European Super League - How to get it completely wrong

 I've no idea what the combined book value of the clubs who announced the founding of the European Super League was, but it is tens of millions. The turnover of the clubs is huge, all are global businesses and revenue from turnstiles is now no longer the main income for the clubs. Ever rising TV rights, merchandising, business sponsorship and image rights are an ever rising percentage of the balance sheet. 

When I read that the ESL founders had a guaranteed place for 23 years, I had a look back at the league tables from 1998. In that year ESL founder member Manchester City had just been relegated to the third tier of English football. Blackburn Rovers, now languishing in the Championship were a top six club. Spurs haven't won a league title in the intervening years and are miles off a Champions League place were in the club, whereas Leicester, who are top four currently and who have, were not invited. Although I am biased, the only English club to have qualified for the Champions League for the last ten years is Manchester City. As a fan, I am proud of this achievement, but should they get it wrong and finish mid table, as Arsenal will, I would feel embarrassed seeing them qualify for anything. 

Yesterday Pep Guardiola stated that if you don't have to win, it isn't Sport. One can only wonder what words were said behind closed doors. Manchester City employ Pep Guardiola as he's the best manager in the world and that is the only real way to ensure success (get a good manager and back them to the hilt). If there is less competetion, it won't be long before the bean counters start to query whether a club like City really needs such people. There has been much criticism of Manchester City's millions. The amount the owners have put in to 'buy success' is roughly equivalent to the money taken out of Manchester United in 'dividends' for the owners. United is run as a business by a bunch of American businessmen, with no real love of English football. Their approach has meant that United have failed to mount a serious challenge for the league title for nearly ten years. There is a feeling that players are sometimes bought for non footballing reasons or as short term fixes. This season, they are mounting the nearest thing to a serious challeng for the title since they last one in 2012 under Sir Alex Ferguson. A cynic may say that this is as much to do with the implosion of Liverpool as a masterplan coming together. Unless Manchester City suffer a similar implosion, they will end up as runners up, creditable but not what the fans would expect. It is a classic example of what happens when cash is king in sport. 

I mention this, purely to demonstrate what happens when a club is run purely to keep greedy owners bank balances topped up. These are the people who thought up the European Super League. I am sure that teams of accountants produced glowing forcasts of projected profits from global audiences, all of which would moisten the juices of the moneymen. What puzzles me is that whilst they got all of the forcasts to show such a compelling case, not one of these people gave a thought to the PR effect this would have.

I've been involved in countless launches of various things over the years and perhaps the most important aspect of any launch is planning the PR campaign. Whilst I understand that with something like this, secrecy was vital to those putting it together, there are plenty of product launches, where PR firms keep far more sensitive things secret. This has been an unmitigated disaster. Not one club or official of the new league has been able to give a single compelling reason why a genuine fan (or legacy fan as we are now known) will benefit. For a well run club like Manchester City, the fans would  expect the club to participate in the tournament on a regular, if not annual basis. For the fans of a less successful club (in recent times) such as Spurs, do they really want to be in a tournament which they don't deserve to be in, will have no incentive to improve to stay in and may end up just being cannon fodder? It is interesting that City and Chelsea were first to break ranks and ditch the idea, as these have been the two most successful clubs of the last decade and the clubs least likely to need automatic entry. They also have owners who are more committed to success than profits. 

One has to assume that there was an assumption, clearly wrong, that the fans of these clubs would think "Wow, we will be guaranteed great football every year, what is not to like?". This may be true for armchair TV fans, who don't go to games and don't really get it and have fluid loyalties, but for the fans who actually stand on the terraces, they are far less wrapped up in the concept of success than many of the money men realise. I have friends my age who are Man Utd fans. They consider the fact that they stuck with the team when they were relegated in 1974 as a badge of honour. They recognise that the achievements of Sir Alex Ferguson were demonstrably special as there had been a long list of managers before him who failed to win the league, going back to the day Sir Matt Busby left. 

Many of us recall Nottingham Forest winning the European Cup under Brian Clough. That created a huge amount of interest in Football. Clough exemplified the pre Premiership era of English domination. Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa more or less monopolised the trophy. Sadly the holliganism of the era put paid to this golden age. I can remember people saying that the only way to stop football violence was fences and bans. In fact, it was the Taylor report that really sorted it out. Taylor made football address its worst aspects, the current success is based on a perception that it is a family sport. Whilst the truth is that on the terraces you still hear words the Vicar wouldn't say, you don't expect to get your head kicked in. Stadiums are all seated and safe. There is a move back to 'safe standing' but this won't be like the old swaying crowds on the terraces. This is the foundation of the current success of football and has nothing to do with the FA. It is telling that it took an outsider such as Taylor to put football back on its feet. 

