As an attendee of 1000+ Fulham games, I'm obviously thrilled you've considered us prime candidates for relocation. TV demands already sometimes require a Monday evening trip to Middlesborough, so this is only a logical extension, I agree. The additional cost of Virgin Atlantic versus British Rail is surprisingly modest and the superior shopping opportunities (at $2 to the £1!!), well they clinch it. Two problems only. 1) Statistics rule in modern football (and Americans adore them) so who should be termed , for example, New York Fulham's historically most valuable player? Johnny Haynes, captain of England and the sport's first £100-a-week practitioner wowed them four time-zones away. Inconvenient. (But I guess £100 wouldn't make the cut.) 2) Opposition from the green lobby -- but solved by making matches Sky-studio based, beamed to stadia screens. Or just virtual, conceptual events with the Fink Tank deciding the score based on past form. Terrific! Fulham have never lost in New York!

Peter H., London, England

Americans can already see as many live games as they like each season.

All they have to do, is jump in a plane to arrive in the British city of their choice. If they plan it, they might even get to see Two Games durring their stay...

Wurzel , Brisbane ,

What a rubbish idea. As a fan of football for many many years, along with many friends and family members who also attend games regularly you are depriving supporters of going to the games, albeit one a season. With season tickets costing hundreds of pounds how would a fan then afford the additional significant cost of going to a game in say New York?
It is not all about finance and global audiences. If they want to watch our games let them come to Fulham, Derby or Bolton and watch us, and let the fans who have supported their teams and paid to watch them for years keep watching them.
There is also an obvious advantage/disadvantage to playing a game on neutral ground. If that game was crucial the team who missed out on home advantage would be rightly miffed.
I think if you surveyed the average fan, season ticket holder of a club that they have supported, and given a lot to, they would agree with me. The grass roots fans need to be bourne the most in mind and thus rewarded.

M E D, Leeds, W Yorks

Bad Idea as like any other situation where a team is no resident in the same nation as their opponents, eventually people will lose interest.

What happens when New York decides they no longer are interested, or when they win the league and cannot represent the EPL in the CL??

As for playing Premiership games abroad, it is a silly idea. Do Man U want to play Liverpool in Thailand? No lose home advantage in biggest game of season and their season tickets holders will go nuts.

Do Newcastle want to play Sunderland in Australia? No they would not want their players playing in that time zone a week before another EPL game in London to which they have to travel on the Friday

Do Aresnal want to play Chelsea in New York? Of course not they have millions of punds tied up in the Emeriates Staduim, they have merchadising, and pre sold boxes each week to think about

Overall bad idea!!

colin_afc, San Diego, USA

Gabriele,

Sorry for posting here, but it wouldn't let me post on the podcast page.

I normally enjoy listening to (and reading) your opinion's on football matters. However, your off-the-cuff remark about Canada in this week's podcast has touched a nerve. In reference to their ability to host a World Cup you said the country was "too cold and no one lives there".

I think 30 million Canadian nobodys would disagree... and please let me introduce you to the concept of "Summer". We recently hosted the World's second largest football tournament, the FIFA U20 World Youth Championship, and set an overall attendance record in the process. I think you'll find that the average temperature in July or "summer" is a balmy 25 to 30 degrees.

Then again, I suppose you are just being like every other English based media person and completely blanked this event.

Martin Rose, London, United Kingdom

I cannot think of anything worse for those fans who travel home and away supporting their team. Make no mistake, the sole reason for justifying such a move is for increased money -which would end up in the pockets of players, managers and adminstrators who are increasingly divorced from those who support the clubs, making many sacrifices in doing so.

It is these fans who have made the clubs what they are. It is these fans who have provided the wealth of these clubs to go out and lavish huge transfer fees and wages on players.

Therefore, I believe it would be criminal to start shifting fixtures abroad to satisfy some sort of flakey global market.

Richard, London,

This is stupid, what you are proposing is a to base an ENGLISH Premier League team in the US. What makes it English anymore, if the teams are not in England? This is very different to what the NFL want to do, which is also stupid. Also, what if the team get relegated into a lower division. All the sudden, clubs like Wolves who do not have nearly enough money are forced to fly out every other week to go play a match. No, you CANNOT just cross that bridge when you get to it. The EPL is ours, if the Americans want to watch real football, let them start to take it more seriously and build up their own MLS.

After all the debate about Rangers and Celtic joining the EPL, you think that it would be feasible to have a team based in America.

Mihir Asser, London, England

Jason -
Just to be clear on this, it's not "my idea". It's a possible scenario ( and not one i would necessarily welcome).
The Champions' League is a money-spinner, but only because of TV. If a New York team did qualify, you could still find a way. For example, you might arrange their domestic schedule so they would have back-to-back away Premiership games in Europe (so t hey could stay over all week) when they had an away tie.
Kickoff times in Europe would be an issue, but they're already an issue for Russian clubs. You'd have to find a compromise.
If they get relegated, so what? Realistically, a team like that would not go down. But, hey, let's cross that bridge when we get to it.

Gabriele Marcotti, London, England

A large part of my enjoyment in watching PL action on this side is the spectacle of it all. We've nothing like your fans, your noise, or your intensity. There is just no good reason to take a game away from your fans.


Please just keep it there and we'll watch it on BBCAmerica.

Jos. Schmitt, Erie, PA/USA

An PL presence in America ...
(1) It would have to be part of an expanded "Atlantic" League, which would have to include Glasgow's Old Firm and at least three or four East Coast US cities, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. That's doable.
(2) It would have to allot for relegation. Also doable; IF you have an 18-team Elite Division.
(3) The domestic cups are of no concern since the Scottish and American clubs would be members of neither of the FA or the Football League, and could play in their own domestic cups.
(4) The Stumbling Block is: I don't see how it works unless the USA is admitted into UEFA, and I don't even know that I want that to happen. Countries CAN change continents; vide Australia and Isreal. But the Land o' Coca Cola would never get to a World Cup Final out of UEFA, even if all the best Americans played in the PL...
(5) ... unless, of course, the USA became the Permament Host of the (newly revised 36-, 40-, 48-team) World Cup Final.

Art Durbano, Springfield, PA, USA

Bizarre idea. As is the notion that Europeans are going to attend the games of an English club. Europe is not a country, and I don't see any reason for a Greek or Italian or French fan to go and watch an EPL team instead of watch their own clubs on TV.

Also, what about UEFA? And its competitions. Hmmm, you missed that one. In Europe, the Champions League is the money spinner and no US-based team can compete in that, logistically, not unless they station a first XI in Europe, but that defeats the idea of a quality product in the US.

Lastly, to take your proposal seriously, what about the fact that this team could be relegated? They would then be extinct, or have to relocate to England.

I tried to take your ideas seriously, but the only sane development that would make a discernible impact in the right direction is if the air journey decreased markedly due to new flight technology, and you sort of failed to miss that salient addition to your speculation.

jason kennedy, antigua, guatemala

An excellent idea that I have been boring the pants off my friends for years about.
My variation on Gabriel's idea is to play perhaps 2 or 3 games per season between the largest Premiership teams in countries/regions where the game is really developing, particularly SE Asia and China. The fans there love the English game, know all the players involved and would love the opportunity to see the teams up close and personal in a competitive match. Of course expect the naysayers to to have their word, but this concepts time will come.

Ali MacKenzie, Bangkok, Thailand