The good old days were rarely that good and in football memories of the retain-and-transfer system, which bound players to clubs whether they liked it or not, belong to a distant dark age. Yet given the way much of the game now appears to be heading some of the aspects of those feudalistic times do not appear to have been all that bad. Footballers were paid a pittance, but at least they were paid on time. The Premier League, founded on avarice, is now on the edge of a precipice. At one end Manchester United and Liverpool are burdened with debts imported from America while at the other Portsmouth are struggling with financial problems involving person or persons unknown, such is the Byzantine nature of their latest ownership. News that Pompey have missed another deadline to pay the players’ wages is about as much of a shock as hearing that it snowed again yesterday. (via Founded on avarice, the Premier League now teeters on a precipice | David Lacey | Football | guardian.co.uk

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