The English Premier Soccer League
Regarded as the most popular and richest soccer league in the world, the English Premier League was established in 1992 after breaking away from the traditional Football League. Now in its sixteenth season, the Premier League is capable of attracting the best soccer players from around the world and its top teams compete regularly in the latter stages of Europe's premier soccer tournament, the UEFA Champions League.
Origins of the Premier League: During the 1980s, the reputation of English soccer was at an all time low. Years of misbehavior from fans and a number of related tragedies, had subsequently led to English clubs getting banned from participating in European club competitions.
For this reason the top clubs were unable to sign the best players and they could not complete financially with the major teams in the other European leagues. Consequently, spectator attendances at many of the games began to decline rapidly.
However by 1990, many of these trends began to reverse. The English national team played a great tournament in that year's World Cup, reaching the semi-finals and this encouraged a feeling of renewed interest in the game. UEFA removed its ban on English clubs participating in the Champions League and compulsory seating was introduced in all stadiums to alleviate the problems associated with violence amongst spectators.
In the midst of this renewed optimism, the top soccer clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United decided to break away from the existing league structure to capitalize on the influx of television money that was offered by new satellite broadcasters such as Sky TV.
In 1992 all top division clubs resigned from the football league and formed the Premier League. This was a unique structure that effectively created a limited company that was able to negotiate commercial revenue and share the benefits based upon performance.
Structure of the Premier League: The Premier League consists of twenty soccer clubs from all regions across England. They play a thirty-eight match season that begins in August each year and is concluded the following May. All teams compete home and away against the other teams twice.
At the completion of the season, the bottom three teams are demoted to the football league and replaced by the three best teams in that league the following season. The winners of the Premier League are declared the champions and are eligible to play in following season's UEFA Champions League, along with the next top three teams.
Notable Clubs: The most successful club in the history of the Premier League is Manchester United. In the 2007/08 season they won the competition for a record tenth time. The only other teams to win the league are Arsenal, Chelsea and Blackburn.
The Future of the Premier League: By 2008 the top English clubs, through their ability to negotiate ever increasing commercial revenues have created a global sports brand that allows them to dominate European club soccer. In the last four seasons, an English team has reached the final of the Champions League.
However, the impact of this success at the top of the English soccer league is having a detrimental effect on the teams at the lower scale of the league system. Many teams are struggling to survive financially and there is much criticism and concern that the concentration of wealth and power in a small group of teams may have long term negative consequences for the future of the game.
Livescore and iScores professional sports scores.
|
 |
 |
 |
MORE ARTICLES:
The Golden Retriever: A Wonderful Pet
A Golden Retriever is a wonderful breed of dog, having many terrific qualities, including a love of people, particularly children Making it a terrific family dog with loyalty and confidence and an uncanny sense of smell
Gift of the Month Club Sales Surge at Clubs of America
Holiday sales hit another record high.
Gift of the Month Clubs provide the perfect year round season’s greetings.
Puppy Grows Life Like Puppy and Even Knows Your Name
Puppy Grows & Knows is a new Fisher Price computerized dog that teaches small children to properly care for their pets. It also teaches a small child responsibility because it is their personal ownership, their own dog and baby to take care of. The size of this toy dog is 14.10" h x 12.00" w x 8.30" l and weighs 4.15 pounds. As the child shows this toy puppy the love, attention and TLC that all animals really want and need, the puppy will grow into a bigger dog in four days. Its body, legs, ears and tail will grow, little by little, each day, as the child interacts with it daily, playing its programmed games. Two games include singing songs and playing a barking game. The puppy can be taught to know its name, child's name, friend's name, an...
Puppy Pictures And Puppy Albums
Most people who have pets at home actually get so much attached to them that they are considered more of a family member than just a mere pet. For once, most dog owners actually treat their dogs very well from the time that it is still a puppy until they grow with them. For others, they go beyond the basic care of their pets and they even take pictures of their pets and compile them in an album so they could do something to preserve the memories of their pets and share their joys even to the next generation.
Horse Breeds: Galician Pony, Gelderlander, Gidran, Golden American Saddlebred, Gotland
*GALICIAN PONY*
Found in northwest Spain, The Galician Pony is home in a region that features many mountains and a wet climate The breed is used for the production of meat and for riding
Puppy Pictures - How to Create A Photo Album For Your
Photo albums are one great ways to recover all the memories between you and your puppies. Of course, you would want a book that's meaning trust. Through creative designs and patience on the throw, you can come up with the nicest photo book that would house all your memories with your puppies.
When Breeders Look For Puppies This Is What They Look For
Getting a new puppy is so much fun, and Rottweiler puppies are so adorable, you'll be tempted to choose the first puppy you pick up at your breeder's Resist that impulse, and take a measured approach to selecting your Rottweiler puppy
Dog Lovers Wine Club Features "Annie" a Rescued Boxer from the San Francisco Bay Area
Dog Lovers Wine Club has just completed shipping of their May club shipment. The shipment contains a Santa Barbara County Tempranillo graced with a painting of Annie the Boxer.
Westie Puppies For Sale – 7 Important Questions To Ask Your West Highland Terrier Breeder
Let's say you've made up your mind on the breed you want, which is a cute westie puppies for sale. The next step to take is finding a responsible breeder.
Golden Retrievers: Not Good For Everyone
Best selling author Lisa Scottoline has four Golden Retrievers and one Welsh Corgi She writes about them like this, "When you have a house full of Goldens, you think to yourself, You know, we need a dog"
What To Ask Your Prospective Golden Retriever Breeder
Money shouldn't mean much to a good Golden Retriever breeder needing to find good homes for puppies Ask for references and what they like to see in a dog owner
Women's Health Clubs: How Women's Health Clubs Can Help You Look Your Best
There are a ton of different women's health clubs that you can go to when you're looking to lose a bit of weight or just tone up some flab. There are many different benefits that a woman gets when she exercises on a regular basis, and these days it's imperative that women get off of the couch and get moving. Along with a reasonably balanced diet that includes lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains, exercising can drastically improve the quality of your life, as well as extend it quite a bit. Sure, you can work out at home, but unless you've got a well equipped gym that includes free weights, treadmills, elliptical machines and more, you'd probably be better served paying a few extra dollars a month to go to a real gym.
The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express Joins the Luxury Train Club
Train Chartering's Luxury Train Club welcomes the impressive Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express into the Club. The Luxury Train Club is a fusion of luxury trains, member travellers and selected partnership.
Flooglebinder.com Names 10 Most Popular Dog Breeds In America
The top ten most popular dog breeds in America have been named by reference website, Flooglebinder.com.
Breed Success in Your Puppy Search
The numbers will make any pet lover blanch with disgust, anger, and sadness. The Humane Society of the United States calculates that as many as 500,000 puppies every year are sold in pet shops, and that many of these pet shops buy their pets from the worst breeders—so-called puppy mills.
|