Keep those lovely mails coming in to theeditor@football365.com…
Football Supernova
If I were to look back at what might have been a ‘golden age’ in English football, it would have to be the ’60s. The ’60’s were a magical time in general in London. People seemed genuinely happy, Thatcher hadn’t happened, the wage cap was lifted on players, and football hooliganism was rare to non-existent. We saw a Scottish club become the first British team to lift the European Cup, with a team who grew up within miles of the club. Soon after we saw what was the beginning of the celebrity player, George Best, and English Galacticos in a Man Utd team that lifted the European Cup with Best, Law and Charlton in the team.
The difference between a First and Second Division team was minimal, with many promoted teams challenging for the league title and many winning a season or two after promotion.
Rock concerts were aplenty and pretty cheap, as were football matches.
Today, concerts and football matches are very expensive. In fact, all live entertainment is expensive. ‘Back in the day’ there were few live events broadcast out to the world. You had to go and see it for yourself. That was what live meant. Today, with the myriad of ways to watch an event – TVs, PCs, Tablets and Mobile Phones – and pretty much access to anyone, anywhere, broadcasters have to pay more for a decreasing stock of quality entertainment. It requires scale to win at this game. Huge scale. It brings in enough revenues, over time, to cover the massive outlay required to keep the pundits paying. Until at some point the massive scale wins and kills off the competition so you can finally make some money.
Meanwhile, while everyone complains it costs more to watch a live activity – either stupidly high event tickets or an ongoing monthly fee – said people all have the latest in information technology, constantly swapping out and upgrading technology, eating out, using something like Uber Eats when eating in, etc. Its not good vs bad but where people are willing to spend their money.
That is where we are at with Football. At some point it will hit a wall in what funds are available to support the game. Already sponsorships and broadcast revenues exceed ticket revenues. If it didn’t, the game would have certainly been dead with no fans in the stadia. For now, it is being managed through expansion to a wider worldwide audience. While people in the traditional western countries decry the lack of well paying jobs and the outsourcing of work to ‘cheaper’ countries, those countries’ standard of living is gradually increasing. Over time, they will have more discretionary spend that will fuel this growth. But we will finally hit a wall.
In the interim, the question becomes how competitive we want the EPL teams to be? Which country blinks first? As soon as one country puts in place rules and regulations to minimize the ability of their clubs to increase funding, that league will quickly fall away. It will become less attractive worldwide and to broadcasters and sponsors. It will wither.
Who is going to put in smart, effective regulations that will keep the sport competitive – locally and globally? It certainly won’t be this government that can’t manage itself – and only offers the occasional pompous statements. The FA? Hardly. It has had review after review in an attempt to reform its governance to be more reflective of the people involved in the game. It has been institutionally misogynistic and racist. It is getting better but still has a long way to go. Again, an organization that can’t manage itself is hardly capable of suddenly becoming a wise regulator. Finally the EPL itself. The EPL is only an entity to enhance the welfare of its current members. There are only 6 who have been members since day 1 – the Top 6 less City plus Everton. What is considered a strength of football, demotion/promotion, is also its achilles heel. Teams will not agree to anything that might impact a team’s ability to stay in the very lucrative EPL. While the idea of the US franchise system is horrid to these shores, it does make for better cooperation among owners. We are not going that route, so we are left with a dysfunctional management model that makes it impossible to come to any decisions for the ‘greater good’ lest it impact them in the long run. Hence the push by some last season to vote down neutral stadia in the hope the league would be null and void. Not the EPLs finest moment. UEFA or FIFA? Don’t think we want to go down that rathole.
So we are left in what looks like an inevitable football supernova. Football will earn and spend more and more until finally it implodes.
Enjoy the champagne supernova (in memory of City getting to the final) while you can.
