I’ve spent too much of my 25 years in the States trying to convince Americans that there’s more to England than the great city of London. However, it’s quite likely there’ll be 6 London-based teams in the EPL next season. I’m presuming QPR don’t get relegated — which is unlikely given their new signings — and West Ham gets promoted from the Championship.

So that London derbys don’t become commonplace, and to prevent the EPL from devolving into the Londinium League, we need to set a limit of 5 London teams. I propose a London conference within the EPL with the bottom placed team being automatically relegated. Nothing else changes, three clubs will go down: the two non-London lowest clubs will be relegated along the bottom London club.

For those of you wondering: what if Reading makes the Championship Playoffs and gets promoted? I checked the map — they’re close, but outside the London Boroughs.

Given the attraction of playing in London and the flow of football finances to this mega-market, I doubt London participation will fall below 5 teams. But if it does, it probably means the North West is once again overrepresented. If this reality prevails, it will be time to invoke the Lancashire Conference, with the new relegation rules applying to Lancastrians… and so on.

That oughta add some extra spice into those stale and fruitless end-of-season encounters by teams relishing comfort above the drop zone.

The Premier League is remarkably successful but that doesn’t mean the world’s greatest sports league can’t be improved by employing conferences when a region is overrepresented. What do you think? Stupid idea? Bring it!

Speaking of EPL geography…

While celebrating all things Scottish or Welsh is encouraged, English traditions are often swept under the rug by guilt-ridden wussies. In their desperation for inclusiveness and political correctness, they’re all too eager to substitute British for English.

Being a soccer stud that came Stateside on a scholarship, the last thing I want to do is align myself with these effete elites. Nevertheless, I do wonder if it’s time to rename EPL Talk to BPL Talk — not B as in the Barclays Premier League, but British Premier League.

Historically, Wales has been referred to as “England’s first colony,” and it now seems the English Premier League is colonizing Welsh football. Indeed, the best Welsh teams clamor for the glamor of the EPL.

Swansea City FC are reveling in mid-table in the world’s most popular sports league.

Cardiff City FC, currently in the Championship, are perennial challengers for promotion to the EPL. Indeed, this year they are poised for the playoffs, if not automatic promotion to the greener pastures of English football.

Imagine: Swansea and Cardiff in the EPL; Now that would be something to BPL Talk about. Just as Wales joining England through the Acts of Union provided the foundation for Britain, the union of English and Welsh teams could transform the English into the British Premier League, or are we riddled with Cymrophobia? (don’t bother to look it up. It’s a cool word, alright, but with an ugly meaning — antipathy towards the Welsh).

Arsene Wenger isn’t known for dabbling in the winter transfer window. In fact he deems that it should be “scrapped”. History though tells us another thing. Over the past couple of seasons, Arsenal has entered the winter transfer window needing an extra signing or two. This season is much like the previous. More important, because this year Arsenal desperately need that cover because this season could make or break Arsenal. No exaggeration there.

It’s been in the news for a while that Arsenal needs that extra cover — for positions all over. The loss of their wingbacks has been hotly discussed; much more the reinforcements to cover for lone striker Robin van Persie. Plus the delayed injury to Jack Wilshere means the Gunners are short in the centre of the park. What has been Wenger’s response? The return of a former great; no signings for the rearguard and a “hot prospect with potential” — haven’t we heard that before?

We have, and once again we’ve heard Wenger say that the “squad is good enough”. That’s just Wenger talk. The squad isn’t good enough and if there was one season in which Wenger should have dived headfirst in the transfer window, the 2011/2012 season would have been it. We merely have to go over the positions to witness how badly he needed to purchase (or loan even) some players…

The dilemma upfront for Wenger though is obviously and one that’s happened before you’ll think that ‘the Professor’ would learn from it: Van Persie is injury prone. Wenger in turn has tried to use the Dutchman sparingly, giving the other strikers, Marouane Chamakh and Ju Young Park the chance to impress. Simply: they just aren’t good enough. Wenger’s solution was bringing in Thierry Henry for a two-month loan spell. Hardly a clever move. He might have all the class he had for years, but the fact he’s only here for a short period, what happens if Van Persie gets injured after he leaves? Surely a 6-month loan option for another striker would of been a better option or should Gunner fans rely on the misfiring duo of Chamakh and Park (not to mention the erratic performances of Arshavin, Walcott and Gervinho)

