The Americanisation of the Premier League

[remy]

Hi All,

I am a third year Newcastle University student and I am conducting a dissertation into the Americanisation of the Premier League and whether there has been a change brought about due to the influence of the American sporting model. I have a number of questions which I would like to post:

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.

---Only if it happened ala' West Ham where they have an 80,000 sized ground on their doorstep as a leftover from a huge sporting event. I wouldn't be in favour of leaving Aston.

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?

---Since the Prem started. I suspect they are trying to drive out the unsavoury element that inevitably has a lower income bracket.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.

---Yes definitely.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?

---80% fans would.

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?

---It has and hasnt. It used to be ManUre & Chavski taking turns each year because of their ability to buy any player. However with the managerial merry go rounds now that Fergie has gone and Wenger to leave soon, plus the oil money we will have more trigger happy chairmen with less patience leading to a destablised elite.  At the moment you could have any one from ManUre, Chelski, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and as dark horses, Spurs that can feasibily win the league. Inevitably it will come down to Man City and Chelski thanks to their unlimited funds each year. Financial fair play is simply to lock in the established elite.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?

---Absolutely OUT OF THE QUESTION changing the name of the club or colours.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?

----There is a myth going round that "we pay the players wages". Villa Park holds 42,000 with an average season ticket price of £460 (Source: Guardian). We have about 20,000 season ticket holders which barely comes to £10m per year. Thats the price of the transfer of a very average full back and his wages for 3 and half years. Where does the rest of the team come from? TV money of course! The bulk of our revenue will come from TV ergo they have priority.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Oliver

[ciggiesnbeer]

American sports are far more competitive. Due to wage caps and draft picks. I wish premier league was becoming more Americanized it would mean any team could win it instead of those who just spend enough.

[lordmcgrath5]

1) Most certainly not
2) On balance: no
3) Definitely a yes
4) Definitely a yes
5) Yes on both counts
6) Changing a club's colours is a hideous insult to the fans and the club's tradition. I don't like stadium name changes either and would hate to see this at Villa Park.
7) Yes, the PL has most certainly lost touch with fans. But this has been a long, steady process - the writing was already on the wall in the early days of the Premier League.

[Californian Villain]

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.
We can't fill VP, so dosen't seem much point.

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?
Yes.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.
Yes, but seems to be a general trend across the game.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?
I prefer a seat, but would still support the idea.

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?
Maybe in the last few years, but this season is the most competitive I can remebger in the EPL era.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?
Not too bothered about a na,e change provided it doesn't sound too sill (eg Pizza Hut Park!)

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?
Yeah.

[Dave Clark Five]

Hi All,

I am a third year Newcastle University student and I am conducting a dissertation into the Americanisation of the Premier League and whether there has been a change brought about due to the influence of the American sporting model. I have a number of questions which I would like to post:

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.

Under no circumstances.

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?

There was an attempt to do so, but it failed.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.

Yes.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?

Yes, as long as people sit down in the seats.

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?

No.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?

Disgraceful.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?

Yes.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Oliver

[SoccerHQ]

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.

VP is easy enough to extend to meet our size, would rather sort the team out on the pitch!

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?

Probably the same as most other clubs, small things like briefly putting booking fees onto tickets hints at fans being considered consumers nowadays although Lerner has kept in the main ticket prices at decent levels for this region.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.

Pretty much unless it's a big game e.g. against local rival. Atmosphere is still pretty good for those games.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?

Yes. People should have the choice. A couple of thousand standing seats in the Holte would still mean 35k could sit. Bigger problem is away games in the away end. If you want to see the game you have to stand unless you're lucky to be near the front. That's unfair on kids and the elderly fans.

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?

Yep. This has probably been the most exciting and competitive season for 5-6 years and yet by and large you can still predict in August where clubs will finish in May bar one or two expections. Gone are the days where a newly promoted team could finish 2nd as we saw happen a few times in the 80s.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?

No to both although as with other clubs, it would still be called VP even if it was officially Nokia direct arena. Club colours is really too far.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?

Yep. Kick off times would be a decent indicator of this.

[ChicagoLion]

Hi All,

I am a third year Newcastle University student and I am conducting a dissertation into the Americanisation of the Premier League and whether there has been a change brought about due to the influence of the American sporting model. I have a number of questions which I would like to post:

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.

The team I support play at Villa Park.
2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?

Yes they have created more corporate opportunities. I think te Birmingham demographic inhibits them following Arsenal for example.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.

