This is the accusation that is being made this morning, for example in texts to Radio 5. Probably many of them come from disgruntled United fans.
This is the accusation that is being made this morning, for example in texts to Radio 5. Probably many of them come from disgruntled United fans.
Ever since the Premier League was founded, and even before that, clubs have ‘bought’ the league, the one possible exception in recent years being Arsenal, but they have paid the price for their parsimony. Manchester United spent heavily in the 1990s to lay the foundations for their present success, although clearly the contribution of Sir Alex Ferguson has been crucial. For once his ‘mind games’ failed to work their magic, although I have always thought they were good media copy rather than influencing what happens on the pitch (with the possible exception of beating Newcastle United to the title).
Even in the ‘golden age’ of the maximum wage when footballers were treated as artisans and the game was played on muddy pitches with heay balls it was evident that some clubs were richer than others or at least their owners were more willing to invest. My own team Charlton were title challengers in the late 1930s until A Hitler intervened, but the charge after the war was that the then owners failed to invest, for example in more seated accommodation when it was always sold out at six to seven times the price on the terraces.
Writing in The Times this morning football editor Tony Evans makes the point that some of the laziest thinking in football occurs when clubs like Chelsea and City are being assessed. He makes the point that Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour have enhanced the identity of their clubs, a contrast with Cardiff City where the biggest investor wanted ‘to change the kit and the badge to suit hisown cultural values.’
Evans makes an interesting case for a new form of regulation of the game which would not stop money coming in to the game but would influence how it was used and would restrict asset stripping. This will be considered in more detail in a later post.
The challenge now for Manchester City is to continue to progress while complying with the financial fair play rules, even though ultimately they could be challenged in court. Paradoxically these rules will tend to make it harder to challenge Europe’s dominant clubs. For the Premiership as a product, and for the neutral, Manchester United winning the title every year makes it less interesting and attractive. But it will be a long time before we see such an incredible afternoon as yesterday again.