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The Americanization of the English Premier League is in full flow. Eleven EPL teams (and plenty of teams outside the EPL) are owned or part-owned by Americans. In some ways the whole foundation of the EPL is built on the Americanization of the game. The first EPL game I ever attended had cheerleaders at half time.
The introduction of VAR is a very American idea, whose sports have no problem stopping the game multiple times to allow for commercials. How long before we cut to a commercial break while VAR examines the footage for three minutes?
But there’s one aspect of American sports that hasn’t made its way to the EPL. The draft. Last night saw the start of the annual event where teams select college players to join their NFL teams. It’s an extraordinary thing, not least because it’s built on that most un-American of things. Socialism. The last shall be first, i.e. the weakest teams in the league get first pick of the new players in an effort to equalize the playing field and make the league more competitive.
The EPL is suffering from a major problem. For the last two seasons the three promoted clubs have been way out of their depth and instantly relegated back to the Championship. Perhaps a draft system is exactly what the EPL needs to give the lesser teams a fighting chance.
Of course England does not have a collegiate system for sports. Players are signed by clubs from as young as six years old (see Trent Alexander-Arnold and more). The practicalities would be difficult – how could you compensate clubs that have trained a player for years, only to see them snatched away in a draft?
But imagine a system whereby in the summer all players aged 21 and under were available to be drafted. The team promoted via the play-offs would have first pick; followed by the team who came second in the Championship; then the Championship winners. Followed by the team who finished 17th in the EPL; and so on. Like in the NFL, teams could trade their draft picks during the transfer windows as part of negotiations for other players.
Next season that could see Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly playing for Coventry; Manchester City’s Savhino at Burnley; Man United’s Kobbie Mainoo at Leeds; and so on. Could it happen? Unlikely. Could it save the EPL from the endless cycle of the same teams winning the league? Perhaps.
Related: Can Leeds and Burnley Survive in the EPL?
Continue reading...
The introduction of VAR is a very American idea, whose sports have no problem stopping the game multiple times to allow for commercials. How long before we cut to a commercial break while VAR examines the footage for three minutes?
But there’s one aspect of American sports that hasn’t made its way to the EPL. The draft. Last night saw the start of the annual event where teams select college players to join their NFL teams. It’s an extraordinary thing, not least because it’s built on that most un-American of things. Socialism. The last shall be first, i.e. the weakest teams in the league get first pick of the new players in an effort to equalize the playing field and make the league more competitive.
The EPL is suffering from a major problem. For the last two seasons the three promoted clubs have been way out of their depth and instantly relegated back to the Championship. Perhaps a draft system is exactly what the EPL needs to give the lesser teams a fighting chance.
Of course England does not have a collegiate system for sports. Players are signed by clubs from as young as six years old (see Trent Alexander-Arnold and more). The practicalities would be difficult – how could you compensate clubs that have trained a player for years, only to see them snatched away in a draft?
But imagine a system whereby in the summer all players aged 21 and under were available to be drafted. The team promoted via the play-offs would have first pick; followed by the team who came second in the Championship; then the Championship winners. Followed by the team who finished 17th in the EPL; and so on. Like in the NFL, teams could trade their draft picks during the transfer windows as part of negotiations for other players.
Next season that could see Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly playing for Coventry; Manchester City’s Savhino at Burnley; Man United’s Kobbie Mainoo at Leeds; and so on. Could it happen? Unlikely. Could it save the EPL from the endless cycle of the same teams winning the league? Perhaps.
Related: Can Leeds and Burnley Survive in the EPL?
Continue reading...
