10 things football can learn from the NFL

By Steve Anglesey in Mirror Football Blog

Published 13:36 23/10/09

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American football returns to Wembley this weekend (this time, thankfully, it doesn't matter if they wreck the pitch) when New England play Tampa Bay in another sold-out NFL game.

With Liverpool v United and West Ham v Arsenal occupying the attention on Sunday, for once the usual gaggle of football stars and administrators will be absent from what looks like an easy win for the Patriots against the Glazer family's abysmal Buccaneers.

A shame as our football could learn plenty from the Yanks' brand... like these 10 NFL innovations we'd like to see in the Premier League.

1) Referees explaining their decisions

Whenever the game is stopped for a free kick, why doesn't the referee let the crowd know via microphone exactly what the infraction was? Not everyone in a stadium knows the official signals, or has the eyesight to read them.

Would be especially useful for penalties and disallowed goals, helping to build respect between officials and supporters. Wouldn't hold up the game.

2) The Salary Cap

Since the 1994 introduction of the NFL salary cap , 11 different teams have won the Super Bowl. In the same time period, only four different clubs have won the Premier League title.

A level playing field in terms of cash would shake off the dominance of the big four, giving ordinary clubs the chance to win without courting a sugar daddy sheikh. This used to happen all the time in English football - between 1960 and '74, 10 different clubs won the old Division One. It could happen again.

3) Open press access to players

Unlike the spineless Premier League, the NFL does not allow coaches to ban certain media organisations or players to consistently blank reporters. Instead, journos get decent access during the week and in dressing rooms after a game, building up an atmosphere of mutual respect which serves fans far better than the uneasy truce which occurs in football.

When have you ever heard of an NFL player claiming to have been "stitched up", misquoted or misrepresented by a headline?

4) Instant replay

There's no denying that instituting a system of two NFL-style coach's challenges per game , which are then checked by an official using pitchside screens, would add a few minutes to the 90. But isn't that worth it to see ghost goals, beachballs, incorrect penalty decisions and unfair dismissals all eradicated?

Michel Platini's belief that instant replay should not be used because the rules of the game must be the same at all levels is naive and misguided. Hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds can rest on a decision that relegates one club or promotes another. Not using the best available technology is a willful dereliction of duty.

And, most importantly, wouldn't you love to see Fergie jumping up and down in a rage before throwing his little red duster at a linesman?

5) More charity programmes

Congratulations to the Premier League, the PFA and individuals like Rio Ferdinand and Craig Bellamy for the recent upsurge of player-backed charities doing important work in the inner cities and abroad. But this huge 2008 list of NFL player-backed foundations shows how much higher the bar could be raised.

Some NFL clubs make it mandatory for their players to start, or get involved with, a local charity. There's is no earthly reason why the multi-millionaires of the Premier League shouldn't be made to do similar, allowing them to reconnect with the people who actually pay their wages while simultaneously working to improve the public perception of 'greedy, selfish' footballers.

6) The Game Clock

Adding an American-style game clock, controlled by an official in the stands and stopped only for major incidents (injuries, penalties, goal celebrations) would free up referees to actually do their jobs and would prevent a recurrence of the recent Manchester derby farce which saw Martin Atkinson find just four minutes of stoppages in 45 minutes of second half normal time but over three minutes more in the subsequent four minutes of stoppage time.

7) Revenue sharing between clubs

The NFL splits gate, merchandise and TV revenues equally among all 32 teams, allowing sides with small fanbases like the Minnesota Vikings (a good tip to be Super Bowl champions this year despite being worth less than 30 other clubs ) to compete with world-famous franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. Here, the rich continue to get richer - witness Manchester United's refusal this week to enter into a league-wide deal on perimeter advertising which would have benefitted the 19 other Premier League clubs but slightly disadvantaged Old Trafford.

No wonder our game has ended up like American baseball, with a handful of teams able to win by exercising their financial muscle while the rest drift around with no real hope of silverware.

8) The TV season ticket

After 17 years of football on Sky, why is it still not possible to buy a ' TV season ticket ' allowing an armchair fan to watch every league game played by, say, Everton? Again, some model of revenue sharing or a salary cap would have to come into play to help competition, but the old argument that supporters would simply stay at home is disproved by consistently full Premier League stadia when any halfwit with a PC can watch his team play in his front room each Saturday afternoon, thanks to the efforts of our chums in China, Italy and Iraq.

9) Beer and snacks at your seat during games

Banning alcohol on the terraces made sense when there WERE terraces. Now, with hooliganism all but eradicated and fans packed tightly in their seats it's time to start treating spectators like adults, and not encouraging them to load up on booze before the match and at half-time.

Why not trial an NFL-style system where fans can bring food and drink to their seats - or have it delivered there? It's virtually impossible to start trouble when you're sitting down watching the game while working on a pint, a jumbo hot-dog and a plate of nachos.

10) Cheerleaders, old-fashioned uniform week and regular-season games played overseas

The final lesson from the NFL - don't do any of these!

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