pul.se results for Olympique Lyonnais

Libération - La une

2010-03-09 06:48:56 GMT

Jean-Michel Aulas a-t-il réussi à écarter de sa route un parlementaire encombrant ? Depuis des mois, le président de l’Olympique lyonnais (OL) peste contre Philippe Meunier, député UMP.

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-03-08 11:05:17 GMT

Ahead of OLâ€™s most important game of the season, their boss has lamented an impotent showing in the north of France on Saturday...

L'Equipe.fr Actu Sport

2010-03-07 08:53:00 GMT

Après le nul enregistré par l'Olympique lyonnais à Boulogne-sur-Mer, samedi soir, Aly Cissokho a confié à la sortie des...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-03-06 20:15:25 GMT

Les Gones missed the chance to go temporarily top of Le Championnat after slumping to a scoreless draw against relegation threatened USBCO...

Samanyoluhaber - Son Haberler

2010-03-02 14:31:19 GMT

Deloitte'in raporuna göre, futbolun 20 dev kulübü, 2008-2009 sezonunu 3,9 milyar avro ciroyla kapattı.

Deloitte'in futbol kulüplerinin sezon gelirlerini incelediği Futbol Para Ligi 2010 raporunu yayınlandı. Futbolun 20 dev kulübü 2008-2009 sezonunu 3,9 milyar avro ciroyla kapattı. Kriz şartlarına rağmen Deloitte Futbol Para Ligi'nin toplam cirosu önceki sezona göre 26 milyon avro artış gösterdi. Rapora göre, 5 yıldır üst üste liste başında kalmayı başaran Real Madrid, 400 milyon avroyu aşkın geliriyle sezonu en verimli kapatan futbol kulübü oldu. Futbol Para Ligi'nde Real Madrid'i 57 milyon avro gibi ciddi bir artışla 366 milyon avro gelir düzeyine erişen Barcelona izledi. Futbol Para Ligi'nde 327 milyon avroluk geliriyle üçüncü sırada yer alan Manchester United, 2007'den 2009'a sterlinin yüzde 21 oranında değer kaybı nedeniyle geçen sezon Real Madrid'den 74 milyon, Barselona'dan ise 39 milyon avro daha az gelir elde etti. İlk 20 içinde yer alan 9 kulübün gelirlerinde gerileme görülürken, İngilizler sterlinin yarattığı hezimete rağmen Futbol Para Ligi'nde 7 kulüple yer alma başarısı gösterdi. Futbol Para Ligi'nde Almanya 5, İtalya 4, Fransa ve İspanya ise ikişer futbol kulübüyle yer aldı. Önceki sezonda listede yer alan Fenerbahçe ve VfB Stuttgart ise 2008-2009 sezonu için yerlerini Manchester City ile Werder Bremen'e bıraktılar. Geçen yılın Futbol Para Ligi'nde yer alan Fenerbahçe, geçen sezon elde ettiği 87 milyon avroluk gelirle ilk 20 kulübün yer aldığı listede yer alamazken, gelecek yılın listesinde yer alması öngörülen kulüpler arasındaki yerini korumayı başardı. Bazı futbol kulüplerinin gelirlerinin azalmasında kriz nedeniyle artırılamayan futbol bilet fiyatları veya yeni stadyum yatırımları gibi konular etkili oldu. Gelirler açısından alt sıralara gerileyen İtalyan futbol kulüpleri, Avrupa'nın diğer seçkin futbol kulüplerine oranla seyirci gelirlerini yeterince artırma başarısı gösteremedi. Rapora göre, futbol Para Ligi'ndeki takımların gelir artışlarında UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi'nin de önemli bir katkısı bulunuyor. Sıralamada yer alan 6 kulüp UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi karşılaşmalarına katılmamakla birlikte Futbol Para Ligi'nde yer alan 13 takım 500 milyon avro geliri doğrudan Şampiyonlar Ligi kampanyalarından elde etti. Bu rakam kulüp gelirlerinin yüzde 16'sını oluşturdu. Futbol Para Ligi'nde yer alan 20 kulübün 2008-2009 sezonunda yayın haklarından elde ettiği gelir 1,6 milyar avroya erişti. Toplum kulüp gelirlerinin yüzde 42'sini oluşturan yayın hakları özellikle 14 futbol kulübünün en yüksek gelir kalemleri arasında yer aldı. Rapora göre, işsizliğin artışı ve tasarruf edilebilir gelirdeki düşüşler, 2008-2009 sezonunda bilet satışlarını etkiledi. Ancak stadyumlardan ayağını kesmeyen taraftar, Futbol Para Ligi'ndeki 20 futbol kulübüne 1 milyar avroluk bilet hasılatı sağladı. Kulüp gelirleri içinde yüzde 26 paya sahip olan bilet gelirleri, döviz kurlarındaki değişimden bağımsız olarak bir önceki sezona göre yüzde 3,5 oranında arttı. Deloitte Türkiye Spor Endüstri Lideri Burç Seven rapora ilişkin değerlendirmesinde, ''Profesyonel yönetimin etkisinin günden güne daha çok hissedildiği futbol sektörünün 2008-2009 sezonunda krize karşı ciddi bir direnç gösterdiği anlaşılıyor. UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi dolayısıyla düzenlenen kampanyalar ve yayın hakları dev kulüplere önemli avantajlar sağlıyor. Kriz ortamına rağmen büyük kulüp seyircisi takımını sahalarda yalnız bırakmadı'' dedi. Futbol Kulübü: Gelir (milyon Euro) 1 - Real Madrid: 401,4 2 - FC Barcelona: 365,9 3 - Manchester United: 327,0 4 - Bayern Munich: 289,5 5 - Arsenal: 263,0 6 - Chelsea: 242,3 7 - Liverpool: 217,0 8 - Juventus: 203,2 9 - Internazionale: 196,5 10 - AC Milan: 196,5 11 - Hamburger SV: 146,7 12 - AS Roma: 146,4 13 - Olympique Lyonnais: 139,6 14 - Olympique de Marseille: 133,2 15 - Tottenham Hotspur: 132,7 16 - Schalke 04: 124,5 17 - Werder Bremen: 114,7 18 - Brussia Dortmund: 103,5 19 - Manchester City: 102,2 20 - Newcastle United: 101,0

