Football has become money driven. The majority of premier league players are foreigners. Of the rest, a large proportion are first generation immigrants who have no loyalty to this place and I don't blame them. The issue of Zaha and Ivory Coast is a classic example.
The vast majority of the professional sportsmen follow the money. That's why there are currently so many here.
China are now offering the stars FIVE toTEN times what they get here, and England is one of the best payers thanks to Sky.
So Tevez. Is now almost the best paid footballer in the world at £350,000/ week. Renaldo has been offered £800,000/ week.
So what will Zaha do on £35K /week when they offer him £150K?
He has just shown he has no loyalty to England Whatsoever.
The premier is on the edge of big change. If we want to compete we will have to pay £500/ month Sky subscription and £ 300 per game to watch.
No, the future is China. They are well ahead of the game. They have just introduced video technology. Within 3 years most of the top players will be there. Look at the recent history of moneybal and you may understand this.

I wouldn't worry too much about this if I were you.

While this country (China) definitely has huge footballing potential, it's domestic league is in no fit state to truly attract big football players in it's current format.

Go to any Chinese football match and you soon realise the whole thing is just for consumer entertainment, it has nothing to do with good old fashioned 'rule of law' football. We might complain about the ref at Palace but in China, it's an open secret that the ref is paid by the league to create 'entertaining matches'.

So yes, while a few footballers might well be tempted out here due to the wages, it will be a temporary fad and only just that. Just like how the American leagues are / were, you wait until you are old and not good enough to make the first team in your premier league outfit anymore, then you take a ten fold pay increase and move to China for a year, play some of the best / worst football of your career then take your money and retire. Good for them I say!

These concerns about how money affects the game have always existed (since the game took off commercially), the only thing that has changed are the players involved (the destination leagues). Once it was the USA, today it's China, tomorrow, who knows?

Which of course is why they want "Mark". Nothing to do with a track record in impartiality, fairness or judgement. Bent as a nine-bob bit and good at politics.

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The Ferret
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Football is too expensive for the working man in China. Last Palace match I watch in Hong Kong, China a G and T was seven quid.

Responsibility Deficit Disorder is a medical condition. Symptoms include inability to be corrected when wrong, false sense of superiority, desire to share personal info no else cares about, general hubris. It's a medical issue rather than pure arrogance.

You sure you weren't at The Valley watching Clowntown?

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The Ferret
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Mercia Aru = mercinary.
Could be a real cash cow for teams like us. Wouldn't be hard to raise £100M and then we really would have a fresh start.