What the Premier League can do to shake things up
A lot of fans feel that the Premier League needs a change. In recent years, much of the spotlight has been on refereeing, and most people still aren’t happy with this.
In this guide, we’re having a little bit of hypothetical fun. Though wholesale changes aren’t likely while the Premier League remains so popular, there is a high chance that some changes may be made in the coming years to freshen up the competition or aid the officiating.
Currently, a lot of English football fans are focussed on watching the European Championships, which England is the favourite to win as indicated by freelance betting writer Dean Etheridge. With the majority of England’s squad playing in the Premier League, it is clearly a successful league when the players are dominant in other competitions. Freelance betting writers like Dean are often exploring the value in these kinds of markets and discussing how accurate they may be. The Premier League itself provides a huge number of different markets for people who are interested in gambling, as do the Euros!
Personally, I’m missing the early Euros and the three matches a day available to watch at the start of the tournament. It won’t be long though until the focus is fully back on the Premier League and players have had their breaks and returned to club football.
Below are some of the changes that might transform the Premier League:
Scrap VAR
While I’m not saying that this is definitely a solution, it certainly would shake things up. It’s hard to remember how it feels to have a game of football flowing without the interruption of screen checks.
It doesn’t seem like this will happen any time soon, as the current crop of clubs have voted against scrapping it. Statistically, more correct decisions are made now. However, this hasn’t stopped some absolute howlers of decisions and the fact that the referees can’t seem to be in any way consistent.
Some fans would definitely be in favour of getting rid of VAR, as they have made clear on the terraces, but the decision would have to come from the powers that be.
Get rid of FFP
Financial Fair Play regulations are one of the most confusing things for football fans to get their heads around. This summer, we’re seeing a lot of clubs trying to sell their home-grown talent to bring in some profits and balance the books, allowing them to comply with the investment and sustainability rules of the league.
A culture has developed where each team attempts to work out the best loopholes and game the system. There are those that argue the system already favours the historically big clubs like Manchester United.
We could rip up the current regulations, and this could lead to a few things. Investments could see a brand-new boom in transfer fees and wages — yes, going even higher than they are.
Alternatively, it is possible that a replacement system could be brought in to try to reduce unsustainable spending. It isn’t going to be easy to come up with another system that works for everybody.
A transfer levy to support grassroots
The Premier League probably won’t introduce a transfer levy to support grassroots football unless they are forced to. It may sound like one of the more “out there” theories, but in my utopian view of English football, it fits the bill.
Even a tiny levy of 2% on a transfer fee could do incredible things for smaller clubs. The Premier League could contribute to a fund that distributes money among grassroots clubs. How is that money then going to be divided? This would need a lot of consideration, but it could prevent small clubs from going out of business and people losing part of their community. Sad stories like the one of Bury Town have shown what can happen if the finances aren’t handled correctly at smaller clubs.
At a hypothetical 2% levy, the £100m that Man City paid for Jack Grealish would have raised £2m for small clubs. That’s more than the annual revenue of some professional and semi-professional clubs.
It may be a little farfetched, but it could also help protect the game.
Adopting the Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule
Now, onto something there has been a lot of talk of, the 50+1 rule. There’s even been a petition in Parliament trying to push through laws that dictate football fans have a say in what happens to their club.
A 50+1 rule basically means that to get a majority in any vote, the fans would have to be in agreement. A board of fans would be put in place to oversee the decisions, but crucially it means that people can’t abuse the club or push through poor decisions for their own personal gain. For example, they couldn’t obtain permission to sell the stadium or make other major decisions that weren’t in the best interests of the club.
It’s this protective attitude over the clubs of Germany that means we still get amazing underdog stories like Heidenheim FC, and that fans remain invested in their clubs.
In the UK, we’ve seen some people buy clubs and try to make a profit at all costs, even if this means flogging their brand non-stop or gambling on the security of the club itself.
The Bundesliga has definitely got it right when it comes to fans being involved, and there are a lot of ways that the Premier League could duplicate this system. It works there and could be extended across all football in Europe one day, recognising the fact that football clubs are more than just businesses.
Reward attacking play
Let’s look at another absolute hypothetical and one that might not really be needed since last season saw the highest-scoring Premier League campaign ever.
We all love attacking, free-flowing football though, right? It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Premier League and other governing bodies could look at ways to make things even more exciting and interesting. Fans definitely love seeing goals scored, and there’s nothing much worse than a boring 0-0 match.
The problem here is that it could be very difficult to incentivise this without introducing a downside somewhere.
Conclusion
Is there a huge shakeup in the works? Probably not, but there could be some tweaks in the way things are done in the near future. With the increase in technology there is always bound to be something around the corner that will be introduced to the game.