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Premier League’s remaining soul is sold off. |
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News -
FFUC
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Saturday, 09 February 2008 00:00 |
The proposals outlined by the Premier League to play competitive matches abroad mark the final notice that football has ceased to run for the benefit of its supporters, and now exists purely as a money generator for those already fabulously rich.
While the FA, Premier league, and government are complicit in creating the environment where the national game has become a method to milk fans wallets, it has taken a new breed of club owner to dare to speak of playing meaningful games abroad.
A breed of owner that was attracted by the FA’s complete failure to act when clubs skirted the rules to allow club directors to make a personal profit from owning a club.
A breed of owner that was courted by the Premier League promise of riches, and chased them at the expense of a nation’s favourite pastime and heritage.
The Glazer’s weren’t the first to say ‘Hey, we’ve always been huge fans of – who have we bought again? Oh yeah, <insert club name here>’ then graft themselves onto our game in this manner, and given today’s developments they won’t be the last.
However, as they encapsulate the sheer greed and ‘so what about the fans’ attitude that now prevails among the game’s owners, it would be interesting to see how incredibly silly some people feel about their childish and pathetically short sighted ‘USA’ chants of 2005 and beyond.
With the likes of Glazer calling the shots, moves such as today’s were inevitable, and we doubt that fans of Liverpool, Villa, city, Arsenal, and all those with Stars and Stripes bought to bait us with will relish not being able to watch their side play decisive games, other than at 3am on satellite from Hong Kong.
Even more sickening is all this was announced less than 24 hours after the overwhelming majority of football fans came together to mourn a team from a time when endeavour, passion, supporters, and pride mattered. It would have come as little surprise given previous announcements that thiss wasn’t tagged onto the end of the Munich service.
The price of this selling off of our game and heritage – not the 20 men sat round a London hotel’s to sell off at all, but anyaway – is £5 million per club. £5 Million. That won’t even buy you a Kieran Richardson, though it will just about get you a James McFadden.
Compare this £5 million, ahem, windfall, to the £2.35 BILLION TV deals negotiated by the Premier League.
The extra £5 million is deemed enough to ride roughshod over the fans wishes, heritage, tradition, and credibility of our league.
It’s the ‘Indecent Proposal’ equivalent of Woody Harrelson letting Steve McQueen bed Demi Moore, his wife, for a tenner.
David Gill has thus far been conspicuous by his silence on this matter, and given his embarrassing performance at the opening of the Munich Tunnel yesterday, some might say that’s just as well.
It’s a fairly safe bet though that Gill and the Glazers will be at the forefront of this plan. The wishes of the fans who made United what they are, and attractive to Glazer in the first place, have been long since proved to mean absolutely nothing to them.
So what if season ticket holders of decades standing won’t be able to see their team play because the game is in the Far East? Glazer has already had all the cash he can get from him after all.
Maybe this is what Bill Foulkes was thinking of when he told Gill to ‘get away, and don’t stand next to me’ at the unveiling of the Munich Tunnel.
Maybe, just maybe, supporters of all teams can set aside rivalries for one minute and unite as yesterday to block these plans.
Maybe supposed working class heroes such as Ferguson, terrace idols like Ashley at Newcastle, and calm heads such as Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough can speak out against it.
While that would be flying in the face of other team officials and managers who have widened the fracture between fans and clubs with their ill thought out comments of the last few days, it's time for people such as those named above to live up to their own image.
Maybe the FA will stop wringing their hands and Barwick or Brooking will actually do something meaningful.
Even Sepp Blatter might have to wake up. A swift expulsion from the Champions League for any teams playing competitive matches abroad would stop it, if he has the nerve.
If the above doesn’t happen, then let it be said that while football has been with us for over 130 years, it took the Premier League, FA, and the Government only 15 to screw it up completely.
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