[Shane Murray]
Harping on about the influx of money into football and its pernicious effect on competition is somewhat clichéd, but Manchester City signing Robinho in a record-breaking deal is a step too far. Roman Abramovich may have started the process, but at least he took over a club which was already challenging in the league. Manchester City is the perennial underdog of football; its becoming a football superpower just seems wrong, somehow.
The problem is not merely that clubs without prestige, history or fans end up at the top of the tree, but the effect that this purchase will have on the game. Everton chairman Bill Kenwright recently announced that Everton (and thus every club below them) could no longer compete in the Premiership unless a billionaire invested in the club. This will end the Premiership as a meaningful competition for everyone except the Big Five, who will simply jockey for the various European places. Meanwhile everyone else will be aiming to avoid relegation before focusing on winning cups.
Chairmen will have to spend, spend, spend in order to sell tickets and stay on Sky Sports. If you want to know what the result of that will be, ask a Leeds fan. Clubs will be unable to stay on an even financial footing once the super-rich drive up transfer prices and wages. Aston Villa, a club which, unlike Chelsea, Manchester City or Arsenal has actually won the European Cup, has been spending large amounts of money (£9.65m for Ashley Young, £7.8m for Carlos Cuellar), but in a sustainable way. However, this sensible approach will become inimical to success, leaving even the best-supported club in mid-table limbo.
Ultimately the top half of clubs in the Premiership will end up as the playthings of billionaires, while the rest of the league will be taken up by also-rans constantly verging on relegation, administration or both. Arguing that football is a sport, not a business, only ignores these problems. Already Leagues One and Two can be decided pre-season based on which club will have the most points deducted for going into administration. On-pitch action is being over-shadowed by boardroom shenanigans. While Leeds losing 15 points is enjoyable, it’s bad for the sport.
The other downside for anyone who cares about football can be seen at clubs like Chelsea, Newcastle and MK Dons. What makes football the best sport in the world is the connection between the clubs and the community. Liverpudlians care about football because Liverpool Football Club is central to their local identity, unlike, say, Warwickshire County Cricket or Harlequins Rugby, which people might support, but which aren’t part of who they are. Football clubs have given meaning and a sense of belonging to people who feel unwanted and unrepresented in Britain.
Is it any wonder, then that the most vociferous and loyal supporters were from tight-knit but scorned communities, like Irish immigrants in Liverpool and miners in Newcastle? The new breed of billionaire owners will destroy this community spirit and turn the Premiership into something mirroring the National Football League in America, where teams are replaced by ‘franchises’. By callously abandoning Wimbledon’s fans in London to make a quick buck in Milton Keynes, MK Dons have shown us the future. The billionaires clearly could not care less about the interests of the fans and only want to satisfy their own desires to play Championship Manager in the real world. Many of the real Chelsea fans who existed before the Abramovich era have been priced out by rising ticket prices and replaced by the “prawn sandwich brigade”, who, unsurprisingly, fail to turn out in numbers for games against Rosenborg in November. Manchester City fans might be celebrating now, but they won’t be so pleased when they can’t afford to see a UEFA Cup match, let alone buy a season ticket.
Before September 1st, it appeared worryingly possible that English football would end up as a static, dull, money-ruled game detached from the fans and communities that pay for it. After the City takeover, it seemed almost certain. Can football be saved? Luckily, the answer is yes. There are two measures that could be taken by UEFA to prevent football turning into a stage for billionaires to build dream teams. The first is forcing clubs to field a certain number of home-grown players, which would give clubs some connection to their fans and ensure that native players could rise through the ranks instead of being stuck on the bench. Secondly, wages could be capped. Wage inflation is the main reason why several clubs have been forced into administration, and when journeymen like Anton Ferdinand are getting around £50,000 per week it’s clear that valuation is no longer in touch with reality. The main obstacle is that the EU has laws against such labour restrictions. However, it could plausibly be argued that football is an exception because it is neither a business nor part of the free market that the EU seeks to protect. Football fans have a genuine, intelligent ally in the UEFA president, Michel Platini. It only remains to be seen whether he can take the difficult measures required to save football from itself.