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-03-02 13:32:19 GMT

The France No.1 has been left encouraged by the resurgence of his club side, claiming there is now some excellent momentum in favour of OL...

Bleacher Report - Front Page

Willie Gannon — 2010-03-02 01:01:32 GMT

Manchester United have dropped out of the top two richest teams in the world for the first time as Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have established themselves as the new dominant financial forces in football.

Seven of the 20 richest teams in the world are based in the English Premier League, but it now looks as if La Liga is where the real power lies.

Over the last 18 months, La Liga has seen itself attract some of the best talent in the world, some of it from the EPL, and become the new dominant league in Europe, and the world.

Rising tax rates in Britain combined with an ailing currency have become a vital ingredient in seeing Spain become the destination of choice for footballers.

Currently the high tax rate in Britain is 50 percent, meaning that half of everything a player earns goes directly to the government. While this has been going on in England, the Spanish government has reduced the tax rate for "foreign executives" down to an amazing 24 percent.

This in turn enables Spanish teams to attract bigger names and pay bigger wages. This then returns to the clubs through advertising and merchandise revenue streams making Spanish teams winners on every angle.

English football also has another cross to bear.

The current amount of debt the Premiership owes is £3.5 billion.

Incredibly, that is 56 percent of all the debt owed by football teams in the whole of Europe. And £2 billion of that total is owed by just four teams, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool.

Barcelona's rise on the list is due to their phenomenal success on the pitch over the last two seasons, and last year in particular.

In the 2009/10 season, Barcelona entered six competitions, and won every single trophy available. Something no other team in world football has ever matched before.

This has sent their annual income soaring above previous high levels.

Alan Switzer, director of Deloitte's sports business group, warned: "Real Madrid and Barcelona have created a clear revenue gap between themselves and their main competitors.

"They look set to contest the top two positions in the money league for the foreseeable future, particularly if the Pound doesn't strengthen against the Euro."

Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte's sports business group, added: "Just like it was in Rome last May, Barcelona just proved too strong for United. Like other English clubs, United were impacted by the continued depreciation of sterling—and the scale of this is shown by the fact that, if exchange rates remained at their June 2007 level, they would be top of the money league table."

Real, whose new class of Galacticos include the £80 million Cristiano Ronaldo, became the first club to generate more than €400 million of revenue in 2008-09.

Despite the drop seen by most Premiership clubs, Arsenal have replaced Chelsea as the fifth richest club in world football. Returning the favour for the Pensioners taking their place over the last couple of years.

This is quite remarkable especially when you consider that the Gunners are trophy-less for the past five seasons.

A prudent financial footing and a huge revenue creating stadium the main reasons why Arsenal have moved back up. However, the Gunners do have large debts hanging over them, although they look well placed to deal with them if they continue with their current policies.

In recent times speculation has begun to mount about an American consortium being interested in acquiring Arsenal. This rumour spread after Liam Brady resigned from his post as Assistant Manager to Giovani Trappatoni, the Irish national team manager.

Speculation is rife that Arsene Wenger was happy to let Brady double job, the Irishman is in an extremely important job at Arsenal as "Head of Youth Development", but that he was put under pressure by the board to resign as they did not want to be seen to be allowing an important member of staff to take his eye of the main job at hand.

Despite the top fours empires being built on massive debt, Jones believes leading English clubs are still well-placed to survive.

With speculation arising that the EPL will sign a £1 billion TV deal, Jones said: "While there has been much recent comment on the finances of English clubs, we believe problems are experienced at the very highest level are more likely to be a result of mismanagement, weak cost control or a lack of credit than any problems with revenue generation."

How will Premier League teams survive their massive debt strains and still be competitive in Europe is something that will occupy the minds of many owners and chairmen over the next couple of years.

Already, the league has proposed a "39th game" which would be played outside England in the hope of each Premiership team being allowed to generate millions as cities bid to have certain teams play there.

That idea was scrapped but another has surfaced in it's place. A set of playoffs between the four teams who finished from fourth to seventh, allowing the winner to play in the Champions League.

As these playoffs would be outside a normal season they could be brought abroad to the highest bidder...

Either way, the EPL has some way to go to gain on La Liga, whilst Serie A is in real danger of becoming a mid-tier league in Europe.

The pressure is on for all European teams in Serie A. The league faces losing it's coveted fourth Champions League place next year unless an Italian team wins in Europa and every German team gets knocked out in the current rounds of competition.

Given the strong cases being built by Bundesliga teams, that looks a distant prospect.

The power in football is currently residing in Spain, it will stay there for some time until it finds a new lover, expect the new mistress in the coming years to speak German, the Bundesliga is a league on the up.

