Gareth Barry from Aston Villa:

And last but not the least, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn FC:

Hot bods aside, there's a reason why the Barclays Premier League England's top flight club football league) is the world's most lucrative football league with combined club revenues of around 1.5 billion POUNDS last year alone. The reason is simple: More people watch and follow the BPL than any other football and for that matter sporting league in the world! A clash between bitter old rivals Manchester United and Liverpool can draw about 500 million viewers in Asia alone. And that is just one match! Needless to say, the Barclays Premier League is especially popular here in Asia, where it's the most widely distributed sports show.

Critics of the BPL's popularity maintain that it takes away attention from local leagues in Asia. Technically these critics are right. How many people you know get all fanatical over...Tampines Rovers? Or Home United? Mention Manchester United or Liverpool to these people and their eyes instantly light up. But one can't really blame these fans. The standard of the Premier League is second to none because it attracts the best players from all over the world with the kind of money the clubs can pay.

And football as a sport is so huge partly because, compared to other sports like basketball, goals are hard to come by so when one is scored, there's a huge response from the fans that lends a climatic feel to the atmosphere. Also, anyone can play football (as long as you've got a ball really)! It's got an wide appeal and has been known to bring people of all ages, races and classes together.

Another reason that the Barclays Premier League in particular is so popular is because England is the home of football. The English clubs have lots of tradition, years and years of history and let's face it much better standard of play. In addiition, in places like Singapore, there is a natural relationship with England because of the history of the 2 countries so its more likely that football fans who speak english would be drawn to it rather than Italy's Serie A or Spain's La Liga though both are also popular. PLUS the English bookmakers will take bets on anything to do with football which appeals to many of the gamblers in singapore too, and if you want to get more technical some people say La Liga has better players etc but the fact that 3 of the last 4 in last season's champions league suggests that the best teams are from england and people in Asia want to watch the best. 

So to answer the topic this week, the Barclays Premier League is football that is most exciting, most addictive and most wonderful because of its high standard of skill, its passionate fans, and the fact that it brings people together due to its worldwide popularity. 

Sigh I'm a football addict.