Brexit - A Premier League Story

Since the dawn of time, great international players have come to play in the English Premier League. George Best, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Luis Suarez, Pre-Chelsea Fernando Torres. England is known for having the best league in the world and the reason I believe Ronaldo to be better than Messi. Ronaldo has proven he can do it on a rainy Tuesday in Stoke, I think. So, with such a wealth of international, and in particular European, talent on display, what would a post-Brexit Premier League look like?

The answer is that it would probably not look that much different. At least not for the next couple of years. However, seeing as both sides of the campaign like to use the 'worst case scenario scare the shit out of everyone' tactic, I will do the same. Why? Because it's fun.

The main battlefield for the campaigns has been immigration so that's where I'll start. In England, if a Premier League club wishes to by an overseas player, they can buy one of two types of player. European or non-European. The distinction is simple, European players do not require a work permit but non-European players do (we'll use E and nE from now on). If we leave the EU and restrict all immigration as far as the eye can see, as the Leave campaign say is possible, then every E will need a work permit, just like nE. This is incredibly problematic because the requirements for a work permit in football are very strict. The player needs to be "internationally established at the highest level" and someone "whose employment will make a significant contribution to their sport at the highest level." On this basis, no young nE will ever be able to join a Premier League team. But that's not so bad, there are plenty of young E's knocking around right?

But, if we leave, those young E's will have to get work permits to join a Premier League club. Suddenly not so rosy. Young players with the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo and pre-Chelsea Cesc Fabregas who were not 'internationally established' when they signed for Manchester United and Arsenal respectively could never have joined in the first place. We'd be handing that quality of talent straight to other European nations.

Premier League teams would have to start fielding young players from their own academies, which would mean more James Milner's and more Jordan Henderson's prancing around and losing the ball in every team. No one wants to see that. You could argue that it helps to develop home-grown talent. It doesn't. Anyone who's good gets to play, whether you're British, E or nE. If the player is not good, he doesn't play. It's as simple as that.

However, even if the immigration was waived for footballers as they provide entertainment and are economically beneficial, how do we know we'll be able to afford them in a post-Brexit world? If, as Remain claim, our economy would tank if we left the EU then surely the value of the pound will go with it. In that scenario, we would be unable to pay the top players the wages they demand. Prices across the country would go up thanks to inflation and Adnan Januzaj would be available for a steal at £45m. Suddenly, the British transfer record would be smashed by consecutive purchases over the course of one transfer window and the overall spending by Premier League teams would crash past the £2bn mark well before the August deadline. Mainly spent on mediocre but necessary signings like Andros Townsend, Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott. In a worst case scenario, the £100m mark is broken for the first time with Manchester United willing to 'splash out' on Dele Alli because of one good season, making a mockery of the transfer record because Real Madrid had offered Tottenham just €95m, which, because of the new exchange rate, is roughly the same.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's the most watched sport on the world, nothing tangible will change, it'll just mean more paperwork for the clubs, that's all. Comment about your opinions of how the Premier League will look post-Brexit.

Euro 2016 - Prologue

So, here we go again! The European Championships are back. This time in France. The hosts kick off their campaign against Romania on Friday so I thought I'd do my daily tournament blog again and start it all here, the day it all starts. I'm not going to go through the teams one by one but I will go through the groups. Starting with A.

Group A (Albania, France, Romania, Switzerland)

France, as hosts, start the tournament on Friday evening with a match against Romania. I have actually seen both of these nations play each other before. It was at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford and they were playing rugby but I'm sure the experience will be broadly similar. I'm picking France as my team to win this summer. If you're confident enough to not bother taking a player like Karim Benzema then you know you have an incredibly strong squad. There's not a dud name on that squad list. Romania are looking in good shape, having qualified from a group that included 2004 winners Greece and group winners Northern Ireland. Austria (ranked 10th in the world thanks to FIFA's insane coefficient system, one place above England), qualified top of a group that included heavy-hitters Russia and Sweden so they've got a good chance at progressing past the group stage. Finally, neighbours Switzerland round off the group. Switzerland could only come runners up in their qualifying group after England's 100% record. The Swiss are in a tough group but should progress.