The Top 20 Rich List:

Position Club Revenue (£m)

1 (1) Real Madrid 341.9

2 (3) FC Barcelona 311.7

3 (2) Manchester United 278.5

4 (4) Bayern Munich 246.6

5 (6) Arsenal 224.0

6 (5) Chelsea 206.4

7 (8) Liverpool 184.8

8 (11) Juventus 173.1

9 (10) Internazionale 167.4

10 (7) AC Milan 167.4

11 (15) Hamburger SV 124.9

12 (9) AS Roma 124.7

13 (12) Olympique Lyonnais 118.9

14 (16) Olympique de Marseille 113.5

15 (14) Tottenham Hotspur 113.0

16 (13) Schalke 04 106.0

17 (n/a) Werder Bremen 97.7

18 (20) Borussia Dortmund 88.1

19 (n/a) Manchester City 87.0

20 (17) Newcastle United 86.0

This article was first published on Premier League Report

Corriere dello Sport.it - Primo Piano

2010-02-26 17:36:00 GMT

Cambia di nuovo l'avversario della squadra sarda in Champions League. Il Tribunale accoglie il ricorso francese e manda a casa il Fortuna Hjørring

L'Equipe.fr Actu Sport

2010-02-25 06:24:00 GMT

L'Olympique Lyonnais s'est ravisé. Le club rhodanien, qui souhaitait dans un premier temps décaler son match contre...

BigSoccer

BigSoccer — 2010-02-25 06:00:02 GMT

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BigSoccer

BigSoccer — 2010-02-25 06:00:02 GMT

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BigSoccer

BigSoccer — 2010-02-25 06:00:02 GMT

Image: http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/200443585091_0.jpg ...

BigSoccer

BigSoccer — 2010-02-25 06:00:02 GMT

Image: http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/200443584568_0.jpg ...

OleOle - Football News and Opinion

2010-02-23 13:54:19 GMT

Well, well, well...look who's back! It feels great to be back here on the blog, and if you are following the Twitter account for the blog (@kristenundsebii), you would know that I have taken a long break away for personal reasons. Anyway, to the preview!

Barcelona, who will be our guests in Stuttgart tonight, are currently facing some problems.

A week ago, the Catalan side suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and a number of first choice players are currently on the injured list. In spite of that, FC Barcelona, title holders in their domestic league and in the Champions League, lead Spain's Primera Division ahead of their greatest rivals, Real Madrid.

Their dress rehearsal ahead of the clash with VfB went according to plan for the Spaniards, with a convincing 4-0 win over Racing Santander, although trainer Josep Guardiola complained of inadequacies in his teams passing after the match. One reason for that issue could well have been the absence of midfield playmaker Xavi, who strained a thigh muscle against Atletico. More severe was the injury to defensive midfield man Seydou Keita, who suffered a muscle sinew tear. Head coach Guardiola also had to make do without the services of vitally important individuals such as Dani Alves and Eric Abidal, who are normally found in the wide positions. In addition, during the game against Santander, captain Carlos Puyol took a blow to the cheek and had to be substituted.

When speaking in the pre-match presser, Guardiola said:

"We'll have to wait and see how training goes, then a final decision will be made tomorrow," said the Barca coach, who went on to praise VfB: "Christian Gross is doing great work at VfB. I noted many positive aspects during my analysis. VfB have been getting good results and they have scored some great goals."

Amidst the personnel woes, it was all the more important for Barca that striker Thierry Henry finally found the target again to end his goal drought. Aside from the French international, world renowned superstar Lionel Messi has been providing the highlights again for the Catalan side in recent weeks. 16 goals in 20 league games speak for themselves, and in the Champions League, the Argentine international has also netted twice. With Xavi missing in the midfield, Andres Iniesta has had even more responsibility on his shoulders. The Spanish international, and European champion, is the pivotal figure in the FC Barcelona attack. With his technical ability, pace and exact passing, Iniesta has been considered one of the very best in world football for many years.

There would appear to be no weak links within Barca's ensemble of stars, and their record in the league is further evidence of that. After 23 games this season, a goal-difference of 57:13 is testament to their ability at both ends of the park. Goalkeeper Victor Valdez has been in consistently good form and, even without Alves or Abidal, trainer Guardiola has alternatives at the back for his side when they take on VfB.

VfB, unlike Barcelona have been welcoming back injured players with open arms. In the 5-1 win against Cologne, Cacau made a fantastic comeback scoring four goals and youth star Sebastian Rudy came on as a sub in the second half. VfB also will be welcoming back Sami Khedira.

"Sami will play! I haven't yet decided whether we will start with Ciprian Marica or Cacau up front. Cacau is personally on a high after his four goals against Köln and he is very important to us," remarked VfB manager Christian Gross.

Pre-Match Presser

Christian Gross:

We're looking forward to these two games. We know that we're up against the best club side in the world and the utmost will be asked of us. It's well known that teams rise to the occasion and that's exactly what we have to do to get a good result ahead of the return match. We have to be highly focused, especially when we have possession, as there's no other side as strong as they are when it comes to switching between attack and defence.

We have absolutely nothing to lose. We'll have to be very brave but very clever as well. That is the big difficulty here: the key will be a passionate but also a calm performance; everyone will be asked to put in a performance like he's never put in before. Aleksandr [Hleb] is of course highly motivated and looking forward to this encounter. Naturally, I have spoken with him about Barcelona's strengths and weaknesses.

