Modern Health and Spirituality

We are led to believe that we are now in the depths of recession due to a “credit crunch”. What is this “Credit Crunch”? How did it come about?

Credit Crunch

I truly want to know how many people out there are feeling the effect of the so called credit crunch, what percentatge of the population have lost their job? What percentage have had their properties repossesed? what is meant by credit crunch?

I think it was irresponsible of the government or the media to make such a bold statement, it put the thoughts into the minds of the people, so their focus became doom and gloom. I think there should have been more rigorous procedures that should have been followed, it appears to me that these banking institutions have not learned their lesson from a few years back with the Nick Leeson saga, I know it was a different situation but they should have had the insight to predict what could happen and put a mitigation plan in force.

These share dealers needs to be accountable for the decisions they make to feed their greed, egos and short term gain. In this period where people are worried about their jobs and houses, those fat cats who have taken their huge bonuses and left a mess behind should be made to pay back their bonuses. These investment bankers should be made accountable, yes o.k we are always told that share prices can go up or down, but to go as low as they have surely could have been avoided or at least minimised. We are letting these people take huge risks with our money, yes the reward could be great, but as far as I’m aware they will get their bonuses come what may and may not be as big but still substantial compared to the average wage. They need to have stringent procedures to follow. It’s not only effecting individuals, it’s also bringing down governments. 

Who is to blame for the credit crunch?

In my opinion, the masses are to blame, they made the decision not to live within their means. The housing market is a prime example, for example arranging a mortgage, yes they were offered a greater multiplier and a relatively low interest rate. Everyone has the right to own their own property, but if you can’t afford to live because you have stretched yourself whose fault is that. Everyone makes their own choices and therefore have to live with that choice. They know what risk they are taking, they took that risk and it did not work, you have to live with the consequences of your actions. When you find yourself in that precarious situation it is up to you to get yourself out not the government.

On the other hand if the banks have made grave errors of judgement then they are responsible and should be accountable, however, as we have seen and I have mentioned some banks are being bailed out by the government, in effect by the tax payers money and additional loans.

Bailing out the Institutions

I just find it quite amusing that the government are being credited with bailing out the banks, wheras infact we the tax payers are actually bailing out the banks and getting ourselves out of this mess, don’t be fooled to think that our illustrious government have a rescue pacakage, we are funding majority of the capital that is being touted as the rescue package.

Capitalism

In a nutshell, capitalism basically states that the capital should be in the hands of the people, it is, but it seems only in the hands of the minority. We can all make money out there, there is enough to go round for everybody, there is an abundance of wealth out there. We all think that having the money will make us happy, sure it can to a certain extent, it’s what you do with the money, I don’t think it’s important how much money you have, I think it’s more important the character you are, a phrase used by Jim Rohn “If you live well, you’ll earn well” it’s more important how you live your life, yes having the money helps, but it’s more important the person you need to become to get that kind of money.

We all saw the demise of communism, a system which basically states that capital should be in the hands of the almighty government and the people gets what they need for survival, I ask is capitalism any better? It’s the sheer greed of people and their misuse of money that makes me wonder if capitalism is working or not. I think it’s important to have money and feel comfortable about making money, but it’s how we use it and our relationship with money that determines the response to capitalism.

There are so many avenues of communication currently available to us. Telephone (fixed land line and mobile), telegrams, e-mails, conventional letters, chat lines, video calling etc. In having all the access to technology are we losing the art of the human factor when we communicate?

E-Mails, Instant Messaging and Networking

We have come a long way with the invention of e-mails, the electronic/technological revolution has given us access to so much information out there. I am all for technology but feel that the human factor is being lost somewhere along the way.

Keeping in touch with people has become a lot easier and there are no excuses, there are so many avenues. The most common way for keeping in touch seems to be using e-mails, then there is the sending of SMS/Text through the mobile phones and now it seems the most popular way is to be through the social networking programs.

E-mails are a fantastic way of keeping in touch, it does not matter where you are in the world, you can write til your hearts content knowing that the recipient will receive your letter instantly, no more waiting weeks for a letter to come through your letter box. There is instant messaging like MSN and Yahoo messengers. There are facilities to have a video call like Skype, also available with MSN, this is absolutely fantastic when you are away from your loved ones, especially if you have a webcam where you can see and speak with them.