In terms of the midfield, one can sense that Arsenal needs that extra grunt. That’s been well documented, but Wenger was relying on the return of Jack Wilshere. That’s right, Wenger was placing the hopes of the team on a 19 year old to carry the Gunners. Common sense would suggest that experience is required, but where is it? Wenger brought in Yossi Benayoun, but he’s hardly played. Mikel Arteta has been good for the Gunners but he’s injury prone. Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky can hardly carry the midfield alone. Where’s that extra muscle? The latest news is that Wilshere is out for the season. Surely that’s the sign for Wenger to go searching for that signing? He’s name is Thomas Eisfeld a 19 year old from Dortmund, whom Goal.com’s Clark Whitney says that he’s “very raw, entirely unproven player, not yet ready for football at the highest level”. Is this really Wenger’s solution to the midfield problem?

Bad defending and Arsenal are one and the same. This season, once again the Gunners have been dreadful at the back. But that’s not to say that the Gunners don’t have quality personnel. In the centre of the park, they have Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscelny. Problem is after that is where the team suffers. Johan Djourou and Sébastien Squillaci have shown they are not up to it. On the wings is the biggest problem, with Andre Santos, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson out for a lenghty period (the return of Bakary Sagna is a bright spot). Yet again Arsenal has had to rely on raw talent in the form of Ignasi Miquel, Francis Coquelin and Nico Yennaris who Wenger says “is suited to the top level”. That’s after one game against Manchester United. Shouldn’t Wenger have gone searching for that defender with experience who could help out when required?

No he didn’t. Wenger has stuck to his formula from over the years, leaving Arsenal relying on youthful prospects during crunch time. Is it going to work? History tells us no, but this season it has too. Arsenal is in a dangerous position of no Champions League. Miss that and Van Persie might find the value of playing elsewhere; incoming players might figure its better going to other rivals teams at the prospect of playing at an higher level and what about those young players who figure it’s better to pull a “Nasri”? Get game time and experience at  Arsenal then run off to winning team?

It’s breaking point for Wenger. If this backfires on him, he better be prepared for an ambush of criticism. Or we could be wrong; Wenger proving us he’s the man we all say he is. History though doesn’t say so.

Two big FA Cup matches are on deck today. The 11am ET/4pm GMT kickoff between Arsenal and Aston Villa is the one that most will be interested in, but the 8.30am ET/1:30pm GMT match between Sunderland and Middlesbrough shouldn’t be overlooked either. Plus, we have the draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup, which is scheduled for approximately 10:40am ET today.

In 10 previous FA Cup meetings Arsenal have beaten Villa six times, lost three times with one draw, while Sunderland lead the Wear-Tees derby tally 59-45. This should be a straightforward win for Arsenal, but based on their confidence lately, it’s possibly that Villa could cause an upset. Arsenal will want to win especially knowing that Manchester United and City are out of the FA Cup. Winning some silverware this season would be vital for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners fans.

Having said that, Wenger will know that McLeish was the manager that helped Birmingham City beat Arsenal last season in the Carling Cup Final. This one should be an intriguing encounter.

In the early match, Middlesbrough, fifth in the Championship and hunting promotion under Tony Mowbray, have only won one of their last five. Meanwhile for Sunderland, Connor Wickham makes a rare start up front for the Black Cats.

Before, during and after today’s FA Cup matches, post your rants, raves, questions and observations in the comments section below.

The first ever live Premier League match shown on free-to-air network television in the United States delivered 1.3 million viewers for the Sunday, January 22 match between Arsenal and Manchester United on FOX. The broadcast delivered a 0.8 rating

The viewing figure of 1.3 million doubled the previous record high for live coverage of a Premier League match on either ESPN (528,000 for Manchester United-Arsenal, December 2010) and FOX Soccer (418,000 for Chelsea vs Liverpool, February 2011). The record-high for any Premier League match is the 1.67 million who watched the tape-delay of Chelsea against Liverpool on FOX in November, 2011.