Pep Guardiola:

Just scraping through against [Olympique Lyonnais] in the round of 16 last season should be warning enough for us. Many big clubs have made life difficult for themselves by not coping with their status as favourites in the round of 16. After all, we're playing a German team with German qualities, and one enjoying an excellent run in the league. Christian Gross has achieved a lot here and he has quality in his squad. I saw some remarkable things in the video analysis. This is why we'll have to find our rhythm quickly if we want to get a good result for the return leg.

We're happy to return to the European stage after such a long break. Given the way I know my players, I don't need to worry about them taking Stuttgart too lightly. It's a round of 16 match: Arsenal are almost out, Real are having problems with Lyon and Manchester [United] and Bayern are not in for an easy ride either.

Team News

Stuttgart:

Out: Martin Lanig (cruciate knee ligament), Arthur Boka (dislocated shoulder)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

• Boka dislocated his shoulder in training and is not expected to return for a month

Barcelona:

Out: Seydou Keita (right hamstring tear), Eric Abidal (groin strain)
Doubtful: Zlatan Ibrahimović (ankle), Xavi Hernández (right thigh), Daniel Alves (right calf)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Carles Puyol

• Yaya Touré played on Saturday following a fortnight out with a left thigh tear.

• Guardiola will wait until the day of the match before making a final decision on Ibrahimović, Xavi and Alves.

Danke uefa.com and vfb.de

.:Like this post? Follow Kristen and Sebii on Twitter!:.

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-23 07:32:45 GMT

C’est avec nostalgie qu’Isabelle Delobel et Olivier Schoenfelder ont terminé leur carrière au Pacific Coliseum de Vancouver. Sixième, le couple lyonnais s’en va en quête de nouveaux défis.

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-23 08:02:24 GMT

Même si Isabelle Delobel et Olivier Schoenfelder ont tiré leur révérence sans obtenir de médaille olympique lundi, le couple lyonnais était fier et satisfait.

Les Echos - actualité à la Une des Echos.fr

2010-02-22 23:00:00 GMT

Ce soir, au Pirée, contre l'Olympiacos, ce n'est pas seulement pour une place en quart de finale de la prestigieuse Ligue des champions que joueront les Girondins de Bordeaux. S'ils se qualifient et si, de son côté, l'Olympique Lyonnais (OL), l'autre équipe française en compétition, ne passe pas...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-22 16:55:21 GMT

Les Gones showed no relenting from the form that saw them defeat Real Madrid in midweek, hammering les Lionceaux in Doubs...

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-21 19:12:51 GMT

Claude Puel ne dissimulait pas sa satisfaction après la victoire de l'Olympique Lyonnais à Sochaux (4-0).

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-20 13:07:11 GMT

Francis Gillot a convoqué 18 joueurs pour la réception de l’Olympique Lyonnais dimanche à Bonal.

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-17 07:10:02 GMT

Jean-Michel Aulas, le président de l'Olympique Lyonnais, a logiquement savouré la victoire de ses hommes contre le Real Madrid.

The Big Lead

tyduffy — 2010-02-16 19:00:06 GMT

It seems UEFA has been taking cues from Major League Baseball. The first knockout round of the Champions League will take four weeks. The first two matches start today. A.C. Milan plays Manchester United and Real Madrid plays French side Olympique Lyonnais. A preview, after the jump. A.C. Milan vs. Manchester United Manchester United are ripe for [...]

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-16 18:16:50 GMT

Dans un communiqué, l’Olympique Lyonnais explique que Juninho pourrait revenir à Lyon, mais pas pour jouer.

SBNation.com - All Posts

Chris Haines — 2010-02-16 16:32:12 GMT

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UEFA Champions League Round of 16 action begins Tuesday as Real Madrid travels to Lyon to take on Olympique Lyonnais at 2:45 PM EST.

Real Madrid has not made it beyond the Round of 16 in the past five years and Lyon has yet to lose a match in 2010 going 4-0-1 in the New Year. The teams have not met in the knockout stages of Champions League play, but Lyon has defeated Madrid both previous times the teams have met in France, both in the group stage of Champions League action. Madrid is currently second in La Liga while Lyon is fourth in French Ligue 1.

You can follow the match live at UEFA's MatchCentre and we'll have plenty of updates here as well.

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-16 12:40:18 GMT

L’Olympique Lyonnais accueille le Real Madrid et Karim Benzema en 8es de finale aller de la Ligue des Champions. Grosses cotes en vue…

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-16 07:24:46 GMT

Sûr de sa force mais malgré tout respectueux de l’Olympique Lyonnais, le capitaine du Real Madrid Iker Casillas estime que le match aller sera déterminant dans l’optique de la qualification. «San Iker» évoque aussi son homologue Hugo Lloris.

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-16 07:01:15 GMT

Le capitaine de l’Olympique Lyonnais Cris croit dur comme fer aux chances de son équipe de passer l’obstacle madrilène, ce mercredi en 8es de finale aller de la Ligue des Champions.

Bleacher Report - Front Page

Alex Dimond — 2010-02-15 16:16:34 GMT

The revelation today that the Premier League is considering introducing a playoff system to determine the fourth club to qualify for the following season's European Champions League has captured the minds of some, and caused dispute among others.

The concept basically recommends that the teams that finish between fourth and seventh from the 2013-14 season will compete in a four-way playoff for the Champions League qualification spot. It is traditionally awarded to the fourth place finisher in the league and undoubtedly has its merits.

