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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3><DIV class=mxb><DIV class=sh>Is the Premiership a turn-off? </DIV></DIV></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416>
<DIV class=mvb><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom><DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byl>By Simon Austin </SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</DIV>Former England winger Chris Waddle says a lack of entertainment is turning fans away from Premiership football.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sibStdQuote><DIV class=o>
</DIV><DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV id=q1></DIV>Rooney, Lennon, Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole are the only English players who can run with the ball and beat a man <DIV id=q2></DIV><BR clear=all></DIV></DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=mva>Chris Waddle</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Average attendances are down for 11 of the 20 teams in the league so far this season.
Blackburn dropped their prices to a flat-rate £15 for the 1-0 defeat by Bolton last weekend after seeing their attendances drop by about 20% over the last four seasons.
Waddle, who is a match summariser for BBC Radio Five Live, says he is not surprised.
(Now notice the order)
"Manchester United and Arsenal are the only teams that I'd pay money to watch," he told BBC Sport.
"They are the two most exciting teams in the division and will always get full houses because of the football they play.
"Otherwise, the entertainment value is definitely going downhill. Chelsea have a lot of big-name players who attract crowds but I would not say they are the greatest team in the world to watch.
"They are efficient and professional but they do not get me on the edge of my seat. Liverpool have a similar philosophy - they aim to keep clean sheets and nick goals.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbgf><DIV class=sihf>PREMIERSHIP CASE STUDIES </DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=bull>Blackburn: Average home attendance only 67.1% of capacity this season.</DIV><DIV class=bull>Wigan: Lowest average home attendance in the Premiership this season - 16,965. Down 17.68% from 2004/5.</DIV><DIV class=bull>Man City: Average attendance 40,294, down from 46,834 in first season at Eastlands.</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"People have talked about Reading playing entertaining football this season but they are where they are through hard work and organisation.
"It costs a fortune to go and watch Premiership football and fans want to be entertained. Most of them are not getting that.
"The Premiership is not the best league in the world. The Spanish league is the best in Europe by far."
The average Premiership attendance fell every season from 2001/2 to 2004/5.
Six years ago it was 35,464. Last season it had dropped to 33,875.
That figure has risen to 34,084 so far this season, but the increase is almost solely down to Manchester United increasing their capacity from 68,174 to 75,828 and Arsenal moving to the Emirates Stadium, which has over 20,000 more seats than their former home at Highbury.
Waddle, who won 62 caps for England, say
<DIV class=mvb><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom><DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byl>By Simon Austin </SPAN></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</DIV>Former England winger Chris Waddle says a lack of entertainment is turning fans away from Premiership football.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sibStdQuote><DIV class=o> </DIV><DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV id=q1></DIV>Rooney, Lennon, Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole are the only English players who can run with the ball and beat a man <DIV id=q2></DIV><BR clear=all></DIV></DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=mva>Chris Waddle</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Average attendances are down for 11 of the 20 teams in the league so far this season. Blackburn dropped their prices to a flat-rate £15 for the 1-0 defeat by Bolton last weekend after seeing their attendances drop by about 20% over the last four seasons.
Waddle, who is a match summariser for BBC Radio Five Live, says he is not surprised.
(Now notice the order)
"Manchester United and Arsenal are the only teams that I'd pay money to watch," he told BBC Sport.
"They are the two most exciting teams in the division and will always get full houses because of the football they play.
"Otherwise, the entertainment value is definitely going downhill. Chelsea have a lot of big-name players who attract crowds but I would not say they are the greatest team in the world to watch.
"They are efficient and professional but they do not get me on the edge of my seat. Liverpool have a similar philosophy - they aim to keep clean sheets and nick goals.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sibtbgf><DIV class=sihf>PREMIERSHIP CASE STUDIES </DIV><DIV class=mva><DIV class=bull>Blackburn: Average home attendance only 67.1% of capacity this season.</DIV><DIV class=bull>Wigan: Lowest average home attendance in the Premiership this season - 16,965. Down 17.68% from 2004/5.</DIV><DIV class=bull>Man City: Average attendance 40,294, down from 46,834 in first season at Eastlands.</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"People have talked about Reading playing entertaining football this season but they are where they are through hard work and organisation.
"It costs a fortune to go and watch Premiership football and fans want to be entertained. Most of them are not getting that.
"The Premiership is not the best league in the world. The Spanish league is the best in Europe by far."
The average Premiership attendance fell every season from 2001/2 to 2004/5.
Six years ago it was 35,464. Last season it had dropped to 33,875.
That figure has risen to 34,084 so far this season, but the increase is almost solely down to Manchester United increasing their capacity from 68,174 to 75,828 and Arsenal moving to the Emirates Stadium, which has over 20,000 more seats than their former home at Highbury.
Waddle, who won 62 caps for England, say
Although Chris Waddle was a great exponent of the 'dipping of the hip and the shrugging of the shoulder' and left rueful expressions on the faces of the many opponents he left in his wake...Chris sometimes still makes errors. How he could every put BoyU in the company of the GUNNERS theEPL entertainers and only EPL exponent of the 'beautiful game' is one of his greatest errors. 
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