To: Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive, F.A. Premier League
      Ian Watmore, Chief Executive, Football Association



Dear Mr Scudamore and Mr Watmore,

You may be aware that an Arsenal player, Aaron Ramsey, was seriously injured on Saturday during a game against Stoke City.

While the investment from Sky has had a significant impact on the quality of players English clubs can now sign and the wages clubs now choose to spend, I am not alone in being concerned about the way the Premier League is being managed.

Forget farcical suggestions of a 39th game, played abroad to entice international crowds and throw the entire structure out of kilter.

The biggest problems in this country and to do with the pitches and questionable punishments meted out for serious foul play.

One of the qualities of the English game is that it is fast and furious, played at a frenetic pace with an end to end style where controlled passing and patience are the anathema of entertainment.

Arsenal have been the standard bearers of a different type of football, one which, while it has moments of pace, seeks to play the 'beautiful game' in the manner of the greatest sides of the past.

The fact that they do not spend millions on big name signings every season and try to promote from within is further testament to the benefit they are bringing the English game.

Even when a player does not make the grade at Arsenal, he is likely to go on to have a fine career elsewhere.

Perhaps it could be argued that Arsenal's style does not lend itself to success in the modern game, but certainly the Gunners remain many supporters' 'second team'.

The way manager Arsene Wenger has taught his teams to play is one of the big draws of Premier League football and one of the main reasons why international audiences set their clocks by live matches around the world.

But what sort of example does English football set when over-zealous play turns into a physical bombardment that pushes the rules over the edge?

When using size and physique gets transformed into "make sure he knows you're there...leave a few marks on him to remind him he's been in a game.'

Football is a contact sport and should remain so.

To remove tackling or the physical aspect of football, as UEFA President Michel Platini once suggested, would make a mockery of the game.

But there has to be a balance.

If teams are going to be overly aggressive and make tackles that are on the very edge of fair play, surely there must be sizeable punishments when those boundaries are crossed?

When a young player like Aaron Ramsey has his leg shattered by a crunching tackle that is positively encouraged by his coach, regardless of a lack of intent to harm, surely the offending player must suffer a strict punishment that reflects the damage he has caused.

As M. Wenger said, it is no coincidence that in the past five years, Arsenal have suffered three extremely serious injuries against players who then, sadly suffered no more than to serve a three or four match ban.

If the FA Premier League is to maintain its integrity, it must put in place safeguards that ensure all players know that dangerous, late or ultimately injury-inflicting tackles will bring with them suspensions and financial punishments that reflect the gravity of the challenge.

If these undertakings do not take place, teams and individual players will continue to play with an aggression and phyicality which goes beyond the boundaries of fair play.

Ultimately, this will put top players off signing for English clubs, knowing that they may lose a year of their career to another reckless and unlikely-to-be-punished serious foul.

It is up to you. The very integrity of the game is at stake if the beautiful game is to be replaced by the ugly truth.

Yours sincerely,

Avenell Dave

Nu mai putin de 7 cluburi din Anglia se gasesc in TOP 20. ►Citeste si: TOP 10 cele mai valoroase cluburi din lume ►TOP 10 cele mai profitabile arene nord-americane.

Prestigioasa firma Deloitte a lansat deja de acum celebrul TOP 20 al celor mai bogate cluburi din lume, pentru sezonul 2008/2009.

Real Madrid este prima echipa din lume care termina un an cu venituri de peste 400 de milioane €, iar sezonul fantastic al Barcelonei se simte si in conturile catalanilor, acestia i-au depasit pe cei de la Manchester United, care cade un loc, de pe 2 pe 3.

In urmatoarele zile ne vom ocupa in detaliu de fiecare club in parte, dar momentan sa va prezentam, sec, LIGA BOGATILOR (in paranteze, pozitia din sezonul 2007/2008):


20 (17) NEWCASTLE UNITED - 101 milioane €

19 ( - ) MANCHESTER CITY - 102.2 milioane €

18 (20) BORUSSIA DORTMUND - 103.5 milioane €

17 ( - ) WERDER BREMEN - 114.7 milioane €

16 (13) SCHALKE 04 - 124.5 milioane €

15 (14) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - 132.7 milioane €

14 (16) OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE - 133.2 milioane €

13 (12) OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS - 139.6 milioane €

12 (9) AS ROMA - 146.4 milioane €

11 (15) HAMBURGER SV - 146.7 milioane €

10 (7) AC MILAN - 196.5 milioane €

9 (10) INTERNAZIONALE - 196.5 milioane €

8 (11) JUVENTUS - 203.2 milioane €

7 (8) LIVERPOOL - 217 milioane €

6 (5) CHELSEA - 242.3 milioane €

5 (6) ARSENAL - 263 milioane €

4 (4) BAYERN MUNCHEN - 289.5 milioane €

3 (2) MANCHESTER UNITED - 327 milioane €

2 (3) BARCELONA - 365.9 milioane €

1 (1) REAL MADRID - 401.4 milioane €

I just don’t understand the constant misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Arsene Wenger’s comments by the media. Earlier in the season, there was a campaign by the media to make him look daft by misrepresenting his statements regarding the removal of throw-ins from the game. That statement was made by Wenger during a holiday call-in show done for ArsenalTV where he was asked, “If you could change one rule in football, what would it be?” The Junior Gunners Christmas party had been canceled and Arsene agreed to come in to the studio and do a free webchat for ArsenalTV Online. Once the media got a hold of the statements, they ran with it portraying Arsene’s comments out-of-context as a serious suggestion for a rule change.