Paul McDevitt
Johnny Nic: Premier League stance is laughable and grotesque
Grouping fans
I was discussing this with a friend and decided to take the plunge and actually email F365 so I can test it out
Football fans in my mind fall into 3 groups
Group A
These fans regularly attend football matches. Their love of football and their teams are tightly linked to the experience of being at games. They consider themselves not just as fans but a community that is woven into the fabric of the clubs they support.
Group B
These fans mostly watch games via television and are passionate in their love of the clubs they follow. They don’t often have any link to the community the clubs exist in but care greatly nonetheless about their idea of a clubs identity or tradition
Group C
This is the untapped global market that the modern owners of PL teams recognise as the best opportunity for financial growth. Billions of people worldwide that may pay to PL or European football if it is marketed and branded effectively.
Now group A has been suffering for many years. Football is increasingly expensive to attend and the TV companies give little or no thought to impacting fans attending games when they schedule fixtures for live TV. Furthermore the development of VAR was fuelled by ever increasing TV coverage and the desires of group B with little concern given to the impact on the enjoyment of those that attend games.
Now it seems to me that group A and B are jointly outraged by owners moving attentions to group C. Although this is an inevitable next step to maximise profits.
But when we talk about uniting fans and taking a stand etc I wonder if group A and B really want the same things?
How about a return to 3pm sat kick off for most games and a cap on ticket prices? It would lead to fewer games on sky and less money in the game but I would argue would be popular in group A. Or is the cry for the status quo just group B wanting to keep the game as it is, allow their big teams to use money to dominate the league and have it all available to watch on TV?
I’m interested if anyone else sees it in a similar way? Or am I just stoking up an old argument of supporters vs fans etc
Tim, London
…To Akshay Varma (One of those Asian fans ruining the game) a few days ago and many others. I am very glad for the globalisation of the game and for the noodle and tractor sponsorships that Ed Woodward was able to negotiate.
I am grateful for the oil billionaires and Sheik dollars and shady businessmen that seemingly don’t care about football but just want to make lots of money at the expense of their clubs. The Glazers may have taken lots of money out of the club but the only team outspending them on the pitch is Man City so they’re not exactly ruining the clubs chances of competing.
I started watching footy on the telly and tuning in to radio a few years before SAF took over at united. That was painful. SAFs first game was a 2-0 defeat to mighty Oxford Utd. Utds previous manager, Big Ron Atkinson, had apparently taken the players out on the piss as a last goodbye a couple of days before the match. Fergie’s first job was to rid the club of its drinking culture.
Before the premier league turned up, the top flight of the English league was mainly made up of British players with the odd import. The premier league brought money which allowed clubs to buy good players from abroad. Foreign players and managers that raised the bar in areas such as health, training and tactics. As clubs got more money that is no doubt when the businessmen saw their opportunity. While they undoubtedly profited, can you really say that the Premier League hasn’t got better with it? Can you really say clubs haven’t got better? Promoted clubs are now spending 20 to 30 million pounds on single players when they used to have to make do with what they had. Instead of teams being labelled as selling clubs they can now afford to buy big and also keep top talent. The top half of the premier league are arguably the best in the world bar one from Germany, 2 from Spain and one from France. It seems the only reason there isn’t an English champions league winner almost every year is because we have several quality teams at the top rather than 1 or 2 that take all the trophies and get further separated from the pack.
I’d rather have a league where players are paid a fortune to make sure they are in peak shape the whole time and live like monks (OK, probably not like monks but I bet many of them don’t even know what a donner kebab is) just so we can see some of the best players in the world every week than get rid of all these businessmen who know nothing about football and go back to footballers having a few pints the night before a game and many more after a win. If that’s what you’re looking for then go support non-league. Or darts. You can probably even join your favourite players in the pub after the game. Or during.
Yes, money can make sports worse in some areas as sponsors need their pound of flesh they’ve paid for but overall it improves it immeasurably.