From purely sporting terms, it will open up the field as while few teams currently harbor realistic ambitions of finishing in the top four at the start of every season. The great majority of teams in the league will believe they have a chance of finishing seventh on the eve of every campaign.

That is why all clubs—barring the “Big Four” of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool—were reportedly enthusiastic about the proposal when it was raised by Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore at Feb. 4 meeting.

Scudamore was encouraged by the majority of powerbrokers present to go away and develop the proposal. A more detailed presentation will be made in April when the idea might be brought closer to implementation.

But support from clubs (they will vote on the proposal with 14 of the 20 needed to approve it for it to become reality) does not mean the idea is a good one.

Self-interest is the byword of any self-respecting Premier League chairman, and the fact that a proposal serves the best interests of more clubs than those whose interests it harms—even if it is the poor benefiting over the rich—does not necessarily make it a good move.

The primary reason behind some people’s support for the move is the fact it should help break up the monopoly of the Big Four. Neutral fans want this—and have always wanted this—so to see a proactive step that might actually instigate such a change, is naturally something they are excited about.

The dominance of the “Big Four” is a stick often used to beat the Premier League, and understandably so when the top of the table takes on the same look every year. But looking around Europe rather brings into stance that perspective.

At least in England there are four top teams that start the competition with realistic title ambitions year in and year out, and can hold their own in European competition.

Spain can muster just two such clubs nowadays, Real Madrid and Barcelona, rendering La Liga just as much of a closed shop as the ridiculed Scottish Premier League, with its Old Firm dominance from Celtic and Rangers.

In Italy, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus hold something of a hegemony over three of the four Champions League spots, with Calciopoli affecting the chances of the latter two in recent times. Even so, both clubs found their way back to Europe's top table pretty quickly.

France has had just one consistent presence in recent times, Olympique Lyonnais, although Bordeaux are showing signs of being a second. Ditto for FC Porto from Portugal, and from Germany Bayern Munich are the ever-present European forces, even if the Bundesliga is one of the most competitive (and, perhaps as a result, highest attended) leagues in Europe.

And yet, all those teams mentioned above are the big draws in the Champions League, the teams likeliest to go furthest and the teams television audiences are keenest to watch.

And that is what has made the Champions League such a success story.

Reducing the likelihood of qualification for one of the traditional English teams (e.g. Liverpool usurped by Aston Villa) will only reduce international viewing figures and see a less popular side (be it Aston Villa, or another European side from a smaller media market that beats the Villans) make it through to the knockout stages, where the competition really grabs the imagination.

This year those knockout stages, which begin on Tuesday, will be staged over four weeks rather than the usual two is to ensure that the big games involving the big teams do not clash: Fans will now be able to watch four games of their choice each leg, rather than the previous limit of just two (as four games were shown a night).

That is because the big teams bring in the big audiences, and consequently the big bucks. The Champions League has reached the stage where it has enough big and established sides to expand its TV presence.

By introducing a playoff system in England, you increase the chances of a less fancied club changing that reducing the number of games people in both competitions audiences want to watch.

As such, UEFA will likely oppose the proposal.

Many who believe the move will make the league more interesting are keen on the move, and understandably so.

Anything that will increase the competitiveness of the domestic English league can only be a good thing. But if making the competition more interesting from a sporting perspective is really the main aim of the playoff proposal, then it is woefully misguided—and there are many better options.

In effect, it will only reduce the Big Four to a “Big Three," consisting of whichever three clubs that are fortunate enough to finish in the top three during the first year of the scheme’s introduction, and a second tier of those vying for that Playoff victory every year.

The league will slowly become less competitive.

SKY, ESPN, Fox Sports, and whoever else currently broadcasts Premier League games, will not be too keen to up the cost of their television contracts if there are fewer big games and Super Sundays for them to truly get excited about.

If it was all about sport, an altruistic desire to give everyone an equal chance, then Scudamore et al would surely be making moves to lobby UEFA to distribute more of the money made from the Champions League to those clubs not in it by either by splitting revenue distribution equally with Europa League competitors or even among all clubs in domestic leagues.

Or perhaps considering Portsmouth’s current peril, they would be looking long and hard at the merits of a salary cap: ensuring clubs can only spend a certain percentage of their turnover on player wages (which would allow the richer clubs to maintain an advantage, while still levelling the playing field noticeably for everyone else).

That would have a far greater long-term effect on the league's competitiveness.

But such moves are not seriously being looked at, and consequently addressing the lack of competitiveness, is obviously not what the playoff system is about. It is about giving one of the 16 other clubs looking in on Europe's biggest competition a better chance of making some big money, as evidenced by the fact all of them were so quick to encourage it.

No doubt every Premier League chairman stands to make some money out of the move, regardless of whether they have a chance of making the top seven. Presumably, every club will be cut into the chunk of money—however large or small—television companies will pay to air those additional playoff games.

In that respect, this proposal is an heir to the infamous “39th game” idea, one that was widely ridiculed but in fact makes much greater commercial and sporting sense than this one.

Indeed, even the fact it will be a revenue-spinner in terms of additional TV revenue is questionable.

Ratings will be good, no doubt about that, but surely not great, when in effect, four teams proven to be less than special over 38 games will then fight it out for the right to another knockout tie, to play another European also-ran for the right to finally, at long last, actually get into the group stage draw.

The convoluted and speculative nature of the prize will make it one that doesn’t demand viewership from fans other than die-hards and fans of those teams involved.

