the Chinese revolution

topmanamillion

I`d well believe those figures. If they could get someone like Ronaldo the flood gates would open and even top EPL player would be off looking for a pay day in China.
Also might explain why Real signed a 31 year old to a 5 year contract a few months back.

Dempsey

NIMAN wrote: »

If half those figures was accurate, Madrid would be crazy not to sell him.

Real Madrid cannot force him to sign for a Chinese Club

Harry Palmr

Has anyone here seen a Chinese league game? Are they shown anywhere? Must try and find one to stream. I have a vision of terrible pitches, smoggy air, half filled stadiums and a lot of bad football.

Fr Tod Umptious

Dempsey wrote: »

Real Madrid cannot force him to sign for a Chinese Club

But they could sell him if they wanted.

MD1990

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Has anyone here seen a Chinese league game? Are they shown anywhere? Must try and find one to stream. I have a vision of terrible pitches, smoggy air, half filled stadiums and a lot of bad football.

They are on streams & on Sky now & again.
Pitches I have seen are very good & the standard is good too.

Columbia

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Has anyone here seen a Chinese league game? Are they shown anywhere? Must try and find one to stream. I have a vision of terrible pitches, smoggy air, half filled stadiums and a lot of bad football.

I live about 10 minutes' walk from Shanghai SIPG (Oscar's new club) and I've been to a couple of games, which have been good. Best moment was when they scored in stoppage time against Tokyo to get into the last 8 of the Asian Champion's League. The place was rocking after the goal, especially as they were playing a Japanese side.

They're in the off-season right now, but I'll be attending more games in the future. I would love to see the Shanghai derby next year (the one game a year that's difficult to get tickets for, you're right about the half-empty stadiums). Tickets cost 15-50 euros, for anybody wondering.

Dempsey

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But they could sell him if they wanted.

They can try but if he doesnt agree personal terms then no sale can happen.

Its not the 80's

gosplan

You should look at what the IPL did in cricket for a comparison.

A billion strong population with a booming middle class all in sudden need for recreational ways to spend their money.

Very similar setup. Go in and blow the competition out of the water. Sure, competition in cricket wasn't near as strong but the IPL is now the 6th biggest sports league on the planet - which is pretty impressive after less than a decade.

It's reportedly worth 4-5 billion and brings in about 12 billion to the Indian economy every year.

No reason China can't go the same way. Should at least rise to Challenge Europe a bit more though it'll take a while. It's not about Ronaldo or Tevez, it's more about the hoovering up of young talent that's going to start.

LiamoSail

Ken Early made a good point about the negative opinions of players going to China; they're remarkably similar to the sort of remarks that were made about European players going to England in the early 90's.

Gullit, Mancini, Lombardo, Juninho etc didn't come to England for the quality of the league or the lifestyle. They left better clubs, better leagues to move to a country with a culture far removed from their own purely because there was a big contract on offer. In England, those players are seen as legends, yet Oscar does similar and he's a parasite

bucketybuck

LiamoSail wrote: »

Ken Early made a good point about the negative opinions of players going to China; they're remarkably similar to the sort of remarks that were made about European players going to England in the early 90's.

Gullit, Mancini, Lombardo, Juninho etc didn't come to England for the quality of the league or the lifestyle. They left better clubs, better leagues to move to a country with a culture far removed from their own purely because there was a big contract on offer. In England, those players are seen as legends, yet Oscar does similar and he's a parasite

Its not really a similar example. Maybe England in the 90's wasn't as good as Italy but it was still a league with multiple European cup winners, international success, some of the worlds most famous clubs and many, many legends of the game having played there.

China has nowhere near the sort of legacy that England had before the money arrived, to the point where they have no legacy at all.

Corholio

LiamoSail wrote: »

Ken Early made a good point about the negative opinions of players going to China; they're remarkably similar to the sort of remarks that were made about European players going to England in the early 90's.