Jon, Cape Town (Man Utd are better with Pogba but would be even better IF they could successfully spend the proceeds from selling him. That’s a very very very big IF)
Blue is the colour
It is usually at this point I write a short review on our most recent game, quite calm and make some points.
Today is NOT the day for that, GET IN! CHELSEA ARE HEADING TO ISTANBUL!!
Cannot believe how a Thomas Tuchel has transformed this side since coming in, two cup finals and a team that looks like it is living up to the potential we knew it had, we would never be in this position under Frank, sad to say, but it is a fact!
Mikey, CFC
…Under Tuchel this Chelsea team have gone from being unreliable at best, to extremely good. When our forwards click, and they will, we’re going to be absolutely f*cking terrifying.
Stef, London
Cech in
Smash-cut to Saturday, 19 May 2012 Champions League Final at the Allianz Arena. Chelsea and Bayern are playing overtime.
Didier Drogba, who had just tied the game with his best header ever, needlessly trips Robben in the penalty area.
Ref blows the whistle and awards the penalty kick to a Bayern eager to settle the matter. Deadly Arje Robben steps up with purpose, to bring the cup home.
All seems lost. But wait! Petr Cech pulls the save of life to set Chelsea on the path to immortality.
That must have been his single most important career contribution to the club.
But a close second is putting Edouard Mendy between Chelsea’s posts, whose save to Benzema’s shot at the right post was quasi-identical to his own heroics nine years prior.
Both came at critical junctions of the game; both went in Chelsea’s favor.
Twice well done, Petr Cech!
Also:
Thibaut and Eden: glad you’ve been visiting us! “A la próxima vez ” as you say in Madrid.
Yes, we are gloating. No, we are not ashamed. You can focus on the Primera now.
Radu Tomescu, Taipei, Taiwan (at least until we get invaded…are you yokels paying any attention?)
Frank’s Wednesday night
Somewhere in London, sits Frank Lampard. Television on mute. Glass in hand. Curtains drawn. Sitting on his favourite chair, he stares vacantly at the scenes on the screen and thinks. Am I happy, Or am I gutted. How am I meant to feel? What is this? I took that job too early didnt I. It was always going to be there for me. If I just, waited. Took my time. Then he thinks. Oh, it’s bin day tomorrow. And leaves his chair. Television, still on mute.
Luke (to much time on me hands) Dublin
Three out of four ain’t bad
I apologise in advance for Arsenal spoiling the chance of a full house of English European finalists.
Adonis Stevenson, AFC
Real Madrid saved a drubbing
Real Madrid should be thankful they lost against Chelsea. Had they won by a fluke and progressed to the final, Man City would have absolutely destroyed them.
Have to say I’m kind of gutted that’s not going to happen now as I thought Chelsea were close to Arsenal’ing that one!
Kroenke out,
Kiarian
F365 Says: Chelsea fitter, faster, stronger and just far better than weary Madrid
Real mad
Hello Mr. Tickner, I get it. Every English media outlet must be wan*ing themselves over the delicious click fest that is on the cards from now till the all English CL final. You gotta pay the bills.
But as a journalist, you also have a responsibility to be fair and balanced in your assessment.
After every single time Liverpool draw or lose, the media mentions the number of injuries endlessly. Real Madrid have been hit worse by injuries and yet managed to stay in the league title hunt and reached the CL semi finals. For Liverpool, you kept telling us about the many changes to the backline, midfield combinations etc. Why not for Real Madrid?
And the narrative is that Chelsea were younger and faster while Real Madrid were slow and ageing? That’s your analysis?
Credit where it’s due. Chelsea were amazing across both legs and if Real Madrid nicked it somehow it would feel like injustice. Thomas Tuchel is a great coach and hopefully he will now get the recognition he deserves outside of the clubs he managed.
Ashish S (Here’s something for people who only care about EPL. Tuchel reached and lost a CL final last season. Now if he manages to win the final this season and wins the league next season, which seems possible, would you consider him better than Klopp?)