Football has the greatest product of any spectator sport. The negatives have largely been addressed, the experience of going to a match is special, be it in the Premiership or in the ninth tier (both of which I do regularly). Anyone owning a club is the custodian of that club and it's traditions. They owe a huge debt to the loyal fans. It is true that fans really don't know what they want. They want to watch great players, giving their all, week in and week outm, who engage with them. They want to be safe on the terraces, but not totally insulated and sanitised from the banter that makes being in a crowd fun. They want  a pie and a pint to be served quickly at half time. Most would love to be able to take a pint of warm beer with them to their seat and if they did, most would behave impeccably. Most fans will pay the TV subscriptions and recognise that the cost supports the infrastructure that makes it all possible. But if you said to a fan "We've set up a system where your team is guaranteed a trophy every year" most would laugh at you. I don't know any fans who enjoy watching the dead rubbers in the Champions League qualifiers. The first thing I thought when I head about the ESL was "Oh no, more dead rubbers". If no one can be relegated and only one team can win, by half way through the season, half of the games would be irrelevant. 

My second team, Hadley FC, of the Essex Senior League are on a record breaking run in the FA Vase. I watched the game on a stream on Saturday with 47 other viewers. The commentary was done by a couple of amatuer Sutton Common Rovers fans, one of whom turned up at half time as he'd missed the bus. The other hadn't got a clue who the players were. I enjoyed it more than the sterile match between Chelsea and Manchester City, which had the most appalling first half of any match I've seen. I've always said I'd watch a three legged dog kick a ball around Watling Park if there was nothing else on. The bottom line is that for  'Legacy fans' like me, football is a curse. I'd go along with whatever, as I need my fix. But the excitement that got me hooked is diminishing all of the time. If these greedy businessmen really wanted to think about the future of the sport long term, they would be moving to make it genuinely more competetive and open. One of the things that makes ties between English clubs and the likes of Real and Barcelona so special is that they don't happen all of the time. Intense rivalries only happen because of geopgraphy or success. The only reason why a Real vs Man City game would ever become a classic would be because both teams had a long period of success,where they viewed each other as bitter rivals. The bottom line is that with a sixteen club Super League there will only be three or four genuinely competetive clubs. That is the Achilies heel of the proposal. I can't believe that so many rich people, controlling so much of our favourite sport, could miss that and get it so wrong. 

Football - why my love affair with the game is on life support

 Ok, the headline is an exaggeration. I will always love Football. I will always love the club I support, Manchester City (unless they cease to be Manchester City and the franchise moves). But I have never felt more disilllusioned with the club, the top echelon of the game, the owners of clubs. As a City fan born in 1962, I saw my fair share of relegations. I've been at the ground for a couple of them. When they dropped down to the Third tier, I thought it was one of the most depressing days of my life. But not for a second did I think "Maybe I'll support United or Arsenal instead". I just felt sick, drew the curtains and waited for the challenge of a new season. And when that season came, it was difficult. I remember playing York City, with 3,000 City fans there, giving the opposition a huge cash bonus. It seems ironic now, but I remember being on the terraces at Fulham. I was sitting with Big Dave Watson's nephew, who'd got me a ticket (he worked as an engineer at the studio). Mohammed Al-Fayed was the owner of Fulham and they were taunting City with chants of "We've got loads of cash". Fayed had invested heavily, whilst City had more or less stuck with the team that got relegated. The home crowds at City in the third tier were higher than the previous season in the second tier, but the campaign was not the instant, easy promotion City fans expected. They ended up in a play off final. 

I took my eight year old nephew, who wasn't quite sure whether to follow my lead and support City or my brothers and support United. I explained that United was an easy gig, you had trophies, you had amazing players, you had glittering European ties. But with City you got something different, something better. You got a perspective on life that would prepare you for anything. You may never see them win a trophy, but that didn't matter. When you were on the terrace at the Kippax, or at Fulham on a freezing cold day in winter, you'd get genuine excitement. The lows would hurt and ruin your weekend, but the highs, few and far between, would be so much more delectable than for a United fan, who would consider a season where the FA cup was the sole trophy to be a failure. Success for fans in football is like being a heroin addict. There comes a point where you don't enjoy the hit of success, but it stops you feeling down, which you do, even when things are relatively good. 

At 89 minutes into the game, Gillingham were 2-0 up. The Gallagher brothers from Oasis had flounced out of the stadium. I am not sure what was going through my nephew's head, but I suspect it wasn't "This is great". I just kept telling him "Keep the faith". In the 90th minute, Kevin Horlock scored. It seemed too little, too late. Then the injury time was announced. There would be another six minutes. In the fifth minute, Paul Dickov equalised. The Gallaghers, half way down the old Wembley way, started to sprint back. 

It seemed inevitable that City would prevail in injury time. Gillingham were devastated, but no. They rallied. The match went to penalties. Unsurprisingly, Horlock scored. Gillingham missed their first penalty. We relaxed. Up stepped the hero of the 95th minute, Paul Dickov. He missed. The Gills scored. It seemed like City were destined to put a dagger through our hearts. But they slotted away the next two and when Nicky Weaver saved Butters penalty, City were back. My nephew now knew what supporting City meant. United won the treble, but nothing could compare to what we'd seen. 

