SPURS, Arsenal, Manchester United... every greedy Premier League club has alienated fans by taking our game thousands of miles from home
JUST what have Chelsea done to Ashley Cole? He's rubbish
BENTLEY will soon be too big for Blackburn

 Add your view

That's it, they've pushed Hatchet too far ...

It's bad enough that Premier League ticket prices are so high.

It's bad enough that only three clubs start the season with a realistic chance of winning the title.

It's bad enough that the average player earns more in a week than the average fan does in a year.

It's bad enough clubs are 'rewarded' with £30million for finishing bottom of the Premier League - when the Championship winners are awarded just £2m.

Scroll down for more

Cash cow: Manchester United - and the Premier League - are looking to cash in on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo by playing thousands of miles from home

It's bad enough that four clubs have monopolised the Champions League places.

It's bad enough that television schedules force Sunderland fans to travel to Arsenal for a 12.45pm kick-off and Spurs fans to travel to Newcastle for a Monday night, 8pm kick-off.

It's bad enough that the highlight of the season, Arsenal v United, was scheduled to suit 'fans' in Tokyo and Bangkok, rather than in Islington and Salford.

But, they've finally pushed Hatchet over the edge with the latest money-grabbing proposal - an 'international round' of matches, a 39th Chinese takeaway of a game, an extra fixture to be drawn from the hat ... and to hell with England ever winning anything ever again. "The best league in the world," they will tell you, which translates as the most expensive to watch. "The best league in the world," they will tell you, which translates to a global audience of 1,000 million for Arsenal v Manchester United last November. "The best league in the world," they will tell you, which translates to matches being screened in 202 countries worldwide.

He sold the Premier League's soul: Richard Scudamore

Not if you're a fan who wants to follow his/her team it's not. "Sorry, what's it got to do with you?" It wouldn't be so bad if they were using the extra £100m they believe this will generate to reduce ticket prices but this latest attempt to steamroller the life out of the England team, the FA Cup and the Football League, is just about money.

The greed machine that is the Premier League just wants more.

Like a baddie from an Austin Powers movie ... they won't stop until they have achieved world domination. TV markets in the Far East, America and Africa have become more important - to both the Premier League and the clubs - than their Bovril-supping, pie-munching supporters. Is a £2.7bn TV deal not enough? No, they want more.

Managers - and some players - constantly whinge about exhaustion, too many games, the need for a winter break, etc, so now they are chasing more money half way around the world. Never entertain their moans again. We look now to the guardians of the game, like Sir Alex Ferguson, and hope that he will stand up to this crackpot scheme.

We'll see - remember that Manchester United were in the Middle East recently for a money-spinning friendly as their preparation for the FA Cup fourth-round tie with Spurs. Any chance to sell another shirt and they're already half way round the world.

This is what they want: Hong Kong Arsenal fans celebrate

What happened to competition? The fact that, under this scheme, each club would play 18 teams twice and one team three times is unfair.

Imagine your team are fighting relegation, but have an 'extra' game against Chelsea half way round the world, while your rivals are up against mid-table teams with nothing to play for.

Wigan's extra game could be against Manchester United, while Fulham draw West Ham, for instance. What happened to home and away?

For too long football fans have been treated with disdain, but this is a step too far. English football is not the NFL. Clubs are not franchises or brands.

Fans are now seen as commodities, not as the lifeblood of the club. Overseas investment is now more important to the Premier League than anything else. Domestic football coverage has been saturated. Every last penny has been squeezed out of fans in this country and we are swamped by TV coverage. The bubble will burst. You mark my words. Football will implode. This is just too much. Ordinary fans need to stand together and speak up. Let me know your thoughts.

••••••

Ashley Cole has deteriorated rapidly since leaving Arsenal. Why has he become such a poor player?

He was once acclaimed as the best left back in the world and England's Roberto Carlos, but he has never been the same since he walked away from Arsene Wenger.

What have Chelsea done to him?

••••••

Problems ahead for Blackburn: how can they hope to keep David Bentley? He will have better nights in an England shirt, but he is the best of a new generation of England players and so how long before he utters the words: "I need Champions League football."

Rescued from Arsenal's reserves, he ought to show some loyalty. I give him until mid-July before he's out of there.

••••••

Well done Middlesbrough for the signing of Afonso Alves and the carnival arrival that greeted him yesterday.

He's a top goalscorer, they are a club who try hard and deserve to make progress. Good luck to them.

••••••

They said: "I knew it would be a hard job when I accepted it, but I've never been afraid of that. On the contrary, the more difficult the job, the more stimulating I find it." - Fabio Capello

They meant: "Get me my lawyer. Is there a get-out clause in this contract?"

• HATCHET MAN appears from Monday to Friday

 

What's on today   What's on tomorrow

Receive our newsletter