also be fair as the clubs which are in favorable conditions have reached this status due to history, success or a large investment of capital. May be the last point does not act as a valid reason. But clubs like Manchester City, PSG alike have risen in the interest level for common football fans. Fans are generally curious about the state of affairs of the clubs because of their buying prowess.

Precisely Ian Ayre stated that ” But if you’re in Kuala Lumpur there isn’t anyone subscribing to Astro, or ESPN to watch Bolton, or if they are it’s a very small number. Whereas the large majority are subscribing because they want to watch Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.”

The current deal from 2010 till 2013 stands at a staggering 1.4 billion pounds.

Meanwhile both Manchester United & Chelsea have distanced themselves from the idea of changing the Premier League’s distribution of TV rights. Both the clubs have stated that they will continue to back the Premier League’s decision on the distribution of TV rights.