I dreamed that maybe City would eventually get back into the Premiership and maybe win the League cup, possibly occasionally beating United, to allow me to wind my brother up. Little did I dream that within ten years, the petro dollars would arrive. I never saw the Agueroooooooooo moment coming. That was another game that put us through the mill. Against QPR, sat with my 10 year old son. QPR on their way to relegation, City just needing a home win. Zabaleta scores in the first half. It all looks so easy. The Rangers score 2. Yet again, it goes to the wire. Fergie and Man Utd are celebrating after their win at Sunderland. The noisy neighbours have been silenced. But then Edin Dzecko equalises and as Fergie waves to the fans, the ultimate maverick Ballotelli to pokes a ball to Aguero, City score and take the title. Fergie, hearing the groans, realises what has happened. He stops waving. As a City fan, that scene was almost as good as Aguero's goal. Those two moments will forever be remembered. 

But as any primary school RE teacher will tell you, when you sell your soul, there is a debt to pay. It seems that the debt is being collected today. The 'Big Six' have decided to shaft the rest of English football. The bottom line is that City have become everything I depised United for being when they set up the Premiership, with other greedy top level clubs. 

On Saturday, I watched two games. Just as I introduced my nephew to City, three years ago he returned the favour and introduced me to Hadley FC. The oldest football club in the Borough of Barnet and my nearest proper non league club, being based in Brickfield Lane, opposite the Gate pub. They are currently in the Essex Senior League. To my amusement, when I started going, my wife thought that meant they were a bunch of old codgers. I found a few old mates from School were fans, it has been great to catch up. I bought a season ticket, this meant I could get a local fix of footie, when I wasn't making the Pilgrimmage to Manchester. I've always loved lower league football. My Dad sponsored Edgware Town in the 1960's through his business. In the 1980's and early 1990's I didn't watch much football as I used to play for Hendon Old boys in the ASA on a Saturday. In the mid 1990's I started to go again, watching Barnet FC at Underhill and being a guest Wrexham fan when they played in London, as one of my best friends was a supporter. 

When Barnet moved from Underhill, I found it strangely underwhelming and lost interest. Hadley re-ignited this. This season, they are on a record breaking run in the FA Vase. Their match was live streamed from Sutton on Saturday. I paid a fiver to watch this before the the City vs Chelsea cup semi. Due to Prince Phillip's funeral, the times were moved, so I only caught the first half and 10 minutes of the second. It was a superb game. Both teams committed and trying to play football. I switched over when City started, with Hadley at 1-1, having just scored a penalty before the break.

1-1 @hadleyfc pen - Come on you Bricks pic.twitter.com/xUlleVZOSc

— Roger Tichborne/RogT🔸 (@Barneteye) April 17, 2021

They went on to win 1-3 and continue the run.

Lovin this @hadleyfc https://t.co/RL2x5zy9nY

— Roger Tichborne/RogT🔸 (@Barneteye) April 18, 2021

 I wished I hadn't. Hadley got £1,000 for winning and a couple of hundred quid from the streaming fees. That probably paid for a minute of one of the City players time. They were awful in the first half, disinterested and lazy. It was only in the second half, when local lad Phil Foden came on that there was any spark. I can take lazy, lack lustre performances in cup semi's, God knows I've seen some awful games, but to follow this by supporting the ESL proposal has strained me to almost breaking point.

I know that I will be at Hadley when fans are allowed back in. I know I will always be a City fan. But I do not feel the same. I have often wondered what would have happened if Dickov hadn't scored. In a sliding doors world, City would still be yo-yo'ing around the divisions. Someone else would be one of the big six. I'd be ranting and railing against it on this very blog. But it is not the fault of the fans. None of us want it. In truth, this moment has been coming for decades. What happens next is what matters. If Football moves to a franchise, no relegation, no promotion ESL, then I think it will end up declining in the UK. We love the underdogs. We loved it when Wimbledon beat Liverpool. When Wigan beat City a few years back in the FA Cup, my feelings were tempered by the feeling that at least the loyal Wigan fans had a day they will remember of ever. Like the Leicester story, it showed there was some heart left in football. Today feels like the day that heart has been ripped out. 

The soul of Manchester City isn't dead, it will never die whilst people who were at Wembley for the Play Off win over Gillingham are still around. People who expected Aguero to ballon that over the bar. I just hope that football see's sense and moves away from this concept that all football is for is to be a cash cow for billionaires to fleece those silly enough to support a top flight club. That Leadership won't come from the clubs. Sooner or later, if fans really care, they will take action. For me, the place to start would be a boycott of the TV companies. They are where the power really is at the moment. Although I fully expect them to be shafted by the clubs, when they set their own streaming services up for this new ESL. I wouldn't like to see a fan boycott of the terraces, because to me, being on the terrace is what it is really all about.