It depends o the club and the location, it also depends over what time period you are focussing on. There has certainly been an increase in the Family Fans, The Tourist fan, The fair-weather fans and the Corporate customer. Some fans have been priced out of attending.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere? Yes

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?

History would suggest that the PL has never been really competitive, there are only a handful of teams that can win it. There seems to be more rotation at the bottom.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours? I would not give my support if any of those things happened. It would not be my team anymore.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?

The Premier League is a business and it will attempt to maximise its revenue and profitability with very little consideration for "Local Fans" this may have longer term consequences but why would any business limit its market?

I now live in the USA and you can see the model that the PL is aiming for. However culturally the way that sport is organised, marketed and broadcast is very different.

Good luck



Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Oliver

[Deano's Mullet]

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.

NO

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?

No I don't think so

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.

Yes. New stadiums generally tend to look the same and are pretty soulless. My dad is a Colchester fan and he prefers the old Layer Road to their current brand spanking new arena any day.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?

Yes

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?

Definitely. Its been like that since the late 90s early 2000s.

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?

I would hate all of it. Different kit, name of stadium team, different branding. No thank you.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc?

Yes. Everton/Man City kicked off one Sunday at stupid o'clock to guarantee a big tv audience in the Far East. Supporters always messed around by TV companies rescheduling matches and now its the same teams on tv all the time, the "big clubs" who are guaranteed to attract bigger tv audiences. Case of point, this weekend the tv matches feature Man U Man City Liverpool Chelsea and Arsenal. The other 16 or so teams in the league just feel like the opposition to these regularly screened teams.





Oliver




[/quote]

[tomd2103]

1) Would you be in favour of leaving traditional Villa Park for new modern stadium with the potential for greater revenues? e.g. Red Bull rumours.
No.  No pressing need to enlarge the stadium and any redevelopment could be carried out on the current site.  Would like to see the North Stand redeveloped over the next decade.

2) Under Lerner (or more generally) has there been a move to target, and market the game, to more affluent, consumer based supporters at the expense of traditional fans?
Not been a noticeable shift in that direction.  Tickets for most games can still be purchased for less than £25.

3) Are football stadiums and crowds are becoming too similar and commercialised? e.g. ejection or decrease in attendance of partisan fans.
Most of the new build stadiums over the last two decades are quite similar and you only have to visit the Ricoh Arena in Coventry to see how commercialisation was integrated into that stadium (casino, restaurants etc. as part of the stadium).  As for fans, I definitely think we've seen a shift in mindset to 'spectators' rather than 'supporters' at most stadiums and a must shorter span of patience if things aren't going well.  Fans have much more avenues to voice their opinions now so preconceived ideas and attitudes can be easily formed.

4) Would you be in favour of a return to standing and singing sections of stadiums to improve the atmosphere?
Yes.  The lower sections of the Holte End and North Stand are the two areas of of Villa Park I would like to see redeveloped as safe standing areas. Could also be a way to reduce ticket prices.  I feel that now the real causes of the Hillsborough disaster have been aired in public (and the myth that it was caused by drunk Liverpool fans and terracing have been dispelled) progress on that front might be forthcoming.

5) Has the Premier League lost competitive balance and become too predictable?
Yes.  We all used to scoff at the uncmpetitive nature of the Scottish League, but the Premier League has been pretty much a two horse race for most of its existence.  The challenger to Manchester United has changed from time to time, but it has been pretty much between two teams most seasons.  Blackburn, Chelsea and Manchester City have bought the title and the level of investment in the last two has changed the league completely.  One of the real worrying aspects is that whenever a player at one of the deemed 'lesser' clubs shows any potential they are immediately snapped up by one of the perceived 'bigger' clubs.  In many of these cases, these just become peripheral figures at the clubs and it dilutes the standard of the league and has worryng ramifications for the national team.   

6) Given recent events at Cardiff and Hull, what are your attitudes towards a change of stadium/club name, club colours?
Totally against and would like to see the FA step in and prevent it from happening in the future.

7) Has the Premier League lost touch with the local fans in favour of internationalising the game to chase further TV revenues, fans etc? 
Yes.  I may be wrong, but I recall reading somewhere that matchday revenue makes up less than 20% of Villa's annual turnover.  The fans who attend the games is not where the money is at.  The TV revenues are where the big money is at and I can see a time where certain clubs will demand to be in control of agreeing their own TV deals (again maybe wrong, but I'm sure Barcelona and Real Madrid already negotiate their own international TV deals).  One interesting avenue of comparison is to look at what is happening in European club rugby at the moment and the arguments that are currently raging over TV revenues in that sport.

Hope this helps and good luck with your studies!!