On Whatsapp I have a group chat which includes me, my step dad and my brother. We talk a lot of Arsenal before and after games and general football. Different European subjects that come up and also domestic issues in the press at that time. We all have different opinions and I enjoy it.

The other day my step dad posted a BBC link about the new gigantic BT European football deal and the basis of it was saying that the richest clubs in the game are only going to get richer. Obviously this is true but the article reads like the English Premier League is over for the foreseeable future, the top 5 or 6 will be separated from the rest and we will never again see a team challenge for the top 4, a team like Everton or Villa for example. I’m not sure I agree with this sentiment and my reasoning for thinking this way is the results we have in the Premier League every single week.

So far this season off the top of my head we have seen City beaten by Sunderland and Cardiff and Villa, United have been beaten by West Brom, Everton beat Chelsea, Southampton beat Liverpool at Anfield and of course one of the funniest results so far, West Ham beating Spurs 3-0 at Shite Hart Lane. We were even beaten by Villa on the first day of the season but we all know the ref was to blame……that’s my story and im sticking to it.

Our league is so incredibly competitive that I cannot believe someone would write off a team challenging to fight their way into the top. Football is so much more than money, I know it is a big part of the game and in most cases you could decide the final league table on their total wage bills and probably end up being not fair off correct, but its wrong just to write off all competition because the top clubs are going to be earning more money from this deal. Football is about coaching, tactics, surprise subs made by good managers and fans roaring on their teams in home stadiums. There are some teams in our league who have fantastic managers who put great teams together on shoe string budgets. They play wonderful football and create problems for all the big sides. I cant see our league suffering as a result of this money, and in fact it could even filter through our league to make the so called smaller clubs more financially better off.

It shows BT are big players and will challenge Sky for the Premier League rights, this could mean a bigger deal and more cash for the clubs the next time renewal date comes around. Our league does things correct when it comes to domestic TV deals as we spread the money throughout the league in as fair way as we possible can. The below graphic shows that every clubs has an equal share of domestic TV income and also an equal amount from overseas TV income, this is what clubs in the league earned last season.

This graphic proves that our league is the fairest in Europe when it comes to the earnings each club receives, the ratio from the top teams United earnings and the bottom teams QPR is 1.53/1. In La Liga the ratio is 14/1 and Serie A it is 10/1, Germanys Bundesliga is our closest rival at 2/1.
The clubs at the bottom are still getting parachute payments from the Premier League.
Credit to SportingIntelligence.com for the graphic and info.

The worst team in the league this season will bank £60m in TV money, with the best claiming £95m. That is just the domestic deal. The Premier League will earn £2.5bn from foreign broadcasters over the next three years, and that is without really breaking China and India. Our league will only get stronger and be more competitive, You have teams like Cardiff spending £27 million and Norwich spending £30 million.

I know a lot of fans from England have become obsessed with the German league because of how they do things, they treat the fan with respect, they stand in stadiums and have cheap tickets, but they lack competition. Bayern Munich won the league last year by 25 points and lead the way this. They are the only side in Germany who have money, and are simply buying up the best players in Germany.

You cannot find the level of commitment and competition anywhere else in Europe that we find on our pitches every week. I wouldn’t swap our league for any other in the world because of the excitement and shocks we see. Im not saying we have a lot to learn from around the other European leagues, we clearly do, but we are the powerhouse and at the moment our football is second to none.

Norby
Follow @MattWigley