Hazard warning
Aye, it’s not like Eden Hazard (or any of the players on opposing teams for that matter) was simply delighted to be catching up with pals and getting a rare opportunity to see how they are keeping after a year in which isolation has been in play to some degree for everyone.
Finlay x
Worst CL final
Didn’t care about the victor of the Madrid-Chelski game but now I find myself fiercely supporting Chelski. And though both clubs are basically run by oligarchs and dirty money, I’m hoping that City don’t clinch it. Doesn’t make sense, I should be not caring about the final at all; both finalists are flushed with cash, don’t really need the ESL money and will continue to outgun their rivals on transfers but maybe it’s the thought of the club who should have been banned from the competition (FFP); winning it would just feel wrong on so many levels… or that on a level field, City are our closet rivals and the despair on them would be the only good thing about football this season as a Liverpool fan.
Never realised that I disliked City this much.
Mihir. LFC. (Sour grapes)
Glazers are good?
It’s been so wonderful to see who the ‘right way to protest’ football fans are. It’s always nice when people let you know who they are so you know who not to waste your time with.
The ones who think the moaning is out of order though well, what the hell people? Have you not been living through this pandemic? Have you not seen how this system has been created keep you down and out and is completely terrible for everyone besides billionaires? How did you get so well trained that you think ‘it’s good for business’ is a good argument that supersedes everything else?
How dare anyone stand up and say we don’t want this. It’s pointless and useless, that’s not how the world works! Which – that’s exactly what people are protesting- the way the world works, the way football is run – it’s all made up and it’s all made up to suit a certain section of people. To tell people to get back in your cage because nothing you say or do is going to change it and just enjoy the scraps your capitalist overlords deem you’ve earned because that’s how the world works just shows how the indoctrination has worked. You can’t say you don’t like something because you don’t have a viable alternative to how it should work – what kind of logic is that? I need to have a workable alternative solution to justify criticising something that’s evidently bad for the majority of people? It’s bewildering to me how people, if they are not wealthy white men, can proudly and vociferously clamour for things to remain as they are and for everyone else to just shut up and go with it. That particular class of people are the only ones who have constantly and consistently benefited from anything, throughout history.
What do you mean are the Glazers so bad? What drives a person to take time out of their day to write actual words making a case for billionaires to continue fleecing people to become even richer? Weird. Sure they siphon money from your club but it’s legal so what’s your problem? I’m glad Capitalism and the Law has been treating you so well. There are a lot of things that are legal- doesn’t mean we have to like it or go along with it or not ask for it to be changed. Seeing people pay themselves 20 MILLION POUNDS of United fans money every year, doesn’t make you feel ill? If your only reaction is to admire their cleverness in how they did this, well, that’s telling, and we’ll never see eye to eye on what’s valuable in life. After they loaded debt onto the club, they’ve been leeching money from the club – they’ve done absolutely nothing FOR the club. The club doesn’t need them at all or another billionaire – it’s making money and the only reason it’s in debt is because of the greedy Glazers and Ed Woodward.(Please don’t come back with Ed is some kind of marketing genius because whatever, Manchester United as a brand is not a hard sell, even by any stretch of any delusional imagination)
Staying off the radar has been a strategy as much as anything else they’ve done to continue the leeching because they know they’re irredeemably unpopular with the fans; which is what extremely wealthy corporations and families can do – tire you out and wait you out because they have the means to do it to make the protesting over the years feel pointless. Seizing the opportunity now, to make their voices heard against this wall of silence was wonderfully done by the United fans. It’s deserving of praise. That well-worn establishment propaganda tactic of making certain things the conversation instead of the issues being protested is not going to work, not even if they get Ole to come out and say it. There’s no dividing and conquering here. The message is clear.
I am not Mancunian, I’m not even English. I’m a South African United fan and I get that.