Use of Instant Messaging at the work place

Recently my company has installed a program called communicator, it works on the same principal of the instant messaging programs such as MSN and Yahoo messenger.

I questioned the decision to install the program. Although in principal it is a good decision, I felt this would be open to more abuse. I have already seen how the use of e-mail in majority of cases has been used legitimately and some (the minority) have abused it. I have also seen people hiding behind e-mails, sending e-mails to someone who sits next to them where a simple discussion face to face would have been more beneficial and then followed up by an e-mail.

I feel more time will be wasted in sending instant messages, where it be far easier and more time saving by making a simple phone call. I think that the use of this particular technology is not one I would use in the work place, there are other programs out there which serves the purpose better.

Art of conversation. 

In my experience in talking with various people, especially the younger generation, I feel that we are losing the art of conversation when we are face to face, so many of the people I have spoken with find it easier to communicate and express themselves better by the written word, I get the impression that they feel more comfortable and confident writing to their friends. However, these are my observations and is a huge generalisation to make, I am sure someone out there will have a different experience and opinion.

I read and article a while ago which basically gave the personality traits based on the blood group of the person. The Japanese use blood groups in the same way we use horoscopes and star signs. There are basically 4 basic blood groups, Type A, B, O and AB. So what does your blood type say about you?

Type A

The second most common blood type in the UK - 42 per cent of the country fall into this category.

They are considered to be: Harmonious; Unconfident; Considerate; Sensitive; Calm; Traditional; Reliable and Worrier.

Type B

The second rarest of the blood types - only 9 per cent of the UK fall into this group.

They are considered to be: Easy-going; Passionate; Disorganised; Independent; Lethargic and Untidy.

Type O

The most common group in the UK - 46 per cent. It’s also considered to be the best blood type in Japan.

They are considered to be: Confident; Hyperactive; Hot-blooded and Self-destructive.

Type AB

You’re a rarity - The AB blood type constitutes between 2 and 5 per cent of the UK population.

They are considered to be: Beguiling; Outgoing; Rational; Distant; Enigmatic and Changeable. 

How could the two be linked? 

In the 1930’s a Japanese psychologist Furukawa Takeji suggested that there was a link between personality and blood type.   Takeji looked into the psychological differences between the blood groups. He conducted a survey and deduced from his answers that there are differences between the blood groups.

The theory is that our blood groups show who our ancestors are, and we’ve inherited their behavioural traits.

Although all this evidence appears to be real, I am still not too convinced. I still therefore ask is it possible to determine a persons personality knowing their blood group? Does this mean everyone who is type AB have the same characteristics? Probably not like not all Capricorns or Leos are the same.

How can we create the life we want to live? How much do we trust and believe in our brains and minds?

Seeing is believing

When we look at our hands we know what it can do, we see the hands, we feel them, we see them holding something, we have total trust and faith in what they can do. What about our minds? Do we have absolute confidence, trust and faith? We underestimate the power of our minds/brains, it has the ability to do and create so much in our lives. We know the many functions of our brain, the way it controls our physical body.

I suggest that because we cannot see the brain we don’t understand how much it can create, Have you heard the saying “My body is not me but mine” if so you will know that you can control your body to do whatever you want it to do, by the same token I suggest that you can control your brain. For most people seeing is believing. The most obvious reason that people lack control over the brain is that they simply don’t believe that they have control over it.

Understanding the brain

To create the life we wish to live we need to master our brains, take control of our mind and body. To do this first we have to understand our brains. Essentially our brain is made up of three parts, Cerebral Cortex, Limbic System and Brain Stem.

1. Cerebral Cortex

This is the outermost layer of the brain and is composed of grey matter. It has two hemispheres, both hemispheres are able to analyse sensory data, perform memory functions, learn new information, form thoughts and make decisions. The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres and allows communication between the right and left hemispheres.

2. Limbic System

The limbic system is associated with the complex aspects of emotional expression. It is involved with asigning emotional value or content to various objects and experiences and with expressing these emotions as external behaviours. Appetite for food and sex, emotions of joy, anger, and grief arise within the limbic syste.

3. Brain Stem

The brain stem is in charge of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for the basic life functions of the body, including digestion, respiration and circulation. It is the least known and yet most important part of our brain. 

Now we understand what the purpose of the various parts of the brain, we must balance our brains, to master it and control it.

How to master the brain?

