Whatever one thinks about Greg Dyke, he has not had a boring life. He was the man who revived the fortunes of faltering breakfast television by introducing the character Roland Rat who was an instant hit with children.
Now, as head of the Football Association, he is taking on a rather tougher target in the form of the Barclays Premier League. When I say ‘taking on’, Dyke has made it clear that he is more than happy to work with the Premiership. However, his stance may well be seen as a threat to the interests of the Premier League.
Whatever one thinks about Greg Dyke, he has not had a boring life. He was the man who revived the fortunes of faltering breakfast television by introducing the character Roland Rat who was an instant hit with children.
Now, as head of the Football Association, he is taking on a rather tougher target in the form of the Barclays Premier League. When I say ‘taking on’, Dyke has made it clear that he is more than happy to work with the Premiership. However, his stance may well be seen as a threat to the interests of the Premier League.
Dyke’s basic point, which many share, is that England’s ability to compete internationally has been undermined by the role of foreign owners and foreign players in the Premier League. Too few English players get the chance to hone their skills at the top level.
On the other hand, it may be that there are many fans who are not really that interested in international football and care most about club football. It is also not in the interests of Sky and BT Vision, the latter having invested heavily in its new television service, to have the number of marquee international players reduced (although there are also quite a lot of foreign players who are not that special).
Another problem is what one does about it. There is already a rather weak quota system in the form of ‘home grown players’. If one want beyond that, one could be in legal trouble for undermining the freedom of movement of EU citizens.
England may not be in the EU for ever, but any withdrawal would have to be negotiated and would not come into effect for at least five years. It would also inevitably involve association agreements to foster trade that might place some limitations on the UK’s freedom of action. Things might not change that much even in time for the World Cup in Qatar which Dyke has in his sights.
It’s quite possible that opposition leader Ed Miliband, who always seems to be looking for a new bandwagon to jump on, may take this up as a ‘popular’ issue, egged on by Andy Burnham who likes to see himself as the football fans’ friend. They could pass legislation if they came into government, but it would still have to be compatible with EU law.
One of the ironies of Dyke’s position is that he was one of the instigators of what became the Premier League. In the autumn of 1991 he invited five guests to a clandestine dinner at the headquarters of London Weekend Television where he was then chief executive. They were the chairmen of what were then regarded as England’s ‘Big Five’ clubs: Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. No Chelsea, no Manchester City.
They discussed the possibility of a breakaway league which could lead to a much more lucrative television contract, although it was Sky rather than ITV which was the ultimate beneficiary. Speaking on the other side of the Thames at Millbank Tower earlier this week, Dyke defended his role in terms of the law of unintended consequences.
It was thought in 1991 that a stronger top flight would lead to a stronger English team. No one anticipated what the Premiership has become, what Dyke described as ‘a league largely owned by foreign owners, managed by foreign owners and played by foreign players’.
No one seems to have thought about the consequences of globalisation, which was starting to be talked about then, and in England at any rate has impacted football much more than other sectors of the economy and society. Whether that is the result of structure or agency, or what mixture of both, is open to debate.
Roland Rat was a plucky fellow, but this could be his biggest and most important battle.