Despite the fact that the broadcast of Arsenal against Manchester United was not shown in approximately 10% of US markets, FOX was able to provide live coverage in just under 100 million homes.

According to a FOX Sports representative, Sunday’s game rated lower than FOX’s tape-delayed EPL broadcasts earlier this season which followed NFL games. With the benefit of a later time slot and the enormous NFL lead-in or lead-out, those matches averaged a 1.1 rating nationally.

The next Premier League match that will be shown live on free-to-air network television in the United States is the February 5 encounter between Chelsea and Manchester United on FOX at 10:30am ET on Super Bowl Sunday (check local listings).

Imagine for a minute that you lived in England and that you finally had the chance to watch your favorite Premier League club in person. Like me, if you’re such a die-hard supporter of your team, you would definitely look into how much it would cost to buy a season ticket so you wouldn’t miss a home match.

But then — shock, horror — you look at the sticker price to see how much it would set you back.

Season ticket prices differ greatly in the Premier League depending on the club. But at the high end, the club with the most expensive season ticket prices is Arsenal. The cheapest season ticket is £925 while the most expensive one is approximately £5,200. In US dollars, that’s between $1,448 and $8,142. No matter how wonderful Arsenal is to watch, those are extremely aggressive prices even if the wages in London are higher than in other parts of England. And those prices don’t include the cost to become a member just so you have the right to purchase season tickets.

And that’s the price for one season ticket. Just imagine if you wanted to bring your partner, friend or child with you to home matches throughout a season!

Yes, season ticket prices for other clubs are less expensive than Arsenal, but if you lived in England, could you and would you pay for a season ticket for your favorite club? Would you draw the line and say it’s too expensive, or would you fork over the hard-earned cash? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

The managerial merry-go-round is one of the unpleasant facets of Premier League football. Too often, the board members of clubs are quick to sack a manager due to a string of poor results or because of outside pressure. The objective of dismissing a manager is, of course, to effect change. Immediate results are often improved, but the song generally remains the same. Conversely, there are the untouchables; the managers who are rated so highly or have achieved so much that they will never have to take a trip to the gallows. This is not a new problem, but one that has become more apparent in recent times. Two men that highlight this interesting state of affairs are Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish.

With regard to Wenger, it is hard to argue that Arsenal should begin the search for a new manager, and this is not an attempt to advocate that course of action. He is an excellent manager that has worked wonders for his club — once upon a time, at least. Arsenal has not improved in recent years while clubs around them have. Arsenal and Manchester United used to represent the upper echelon of the Premier League. Systematically, Chelsea, Manchester City and now Tottenham have replaced Arsenal as a top 4 side. Wenger has said that a Champions League place is his target. At this point, it looks unlikely.

The frustration for Arsenal fans, and supporters of the Wenger football ethos, is that the same problems have persisted at the club for upwards of five seasons. Namely, a lack of veteran know-how, little graft in midfield, little quality on the bench, and inconsistent defending. At some point he must be held accountable for either being unable or unwilling to change. However, despite the fans’ and Robin van Persie’s reaction to a substitution this past weekend, Wenger remains untouchable.  “In Arsene we Trust” is a slogan in limbo, lost somewhere between a statement in faith and a joke.

Dalglish’s situation is different because he has not been the manager of Liverpool for a long period of time. However, he has managed long enough to be evaluated. Clearly, Liverpool has improved under Dalglish. The club’s record under him has been measurably better than the Roy Hodgson era. However, the degree of improvement, when compared with money spent, has been substandard. Hodgson spent approximately $37 million, and obtained a winning percentage of 42% in 31 games. Dalglish has spent $179 million, and achieved a winning percentage of 51% in 51 games. A more telling stat, is that Liverpool’s winning percentage this season is 40%. Given the resources at his disposal, Dalglish’s tenure has not been overly successful. Dalglish was supposed to restore the glory and the aura at Liverpool. Yet the club has been plagued by inconsistent play on the field and controversy of it. There are no cries for his dismissal. Would that be the case if he was not an Anfield legend?

