TWO TIER LEAGUE?

The idea of a two tier Premiership has been revived by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside. He proposes two divisions of 18 teams each, but controversially no promotion or relegation from the Football League, an arrangement that is usual in American sporting competitions. He argues that smaller leagues would solve the problem of the winter break and the England team. Given Bolton's situation, his views may not be entirely disinterested. However, he points out, 'It would even everything out and make it more competitive on that basis.' In the context of current criticism of the Premiership, it is a response that might appeal to the competiton's leadership. However, to make it acceptable there would have to be some promotion and relegation from the lower level to prevent the creation of a self-perpetuating elite (although some would say we have that already). However, it could be one or two clubs rather than three as at present.

PREMIERSHIP TRANSFER RECORD BROKEN

MANCITY AND SPURS LEAD THE WAY

the premiership is awash with cash and they sure know how to burn it.
Spending by Premiership clubs on new players in the January transfer window has hit a fresh all-time high of £160m according to Deloitte's sports business group. The amount may still go up because the transfer window was extended because of the bad weather so that deals in progress could be completed, but the total is already well above last year's £150m. Spending between Premiership teams made up around £105m of the £160m. Manchester City and Spurs have been the two biggest spenders. Deloittes said Manchester City have spent more than £50m during the transfer window and Tottenham around £45m. Total spending by Premiership teams in the January window again far exceeded that in other European leagues. Peter Rawnsley, director in the sports business group at Deloitte, commented. 'With the majority of their revenue streams already secured for the current season, whilst [Premier League] clubs are not recession-proof, they are relatively recession-resistant. Looking ahead, while the clubs will not be complacent, the latest transfer activity re-emphasises the financial strength and global appeal of the Premier League competition.'

NEW WAYS OF FUNDING TRANSFER DEALS

AS CREDIT CRUNCH FORCES CLUBS TO DO FINANCIAL ENGINEERING


We are in a credit crunch and an impending global economic slump where even the most solid businesses are having a hard time acquiring credit to fund their operations so it call for innovative ways for the spend-crazy premiership clubs to sustain their business model.One of such inventions is BESPOKE FINANCING. this is where a transaction is financed using tailor-made financial instruments.- a sort of a custom-made financing arrangement.
The January transfer window was marked by the increased use of bespoke loan facilities and debt trades to make deals happen. Spurs have struck lucky and have been the primary beneficiaries of 'debt forgiveness' meaning that their spending is closer to £20m than the reported figure of £49m. In Robbie Keane's case Liverpool still owed Tottenham around £11m of the initial £19m fee they agreed last summer, meaning his £12m move to White Hart Lane was completed with less than £1m in cash travelling in the other direction. Defoe's return did have a net cost to Spurs who notionally paid £15.75m for a player they sold for £9.2m last January, but with Portsmouth still owing outstanding fees for Defoe, Younes Kaboul and Pedro Mendes, only £6m in cash changed hands.

While Spurs have benefited from specific circumstances, the now-commonplace payment of transfer fees in instalments has seen an increase in the use of football-specific facilities to keep the transfer market moving. These niche products have boomed in the last year, driven by changes in the way that transfer deals are done and the pressure on cash flows. Where once deals were done on fairly straightforward cash terms, the size of modern transfer fees - there were six worth more than £10m in January alone - have left even the largest clubs having to pay in tranches. With selling clubs keen to get their hands on all the money up front, a small number of banks, specialist football finance houses and at least one player agency have developed bespoke loan products for football. Banks are increasingly being asked to provide facilities that allow the selling club to receive the full transfer fee up front, with the debt effectively being repaid by the buying club.
This could be explored here in Ghana even though our transfer market is not even matured and we don't need to reinvent the wheel.it fosters a less acrimonius relationship among our clubs and works to the benefit of club owners

COSTLY BENCH WARMERS

The Premiership's most costly bench-warmers have been revealed in a new list published by football website IMScouting.com. Heading the league is West Ham's injury-prone Kieron Dyer, who having played no more than two Premiership games since August 2007 has cost the Hammers an estimated £1.1m per game. He is closely followed by Manchester United's Gary Neville, who is only now returning to long-term action following a succession of long-term injuries. Since the start of last season, Neville has played just four Premiership matches, putting his estimated cost per game at £840,000. Manchester City fans won't be surprised to see the unfortunate Valeri Bojinov as their club's most costly non-performer. Since signing for the Eastlands club in the summer of 2006, Bojinov has played a mere four games due to injury, putting his cost to City at an estimated £480,000 per game. Other high profile names on the list including Tottenham's perenially-crocked Ledley King, costing an estimated £285,000 per game since last August. Louis Saha has cost Everton an estimated £87,000 per game while Dwight Yorke has been worth an estimated £58,000 a game since joining Sunderland. Football database site IMScouting.com created the list by calculating the ratio of estimated salary against Premiership games played amongst players at each top flight club since August 2007.

PLB PULLS THE RUG FROM UNDER THE FEET OF ONE TOUCH

Just this afternoon , the Professional League Board , that organizes the Ghana Premier league released a press statement in which they announced that One touch will no longer be the Title Sponsors of the 2008/09 league season which starts this weekend.
this development is not really a surprise since there has been talk in football circles that most of the people who call the shots in Ghanaian Football are not happy with the offer of OneTouch(whose new owners , Vodafone, are believed not to be too keen on sponsoring the Ghanaian league anyway)plus the keen interest from other potential sponsors that are willing to pay top cedis for the title sponsorship.
Ghana Football seems to be in for a nice walk to the bank due to the fierce competition among some of the highest growth sector corporations looking for opportunity to promote their brands.
Waiting in the wings are Glo and Zain ,both newcomers to the country's highly competitive telecom industry and willing to pay well for the opportunity to have their name associated with an event like the League which is covered nationwide plus the benefit of television coverage in the form of GBS.
A lot of money will be poured into football this season like never before and we all pray that it will be used to lay a firm foundation for the take-off of truly professional football in the Country.

MATCH FIXING ALLEGATIONS AT CAN 2008

This year's Nations cup has been one of the most competitive in recent memory especially looking at the pedigrees of the teams and stars involved in this prestigious completion.
The African game has become increasingly globalised given the television numbers that have been reported since it began. The competition has been very fierce and the quality of football has been very exciting. All these bode well for the future of the game on this old and resilient continent. Even teams that were considered minnows have surprised everyone including the bookmakers and the pundits to put up very impressive performances. Teams who were thought to sail through the preliminary without sweat have stumbled in face of the supposedly minnows. The quality of football and goal scoring rate has been staggering and this competitions threatens to go down in history as the best in footballing terms. The stars on parade are recognized global brands in themselves and contrary to the views of the skeptics and naysayers, the hunger for success

The Revolving Door Premeirship Manager

The amount of money at stake in the premiership has succeeded in thinning the patience of the various boards and owners the various Premiership clubs. Clubs just don't have the patience to grant their managers any time to build a winning team. It is only early December and so far six mangers have been sacked from their jobs.There are a further list about three managers who are under pressure to produce result or will face similar fate as the axed six. Even managers who a season ago had enjoyed star status have suddenly lost favour owing to very difficult results.
Survival for "smaller "teams in the English league is worth a staggering $60m and any thing that threatens this source of funds will definitely cause owners and boards to begin sharpening their axes.It is estimated that managers in premier league last on average 2 years excluding Ferguson and Wenger.