Gullit, Mancini, Lombardo, Juninho etc didn't come to England for the quality of the league or the lifestyle. They left better clubs, better leagues to move to a country with a culture far removed from their own purely because there was a big contract on offer. In England, those players are seen as legends, yet Oscar does similar and he's a parasite

I've seen this point made before and it's basis is good, however the competitiveness comparison between England in China is quite different. These players were still playing a in good quality league which was competitive on a bigger scale. Mancini was 37 when he went to Leicester, Lombardo was released by Juventus after an awful second season there. I don't think China is this supposed evil or anything but you can't help but be disappointed that decent players go there. I don't think Oscar is a parasite, very hard to turn down that kind of ridiculous money, but I think the China thing has thrown up a rather strange thing of people wanting European leagues to get their comeuppance that this new, brash league is taking all their players.

MD1990

I'm not sure the Chinese League will ever challenge the Premier & La Liga considering teams are only allowed 4 foreign players in each squad.

Maybe that rule could change though.

Utopia Parkway

Vicxas

Looks like China is doing what Russia tried to do a few years back, add money and sit there and watch the fans roll in...


Oh...... wait.

AdamD

NIMAN wrote: »

If half those figures was accurate, Madrid would be crazy not to sell him.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But they could sell him if they wanted.

No they couldn't. They can accept the offer but ultimately its up to the player.

eagle eye

Vicxas wrote: »

Looks like China is doing what Russia tried to do a few years back, add money and sit there and watch the fans roll in...


Oh...... wait.

Same as Serie A did in the late 80's? Same as the Premier league did from the mid 90's?

topmanamillion

eagle eye wrote: »

Same as Serie A did in the late 80's? Same as the Premier league did from the mid 90's?

Exactly. There's a real snobbery on this thread.
Domestic football leagues have been making marquee signings ever since there have been professional domestic leagues.
Best of luck to the Chinese I hope it becomes a major world league and blows the sham that is the EPL to bits.

AdamD

Except the PL and Serie A were both already well established and had massive fan bases. But sure lets pretend this is the exact same because you dislike the PL.

topmanamillion

AdamD wrote: »

Except the PL and Serie A were both already well established and had massive fan bases. But sure lets pretend this is the exact same because you dislike the PL.

The Chinese league has an average attendance of 22k. The exact same as Serie A and and not too dissimilar to La Liga. Don't allow facts to get in the way of your outrage.

MD1990

Premier League was not big worldwide for much of the 90's.
Crowds in China are good & they have a huge population. It has a bigger chance than Russia to become a huge league but they would need to get rid of only allowing 4 foreign players in each squad.

AdamD

topmanamillion wrote: »

The Chinese league has an average attendance of 22k. The exact same as Serie A and and not too dissimilar to La Liga. Don't allow facts to get in the way of your outrage.

Where is my outrage exactly?

eagle eye

AdamD wrote: »

Except the PL and Serie A were both already well established and had massive fan bases. But sure lets pretend this is the exact same because you dislike the PL.

Well they were both around a long time before the money happened but they were only big in their own regions before the big money.

When the money got big in Italy there were live matches on tv over here and a weekly highlights show which was not the case for any other league.

Same with the EPL, it was big in Great Britain and Ireland but nowhere else until the big money arrived.

Korat

If Chinese money attracted all the world's best players then that would be the league that new and casual soccer fans would choose to watch.

People who already have an emotional investment in European leagues would still watch 'their' teams but China would be the big show.

Korat

Korat wrote: »

If Chinese money attracted all the world's best players then that would be the league that new and casual soccer fans would choose to watch.

People who already have an emotional investment in European leagues would still watch 'their' teams but China would be the big show.

I don't think it would.

Can't imagine many Irish or British people tuning in to watch Chinese football tbh.

Korat

RoboKlopp wrote: »

I don't think it would.

Can't imagine many Irish or British people tuning in to watch Chinese football tbh.

