Teams can always switch players around. Player fitness is really just self-serving nonsense by clubs that do well to pressure the rest of the league to do what they want.

Carabao cup has been away to spread money across the league. Really it’s ever expanding European and International football that is the cause of more games.

It’s an improbable counterfactual… PL became successful because it had entertaining games & narrative, good competition, strong domestic demand that could be monetized and all the benefits of being English in an English speaking world.

That’s cheaper than premier league now in a way but PL was on NBC & NBCSN when it was included in most cable packages before peacock came along and ESPN+ was an add on not many brought before it started getting bundled with Disney/Hulu