Obscene and Indefensible | PASOTI
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Obscene and Indefensible

Lundan Cabbie

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Sep 3, 2008
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Plymouth
L2 is just not an attractive enough product to sell around the world like the Premier League is. It's not a closed shop though. New teams are making it to the Prem quite regularly.
 
Jun 4, 2015
2,830
1,026
Ford
99% of which are backed by some mega-rich fat cat. There are now BILLIONS swilling around in the Prem (most of whose clubs are up to their eyes in debt) yet we are supposed to be forever grateful for the pittance trickled down to the basement Leagues. The EPL hoovers up all the best young talent for themselves for next to nothing and then have to farm them out on loan to get game time. I have always said that eventually a cartel will emerge, like the NFL, for the top 20-30 'wealthiest' clubs with no relegation or promotion. God help any club not included in that cosy little stitch-up! I 've long since made myself comfortable with the fact that I'll never see Argo in the top flight in my lifetime. I'm even more sure of it now.
 

Lundan Cabbie

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Sep 3, 2008
4,473
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Plymouth
Things might have been different if the Football League clubs hadn't pulled out of the deal they had with the Prem prior to the ITV Digital fiasco. They thought their own gravy train had come in but we know what happened and ever since have been cap in hand to the PL.
 
Jan 16, 2010
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plymouth
Lundan Cabbie":2172p6hd said:
Things might have been different if the Football League clubs hadn't pulled out of the deal they had with the Prem prior to the ITV Digital fiasco. They thought their own gravy train had come in but we know what happened and ever since have been cap in hand to the PL.
what deal was that lundan please?not being rude against you i just don't recall.
 

Lundan Cabbie

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Sep 3, 2008
4,473
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Plymouth
It must have been around the turn of the century or just after, ON Digital, later renamed ITV Digital made a lucrative offer to the Football League which allowed them to divorce themselves from the deal they had with the PL.

ON Digital were launching a new platform to rival Sky and Cable companies which viewers would receive signals via a normal TV aerial but the system turned out to be fragile. Most people found ways of viewing without paying and therefore subscriptions were dramatically lower than the company had hoped for. Football clubs were promised vast sums in the deal, many of whom borrowed money on the back of the expected income but ITV Digital as it was by then called, went into administration owing FL clubs millions.

The Football League expected the parent company ITV to have to honour the contract but a court ruled that they were not responsible for the debts.

What was left of ITV Digital was bought out of admin and went on the become Freeview which is now our staple free to air TV system.

The Premier League came back into play by offering FL clubs consolidatory payments but this deal was not as good as they had enjoyed prior to ON Digital and was no longer linked to the escalating income that the PL was to see in the future.
 
Oct 5, 2003
2,229
13
Devon
Obscene yes, indefensible no. It's literally another league but there is no point giving up trying to get there (although selling your soul to some sort of shady foreign owner seems to be the only way to actually win things). The fact that every few years a new club gets promoted to the Prem somehow eludes some people.