If a future Roy Keane or Liam Brady were playing with future Messis, Ronaldos and Van Bastens in China the Irish would be all over it.

The English would be as likely to watch a big money Chinese league as Italians or Spanish would be to watch the EPL now.

Unearthly

What time over here are the matches?

Agent Coulson

China is pretty much doing what Russian did a few years ago and Japan did before that bringing in highly paid name value players to boost the league while they bid for the World Cup.



Edit;


The Middle East tried with there leagues but that didn't work so they just bought clubs and became major sponsors of football to influence that way,


The MLS also is doing the same thing trying to build there league for another World Cup bid.

Harry Palmr

Korat

Korat wrote: »

If a future Roy Keane or Liam Brady were playing with future Messis, Ronaldos and Van Bastens in China the Irish would be all over it.

The English would be as likely to watch a big money Chinese league as Italians or Spanish would be to watch the EPL now.

Sure some would, but it'd be pretty minimal. Unless you have data to support your argument?

How many Spanish and Italians watch the EPL?

How many English tune into other leagues?

topmanamillion

People will watch whatever the biggest show in town is.
Anyway, it really doesn't matter if British and Irish audiences watch it or not. There`s a combined population of 70M people there. That's a fecking village in Asia!

Korat

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Sure some would, but it'd be pretty minimal. Unless you have data to support your argument?

How many Spanish and Italians watch the EPL?

How many English tune into other leagues?

I think you're missing the point. The EPL and every other league in Europe will retain their core support but the global audience will be for the league with all the stars.

There's a chunk of the supposedly hard core EPL fanbase that are glamour fans, the ones who start watching football to see David Beckham or David Ginola do something other than smile and their loss will hurt much more than Asian or NA commercial markets.

Korat

Korat wrote: »

I think you're missing the point. The EPL and every other league in Europe will retain their core support but the global audience will be for the league with all the stars.

There's a chunk of the supposedly hard core EPL fanbase that are glamour fans, the ones who start watching football to see David Beckham or David Ginola do something other than smile and their loss will hurt much more than Asian or NA commercial markets.

What chunk are glamour fans? Just wondering.

It's easy to throw out statements with no evidence

Korat

RoboKlopp wrote: »

What chunk are glamour fans? Just wondering.

It's easy to throw out statements with no evidence

Prawn Sandwich anyone? :P

Korat

Korat wrote: »

Prawn Sandwich anyone? :P

Thought you wouldn't have any stats alright.

Dempsey

How do you think such statistics would be collated?

Do you think, because of the absence of reliable statistics, that there arent this type of fan in every single country? I think most people know a few people that fit this profile.

Korat

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Thought you wouldn't have any stats alright.

I picked some grass and threw it.

70% of the grass thrown fell on the ground.

15% fell on me

10% went on consultant fees.

...the rest is unaccounted for.:o

Fr Tod Umptious

topmanamillion wrote: »

Exactly. There's a real snobbery on this thread.
Domestic football leagues have been making marquee signings ever since there have been professional domestic leagues.
Best of luck to the Chinese I hope it becomes a major world league and blows the sham that is the EPL to bits.

So you would prefer some new league half the world away with games at god knows what hour to get more coverage and a higher profile than the one on your doorstep that has been the most popular league in this country for decades and decades

Why ?

johnnyryan89

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

[/b]

So you would prefer some new league half the world away with games at god knows what hour to get more coverage and a higher profile than the one on your doorstep that has been the most popular league in this country for decades and decades

Why ?

Because maybe then the league that's more on his doorstep, the LOI might start getting more coverage in Ireland, more people might start going to games which in turn pumps more money into the local game and improves standards which is a win win for everyone.

Fr Tod Umptious

gosplan wrote: »

You should look at what the IPL did in cricket for a comparison.

A billion strong population with a booming middle class all in sudden need for recreational ways to spend their money.

