Football's Faustian Pact

Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that television has too much power over football.   But he admits that it is a Faustian pact: 'If you shake hands with the devil, you have to pay the price.'

Ferguson is clearly annoyed about the ability of television to vary fixture times, perhaps rueing last week's fixture at Stoke.   But he thinks that the Premiership product is robust in the longer run, if only because of the 'tribalism' of the fans.   He also thinks that television ought to pay more for the right to show games in the next negotiation, although whether that will be achievable given the economic backdrop remains to be seen - although Ferguson rightly points to growing overseas revenues.