To qualify: France and Switzerland

Group B (England, Russia, Wales, Slovakia)

This is a tough group, make no mistake. England qualified for the tournament with a 100% record. Impressive when you consider there was a strong Swiss team in their group. Less impressive when you see that the remaining teams were Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino. Hardly European powerhouses. Nonetheless, they became only the sixth nation to achieve that feat. The main problem facing England are themselves. Although many of the squad play Champions League football, none of them play for a non-Premier League team. They lack experience of other leagues that makes other teams so potent. Russia are always dangerous, their squad is pretty strong but the same problem occurs with them as with England, only one of their squad plies his trade outside of Russia. Wales have had an outstanding qualifying run. They deserve to be at this tournament. Only time will tell how much of an impact Gareth Bale will have on proceedings. He is the best weapon in their arsenal (lol), but he is not the only one. They are in France because of an impressive collective team effort. Slovakia should be commended too, they came runners up in a qualifying group that included Spain and Ukraine. They deserve this opportunity as much as Wales do.

To qualify: England and Wales

Group C (Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Northern Ireland)

The world champions have something to prove. For too long, Spain had been the kings of Europe, then the world, then Europe again. Now it's Germany's turn to shine. Unfortunately, the team got off to a rocky start in 2016 by losing to England, beating Italy, losing to Slovakia and finally beating Hungary a few days ago. A mixed bag that does not set them up well for the Championships. They should still qualify from an incredibly simple group. Ukraine are here by virtue of a playoff win against Slovenia, Poland came second in the same qualifying group as Germany and Northern Ireland qualified from a group with only one top-20 FIFA ranked team in it, Hungary. Poland do have the qualifiers' top scorer in their ranks in Levandowski so they do have considerable attacking firepower up front so expect them to be dangerous going forward but porous at the back.

To qualify: Germany and Poland

Group D (Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey)

Impressive list of holiday destinations aside, this is a tough group. Spain should qualify, but the way they were torn apart in their opening match against The Netherlands in 2014 asks questions of the current crop of Spain players. Ironically, I think their main attacking threat comes from Hector Bellerin (but then I would say that, wouldn't I?). His pace makes him both potent going forward and dangerous for pacy attacking players in defense. Croatia are always a danger, qualifying from the same group as Italy. The Czech Republic topped their qualifying group with Turkey as runners up so they know each other pretty well. It will be an interesting match up with difficulty predicting the outcome of the group as there are some strong teams with none having to get here by way of a playoff berth.

To qualify: Spain and Czech Republic

Group E (Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Sweden)

Why Belgium are ranked second in the world is beyond me. It's a real struggle to understand the FIFA coefficient system. Quarter-finalists in Brazil, couldn't beat Wales in qualifying and a mixed bag in the friendlies leading up to the Championships and they're ranked second? Nah, that doesn't sit well with me. Anyway, it's a tough group to qualify from. Ireland will give it everything, with memories of their 2002 heroics in Japan and South Korea still very much in people's minds with Roy Keane as assistant manager of the current side. Italy are Italy and should qualify and do well. Although they have lost a lot of the shine that made them World Champions in 2006. Sweden have Zlatan. Need I say more? Yes, they won't qualify.

To qualify: Italy and Belgium

Group F (Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal)

Not really a tough group. Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, should prove victorious. Austria qualified top of a group that included Russia and Sweden so I wouldn't write them off. Especially when you consider that they didn't lose on their way to qualifying. Iceland also qualified from a tough group, beating World Cup semi-finalists The Netherlands twice en-route to a runners-up finish. Hungary had to settle for a playoff berth but beat Norway to book their place at France 2016.

To qualify: Portugal and Austria

It'll be a tough call to predict, but I think France will come out on top. I believe that the team and the country need the win after the last few years. I read an article recently that commented on how France was divided before the World Cup in 1998 right down religious, political and societal lines and I can't help but see that those issues have reared their ugly head again. Nobody likes the French. They're an arrogant and self-serving group of xenophobes who spend most of their Tuesday to Wednesday, 9-4 with a two hour break for lunch, working lives on strike but the country is hurting. Extremist groups are there in the foreground everywhere you look. I'll be cheering on England (because Greece didn't qualify) but I hope that France do well. It won't heal the pain of the last few years, but it will help.