It is difficult to say whether either club would benefit from a managerial change. Especially Liverpool where Dalglish deserves more time. Dalglish will probably be afforded that privilege so rarely given to managers, because he is untouchable. In a results oriented business, when you are a manager of a top club, you have to be at least challenging for a top four finish. If that is the bar by which Dalglish and Wenger are to be evaluated, they are failing. Interestingly, Andre Villas-Boas is the most maligned manager of a top team. Villas-Boas has his club sitting in fourth, five points ahead of Arsenal in his first season as manager. How he must envy Dalglish and Wenger.

In this day and age it is somewhat accepted that the “big clubs” will dominate all across the board in English football. Somewhat stale air breathes on football as the stranglehold of money dictates all.

Is it possible a manager could overcome these shackles of expectations and pessimism to follow in the footsteps of Brian Clough, OBE?

Mr Clough and assistant Peter Taylor did the unthinkable of taking not one — but two — second division teams to win a series of silverware. Nottingham Forrest won the European Cup twice under Clough’s guidance.

What has happened to the belief and ability to match the game’s heavyweights? I’d like to think it is still possible for greater competition with the simple addition of belief to a side.

How can anyone deal with such dominance by the top teams?

In any given game either team can win or lose. Hunger to win coupled with the genuine thought that it is possible can often outweigh any form of quality difference. Players at any team in the Barclays Premier League should be able to execute. And the belief is something that can be seen in how the manager approaches the press.

Look at the boys from Bloomfield Road last season. Blackpool had a go at it and along the way grew in the hearts of many with a comic manager in Ian Holloway. Blackpool beat Liverpool twice in the league and also beat this year’s title contender Tottenham.

“I call us the Orange club – because our future’s bright!” said Holloway, in one of his many funny quotes.

On Sunday January 15, 2012 Swansea beat Arsenal 3-2. Swansea may have been at home but they definitely served up a performance holding Arsenal to 45% possession throughout the game. Arsenal is not used to seeing so little of the ball given they are known for passing and holding on to it so well.

When Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers was asked if Arsenal was a side he enjoyed watching given the manner in which his own team play, he replied: “I enjoy watching Swansea, I think we are fantastic, some of the football we play, the statistics are up there with the top teams in European football, so I really enjoy watching Swansea.”

Maybe teams should approach games looking to earn their own respect rather than respecting the opposition to a point of mentally discarding their own chances. As a fan it is easy to get behind a man who shows that he thinks he can lead a team above expectations.

In December 2011 Wigan Athletic faced Arsenal. Roberto Martinez found himself caught up in Robin van Persie mania in the pre-match press conference. ”Obviously he’s a world class player and I don’t think you can describe many players nowadays with that title, but the truth is he’s got all the individuals around him as well that can really hurt you if you leave yourself exposed.”

Martinez went on to further flatter the opposition by saying that Arsenal can not be contained even if van Persie can be stopped. The Dutchman had scored 13 league goals at that point in the season. Instead the Spaniard was quick to note a number of other threatening players at Wenger’s disposal.

“Gervinho, Walcott, Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, they are players that are very, very good at one on one situations, so you have to be very, very careful.”

Arsenal went on to win, crushing Wigan’s 4-0 after their mini revival in the league. Wigan looked somewhat uninterested, displayed negative body language and seemed beaten from the kick-off. Martinez should probably concentrate on his own side in the run up to matches not praising the superior opposition as there are no points awarded for making friends in this league.

Brian Clough was known for his controversial encounters but would very rarely be found offering respect to the opposition. Just a thought… believe.

You may not agree with what he had to say but the way Brian Clough put it across showed real belief:

“If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there.”   On the importance of passing to feet.

“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.” Looking back at his success.

“Manchester United in Brazil? I hope they all get bloody diarrhea.” On Man United opting-out of the FA Cup to play in the World Club Championship.

“I bet their dressing room will smell of garlic rather than liniment over the next few months” Not too impressed with the amount of French players signed by Arsenal.

A world away from the comments given by Wigan’s Roberto Martinez, ‘eh?

In memory of Brian Howard Clough, OBE (21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004)

Premier League soccer on TV is at an important crossroads in the United States. The interest in the league is growing by such leap and bounds that several Premier League matches have graduated from FOX Soccer to the free-to-air FOX network (Sunday’s Arsenal-Man United game scored an 0.9 rating). However, with these changes come growing pains. For TV viewing numbers to grow from 300,000-500,000 to 1.5 million and beyond, Premier League matches have to be shown on national free-to-air networks such as FOX instead of niche sports channels like FOX Soccer. But in order to do so, it takes the cooperation of more than 100 FOX stations nationwide to each show the game at the same time, and that’s not an easy feat.

