DUBAI: Legendary footballer John Barnes believes that the English football premiership is the world’s best. “This is because it’s the quickest, fastest and most exciting,” said Barnes who was visiting Dubai last week to support the effort of Showtime Arabia’s pay-per-view TV network in promoting the English Premiership in the Middle East and North Africa as the most popular national league on earth.
For the second year in a row, Showtime is showing all 380 EPL matches this season. It has also launched a new sports package, which has a lineup of eight channels and announced the acquisition of the exclusive live broadcast rights to the Portuguese Liga. The League will kick off tomorrow (Aug. 23) on SHOWSPORTS channels with three live and exclusive matches each week starting with the league’s top clubs — FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.
Barnes, who spoke to Arab News at the Burj Al Arab Hotel on the eve of the launch of the 2008-09 EPL, which kicks off tomorrow, said: “I don’t see a change of guard at the top as the English Premier League (EPL) gets set for yet another season.”
The former English star said he saw no major upsets at the top of EPL, but the battle to stay in was engrossing. “The top four (Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United) will pretty much stay the same. No, it is not meaningless to have a competition that sees only a handful battle for the top spot. It happens pretty much in any other league, and that is the reality,” said Barnes who has 84 appearances for Liverpool.
“The excitement is in the football and the nature of the game, and as in the past two or three years, what makes the league exciting is the fight to stay in the EPL,” said Barnes who was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1963. His footballing career started at Watford in 1981. He then spent 10 years at Liverpool, where he helped them to win the FA Cup and two Champions League. A brilliant solo goal against Brazil marked John’s arrival on the international scene and he went on to score 12 goals in 78 appearances for England.
The inspirational Jamaica-born player moved to Newcastle United in the 1997-98 season, boosting their Champions League squad and turning in many impressive performances before ending his Premiership career at Charlton. John linked up with former playing colleague Kenny Dalglish to become head coach at Celtic but is now concentrating on his media career.
“The fight for the top spot has been sort of predictable, but it has not been meaningless. However, the fight at the bottom of the League has been equally engrossing and exciting,” he said.
