The English Premier League isn’t very English

7 – Number of Premier League teams owned exclusively by British (Scotland, England, Wales) citizens – Burnley, Brighton, Huddersfield, Newcastle, Stoke, Tottenham, and West Ham
35 – Percent of Premier League teams owned exclusively by Brits
5 – Number of Premier League teams with a majority owner who is American – Swansea, Man U, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Arsenal
11 – Number of teams in the Football League Championship that are owned by Brits
46 – Percent of Football League Championship teams owned by Brits
17- Number of teams in League One that are owned by Brits
71 – Percent of League One teams that are owned by Brits

524 – Number of players in the Premier League
342 – Foreign players in the Premier League
65 – Percent of foreign players in the Premier League
92 – Percent of players at Chelsea who are foreign
1 – Premier League teams with a majority of English players (Bournemouth)
2 – Matches played so far this season with all 11 players foreigners (Arsenal v. WBA and Chelsea away to Tottenham)

5 – Former academy players in Arsenal and Southampton’s first team (each, leads the League)
347 – League matches played by former academy players for Arsenal’s current first team (the most in the League)¹
300 – League matches played by former academy players for West Ham’s current first team (2nd most in the League)
8 – Teams in the Premier League who have only one or two academy graduates in their first team (West Brom, Huddersfield (1 each), Stoke, Leicester, BHA, Wham, Chelsea, and Cry Pal)

5 – English managers in the Premier League
25 – Percent of English Premier League teams managed by English men
1992 – Last English manager to win England’s top league (Howard Wilkinson, Leeds United)
0 – English managers who have won the English Premier League

60 – Percent of revenue for Premier League teams that comes from Broadcasting rights 2017/18 (source, Deloitte)
15 – Percent of revenue for Premier League teams that comes from Matchday (source, Deloitte)
31 – Percent of Premier League club’s broadcast revenue which came from foreign broadcasting rights in 2015/16  (source, the calculator function of my computer)
1.9 – Pounds billions that broadcast revenue paid Premier League clubs in 2015/16 (source, Deloitte)
588 – Pounds million that foreign broadcast paid Premier League clubs in 2015/16 (source, Premier League)
2.7 – Pounds billions that broadcast revenue pays the Premier League clubs this season (source, Deloitte)
1 – Pounds billions that foreign broadcast rights pays the Premier League clubs this season (source, New York Times)
37 – Percent of all Premier League club’s revenue which came from foreign broadcasting rights (source, the calculator function of my computer)
90 – Broadcast revenue average per team (in Pounds million) in 2013/14
136 – Broadcast revenue average per team (in Pounds million) in 2017/18 (source, Deloitte)
51 – Percent increase between these two numbers
40 – Percent increase in overall revenue for the 20 Premier League teams from 2013-2018
65 – Pounds million, per club, increase since 2013/14

0 – Teams that are owned by English owners, with a majority of English players, managed by an English manager (Bournemouth is the only team with a majority of English players, who have an English manager, but they are owned by Maxim Demin the Russian businessman.

Sources:
Ownership – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_owners_of_English_football_clubs
Players – Transfermrkt.co.uk: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/startseite/wettbewerb/GB1 – There is an error on this page. They list Swansea as having 26 foreign players on a 26 player team but Swansea only have 15 foreign players. They also only count English citizens and any dual citizens who have declared for another country are not counted (e.g. Victor Moses), Scottish, Welsh, and RoNIs are not counted
Matchday and TV Revenue –
Deloitte: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html
Premier League: https://www.premierleague.com/news/60138
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/sports/soccer/premier-league-tv.html

¹ – Does this make sense? What I’m saying is that Arsenal have 5 first team players who graduated from the Arsenal academy, this is the most of any team in the League. And that those five Arsenal academy graduates have played 347 Premier League matches for Arsenal.

23 comments

  1. % Foreign players in top league –

    43% – La Liga
    50% – Ligue 1
    52% – MLS
    53% – Bundesliga
    54% – Serie A
    65% – Premier League

    % foreign managers in top league –

    75% – Premier League
    45% – MLS
    35% – France
    33% – Germany
    20% – Spain
    10% – Italy

    Last three World Cup winners: Germany, Spain, Italy.
    Last three Euro winners: Portugal, Spain, Spain

  2. English players doesn’t play much (almost none) outside of England and with an overall high of 65% foreign players in EPL, it’s no wonder England are not competitive in FIFA tournaments.

    England starting XI should have players who have represented in multiple leagues at some point in their career to bring some flair to their game.

    1. I think the problem is more with the coaches than the players. English players aren’t wanted in Europe because they lack the tactical acumen that their foreign rivals develop from an early age. I can’t remember where I read this (Pep Confidential?) but young players in Germany (for example) learn technique (touch, etc) first but by the time that they are 10-11 they are already learning tactics. The English players just don’t do that, or at least not until they are much older.

      It’s not just that English players are afraid to go to other countries, it’s that countries like Spain, Germany, etc, have no need for them.

  3. Is it just me or… does some of the math seem off?

    E.g.
    “46 – Percent of League One teams owned by Brits
    17 – Number of teams in League One that are owned by Brits”

    aren’t there 24 teams in League One? 17/24 is definitely not 46%…

  4. 0 – number of black goalkeepers in the Premier League.
    I know it’s maybe slightly off topic but I was watching the best PL goals for 03-04 yesterday and seeing the goals I kept thinking about this. Apart from David James, I don’t recall a single non caucasian goalkeeper in recent PL history, though I could be wrong.