I can understand and empathise with the issues because they’ve been clearly laid out by United fans from the beginning; and in the past week there has been lots of easy to understand coverage. Anyone who doesn’t understand the problem is choosing to stay wilfully ignorant. It is also just being callous to the fans wanting the Glazers out and wanting a more equitably run club that benefits the club and the community it was created by and is based in. Just because things are the way they are doesn’t mean they have to stay this way.
If you lack the imagination to conceive of a world not run by the Capitalists then, sorry, is all I can say. I’m sorry that they took the dreamer out of you. We could all use more hope and encouragement in this world. Everyone should be able to dream of a better world for themselves and others; and if your message and words in this moment is to snatch hope and a dream from others then get some therapy and sort yourself out, because we want a different, better world and no amount of get back in line is going to change that.
Prabashni
…How is this hard to understand? The Glazers spent next to nothing on buying Manchester United, loaded several million pounds of debt on the club and have not got rid of that debt in 15 years.
They have spent nothing on players in that time. “B-b-b-but Rob, they’ve spent loads on Pogba and-“ – No, they’ve let the club spend some of its own money, less than they have taken for themselves.
Poor choice of managers is absolutely on them and we know they bought players Mourinho didn’t want and refused some he did. They didn’t get the players Solskjaer wanted last summer and then gobbed off about their transfer prowess.
No-one else’s owners take money out of their clubs and override their managers’ choices.
How is this hard to understand?
Rob, London
Sudeikis in
The Glazer family should just go all in and hire Jason Sudeikis as the next manager of their soccer team.
Niallio, Dublin
How does my tinfoil hat look?
I don’t often wear a tinfoil hat, but when I do, I wear it proudly. So here is my conspiracy theory…
The reason United still have 500 million debt, is because the Glazers have a deal with Morgan Chase (or whatever bank funded them) to keep the debt (and thus the debt repayments) perpetual, in some kind of blatant daylight robbery scam.
And the FA may be in on it.
Ole Ole Ole!
Red Devil’s Advocate
F365 Says: The battle is on to avoid the Europa Conference League
Date with the Devils
Are they actually serious with the new date for the Liverpool game.
I know there will be lots of people blaming the protestors and that’s completely fair but 4 games in 7 days seems dangerous as much as anything else
I don’t really care anymore if we get tonked in every game but surely they have a duty of care to the players
Why couldn’t they have moved one of the matches to the FA cup final weekend?
This is just more reasons to stop following football on top of the crap that’s already come from the sinister 6 this year
Leon
…Isn’t it ironic that Utd fans protesting against owners for not putting matters on the pitch first have simply succeeding in stuffing up football matters on the pitch.
Now utd have to play Roma on Thursday in Rome, Villa on Sunday, Leicester Tuesday and then the scousers on Thursday. 4 games in 8 days.
It’s a good job Roma is pretty much a done deal although I doubt Ole is taking anything for granted plus their new manager will add a lot of spice to the fixture with utd probably not keen to lose even this leg – this game now means more. Also, if Utd drop a few points in the league across 3 tough fixtures it puts second in jeopardy and gives the haters lots of ammo to criticise Ole again. Good pressure to have to test where we are compared to a similar period last year where we held firm in the league but lost a couple of semis.
I hope Ole uses it as an opportunity to use his squad, particularly against Leicester so we can tackle the Liverpool game with our best XI. We need to sprinkle the promising kids against Villa and Leicester with Donny and Mata getting more game time to give the others a bit of a break.
Looking forward to see how these games go as long as the protestors don’t fuck it up again.
Jon, Cape Town (in the interests of covid regulations could protestors please protest safely at home and break their own shit)
PSG’s pearl-clutchers
What with one thing and another, only just caught up on the Man City v PSG result and discussions.
My alternative to certain headlines is: ” Professional sportsmen who regularly use foul and abusive language, as evidenced by the microphones during fan-less matches, cry when the person in charge tells them to get on with their job using the same vernacular.”
