Premier League Handbook

[Dave Clark Five]

http://www.premierleague.com/content/dam/premierleague/site-content/News/publications/handbooks/premier-league-handbook-2013-14.pdf

A very interesting publication. Amongst its wealth of information are all the kits of each team and it tells us, for the first time, the current capacity of Villa Park.

Some dull material is included but some of the stuff in here shows what a lot has to go on behind the scenes to put a match on, something that many people take for granted.

There is even a section showing the wording of players contracts, such as they are.

[Dave Clark Five]

Did you know this?

a Club may transfer the registration of no more than one of its goalkeepers by way
of Temporary Transfer to another Club each Season, subject to any further
Temporary Transfer of one of its goalkeepers pursuant to Rule V.7.6.2;

[Mister E]

530 pages?!! Pauline away at the moment, DC5?! Or are you just suffering from insomnia?

[Mister E]

Actually, there's some quite interesting stuff listed ....

[Dave Clark Five]

Actually, there's some quite interesting stuff listed ....

Yes. You will trawl through 100 pages, thinking that it is rubbish, then you come across the odd little thing, perfect for noting down and using to start an argument in the pub. 'Did you know that .....?'

[ADVILLAFAN]

I'm at work, so I should have plenty of time to go through it.

[Villan For Life]

I've been through the rulebook with a fine toothed comb and I cannot find any rule that prevents our knuckledragging counterparts from across the city entering the Premier League ever again. Clearly something must be done!

[Fergal]

I've been through the rulebook with a fine toothed comb and I cannot find any rule that prevents our knuckledragging counterparts from across the city entering the Premier League ever again. Clearly something must be done!

Something tells me you will have a few years to find a loophole

[Ad@m]

Interesting that it has the pitch dimensions in there too.

There are still plenty of people who aren't aware of the Premier League rule for a fixed size pitch unless the ground is physically too small and therefore talk about the likes of Villa Park and the Emirates being 'big' pitches.  The handbook confirms that most grounds are the standard size.  What it also confirms though is just how many are smaller.  The older grounds like Upton Park and White Hart Lane I can understand them being unable to measure out a pitch to the Premier League requirements but why are the Britannia pitch (which has loads of space at the sides) and the KC (which is pretty new) undersized?

[Dave Clark Five]

I've been through the rulebook with a fine toothed comb and I cannot find any rule that prevents our knuckledragging counterparts from across the city entering the Premier League ever again. Clearly something must be done!

There is plenty in there about people being fit and proper to be directors, with criminal convictions in foreign countries being taken into account.

The other thing that I noticed was about match tickets for away games.


The Visiting Club:
R.10.1. may order and sell tickets on a sequential Seating Block by Seating Block basis (the
sequence of release of Seating Blocks to the Visiting Club to be determined by the
Home Club);
R.10.2. must confirm its final order of tickets (subject to the conditions set out in Rule R.11)
at least 4 weeks before the League Match to which they relate; and
R.10.3. shall pay for the entirety of the tickets so ordered save that it may return (and not
pay for) any unsold tickets in the final Seating Block for which it ordered tickets if it
has sold 50% of the tickets in that Seating Block


Regarding Rule R.10.3, I have been told on numerous occasions that we have to pay for all unsold tickets in the final seatying block and this is why we do not always take the full allocation. However, the rule states that, if we sell 50% of tickets in that block, the rest can be returned and NOT paid for.

[Dave Clark Five]

Interesting that it has the pitch dimensions in there too.

There are still plenty of people who aren't aware of the Premier League rule for a fixed size pitch unless the ground is physically too small and therefore talk about the likes of Villa Park and the Emirates being 'big' pitches.  The handbook confirms that most grounds are the standard size.  What it also confirms though is just how many are smaller.  The older grounds like Upton Park and White Hart Lane I can understand them being unable to measure out a pitch to the Premier League requirements but why are the Britannia pitch (which has loads of space at the sides) and the KC (which is pretty new) undersized?

The Britannia was made narrower for Delap's throw ins to be used to maximum effect, I believe.

[Ad@m]

Interesting that it has the pitch dimensions in there too.

There are still plenty of people who aren't aware of the Premier League rule for a fixed size pitch unless the ground is physically too small and therefore talk about the likes of Villa Park and the Emirates being 'big' pitches.  The handbook confirms that most grounds are the standard size.  What it also confirms though is just how many are smaller.  The older grounds like Upton Park and White Hart Lane I can understand them being unable to measure out a pitch to the Premier League requirements but why are the Britannia pitch (which has loads of space at the sides) and the KC (which is pretty new) undersized?

The Britannia was made narrower for Delap's throw ins to be used to maximum effect, I believe.

It was, which I'm sure was part of the reason the Premier League introduced the fixed pitch size rule.  But there is still a massive gap between the sides of the pitch and the stand so I don't get how they can still justify a smaller pitch.

[Dave Clark Five]

You're right there, Adam.

[Dave P]

Page 504 is interesting.  Not only did we have a healthy average attendance despite being mostly gash, but we gave 3 clubs their highest attendance of the season.  As many as Man Ure did.

[Dave P]

Page 506 onwards.  Best middle names.

Ashley Westwood
Kevin Mirallas
Mario Balatelli
Anders Lindegaard
Steven Nzonzi

And the winner.......Raheem Sterling.

Also try saying Lukaku's middle name without singing the muppet tune!