In a way now I kinda want this to happen:</font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Back in the 1960s here in America, for American football, we had the NFL and the AFL. The NFL was the big dog while the AFL was the "2nd Division". Only 1 team from the AFL managed to get the same average crowd as the whole NFL.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Eventually the NFL and AFL merged into one league. Thus the NFL absorbed the AFL teams and thus have since created a better product (richest and best average attendance in all of sports).</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">So for India I would want this to happen, where JSW make Bangalore City FC while in the IMG-League we get Bangalore United. Eventually we also get the other IMG leagues (Delhi Wanderers, Chennai Rangers, Kerala Klaus Meine's) and then eventually we see a merger between the I-League and IMG-League (We all know that we will not continue both these leagues forever) and we can see a Super I-League with the current teams and the teams from IMG all in one mega league.</font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><i>A boy can dream.</i></font></div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">
Will I-league teams last that long to be a part of 'SI-league' ? Don't think so.
</font><br><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Probably not. If IMG get their way then the I-League may be relegated to feeder league till its slow death is achieved. I am guessing the smaller, less supported teams like Mumbai FC, Sporting Goa, Rangdajied United, and Prayag United would leave or disband while Pune FC, JSW, Mumbai Tigers, and Shillong Lajong would die off later as they do have the financial means or support to continue for a season or two. The rest would either disband or leave to the regional leagues along the way.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">That is at least how I see it in reality because if IMG does become this great thing then fans will just watch that. Indian football is not popular enough for two top-tier leagues. The average person (AKA the majority of fans) will watch one league at most and then dedicate themselves to some Euro club. This would then leave I-League with no sponsors or TV money (if that ever does happen) which would leave club owners no incentive to fund a team for unless they are really charitable and don't mind losing crores upon crores every season.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">Yep, life is a cold hard bioch.</font></div>
<h1 class="detail-title" style="outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 24px; color: rgb(31, 87, 165); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Will football follow the IPL way?</h1><div><br></div><div><span style="color: rgb(59, 58, 57); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Football to be played the IPL way? Well the answer will be known after the AIFF meeting in New Delhi on June 27. But if IMG and Reliance are given their way, Indian football could see a massive overhaul with the ‘big guns’ of the English and European football parading their skills on Indian soil.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(59, 58, 57); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></span></div><div><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/will-football-follow-the-ipl-way/article4831063.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/will-football-follow-the-ipl-way/article4831063.ece</a></div>;
Hm, unlike the other articles I have read in support of this league, this guy is not talking bull****. <div><br></div><div>His first page (basically a rip at the I-League) is very accurate and true. The I-League has not really taken off at all in the big giant that is India. Most matches are in empty grounds with no support. Basically he is saying that we have failed at establishing any kind of real footballing culture in India and I agree with him 100%.</div><div><br></div><div>However, I disagree with many of his points regarding the IMG-League. The way he says the pros of the league reminds me of the people who go on the MLS forums and support promotion/relegation in MLS and believe that it would magically make the US a super power and automatically get soccer huge support here and clubs can live a magic dream of staring at the bottom and rising to the top. Sorry, lets get a reality check in here. </div><div><br></div><div>First off, you can not just take a bunch of youngsters with international stars. Even if their star power is only as big as Sebastian Squillaci. I know that money can get you stars like Henry and Del Pirlo these days but they still wan't to play with good quality players, not a bunch of amateurs. Also unlike the IPL for cricket, the IPL for football will not make the Indian domestic players become known stars in India or marketable entities. I can relate this to places like United States, China, Australia etc. Why is it that in America, the top NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA players are household names but not MLS players? Because they are the best in their sport in the whole world while the MLS players are not. Same with the IPL cricket in India. They are the best in the world. Sadly that will not be true for the IPL football. </div><div><br></div><div>And finally the infrastructure and youth academies. It won't magically just appear. These things take a lot of money and a lot of work outside of football just to get going. We probably see the stadiums appear till 2016 at the earliest if they actually do happen.</div><div><br></div><div>Overall, good piece, not a waste of time like the rest but still not realistic.</div>
dnt believe them first they had said they signed Ishfaq, Samir, Clifford <div>and look at these players now already signed for the club </div><div>Sanju Pradhan was linked to Mumbai Tigers </div><div><br></div><div>and Bhaichung Bhutia have influence few United Sikkim players to join IMG</div><div><b>sandesh Jhingan was offered contract by Dempo he refused it and joined IMG (you can tell here that Bhaichung have brainwashed him) </b></div>
<br><br>Very bad decision from Sandesh, he has such a promising future with the NT don't know how playing 3 month league will help his cause.<br>
Comments
</font><br><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Probably not. If IMG get their way then the I-League may be relegated to feeder league till its slow death is achieved. I am guessing the smaller, less supported teams like Mumbai FC, Sporting Goa, Rangdajied United, and Prayag United would leave or disband while Pune FC, JSW, Mumbai Tigers, and Shillong Lajong would die off later as they do have the financial means or support to continue for a season or two. The rest would either disband or leave to the regional leagues along the way.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">That is at least how I see it in reality because if IMG does become this great thing then fans will just watch that. Indian football is not popular enough for two top-tier leagues. The average person (AKA the majority of fans) will watch one league at most and then dedicate themselves to some Euro club. This would then leave I-League with no sponsors or TV money (if that ever does happen) which would leave club owners no incentive to fund a team for unless they are really charitable and don't mind losing crores upon crores every season.</font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">Yep, life is a cold hard bioch.</font></div>
http://feverpitch.in/SiteWeb/Newsdesc.aspx?SID=824E4691-5478-4262-B2F7-EE7389BE6087
<br><br>Very bad decision from Sandesh, he has such a promising future with the NT don't know how playing 3 month league will help his cause.<br>