Mailbag: Tim Howard Loan Deal & Euro Leagues

In the past week, I received many excellent e-mails, two of which I thought I’d share with you. The first is a question and the second is a statement. Feel free to respond to these two points by clicking the ‘comments’ link near the bottom of this article and share your knowledge of the game with the rest of the readers.

Nathan Jacobs:

Financially the Premier League has evolved to a league of tiers, the upper echelon top 4, the second tier and the also rans. I don’t know how I would break all of them down, and hopefully the new money coming in will even the playing field a bit.

However, my question relates more to the other leagues around the world (i.e. Italy Spain Germany and France). Is there as great a bifurcation (to divide into two parts) in income levels and as a result an ability for teams to compete as there is in the UK?

Magnar Berset:

The loan deal for Tim Howard at Everton is not permanent until the end of the season. That contract was written in February but does not count until the end of the season. That is why Howard could not play in the game between the two teams. That is perfectly legal. And it is not up to the clubs if a player on loan can play against the former club. It is FA that came with that rule before this season.

Thanks in advance for sharing your feedback.