That begs the question: For Premier League soccer to move more into the mainstream, is it worth the pain of having games on FOX? Not that we have a choice or much control in the matter, but should FOX Soccer continue the policy of showing select Premier League matches on FOX in order for the sport to grow in this country? If so, isolated soccer fans across the United States will be at the mercy of their local FOX affiliates and may not be able to watch live matches. But if we are to break on through to the other side and get larger viewing audiences, we will have to persevere with local FOX stations, and get on their backs when they decide not to show matches live.

Or should we? We could continue to have Super Sunday games shown live on FOX Soccer where we’re guaranteed that if the schedule says it’ll be on TV, it’ll be on. Share your feedback in the comments below regarding which method you prefer, and whether you care about the growth of the Premier League and soccer because let’s face it — the two best hopes for soccer making it bigger in America is either the US men’s national team winning a World Cup, or the Premier League becoming part of the US sports fabric.

The addition of Arsenal versus Manchester United to FOX’s calendar was a decision that was made on December 5, 2011. According to an industry source, because FOX put Arsenal vs Manchester United on the FOX broadcast network with less than 6 months notice, FOX affiliates not owned by NewsCorp were under no obligation to clear the time slot for the match. Thus we arrived at yesterday’s situation where six of the major markets in the United States didn’t show the game live, while there were 14 other FOX stations in smaller markets who did the same.

Disappointing and frustrating, yes. But why did it take an exclusive story by EPL Talk on Saturday morning to be the first to make viewers (and soccer fans) aware that the game wasn’t going to be shown live in some markets? The way that FOX viewers were treated in those markets that were affected is disgraceful. For several weeks, we’ve seen advertising on FOX stations across the United States that promoted #EpicSunday. And then many of those stations didn’t even show the game live. And many of the ones that showed it on delay then didn’t air it in HD.

Infomercials instead of soccer on WAGA FOX Atlanta (Photo by @thechrismartz)

To make matters worse, the programming that aired instead of the live Arsenal-Manchester United game was, depending on the FOX station, an assortment of infomercials (see above), a rerun of the flop Corky Romano, church programming and/or reruns of local programming. Each of the FOX stations listed below should be ashamed of the way they handled the situation.

At the same time, there was little to no response on social media from the FOX stations (or FOX Sports, as they promised). The only official response I saw from one of the FOX stations was to pass the buck. Unless I missed it (if so, please let me know in the comments section below), soccer fans venting on Facebook and Twitter were ignored by FOX stations on social media. The silence was deafening.

Remember that the fight is far from over. When Chelsea plays Manchester United on February 5, Super Bowl Sunday, and the game kicks off at 11am ET, there’s no guarantee that your local FOX station is going to show the game live. And you won’t be able to watch it live on FOX Soccer. That next game is only 13 days away, so it’s never too early to begin contacting your FOX station to ask whether they’ll be showing it live. And applying pressure on them to ensure they don’t make the same mistake again that they did yesterday.

If you think this is a one-time occurrence, think again. While there should be fewer issues with FOX stations not showing live Premier League games because they’ve been given adequate notice ahead of time, FOX Sports plans on showing select Premier League Super Sunday matches on the free-to-air FOX network next season, and may add one more than what they’ve shown this season. Read the interesting interview with a FOX Sports Media Group executive.

Soccer fans share their outrage on FOX 5 Atlanta Facebook's page

Here are the FOX stations that should be embarrassed by their decision not to show the game live (that aired infomercials and reruns instead).

FOX stations Hall of Shame: 

• WSVN (Miami/Fort Lauderdale),
• WAGA (Atlanta),
• WITI (Milwaukee),
• WJW (Cleveland),
• WRAZ (Raleigh/Durham),
• WXIN (Indianapolis),
• WBRC (Birmingham),
• KHMT (Billings),
• WXXV (Biloxi),
• WICZ (Binghamton),
• WHNS (Greenville),
• WZDX (Huntsville),
• WGXA (Macon),
• KPTM (Omaha),
• WFXR (Roanoke),
• WTGS (Savannah),
• KRBK (Springfield, MO),
• WTHI (Terre Haute),
• WTRF (Wheeling),
• WYFX (Youngstown).