Very similar setup. Go in and blow the competition out of the water. Sure, competition in cricket wasn't near as strong but the IPL is now the 6th biggest sports league on the planet - which is pretty impressive after less than a decade.

It's reportedly worth 4-5 billion and brings in about 12 billion to the Indian economy every year.

No reason China can't go the same way. Should at least rise to Challenge Europe a bit more though it'll take a while. It's not about Ronaldo or Tevez, it's more about the hoovering up of young talent that's going to start.

But IPL also involved a new variation of the sport, T20.

IPLs success has a much to do with T20 being popular as anything else.

Have a look at the test matches between Australia and Pakistan these mornings on BT sport, feck all people there, little atmosphere.

Then have a look at Big Bash League T20 from Austalia, also on BT Sport, later in the morning, the stands are full and the place is rocking.

topmanamillion

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

[/b]

So you would prefer some new league half the world away with games at god knows what hour to get more coverage and a higher profile than the one on your doorstep that has been the most popular league in this country for decades and decades

Why ?

Why not?
England has stopped producing quality players for our national team. We have no one playing inside the top 6.
That's not going to change when English clubs can spunk money on players from around the world instead of giving young players a chance.
The English league has ate itself and couldn't give a fiddlers about Irish barstoolers.
Good riddance to it.

Toobz

topmanamillion wrote: »

Why not?
England has stopped producing quality players for our national team. We have no one playing inside the top 6.
That's not going to change when English clubs can spunk money on players from around the world instead of giving young players a chance.
The English league has ate itself and couldn't give a fiddlers about Irish barstoolers.
Good riddance to it.

Why should they produce quality players for Ireland?

That boils down to our money grabbing FAI not interested in development.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I never understand why people in this country have a strange patriotic style loyalty to the EPL. It isn't our league and if all the world stars of soccer end up play in China that's what the worldwide fans will tune in to just like they do with the NBA.

Who knows maybe instead of a European Superleague being created the Chinese might effectively do it themselves and there won't be any need for a European Super league.

topmanamillion

Toobz wrote: »

Why should they produce quality players for Ireland?

That boils down to our money grabbing FAI not interested in development.

That's the basis that many Irish people began following the English league in the first place.
Of course they have no requirement to produce players for Ireland. They aren't even giving English players a chance now.

topmanamillion

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I never understand why people in this country have a strange patriotic style loyalty to the EPL.

"Its the old Brits out, Liverpool/Man Utd til I die mentality"

johnnyryan89

Toobz wrote: »

Why should they produce quality players for Ireland?

That boils down to our money grabbing FAI not interested in development.

Kinda swings both ways though, the FAI aren't gonna invest the money if fans couldn't be arsed about their own national league.

https://www.joe.ie/uncategorized/g-old-trafford-irish-fans-spend-e80-million-on-premier-league-travel/40776

Might be Joe.ie but I'm sure it's been talked about in other sites before but in 2011 Irish fans spent 80million travelling to england to watch the Premier League. Could you imagine what even a tenth of that would do for clubs here in Ireland.

topmanamillion

topmanamillion wrote: »

"Its the old Brits out, Liverpool/Man Utd til I die mentality"

Said nobody ever

Can see the way this thread is going...

topmanamillion

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Said nobody ever

Care to place a wager?

A protest at the queens visit to Ireland

Korat

Gosplan referred to the IPL, which I'm not very familiar with other than it takes the best cricketers in the world for an IPL tournament then they go back to their regular teams , I think.

Players like Robbie Keane and David Beckham have done similarly in soccer and it's frequent practice in other sports to play in other tournaments during off-season if a player wants to make a quick buck.

It could be the model for Chinese teams to attract the best players while the players keep a European profile.

brianregan09

I wonder will Fifa be able to have any input on this , Like implementing a financial fair play thing if this does balloon way out of control , Like we'll say 100 Million on a player (bale) is bad enough but when you're talking 300 million euro on a 31 year old (Ronaldo or not) thats taking the absolute piss