    1. Shaka Hislop, though that was so long ago he’s better known as an ESPN pundit now.

  5. Good for the players to get paid, and good for the fans to see the best players on the field. Good for the league in that they have a fairly equitable revenue sharing model, so that the Other 14 can make some money and get some players.

    As a fan of a team without an oligarch/sovereign, it really is incumbent on the team to have a functioning academy. Teams like ours might be able to afford one major transfer a year, so the bulk of the team has to be developed through the academy or by buying “lesser lights.”

    One place the EPL can do better is with work permits. It seems like the best South American players do not wind up in England, rather they wind up in Spain or Italy.

    1. Richarlison was given a work permit having not been an international player. Jesus only made his senior international debut in September 2016 but was able to play for City in Jan 2017. I think the FA have changed their work permit criteria which was too strict. I think you had to have played 75% of your country’s games within a given time (one year?).

      Hopefully we can take advantage of this like the Porto’s and Spanish clubs.

  6. The cliche that English players are not good at football beyond trying to win duels and English managers are not good at football beyond coaching their players to deny space and win duels has more than an element of truth. Focusing on those things is not enough at the highest level and it’s nothing new: Inverting the Pyramid lays it out in plain terms that England always has been the home of the reactionary “lump it forward” style whereas Scotland were the progenitors of the passing style that they eventually gave to Austrian and Hungarian clubs and later through Bela Guttman and others to Portugal and Spain. The English have never truly bought into football that wasn’t fundamentally about adventure, blood and guts and it shows in the statistics above; the really good teams have few if any homegrown players, and those that do make it for top teams are a different class technically (the exception to that is Kyle Walker; sometimes you just need to pay a guy to run really fast up and down the sidelines for 90 minutes while looking like a bewildered, cross-eyed ungulate), or their hardnose style is complemented by a player more accomplished in possession and/or positioning (i.e. Cahill and Luiz). Then when you take that complementary piece away and you pair two of England’s best together, it doesn’t work.

    1. The current England squad has a couple of things that might help them buck that trend; a striker capable of scoring goals and playing effectively as the lone wolf, and a central defender (Stones) who is capable of building play from deep areas. However, I don’t think their central midfield is good enough to knit it together and the usual hype/hope train will most likely lead to another ultimately underwhelming campaign.

    2. “(the exception to that is Kyle Walker; sometimes you just need to pay a guy to run really fast up and down the sidelines for 90 minutes while looking like a bewildered, cross-eyed ungulate), ”

      That’s funny doc( really). I think Walker gets a bad rep on here by most probably due to his price tag and former club of employment , but if you actually watch him play , there’s a lot to like about his game.

      When was the last time ,for instance , you saw Chelsea’s Alonso totally shut down by opposition’s wingback?

      I’ll tell you when he wasn’t ; when Chelsea played Tottenham at Wembley this season and Alonso wreaked havoc on the left flank.

      Meanwhile , when City dominated Chelsea at the Bridge in the most tactical game I’ve seen this season anywhere in Europe, Walker neutralized Alonso and made him look less than average.

      1. Despite my lampooning of him, when Walker’s energies are appropriately channeled, I know he can be dangerous and effective. I think Chelsea missed a beat by relying too much on Alonso and Moses. Wing back was an area where they could’ve easily upgraded. If memory serves, Moses was a bit of a “Wengerian” find in that Chelsea had no one else in that position and Moses happened to play really well there when given the chance. For me it’s a similar situation as Francis Coquelin fitting in next to Santi Cazorla. They are technically and tactically limited players who found their niche in a very specific system but when they are tested by accomplished opposition, I don’t think they are really of the required class. Alonso meanwhile has the acumen and skill but isn’t the caliber of athlete that top clubs usually have in that position. City triple dipped at the position this summer with Walker, Mendy and Danilo and they are reaping the benefits.

  7. Tom-in that case I would contend Alonso’s lack of offensive contribution was more down to Sane and Sterling staying high and wide than any individual brilliance on Walker’s part. Not to say Walker doesn’t contribute, just that I would give Pep more credit than Walker for that accomplishment.

  8. 14 – Number of times a Scotsman has won the Premiership.
    13 – Number of times Alex Ferguson has won it.
    52 – Percentage of times Ferguson won the Premiership.
    At least he’s British.

  9. “Alonso meanwhile has the acumen and skill but isn’t the caliber of athlete that top clubs usually have in that position”. I totally disagree with that statement …what role does the wing back play in a formation like chelseas’? And tell me who’s better than Alonso in that wing… that guy has got incredible attacking instincts.. any top club would pounce on him.

  10. No denying the growth in the % of foreign owners, managers and players in the Premiership. Hadn’t realised the extent of it in the Championship or Football League clubs, where it’s more difficult to understand, as they’re less profitable and don’t benefit from the same Sky gravy train.
    V interesting as well to see the comparable figures for managers and players in the other European leagues. I think the way the game is taught is a far bigger determinant of national team success though – I’m with Arsene in saying the better the class of player around you, the better the overall standard and the better the homegrown talent that does eventually comes through. Maybe England’s recent U21, U20 and U17 successes (3rd/4th, winners, runners up) herald a(nother!) bright new dawn.
    Equally interesting the declining importance of matchday to total club revenues, and this is set to fall further as international rights experience the same sort of bid inflation we’ve seen in the UK rights. Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to more examples of broadcasters deciding they can ignore fans and make bonkers scheduling suggestions like Arsenal Liverpool on Christmas Eve.

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