There are probably many ways to master your brain and control it. I believe that meditation is the most effective way. Meditation has infinite power to change the brain. Research has shown that meditation has a profound effect on the structure and function of the brain. If you use meditation to change your thinking, you will be more equipped to change your environment. To achieve full mastery of your brain you must let your True Self take control. Sometimes called the “soul” this is the perfect devine part of you that understands the oneness of everything and your place in the universe. However, there is the small self, the “ego” the part of you that falsely separates you from the others. The ego is always judging and comparing, it also prevents you from achieving mastery over your brain, it defines and limits you according to a preconceived notion of identity. To an extent limits your success.

Create the life you want

Now that you have mastered your brain and know how to control it, you can create the life of your dreams. For every belief you act on you will get a result. So set your goals, take action and see the results. You are who you want to be.

Brain Declaration

For us to create our life we want, I believe we need to make the following declaration to ourselves:

• I declare that I am the master of brain
• I declare that my brain has infinite possibilities and creative potential
• I declare that my brain has the right to accept or refuse any information and knowledge that is offered
• I declare that my brain loves humanity and the earth
• I declare that my brain desires peace

Let’s change the way we think and change our environment, let’s make for a happier and peaceful world for us now and in the future.

Everybody wants success and to be successful in one way or another. Success means different things to different people. What makes some people successful and others not? I believe that the difference between successful and non successful people is attitude and awareness.

What is success?

Success can be measured in many ways. To most people success is usually about gaining the material things in life, things that money can buy. If someone who has made lots of money is he deemed successful if some areas of his life are neglected. Is his life fulfilled? Is he happy or content?

Success to me is about reaching a happy state in all aspects of your life. Having good health, enough wealth, emotional intelligence, friends, family and time freedom are the some of things I need and strive for to be successful, each category of my life must be fulfilled. You can prioritise but at the end of the day each box has to be checked, you have to feel joy equally in all aspects.

How to be successful?

There numerous books on how to become successful, I think the key to success is self development, a well known businessman / enterpuener Jim Rohn said “Traditional (University) education will get you a good wage but self education will earn you a fortune” he believes that you have to work on yourself to make yourself better. Success is not something to be chased, it is something you attract by being the person you want to be. Success is inside you, therefore it comes to you.

Paul MacKenna, was a successful broadcaster in the U.K, before becoming an author and a hypnotist, he is recognised the world over.

He wrote a book called “change your life in seven days” He describes how you can change your life in seven days through seven chapters. Here is a summary of the philosophy in his book.

Chapter 1 (Day one) - Who Are You, Really?

Discover your true potential and become the person you really want to be.

Chapter 2 (Day two) - A User’s Manual for Your Brain

Master your emotions and release your full potential.

Chapter 3 (Day three) - The Power of a Positive Perspective

The art of reframing

Chapter 4 (Day four) - Dreamsetting

Discover what you truly want and make your dreams come true.

Chapter 5 (Day five) - Healthy Foundations

Creating and maintaining a healthy body, mind and spirit.

Chapter 6 (Day six) - Creating Money

Discovering the secrets of the millionaire’s mind

Chapter 7 (Day seven) - Happily Ever After

Live the secrets of life-long happiness - NOW !

I don’t believe you can change your life in one week, the change that happens is that you are putting the process into motion to achieve the result, I guess you can argue that in itself constitutes a change, depending on the expectation of the result.

You can change your life one week at a time, you need to change the way you think, they way you process the information. Everything we see, read, touch and hear is all information, how we use and process that information determines how successful we will be. It ls all about changing your thought patterns, setting yourself goals, it’s about being the person you need to become to achieve success.

You need to take action. Thoughts become words and words become actions.  Actions become habits and habits become character.  Character becomes destiny.

I like most of the country saw the world cup qualifier against Kazakhstan. We saw Wayne Rooney strike twice as England went through a stiff test before beating Kazakhstan 5-1 in their World Cup qualifier at Wembley on Saturday.  It was not a vintage performance by our boys in white, but we got the win.

A spirited display from the visitors saw England jeered off at half-time before Capello introduced Shaun Wright-Phillips for Barry in a bid to inject some more dynamism. England doubled their advantage as Kuchma headed a Frank Lampard free kick into his own net, then came the talking point from the game, sloppy play from Ashley Cole gifted Zhambyl Kukeyev a reply in the 68th minutes, prompting boos from the stands.