Scudamore should be applauded for his proactive approach, constantly looking at and preparing ways the Premier League can continue to improve and grow. But this is neither the right time (especially as Manchester City look on capable of breaking up the "Big Four' monopoly unaided), nor the right move.

This move, in its current form, will only eventually diminish the value of a lot of regular season Premier League games—not to mention the Champions League itself—and erode the status of the Big Four, for better or worse its strength, ensuring that in the end, revenues only serve to go down.

If this move is designed to delay the advent of a European Super League—one Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and many other knowledgeable commentators believe this is less than ten years away—then it is also wrong.

If anything, it might only accelerate that process, as the elite European teams move to preserve their earning potential at the first sign of a downturn in interest among television companies.

The side-effect on improving the Premier League a sporting spectacle—minimal at best— will never make up for such a loss where it matters most to the league: in the pocket.

As such it, is the wrong solution to only part of the right problem.

Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions

2010-02-15 15:28:38 GMT

Everyone answered my photo question just no predictions and we know how much I love predictions -cries- Squad list for Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid Goalkeeper: Casillas, Adan. Defenders: Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Garay, Marcelo, Albiol. Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Lass, Kaka, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso, Granero. Forwards: Raul, Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema. Lyon play a 4-3-3/4-5-1, so not sure our diamond shaped formation would work this game. We will probably switch back to 4-2-2-2. We're going to have to be extremely on our game, they have very good players upfront. They don't have to be playing well to hurt us, they got big strong strikers and pacey wingers. And not to mention, goddam Cissokho!! We need to be at the top of our game.

L'Equipe.fr Actu Sport

2010-02-15 09:52:00 GMT

Le président de l'Olympique Lyonnais, Jean-Michel Aulas, s'insurge lundi contre l'inflation des effectifs des clubs,...

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blogsportcenter — 2010-02-15 11:48:22 GMT

Mardi soir, l'Olympique Lyonnais affrontera pour la quinzime fois de son histoire un club espagnol en coupe d'Europe. Si le bilan est catastrophique face au FC Barcelone, l'OL est toujours invaincu face au Real Madrid. Un bon motif d'espoir quelques ... Lyon : Retour de Makoun face au Real La suite... ( more... )BONUS Opmerkelijk minikoeien verhaal Hongaarse …

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Cyrielle Renault — 2010-02-14 10:01:46 GMT

Nelson Panciatici, ancien pilote GP2, pilotera cette saison une voiture du Lotus Racing Junior Team dans la Formule Renault 3.5 des World Series by Renault. L’écurie Lotus fait son grand retour cette année dans l’univers du sport automobile. Présent en F1, l’équipe possèdera un Team Junior en World Series by Renault.

Le pilote français a connu une saison 2009 difficile. Il a participé au championnat GP2, ne marquant aucun point. Il a également participé au championnat Superleague Formula et malheureusement la voiture de l’Olympique Lyonnais n’a pas brillé sur la piste.
Nelson retourne à nouveau les World Series après un passage notamment en 2007. Le pilotes est talentueux, alors espérons que cette année il soit souvent sur le podium comme lors de son passage en F3 Espagnole en 2008.
Pour découvrir le pilote n’hésitez pas à visiter son site Nelson Panciatici

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-13 22:15:18 GMT

Les Gones were not at their best, but they still managed to do just enough to beat les Sang et Or at Stade Gerland...

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Admin — 2010-02-13 00:07:24 GMT