The row with Martin O’Neill over some post-match comments was a similar affair. Arsene praised Villa for an efficient and organized performance but O’Neill immediately took that as an insult and the media line became, “Arsene calls Villa a long-ball team,” even though he never said those exact words.

Now, fast forward to this past weekend. Understandably upset after the match, Arsene called THE TACKLE “horrendous” and “unacceptable.” It was. Shawcross, despite kicking with his laces, came far enough over the ball the break Ramsey’s leg in two places. If that’s not intentional, one wonders how a player who could so badly miskick a ball as that could be in the England side. But, that aside, the media turned that statement into one that was not about the tackle but about the player.

This was followed by criticism of Wenger for stigmatizing Shawcross as a player. But he did nothing of the sort. The BBC’s commentator, in his post-match interview with Tony Pulis, willfully misrepresented Arsene’s statement in this way to the Stoke manager who then heatedly defended his player, claiming he has “no history” of tackles like that. That statement is just false but you don’t see the media taking Pulis to task.

The only thing Wenger did say about Shawcross himself was to ask the reporters to spare him the “he’s-a-nice-guy” stories, which would inevitably follow. And they did. Conveniently forgetting Shawcross’s previous tackles on Francis Jeffers and Adebayor. The pundits were also quick to defend Stoke as “not that kind of team,” but anyone who remembers our league trip there last year would think differently. In that match, Adebayor, Gallas, and Walcott were all forced to leave the match and injured for multiple weeks by Stoke players’ tackles.

You just can’t help but wonder why the media consistently misrepresents Wenger’s words in the worst light possible. A foreigner challenging traditional notions of English football is not going to win many friends in a footballing nation that is a bit xenophobic and a bit stubbornly insular in its thinking about the game. It is still no excuse. I can’t imagine Wenger’s words could be more misrepresented if the journalists were forced to translate them from French themselves.

This Arsenal side will be there until the end. This is a different team than the 2007/08 side that gave away a possible 8-point lead in February after the Eduardo incident. And we saw that at the Brittania Stadium. Patrick Barclay was right when he said Arsenal were the strongest-minded team in the league. And the situation of the title race has turned from Arsenal needing to win every one of their remaining matches last week, to now Chelsea possibly needing to win all of their remaining matches.

It’s easy to dismiss what Arsenal have done so far by saying they are only in the title race because Chelsea and United haven’t been great, but that is just another attempt at minimizing Arsenal. The league is more even this season all-around and that is why Arsenal are still in the title race. Despite all the losses to United and Chelsea, Arsenal are still in the race because they get results against the sides they are supposed to and that is something Chelsea and United have failed to do on a number of occasions.

The Belarusian is currently on loan at Stuttgart but has ruled out a permanent move to the German outfit at the end of the season following a bust up with their manager Christian Gross.

A move away from Barca is also on the cards as the player goes in search of first-team football and Villa boss Martin O'Neill could offer him the chance of a return to the Premier League.

Hleb now admits it was a big mistake to leave Arsenal but could now get another crack at England if Villa follow up their reported interest in the player.

Milan giants AC and Inter are also thought to be keen but Hleb would prefer to return to the Premier League if possible.

The clock was first introduced by then-manager Herbert Chapman during the 1930s and remained for over 70 years until the Gunners switched to the Emirates Stadium four years ago.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis said re-introducing the clock was aimed at making the Emirates the best stadium in the world.

"We want to bring the clock back into the stadium and we will move back to having a Clock End, a North Bank and East and West Stands", he told the Daily Telegraph.

"We want to make it not just a technological marvel but a place that our fans can feel the traditions of our club."

Defender Thomas Vermaelen says that the team have to aim to win every game left in their run-in as they seek to overhaul the three-point gap between themselves and top spot in the league.

The 3-1 win over Stoke City, marred by the horrific injury to midfielder Aaron Ramsey, saw Arsenal move closer to leaders Chelsea and Manchester United, who both have more difficult run-ins on paper.

Speaking to Arsenal TV Online, Vermaelen said: "It is just a matter of mentality. These are physical games and you have to be prepared mentally.

"We knew it would not be easy, the pitch was not great and it was not easy to play our own game.

"We were 1-0 down, but then were better in the duels, and won 3-1, so that is a big sign.

"We are now closer again, and will try to win every game now - we will try to do that for Aaron.

"You have to do it for the team and the club - we have to win every game now to win the league."

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Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross after his leg-shattering tackle on Aaron Ramsey was condemned by Arsene Wenger as "horrendous" and "no coincidence".



Shawcross, who is in contention to win his first England cap against Egypt on Wednesday night, received a phone call from Ferguson after the incident to offer the 22-year-old his support.

Shawcross began his career at United under Ferguson and is still highly-regarded by the Scot, but was allowed to move to Stoke before making a first-team appearance. Ramsey, who it is hoped will be back in action by September, underwent surgery on Sunday to repair the double fracture and now faces a long road to recovery. "Sir Alex rang Ryan after the game on Sunday to give him his support and told him that he shouldn't miss out on England duty," explained Potters boss Tony Pulis. "These things do happen, unfortunately, and Sir Alex still thinks a lot of Ryan after having him for so long at Manchester United.

"He knows him as well as I do and knows he is not the sort of player to go out to deliberately hurt anyone. Sir Alex had obviously seen the incident and believed, like I do, that it was an accident.

"He told him he will get over it, even though he knows he's hurting now. Ryan really appreciated the call and it's given him a bit of a lift at a very difficult time.

"I've had a nice text back off Aaron thanking us for our messages of support. We thought texting was the best way to make contact, because he was obviously taken up with his surgery and recovery."