Capello went to Cole’s defense after the match and pleaded with fans to be more patient in future. 

“I didn’t like the booing, especially as it was targeted at one player,” he said. 

“It is always possible to make a mistake and after an error has been made we need to support the player, not the opposite. 

“I ask the crowd, when we have problems you have to help us - booing is no good for anybody.” he said.

I think it’s disgraceful behaviour from that section of the crowd, it simply is unnecessary, everyone out there is giving their best, trying to win something after all is just a game. Yes we pay good money to see a game, it does not give us the right to jeer the players, yes as we pay our money so we should get value for money, in the case of yesterdays game, it was wrong to single out one person for the jeers, everyone is allowed to make mistakes and when one does it should there be encouragement and not condemned.

In contrast, when Chris Iwelumo the Scottish forward missed an open goal when it was easier to score, it was unbelievable, the Scottish crowd did not boo or jeer him, the crowd showed maturity and continued to get behind the team, must admit, I have never seen the Scottish fans ever boo or jeer a player, may have jeered the team or a manager for not performing but never singled out a single player.

Needles to say the Wolves striker’s dream debut turned into a nightmare when he missed that glaring sitter in front of goal which would have secured victory in the World Cup qualifier, but ended goalless.

I think the supporters who turned on Ashley Cole should “be ashamed of themselves”.

Everyone is human, and people make mistakes. The players should big enough to hold their hands up when they have made a mistake, but it is not made any easier when you have got your own fans booing you.

I hope people on reflection will make sure they don’t do that again. A lot of the fans did try to clap Ashley, and I think you’ve got to rally round as players and supporters when anyone makes a mistake.

Let’s get behind the team, let’s be the extra player all teams fear when they come to Wembley.

When I was younger our parents would always tell us if we were not good little boys and girls we would not go to heaven. We would always ask where is heaven? How do we get there and can we go there now? The reply was always the same, just be good and you will reach heaven. Where is heaven? We then we went on ask the question what is paradise? Is there paradise on earth, how do we get there? What can we do when we get there?

Heaven

If you asked the question where is Heaven or what is heaven, no doubt you would get different answers from different people, here are some of the definitions I have heard used to describe heaven.

The sky, the firmament, the atmosphere enveloping the earth regarded as the region where clouds float, the wind blows etc, the abode of God and the blessed, the place of supreme felicity and any place or state of extreme joy or pleasure.

All of the above are good definitions, some are quite simple and blase and some based on religious teachings which tells you if you follow the right path here on earth there is a place waiting for you in heaven , you have deserved to have a place, you deserved to be there. The question is Who decides if you are deserving? What is the criteria on which you are judged? How do you know if you are in heaven?

These questions I have often asked myself. I guess I will never know until it happens, there is no guarantee one will get into heaven once at the pearly gates. I believe that heaven is inside us as is god, we need to look deep inside of us, get in touch with our soul and spirit, look toward our completion as a person, our physical being and then our spiritual being, find a purpose to why we are here after which we will be in heaven, the place that has always existed within us.

Paradise

Similarly, if you asked the question where is Paradise or what is paradise, no doubt you would get different answers from different people, here are some of the definitions I have heard used to describe paradise.

The garden of eden, a place or state of bliss, Heaven, a place or condition of perfect bliss, a park or pleasure ground.

Here again whilst growing up we led to believe that paradise is a place and like heaven a feeling of extreme joy.

The concept of paradise in my opinion is similar to that of heaven. Most people would describe paradise of being a place of breathtaking beauty with idylic surroundings and then events of unforgettable joy and pleasure. Paradise is used to describe a physical location, somewhere you can see, touch and feel, somewhere where all your senses are excited to feel the joy you feel deep inside.

Heaven is deep inside of us, Paradise is anywhere we want it to be, look inside yourself to see the beauty of what is around you, the world around has so much beauty to see and explore, take time to excite all your senses, to Hear, Smell, Taste, Touch and See all that nature brings us and has to offer, let’s be in peace with our surroundings.

I’m sure sometime during your lives most people had been on one kind of diet or another, whether we are counting the calories or eating like a rabbit on leaves and lettuce.

There has been so many diets out there, The ones I have come across through friends who have tried dieting are, the Atkins Diet, the GI diet and the Eat Right for your Type.