PS — For those of you who had a chance to watch the FOX broadcast, I should add that the actual production was FOX’s best yet for their Super Sunday matches on the free-to-air network. Rob Stone looked tired under his makeup, but he played the role as host well, while I found Piers Morgan and Eric Wynalda to both be adequate. The analysis wasn’t explosive, but I found Morgan’s opinions to be heartfelt and opinionated. It’s just a shame that not everyone had a chance to see it live.

UPDATED: FOX’s live broadcast of Arsenal against Manchester United delivered a 0.9 overnight rating, according to Sports Business Journal. This compares to a 1.5 overnight rating from the record-breaking Chelsea against Liverpool match from November 20, which was shown on tape delay on FOX.

Two factors that can explain the decrease are (1) the Chelsea against Liverpool game was shown on tape delay during a more favorable timeslot of either 2-4pm or 4:30-6:30pm (depending on the local market), compared to 11am-1pm ET, and (2) the game wasn’t shown live in six of the top 56 markets that make up the overnight TV ratings.

“While unfortunate, the tape delay in certain markets did not at all influence the rating,” said a FOX Sports spokesperson. “The fall EPL matches on FOX. which averaged a 1.3 overnight, benefited from the enormous audiences that adjoining NFL programming provided. Obviously, yesterday’s match did not, so a decline was not unexpected. The soccer audience may have also been negatively impacted slightly by breaking news coverage of the death of Joe Paterno. News of the passing was confirmed just prior to 10:30am.”

Two nil down to City, most teams would have bitten the dust and collapse, but Spurs showed an undying belief to fight back. This isn’t the Spurs team of years ago; this is Redknapp’s team, full of hard running and energy. They were unlucky to lose to a spot kick in the 94th minute, especially conceding it to a player who should have been sent off. They will feel hard done by, but their performance showed they can mix it with the big boys. Eight points behind isn’t a mountain to climb, given the nature of the Premier league this season and with a bit of luck on their side, Spurs’ can overcome the Manchester clubs.

…while Arsenal were never in it.

And aren’t going to be in for a long time, it seems. Manchester United versus Arsenal always had a prestige to it, now it clear of the distinct gap between the two sides and Arsenal can no longer really be considered a force anymore. If this season was a one-off, you can cite a number of reasons, but the fact that we’ve seen this Arsenal team before over the last six seasons, suggests that despite Wenger’s constant comments that the team is progressing; they haven’t and aren’t going too either. A lack of quality players; an unorganised backline; no plan B and possibly no Champions League next season (they are five points behind Chelsea) expect them to fall a little further unless major changes are implemented.

City’s lack of depth is noticeable

For all the talk of Manchester City having a team filled with unquestionable depth, there is a clear indication that the Sky Blues are reliant on a handful of players. Vincent Kompany’s absence is especially noticeable with City’s defence looking less resolute without him and either Lescott or Savic living up to standards. The same goes for the frontline: City need Balotelli or Aguero to be firing at all times, with Dzeko blowing cold more often than hot. Finally, the lack of a midfield presence in Yaya Toure cannot be ignored. The Ivorian offers everything: hard running, a fierce combative nature, an eye for attacking flair and a defensive resoluteness.  City were missing his presence against Spurs and they will be hoping he returns from Africa, ready to go.

United will be fighting to the end.

Much like last season, there was a distinct lack of world-class quality in the United team. Apart from Wayne Rooney, United don’t have the players of yesteryear, instead focusing on young players and a few experienced individuals to lead them. Last season, they won the title not because of the quality of the side, but rather because they wanted it more. They fought tooth and nail; never giving up, believing they could win in any situation. And just like last season, they are doing it again. Sir Alex has moulded the squad with a winning mentality, doing what it takes to win. They dominated the first half against Arsenal and after the Gunners drew level, you thought the momentum had swung, but United, true to their fashion, fought harder and took the lead. 2-1, 3 points and still in the race. Expect them to fight to the end.