Apparently we’re not really absolutely required anymore.....
There is truth in that in so far as club money generated vs TV revenue.And I know what side of the tracks you fall on,there is a reason every league in the world tries to emulate what fans provide in england.You can have your bayern,the yellow wall,curva sud,ultras with drums,flares and flag waving.But there are good reasons all these evolving markets in asia,the MLS try to recreate the PL fan experience.And fall short.
Seria A,la liga,ligue un...... except the golden ticket games stadiums not even half full.Real and barca dont open the upper tiers many games,carefully hidden from cameras,and its kind of coming to the PL,the etihad,emirates showing gaps a lot of games,league cup games everywhere pretty much unsold out,fa cup will be the same,europa league couldnt even sell out the final,club world cup in qatar,world cup in russia all these games tournaments devalued by crowd involvement or lack of.But back to the PL and english football in general,fans have over 100 years of history,knowledge which comes out,, sauerkraut vs red bull hotdog,no history,derby vs leeds passion hatred from the ages,We play villa plenty of things we dont like about them from the past and vice versa.Its not manufactured pap its real.
Take all that history,knowledge,passion and dilute it even 50/50 with day trippers,its not the premier league or english football as it has been watched for generations.How many day trippers come because for 40 years we have sung our hearts out on the shelf/park lane,to experience it.The whole day isnt just about 22 lads kicking a pigskin ball around,its far greater than that.and fan participation is a huge part of what sky,bt nbcsn,amazon or whoever pays for.By example look at cup competitions,lets take the UEFA cup,now called europa league.Once a prestigious cup to win,still is for me,but fan adoption of it is lesser now,You can still play inter,or ajax or other huge teams,but the competition is devalued from the outset by fans,35 years ago even if we played dundalk or drogheda in the same competition,big crowds,big deal,now most games maybe half full in many of the games.Competition is the same,perception isnt.All fan led..I guess I believe without the regular support the "product isnt as good" and down and down it goes,like the fa cup,uefa cup,seria A..
And then strictly speaking the TV gravy train ends and what next??
I used to have a membership number,when did that become a client reference number and who really thought about that????and that it was a good thing.