Atkins Diet

Unless you’ve been living on Mars, chances are you’ve heard of the Atkins diet – and probably know someone who’s tried it, if you haven’t done so yourself. After all, it’s a diet that sounds too good to be true.

 Nevertheless, the Atkin’s diet has captured the hearts – and tastebuds – of everyone from A-list celebs such as Jennifer Aniston and Renee Zellweger to business men, teachers and housewives. In fact, at its peak in late 2003, more than three million Brits were estimated to have tried the diet in an effort to shape up and slim down.

There are four phases to the Atkins diet. The first phase is called Induction, which must be followed for at least two weeks, although this phase can be continued for much longer if you can bear it! During Induction, you must severely limit your intake of carbohydrate.

The second phase, known as Ongoing Weight Loss, allows you to slightly increase your carb intake – by 5g daily for a week at a time – until you find your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight. Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals are still off limits!

The third phase, called Pre-maintenance, once you have just 5-10lb left to lose. During this phase, you increase you carb intake by 10g each day for a week at a time. The idea is to slow down your weight loss to no more than 1lb a week in an effort to prepare your body for the final phase, weight maintenance.

The fourth and final phase, Lifetime Maintenance, aims to help you maintain your weight.

GI Diet.

GI stands for Glycemic Index and is a measure of the impact of food on your blood sugar. Foods with a high GI tend to quickly raise your body’s blood sugar levels, by contrast foods with a low GI will raise them more slowly and over a longer period.

Eating lots of high GI foods has two disadvantages:

1)      The rush of energy given by high GI foods does not last and is soon followed by an energy lull. So you get hungry and want to eat more.

2)      After eating high GI foods you will have a lot of readily available energy in your blood. Your body will use this energy first rather then other stores of energy like body fat. This makes it harder to loose weight.

By eating meals that have a low GI you will feel less hungry. This means that rather then controlling your cravings for food by will-power alone your are controlling them by satisfying your body. On the GI diet your desire to snack or over eat should be greatly reduced, therefore by eating fewer calories you can control your weight.

Unlike the Atkins Diet, which bans most carbohydrates, especially in the early stages, GI diets actively encourage you to eat many carbohydrates and antioxidant-rich fruit and veg. The diet is also high in fibre which means you’re less likely to get constipated and, because carbohydrate isn’t restricted to any great degree, you won’t get the other unpleasant side effects associated with the Atkins Diet, such as bad breath and headaches. GI diets also tend to follow healthy eating guidelines and are low in fat, especially saturates. And if that’s not enough, GI diets are much easier to follow if you are a vegetarian!

Eat Right for Your Type

A blood type diet is a nutrition plan based around your blood type. This kind of diet became popular with the release of Peter D’Adamo’s book Eat Right 4 Your Type. The book continues to be a bestseller. D’Adamo claims that the diet will not only bring about weight loss — but can assist with allergy and infection resistance, and will achieve overall good health.

Most of the population has blood type O. Here the prescribed diet is low-carbohydrate, high in proteins (such as meat and fish), and low in dairy products. The author suggests specific foods to avoid; such as avocados, brazil nuts, and oranges. Type O should also engage in lots of exercise.

Blood Type A should avoid red meat, eat plenty of fish and vegetables, with a low dairy intake. Light exercise only.

Blood Type B should avoid chicken and bacon, eat plenty of meat and dairy, some fish, and plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Blood Type AB combines the A and B diets.

The author claims that much of the recommendations are based on scientific evidence - but perhaps it is too early to make this claim. Metabolism and/or sugar/insulin sensitivity are probably key factors in deciding diet - not blood type. Two people can have very different metabolisms and have the same blood type.

Weight loss and other health improvements may occur on this diet - not so much because of blood type combinations, but because of a healthier diet! The author encourages people to cut down on processed and refined foods. Good advice for anyone regardless of blood type.

The book also includes low calorie diets that will probably bring about weight loss in anyone (once again, regardless of blood type).

Why diets don’t work?

All of the above may or may not work, each individual would give a different testimonial on the above diets.

In the world we live in food is freely available, to maintain weight loss by dieting requires a continuous effort to eat less, our brains will override our minds and make us eat. This is the nature of all beings, our brains dictates our behaviour. To alter this behaviour is not in dieting, when we diet we get to our desired weight then low and behold it comes back again, so go on another diet and this cycle goes on and on.