Professionalism is an honourable trait. Apply it to yourself first before complaining about the ref.
More refs should tell these whiny, shithouses to eff off and get on with it.
And no skin in the game, so if he had seen Fernandinho’s fouling he should have been told in no uncertain terms too.
Clearly, they’ve never played Sunday league football or club cricket. Then they’d be really be clutching their pearls if they are that sensitive. Which they are not.
Not sure why it annoys me so much, but there you go…
Stu, N Yorks
Fickle365
I’m in a bit of disbelief at how F365 have picked their TOTS. 2 weeks ago they most certainly would not have had Walker in their team and would have probably picked Cancelo. Foden is a weird inclusion too. He’s had a class season but he’s only started 15 games. Grealish is surely the standout LW and if not him then Son definitely gets in. If they were doing their TOTS a week or two ago there would definitely be a lot of changes. Even if PSG knocked them out I’d imagine some players would have been excluded. I mean I love this City team and I think Foden is world class but Grealish and Son have quite clearly had better seasons.
Dion
Arsenal and Arteta
For someone who is leading Arsenal to an awful Premier league campaign, Arteta has exceptional PR. A catalogue of subpar performances which are explained by the media as a change in “culture” or “character”. When that fails, it is to blame the players who refused a pay cut (rightly so) and say Arsenal “have a Mesut Ozil problem”, “Aubameyang is not a leader” or “insert another player name”. It is always the players fault.
We rightly criticized Mourinho for Spurs consistently average performances. Keeping men behind the ball and relying on one or two players to bail the team out. Why not Arteta? The majority of Arsenal matches feel like they will end in 1-1 draw. Little margin for error and limited ambition to get a result. It is an eyesore.
Arsenal have lost seven PL matches at home. They won 15 and drew two in Wenger’s last season. They have scored 19 goals in 17 matches at the Emirates in which they have been scoreless in eight of them. In 17-18, Arsenal scored 54 goals at home, ten more than Arteta has managed in the whole damn season!
Regardless of the Europa league outcome, there’s absolutely no way Arteta should be Arsenal manager next season. In 18-19, Sarri finished 3rd and won the Europa for Chelsea. The best non City and Liverpool side in the PL for the last three seasons. He was sacked. Why shouldn’t Arteta suffer the same fate?
Al
What is a club?
An organization constituted to play matches in a particular sport.
You take the money on the gate, from sponsors, or however you can. All of said money is re-invested into upkeep, wages, maintenance and maybe occasionally the odd transfer splurge.
A club is by definition not (and should not be) a profit-making business concern.
Cos brackets (thanks spurs 1983 for spursieng this all up)
Dave 1982
RIP, Alan McLoughlin
For those of us who remember qualifying for the 94 World cup in America, there may be some mixed memories. The Koeman chip when he should have been sent off minutes before (even though the Dutch should have been ahead with a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside), a penalty hitting the crossbar or even just giving the ball away and conceding a last minute goal. However, if you ask any Republic of Ireland fan who watched, they can pretty much tell you where they were when Alan McLoughlin scored against Northern Ireland.
He gave us one of the best moments we ever had with our football team, probably only behind the penalty shootout against Romania back in 1990.
So thanks for the memories Alan, may you rest in peace.
Michael (I’m not crying writing this, I swear) Dixon
Police safety
This is in response to your mailbox letter from Alex, South London. He states early on that it is “wrong” to think police officers have a right to be safe at work. As a serving police officer, I wonder what I am supposed to feel about that remarkable pronouncent? I had thought the Nuremburg Trials, the United Nations, the European Convention on Human Rights and several centuries of common law had covered the right to life fairly comprehensively but maybe Alex knows something the rest of us dont? A face with a slash requires, in my experience, exactly the same medical treatment as a slashed face. Presumably a stripper in police fancy dress is fair game as well Alex eh?
MIM
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