My prediction for 2011 English Premier League champion? Blackburn Rovers. No sorry, I've changed my mind, make that Birmingham City.

Brief pause for some readers to realise I'm taking the piss.

Of course I don't think Blackburn or Birmingham will win. They have no chance. It's gonna be Chelsea or Manchester United and you can take that to the (Barclay's) bank.

Why? Because that's just what happens in EPL World, a place where only two or three teams can actually win the title.

EPL World is also a fantasy village where there's no salary cap and teams can spiral headlong into debt while spending lots of Euros on some of the world's best players.

And it's a safe haven, where the defending champions can open their 2010/2011 schedule like this:

* Home to promoted team (West Brom)

* Away to team that finished 16th (Wigan)

* Home to team that finished 11th (Stoke City)

* Away to team that finished 17th (West Ham)

* Home to promoted team (Blackpool)

Yep, that's Chelsea's schedule, and unfortunately, things like this have become par for the course in a league that's as hypocritical as it is exciting.

I love my EPL, don't get me wrong. I've watched it for years, I've produced and called games on television, I've seen it live in the UK. It's the best publicised, best marketed league this side of the NFL.

But when you think about how the English Premier League really works, it makes little sense at all.

First of all, not having a salary cap ensures that clubs with a lot of money will always be able to afford better players than clubs that don't have money. Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal - and now Man City - will never be challenged by the likes of West Ham, unless the Hammers are bought out by Middle Eastern or Asian billionaires.

This has set up a situation of "haves" and "have nots" similar to what's happened in Major League baseball, another sport without a salary cap. In baseball, you know the Pirates, Royals and Orioles for instance, will never win their respective divisions. They're the West Broms, Wigans and Blackpools of baseball.

Speaking of Blackpool, in May we were celebrating on BPL their unlikely ascension to the top flight.

Now the odds they'll be instantly relegated are 1/4: from fairy story to Tarantino bloodbath in just two months' time.

Blackpool's rise and probable fall isn't necessarily a negative to the men in charge of the English Premier League. This is an organisation that has three huge positives going for it: great players, a massive worldwide TV deal and tradition.

The first two make perfect sense to me, and go hand-in-hand. It's easy to attract big dollars and market your product worldwide when you've got Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas, Stephen Gerrard and Fernando Torres. EPL games and highlights packages are standard TV fare from Hong Kong to Horsham, and have been for years.

It's the third thing - tradition - that's the most interesting. I understand that these are clubs you are born into and stay with forever. But Manchester United is now owned by an American family that knows more about middle linebackers than midfielders. Liverpool is owned by two Americans who might be selling to Middle Easterners. And Arsenal shares are being gobbled up by yet another American.

But I guess if you're a Liverpool supporter for life than it doesn't matter who owns the team. Unless perhaps, it's an Evertonian.

The bottom line is that I'm like most English Premier League fans. I'm still fired up for the new season. I'm going to play Fantasy EPL and I'm going to hope that Arsene Wenger can somehow find a keeper with two working hands.

However, I still can't help thinking that the EPL model is just a little bit broken and I'd love to see some steps taken to fix it.