To avoid this yo yo syndrome we need to change the our response to the signals from the brain, it is a lifestyle and mindset change, these will allow you to eat what you want whenever you want and allow you to lose weight.

In my opinion a lot of dieting is psychological, if you think slim and visualise yourself being slim and keep that mental picture you are half way there and then off course exercise, things as simple as walking has a great effect on being slim and maintaining your natural weight, 45 minutes brisk walk is sufficient to lose those last 5 kg. It has also been reported that there are only four things you need to do to be thin for life:

1. Eat whenever you are hungry
2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should
3. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful
4. Stop when you think you’re full

Following the above you can end up eating the helthier foods as your body adjusts to form good eating habits .

Change your life style not your diet.

There has been some very controversial decisions that has been made over the past few weeks in the premiership, in fact it has been happening for a number of years. Is it not time that we look at using video playbacks during matches to help referees make the correct decision?

Controversy

Over the past few weeks we have seen penalties and goals given wrongly, the fact these decisions cost the clubs point and money it get highlighted, the amount of money involved in the game is astronomical, one wonders if all the money invested is justified when you see what is happening in the rest of the world, after all it is just meant to be a game, right !!!

Over the years referees were revered, they had more respect of the players and managers alike. Since the big money being invested by TV for live football coverage the pressure on clubs, managers, players and referees is immense. The fact that when you watch live TV there are so many cameras on the match they seem to get every angle covered, this was always going to undermine the referees decisions somewhat, they can only make a decision based on what they see and their interpretation of that particular incident.  

I am not trying to side with referees, we have to appreciate the difficult job they have now especially with all the scrutiny they are having to face.

To a certain extent the media has had a huge influence in what I say is undermining of the officials. The media seemed to highlight and criticise every decision a referee makes, I feel that the media has been instrumental in encouraging the lack of respect that the referees and officials have been facing. Having said that this season in terms of respect for the officials it appears to have improved.

There has also been certain changes in the rules and laws of the game, the interpretation of these changes has caused an inconsistency amongst the referees.

Video Technology

There are other sports who use video technology very effectively and with the minimum of disruption to the game. The use of video technology is wide spread in Rugby, Cricket and in American Sports like Basketball and American Football. There is an argument that these other sports have natural breaks in their game which allows and encourages the use of technology to be able to make informed decision.

In football the referee has the power to stop the game and go back to the incident, this in my view allows the 4th official to playback and view the incident, invariably when there is an incident during the game and at that point there is some form of protest, during this short period it can quite easily be conceived there is enough time to see the playback of the incident and relay this to the referee.

A few years ago it was muted that goal line technology based on the cyclops used in tennis would be used, had that been used then the Pedro Mendes goal for Spurs against Manchester United would have stood, that was the most obvious goal not to have stood, it was absolutely shocking.

Recently it had been reported that the use of goal line technology was actually stopped by none other than Michel Platini and unfortunately the individual football associations cannot bring in the technology without the agreement of FIFA.

Should Video Technology be used?

In my opinion video technology should be used, the use can be for many aspects of the game, not just for the obvious incidents such as penalty decisions, controversial goals but also for player discipline, catching the cheaters and simulators, I think video technology should be used retrospectively and the player punishment should be much harsher.

The fines being passed out to players are ridiculous especially with the amount money they are being paid, in most cases the fines should be supplemented by longer suspensions.

Let’s clean up the game, let’s help the referees to make correct decisions and play the game fairly.

I am a huge sports fan, I tend to follow most sports but have a greater passion for Football, the biggest sport on the planet as well as now being big big business.

The Premier League

The English premier league is probably the most richest league in the world, most definitely in Europe. Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992/1993 season there has only ever been four winners, Manchester United 10 times, Arsenal 3 times, Chelsea twice and Blackburn once.

The premier league became rich mainly due to television revenue, money put into it by SKY TV, a satellite television company, this took the game away from terrestrial TV. There was a huge demand for live football on TV and SKY captured the market and made it their own. This has now changed, there is no longer the domination by SKY due to new regulations. The rights for the premiership has been sold all over the world and no matter where you go you will see young children wearing replica shirts of their favourite premiership teams. 