Hey Guys! My new video is done. I hope you like it. Ignore Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema Kaka Real Madrid 2009 2010 , Ronaldo real madrid 2009 , Benzema real madrid 2009 , France Vs Autriche 14 10 2009 , France Vs Austria 14 10 2009 , Brasil v Venezuela 14/10/2009 , England Belarus 14 10 2009 , Uruguay Vs Argentina 14/10/2009 , Peru Bolivia 2009 , Italia Vs Chypre 14 10 2009 , Bosnia Spana 14 10 2009 , Uruguay Vs Argentina 15 10 2009 , Lille Rennes 17 10 2009 , Nancy Marseille 17 10 2009 , Auxerre Bordeaux 17 10 2009 , Aston Villa vs Chelsea 17 10 2009 , Sunderland vs Liverpool FC 17 10 2009 , Juventus Turin - Fiorentina 17 10 2009 , SC Fribourg vs Bayern Munich 17 10 2009 , Hambourg SV Bayer Leverkusen 17/10/2009 , Monaco Vs Lens 18 10 2009 , Toulouse Paris SG 18 10 2009 , Wigan Athletic Manchester City 2009 , Milan AC vsas Rome 18 10 2009 , Fulham Vs Hull City 19 10 2009 , FC Barcelone Vs Rubin Kazan 20 10 2009 , Liverpool FC Vs Lyon 20 10 2009 , Liverpool Lyon 2009 , AZ Alkmaar Vs Arsenal 20/10/2009 , 10 2009 , France Autriche 2009 , France Austria 3-1 14/10/2009 -0 0-1 0-2 0-3 0-4 0-5 0-6 0-7 0-8 0-9 -10 1-0 2-0 3-0 4-0 5-0 6-0 7-0 8-0 9-0 10-0 1-1 2-1 3-1 4-1 5-1 6-1 7-1 8-1 9-1 10-1 1-2 2-2 3-2 4-2 5-2 6-2 7-2 8-2 9-2 10-2 1-3 2-3 3-3 4-3 5-3 6-3 7-3 8-3 9-3 10-3 1-4 2-4 3-4 4-4 5-4 6-4 7-4 8-4 9-4 10-4 1-5 2-5 3-5 4-5 5-5 6-5 7-5 8-5 9-5 10-5 1-6 2-6 3-6 4-6 5-6 6-6 7-6 8-6 9-6 10-6 1-7 2-7 3-7 4-7 5-7 6-7 7-7 8-7 9-7 10-7 0-1 0-2 0-3 0-4 1-1 2-2 2-1 1-2 1-3 3-1 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)Ronaldinho(AC Milan)Cristiano United),Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), John Terry (Chelsea) (Barcelona), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Wayne Rooney (Machester United), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), David Villa (Valencia). The players featured in this video play for countries: Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Wales.Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Bolton, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic. Ronaldinho Gaucho SHOW MEN R10 manchester united, sporting lisbon, portugal, english premier league, skills, goals, rabona hocus pocus, sent off rooney, world cup, CR7, CR17, amazing goal, joga bonito, champions league, carling cup league cup, fa cup, skillz, freekick, penalty, bbc motd, skysports, setanta sports, itv sport, nike vapor, rooney, Cristiano ronaldo, tevez, giggs, scholes, alex ferguson, pfa player of the year, pfa young player of the year Cristiano ronaldo Arsenal, chelsea liverpool bolton, aston villa, birmingham, derby, newcastle, portsmouth reading, tottenham spurs, sporting, rome as roma, ac milan, barcelona, fulham, Middlesbrough, everton, wigan, sunderland, west ham, manchester city, blackburn, rome roma as milan barcelona,champions league, premier league ronaldinho, messi, nani, henry, bojan, adebayor, fabregas, torres, flamini, clichy, evra, vidic, ferdinand, brown, neville, carrick, anderson, scholes, giggs,Arsenal, chelsea Liga BBVA 2008-2009 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Numancia Sevilla Valencia Getafe Almeria Espanyol Athelic de Bilbao Atletico de Madrid Betis Racing Sporting de Gijon Mallorca Recreativo de Huelva Villarreal Osasuna Deportivo de la Coruña Valladolidbojan, adebayor, fabregas, torres, Juventus 1-1 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Maccabi Haifa FC 0-3 FC Bayern München vfl Wolfsburg 3-1 PFC CSKA Moskva Besiktas JK 0-1 Manchester United FC FC Zürich 2-5 Real Madrid CF Olympique de Marseille 1-2 AC Milan Chelsea FC 1-0 FC Porto Club Atlético de Madrid 0-0 APOEL FC Liverpool FC vs Debreceni VSC Olympique Lyonnais vs ACF Fiorentina FC Internazionale Milano vs FC Barcelona UEFA Champions League 16/09/2009 FC Sevilla FC vs FC Unirea Urziceni Olympiacos FC vs AZ Alkmaar R. Standard de Liège vs 20:45 Arsenal FC 29-30/09/2009 20-21/10/2009 03-04/11/2009 24-25/11/2009 08-09/12/2009 16-17/23-24/02/2010 09-10/16-17/03/2010 30-31/03/2010 06-07/04/2010 20-21/04/2010 27-28/04/2010 22/05/2010

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2010-02-08 19:39:11 GMT

Portekiz'in Futebol Finance adlı internet sitesinin yaptığı araştırmada, Galatasaray ve Fenerbahçe'nin internet siteleri yıllık ziyaretçi sayısına göre en çok ilgi gören 20 site arasında yer aldı.

Futbol kulüplerinin resmi internet sitelerinin yıllık ziyaretçi sayısını araştıran Futebol Finance, en çok ziyaret edilen futbol kulubü sitesinin yılda 452.7 milyon ziyaretçi ile Manchester United'a ait olduğunu bildirdi. İngiliz kulübün sadece resmi internet sitesinden sağladığı yıllık gelirin 65 milyon Euro olduğu ve internet sitesinin Arapça, Çince, Japonca ve Korece versiyonlarının bulunduğu belirtildi. Yapılan araştırmada Galatasaray'ın resmi internet sitesi 16,7 milyon ziyaretçi ile 6. sırayı alırken, Fenerbahçe'nin resmi internet sitesi ise 12.3 milyon ziyaretçi ile 11. sırada yer alıyor. En çok ziyaret edilen 20 resmi futbol kulübü sitesi şunlar: 1. Manchester United - 452.7 milyon 2. Real Madrid - 271.6 milyon 3. Arsenal - 205.6 milyon 4. Bayern Munich - 27.8 milyon 5. Liverpool FC - 23.7 milyon 7. Olympique Marseille - 16.1 milyon 8. Internazionale - 15.4 milyon 9. Rangers FC - 14.5 milyon 10. FC Barcelona - 14.3 milyon 12. AC Milan - 12.5 milyon 13. Chelsea FC - 11.3 milyon 14. Aston Villa - 11.1 milyon 15. Borussia Dortmund - 6.3 milyon 16. Corinthians - 6.1 milyon 17. Olympique Lyonnais - 5.9 milyon 18. Paris SG - 5.7 milyon 19. Juventus - 5.5 milyon 20. Manchester City - 5.2 milyon DHA

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-08 15:08:17 GMT

Les Gones are not angling for Championnat leaders Bordeaux at present, instead setting their sights on the more attainable goal of breaking into the top three once again...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-05 10:08:20 GMT

Not content with his options in the centre of the park, Puel is poised for his club to make a change, potentially spending big on the Portuguese star...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-04 10:15:27 GMT

Les Gones and les Phoceens both face uphill battles to qualify for Europeâ€™s elite competition, but will they both make it? Goal.comâ€™s Robin Bairner investigates...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-02-02 12:57:21 GMT

Consigned to stay with le Gym for the remainder of the campaign, the former Olympique Lyonnais youth is not displeased with the turn of events...

