The Premier League may ditch Sky and launch its own Netflix

There are many rumors that the Premier League are considering building their own broadcasting platform, which by definition would mean abandoning established broadcasting relationships and finally becoming captains of their own ship.

Despite the obvious benefits of not having to listen to Gary Neville, a legion of bland influencers and seemingly endless social messages we must endure from Sky, this represents the biggest cracking of eggs to make omelettes since the Premier League was formed .

The cynical view is that this is just a stalking horse ahead of negotiations for the next broadcast deals, but it damn well shouldn’t be. Premier League executives need to show their footing for a big opportunity.

They have to stand up for themselves, have confidence in their product and realize that they don’t really need traditional broadcasters like Sky or BT Sport anymore.

Streaming through their own platform means the Premier League could be football’s Netflix.

Netflix has built its business on other people’s content, put it on its platform and billed subscribers for it, while the Premier League is in the unique position of being a proven model that has a global audience – and they own theirs content!

It might be easier to continue distribution through third party distributors but if the Premier League launched their own platform it would be better for English football, clubs and fans. It takes innovation, commitment, motivation and ambition, but that’s supposed to be the staple of what’s supposed to be the best league in the world.

The Premier League must be free from the scrutiny of broadcasters who are their paymasters and control their own destiny.

You no longer need conventional linear spaces to broadcast from, because in the digital age you can build platforms yourself. Digital is a maturing marketplace now, the quality is there, the proof of concept is there.

I can see why there might be reluctance, because why mess with a guaranteed income stream? But all of that is manageable and really wouldn’t be a journey into the unknown.

I have long advocated for the Premier League to start rowing its own boat and if I still owned a football club I would be unequivocally pushing for it. Any Premier League club owner who wasn’t already a billionaire would quickly become one multiple times over.

Here is a chance to take advantage of the global market as a result of this unique phenomenon for us in this country. We’ve got a tiger on our tail – the Premier League is bigger than any other league and launching its own broadcasting platform would put any other sport to shame.

Yes, self-aggrandizing NFL, I’m looking at you. Vision, foresight and results are essential. Of course it would require huge investment and infrastructure, but pause if you don’t think this would be readily available and achievable.

There’s this huge Tutankhamun-esque gold crypt ready to plunder, but if the Premier League decides not to, it can’t be because they lack ambition or confidence. Current earnings are £2.9 billion a year – the equivalent of the Iron Man franchise. So Premier League earnings are currently like a movie of the week.

If the Premier League launched their own platform, they could easily have 100 million subscribers. If they then charged £10bn a month for all-you-can-eat football they would be making £1bn a month and £36bn over the three-year cycle – as opposed to the current £9bn – and even before that the advertising revenue factor.

Commercially, you would immediately remove churn from the market because price resistance would be gone. In one fell swoop you would also eliminate the criminal side of society that profits from piracy. All aspects of our football would benefit from that. Fans would pay dramatically less than current inflated subscription prices, and the pyramid and base would benefit significantly.

The possibilities are phenomenal and the benefits incalculable. The Premier League is not a product to be sold around the world and presented to people.

Domestic rights are now being overtaken by foreign rights, so not only do you have a proof of concept to market in your own country, you also have a product to market worldwide and an existing, engaged audience.

It’s there, it’s now, all you have to do is go and grab it. Take advantage of the globalized world and the demand for this product. It could be a good night for the traditional broadcasters, who have done very well after the English football boom… but that’s progress.

You’re never too old to manage it

Neil Warnock and Roy Hodgson have debunked the myth that you are too old to be past a certain age.

Warnock, 74, went to Huddersfield as they lay dead in the water heading for the Drop. Hodgson, 75, took over the Palace job at the club on the brink of relegation.

Two old boys showed the basic principles of football. Get people who can communicate effectively with athletes and put square pins in square holes. Neither side is safe yet, but their prospects look much brighter.

If you’re good enough, you’re young enough.

What are Boehly and Co. waiting for?

The idea of ​​Chelsea having to wait until Luis Enrique or Julian Nagelsmann decide if they want to become their manager is ridiculous.

The club should have gone ahead and gotten the manager they wanted. Chelsea has all the economic power in the world – use it.

Nagelsmann could come in and understand the dynamics of the dressing room, figure out who he wants and who doesn’t. He could have learned on the job and would have had a free hit for the rest of that season.

So why not use the influence and economic power you have at your disposal to attract a manager now?

Chelsea have ignored every other rule, every other myth about what you can and can’t do, so get your man and put yourself in a better position for next season.

If Nagelsmann or Luis Enrique don’t want the job now because they don’t want to risk their reputation being tarnished by someone else’s work, give them an incentive. Stop fooling around. Now get your man in and build.

They started this wildfire by buying the club for £2.5bn and spending £600m on new players. But suddenly they’re taking the formulaic, lazy, populist, fan-appeasing way of putting Frank Lampard back in his place. It’s hardly progressive!

Leeds have only themselves to blame for Augustin’s stab wound

Sometimes you get sewn up in football, Leeds are now finding out after being asked to pay former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5m for breach of contract.

Unfortunately for Leeds, they appear to be the architects of their own demise after appearing to have signed a deal with the player ahead of the event.

How Leeds got themselves into this mess with bills to the selling club, liabilities on a contract in progress and no transfer fee illustrates perhaps the banana republic of football finances and has hints of the Peter Ridsdale regime of yesteryear.

It reminds me a bit of a situation I had at Crystal Palace six weeks after walking through the door to see Australia midfielder Craig Foster. He was on a three-year contract worth £500,000 a season but had to have his work permit renewed every year.

At the end of his first season, his work permit was denied and I was asked by the Football League to pay for his contract. The law of the country dictated he could not play and yet I was told to pay the player £1million.

It wasn’t until I said I’d take them kicking and screaming to any court in the country if they let me pay for it that they relented.

Even then I was told I had to pay his £100,000 registration fee. I was ready to go back to war before my attorney told me to quit while I was up front. I had won the fight.

Painful for Leeds, they lost theirs.

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