There has been talk of there being a break away group which they are calling the big four, since 2003/2004 season the top four has been the same, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, just the positions have changed at the end of the season. Why have these four clubs been so dominant? The top four can attract any palyer they want, they have the financial backing and therby keep strengthening their team season after season. However, it’s not simply about buying new players all the time, it is the team, the coach and new players to improve on the previous season.

The Wealthy Clubs

The top four as described above are the wealthiest clubs in England and represent a majority in Europe and the world, the top four premiership clubs occupy 4 of the top 10 spots, English clubs have a high representation in the overall top 25, see below:

This is a list of the richest football clubs in the world in April 2008 as ranked by Forbes magazine on their worth in US dollars.^[1]

Rank	Team	Country	Value ($m)[2]	Debt as %of value[3]	% change on year	Revenue ($m)	Operating income($m)[4]
1	Manchester United	England	1,800	60	24	394	111
2	Real Madrid	Spain	1,285	27	24	474	112
3	Arsenal	England	1,200	43	31	329	77
4	Liverpool	England	1,050	65	131	269	60
5	Bayern Munich	Germany	917	0	9	302	72
6	AC Milan	Italy	798	0	-3	307	54
7	FC Barcelona	Spain	784	7	47	392	92
8	Chelsea	England	764	0	42	382	-5
9	Juventus	Italy	510	5	-10	196	35
10	Schalke 04	Germany	470	48	0	154	36
11	AS Roma	Italy	434	12	94	213	48
12	Tottenham Hotspur	England	414	15	70	207	64
13	Olympique Lyonnais	France	408	7	19	190	15
14	Internazionale	Italy	403	0	-27	207	21
15	Borussia Dortmund	Germany	323	57	63	122	31
16	Newcastle United	England	300	43	16	175	12
17	Hamburger SV	Germany	293	0	32	163	41
18	Werder Bremen	Germany	262	0	n/a	131	11
19	Valencia	Spain	254	159	31	145	-45
20	Celtic	Scotland	227	11	23	151	48
21	Everton	England	197	30	24	103	-1
22	West Ham United	England	195	23	25	115	-22
23	Manchester City	England	191	63	-8	114	27
24	Aston Villa	England	190	12	36	106	-40
25	Olympique Marseille	France	187	0	19	134	13

• Deloitte Football Money League
• List of Premier League football club owners

Notes

There is now a new player in the game, most recently Manchester City changed ownership and is now reportedly the richest club in the world, taking over the mantle from Chelsea, they are now owned by a Sheik from the emirate state of Abu Dhabi.

Manchester City have already flexed their financial muscle by spending heavily on players during the Transfer window.

Foreign Investment

The premier league as far as I am aware is the only league which has a foreign investment in terms of club ownership. There many foreign players here and high percentage of players make up the first eleven whereas in the other European leagues majority of the first team is made up of indigenous players.  I think this is good for the clubs but probably has an overall detriment to the fortunes of the national team.

There are a number of clubs who now have rich foreign owners, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all benefiting from foreign ownership, and now we are seeing the other Manchester club gatecrashing the party.

There is talk that due to the investment in these clubs it is an unfair advantage to the smaller lesser known clubs as they cannot compete with the big boys, they cannot attract the best players from around the world, they cannot afford either the transfer fee or players wage demands. This is true and there is a gulf developing, however, the smaller clubs can do better by better management on and of the field. It has been shown that a smaller team with less money can succeed, Portuguese club Porto, French club Monaco both proved with good management on the field all is possible.

As football has become big industry, the clubs can and should be run as a business, a well run club can survive and compete at a high level, the model used by the Dutch club Ajax worked very well for a very very long time, they were producing many local young players who were sold onto bigger leagues around Europe, the club was still able to compete with the so called the power leagues like “La Liga in spain” and “Serie A in Italy” to win the Champions League (European Cup). Why has Ajax the club other clubs were looking to emulate, gone backwards?

I think that foreign investment is good, as long as everyone is playing on a level playing field. The investment has to be for a long term strategy, and should include the development of the academy. Not just set it up and leave it to rot. Take proactive action to build and sustain it for the future.

I also feel that there should some form of salary structure or cap and a sensible price tags on players, this will help the clubs to operate like a business by re-investing back into the club after paying the players salaries and overheads etc., the profits will go into maintaining the academy. The structure will allow clubs to make better use players from the academy, at the moment I feel Arsenal are the only club  trying to run a club the way I think it should be run. This would stop the smaller clubs getting into financial difficulties.