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-02-01 06:15:10 GMT

En grande difficulté durant plus d’une heure, l’Olympique Lyonnais est parvenu à retourner une situation mal embarquée face au PSG (2-1). Pour l’entraîneur rhodanien Claude Puel, cette victoire peut faire office de déclic pour la suite de la saison.

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-01-29 16:28:16 GMT

It seems that Arsenal will miss their target as Remy appears likely to stay in France, probably moving back to his old hunting ground in the summer...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-01-29 15:56:18 GMT

Despite increasing rumours in the press, OLâ€™s general manager has moved to state that there will likely be no more signings at Stade Gerland this winter...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-01-29 10:42:15 GMT

â€˜Domâ€™ could be in line for a return to Stade Gerland, where he spent eight years as a player and four as a coach...

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-01-28 12:20:17 GMT

OL will try to draw the positives from their quarter-final defeat to les Merlus, whose coach was delighted his side battled fatigue successfully to progress...

Sport24 - Toute l'actualite

2010-01-28 09:20:05 GMT

Claude Puel évoque des décisions arbitrales contraires qui ne facilitent pas les matches de l'Olympique Lyonnais ces derniers temps.

Le Monde.fr : à la Une

2010-01-27 18:44:21 GMT

Eliminé en Coupe de France, distancé en championnat, l'Olympique lyonnais a vu la possibilité de remporter un trophée s'éloigner encore un peu plus.

Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News

2010-01-27 11:05:15 GMT

The Gunners are not aiming to sign the young French forward, but OL would not turn their former youth player down...

Football news, match reports and fixtures | guardian.co.uk

Matt Scott — 2010-01-26 00:10:01 GMT

• United members shocked at ticket telemarketing
• Declining interest believed to be behind move

Manchester United members were shocked on answering their telephones last week to hear a pitch from terribly polite sales teams trying to get them to buy Premier League match tickets.

One fan told Digger yesterday: "I was very surprised to have them phone me. I've never received one phone call from United trying to sell me tickets, never in my life before."

It comes to something when United are pushing general-sale tickets so hard. But Old Trafford, like almost all Premier League clubs, has suffered from a decline in interest this season in executive tickets too.

One prominent Manchester businessman, who holds more than a dozen hospitality seats said: "From the start of the season I've had emails for almost every game asking me if I want more tickets, including the Liverpool match. Now they're saying we can get seats at last year's prices if we renew by February. That sounds to me as though they're desperate for cash. I am not renewing my seats next season: I refuse to subsidise the Glazers' debt any longer."

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust, which held a demonstration around Saturday's Hull City game, debated boycotting the match. Although it did not carry through the threat, Must's chairman, Duncan Drasdo, noted the official attendance of 73,993 – which reflects tickets sold, but not seats occupied. "I have never seen gaps in the stands like that before," said Drasdo.

Could it be fans' patience has snapped? Not so, says a spokesman for United, who put the lack of ticket sales and cold-calling by sales staff down to thousands of tickets being returned when the fixture was rearranged from a midweek date.

Own-goal over bonds

Those faithful investors who supported Manchester United's bond issue by purchasing the securities already have cause to kick themselves. The market was so unimpressed at the yield price that United took a hit when they released the bonds, trading them not at £1 a piece but at 98.1p. Yet even this discount, which raised the yield from the 8.75% advertised to 8.9% (because the income is fixed, when you pay a lower purchase price it yields proportionally more), was not enough for investors. Since then they have been trading at a further discount – between 96p and 97p yesterday – equivalent to about 9.06%. Phil Milburn, high-yield specialist at the fund manager Aegon, said: "If the bonds started to yield 10% on the investment price I'd then be interested. There's just too much debt there." But then what is the other word they have in the bond market for the high-yield (over 9%) variety? Junk.

Duffen slopes off

The anticipated appearance of the eformer Hull City executive chairman, Paul Duffen, on Gabby Logan's Five Live sports discussion panel yesterday would have taken proper chutzpah. How many people would be brazen enough to appear on a national radio station three days after being accused in court by their former employer of taking bungs? Yet only last Friday Duffen's name was still very much on Logan's list, with the agreement that he would make an on-air statement about his legal affairs. So why the no-show? It was all my fault, says his agent, Keith Bishop, who apparently overlooked the fact that every year his client goes skiing at this time "for his wife's birthday".

A major Olympic hurdle

The proposal by Karren Brady to rename her new club West Ham Olympic met the inevitable backlash from supporters. But that is not why her idea for a change of names will fail, though fail it surely will. Although clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille exist, a senior International Olympic Committee source yesterday explained that these are a never-to-be-repeated accident of history. Now there are strict rules, enforced by the national Olympic committees under the Olympic charter, fiercely protecting the IOC's intellectual property rights to its trademarked name. "We have contracts to eliminate the spread of teams calling themselves Olympic," said the source.

Matt Scott

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

L'Equipe.fr Actu Sport

2010-01-25 18:45:00 GMT

L'Olympique Lyonnais a annoncé, lundi soir, avoir trouvé un accord avec le milieu de terrain de vingt ans Maxime...

pul.se results for Olympique Lyonnais

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Own-goal over bonds

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