EPL - can you buy success???

The English Premier League is the most watched and followed football league in the world. And over the years we have seen investments coming into the league from around the world to cash in on this global craze.

In the English game there are investors from North America, Russia, Egypt, Hongkong, Thailand, East Europe and in Venky's at Blackburn Rovers we now also have Indian owners in the Premier League. And if rumours back in India can be believed then more Indian business houses are looking at options to invest in English football.


The question that I ask is quiet simple: Can you buy EPL success? Yes or No.

Football as a sport is something which you can't plan then what happens on a football pitch isn't something like a game of chess. There are risk factors which you cannot judge and that also happens to be the charm of football. Otherwise only the strongest teams could and would win titles and trophies. The element of surprise is something which we all love in football.

But still I think you can to a certain extend buy success on the field, but off the field the financial numbers simply cannot add up over the short- and mid-term. Look at the example of Chelsea FC. Before Roman Abramovich came in the Blues were just another club in London, but the Russians billionaires multi-million pound investment turned them into a Premier League giant, who have won numerous Premiership titles over the last few years, still the big prize of UEFA Champions League success has not come their way. The counter example is FC Liverpool, who were nearly financially ruined by Americans Hicks and Gillett and haven't really won anything noteworthy for a while.

But the latest example is Manchester City with owners from the Abu Dhabi royal family and there wealth is no issue. Can they build a successful team? Only time will tell. But City have been the big spenders over the last few transfer periods and now they have an international manager in Italian Roberto Mancini, a multi-national squad. Expectations have already risen with the Champions League a must this season and then over the next two/three years the Premier League title will become a must. It will be interesting to see if they achieve their ambitious goals. If they make it, then more and more people will think that success in football can be bought.


I also asked some friends for their opinion on the topic. And here some really interesting views...

Here is what Chris Punnakkattu Daniel (former IndianFootball.Com colleague) had to say:

Football has turned into a multi-billion business in the last few decades. More and more investors and businessmen are realizing that taking over an EPL club could be a great business opportunity for them, while selling an existing brand via jerseys and other gear and take a piece of the TV rights pie. I think we need to differentiate, while talking about the topic of "buying an EPL club". Foreign investors could be the much needed boost for many EPL clubs at the verge of a financial collapse. But investors like American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks have showed us the reverse side of things when they ruined Liverpool FC, one of Europe's finest and traditional clubs. Yes, football has become a business - but the success or failure of an investment will always depend of several key factors: The genuineness of the investment, the flexibility to adapt to the local needs and the sustainability of such an investment! I think investing in a club is part of modern football, but there's no need for investors looking to add another trophy to their list...

Here is what Patrick Sisupalan (former PIO I-League players) had to say, said:

Firstly, I have to speak as a proud Spurs fan and say that I'm happy that we finally achieved our Champions league dream through careful spending and years of trial and error that mostly ended in failure. It makes success much sweeter than the awful situation at Manchester City. It is disgusting to see the money being spent by Man City and seeing the players greed rather than ambition on the pitch. The only positive thing is that is has blown apart the boring old big four in the premier league.
Blackburn Rovers were accused of buying the title when they won the premier league after spending 3.5 million on Alan Shearer and 5 million on Chris Sutton. It is more difficult for Man City to replicate this as the competition has stiffened and increasing player power puts further pressure on Coaches to deal with the big egoes in their squads.

Here is what Vikram Nanivadekar (SportsBench podcast host) had to say:

Personally, I do not think money can buy success - especially if it is spent the way some of the teams/owners spend it.
Guess, it is about having an objective & core football set up with STABILITY being the key e.g. Man U, Chelsea (since Abramovich), Arsenal. To an extent Liverpool (forgive the form slump). A group of players will make a team but a team can only 'EVOLVE' into winners (Mourinho is an exception!).

For me, such a vulgar amount of money also takes away the excitement that uncertainty brings to sport. What is the chance that a Blackburn 1995-like performance will be repeated? Wayne Rooney struck a wonder-goal & within no time he was at Man U. Bale hits a hattrick & instead of enjoying the spectacle/waiting to find out how deep is his bag of tricks, talk starts about who will buy him for how much? How will the Evertons or the Spurs even have a podium finish if sharks keep taking away key talents.
It may be interesting to note that Euro Championship has thrown up surprises like Denmark & Greece in the last two decades but such 'successes' have probably been rarer in the big leagues.