Website Up and RTG Campaign Never More Relevant

It’s been a busy few weeks here at RTG though you wouldn’t know it from our decidedly poor showing on the posting front of late. But there is a reason for that. We now have our website at http://www.reclaimthegame.org.uk/ up and running and there to give you a bit more information about what it is we are trying to achieve.

OK, so it is not in absolutely mint condition, but for the time being it is an attempt to get across what RTG is campaigning for. Not being technical experts, we’ve managed to get the basics done with only limited tears and temper tantrums. But events in football continue to convince us that what we are doing is the right thing.

Back in January, as the relationship between Hicks and Gillett, the Liverpool owners, began to break down, RTG cautioned Liverpool fans to “be careful what you wish for” on the news of the interest of Dubai International Capital (DIC). The situation at Liverpool has since gone from comedy to farce. Yet, so desperate are Liverpool supporters to see an end to this stand-off, that they would be delighted to see DIC join up with Gillett to get Hicks out of the club. How will this solve their problems RTG asks? After all, the real problem is the 50/50 ownership of Hicks and Gillett, not that one partner is any better than the other. If anything, replacing an American with an Arab-based consortium in that 50/50 partnership will just lead to even more problems.

As the ‘big four’ now talk of revenues of hundreds of millions, many concerned supporters are beginning to realise the unpalatable truth uttered by David Moyes, Everton’s Manager, this week; namely that he’d reached a “glass ceiling” in reaching fifth position in the Premier League. Clubs need, as Moyes summised, to be investing hundreds of millions and not the tens of millions that everyone excluding the ‘big four’ can currently command. The worry is that, by the industry not addressing these issues, the ‘big four’ are going to disappear over the horizon in terms of revenues in the coming years, as they continue to enjoy the fruits of the Champions League all to themselves.

Hence David Moyes’ comment and the growing pessimism among supporters of teams from fifth place downwards, in the Premier League, that, all they have to look forward to each year, is staying in the league. Do we really want to see a competition where most teams’ first objective is to make the magic 40 point safety mark? After which they relax due to having nothing to play for – and there are many recent examples of teams doing exactly that.

On top of enjoying elite status in the Premier League, the English ‘big four’ are on their way to becoming Europe’s ‘big four’ also. For the second year running the same three English teams are appearing in the semi-finals of the Champions League. But for the draw, it is not inconceivable that it could have been all four. Whilst, periodically, we have had specific leagues dominating the competition, with all Italian and all Spanish finals and semi-finals, this period of English domination appears to have some longevity. RTG wonders what UEFA will make of this – perhaps this is the real reason behind the ‘6+5’ Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini proposals. (See RTG post on this subject - 18th February 2008).

Speaking of the semi-finals, there is a conspiratorial body of Manchester United supporters who believe that UEFA do not want to see an all-English affair in Moscow. Hence, the reason Gattuso got away with murder for Milan last year (all be it they were the better team over both legs). Keep your eye on refereeing decisions in Wednesday’s game in Camp Nou. RTG will certainly be doing so. Given that UEFA has chosen a location where a visa is required to go and watch the game, perhaps, from the Russian Embassy’s perspective, an English final would be a recipe for chaos on an enormous scale.

Hat's Off. Take a Bow! (Or Not).

Player of the Week - Ashley Young. Could also have gone to John Carew but by all accounts a vintage performance from our Ashley as Villa destroyed rivals Birmingham in the "Second City Derby" as it has suddenly become known in the media.

Hero of the Week - Keith Andrews of MK Dons. OK, let's be fair, the principle behind the franchising of the Dons does not sit all that well with RTG's viewpoint but a team is a team after all and supporters are supporters whoever they may follow. So congratulations to Paul Ince and Keith Andrews himself, scorer of the winner.

Villain of the Week - Tom Hicks. For referring to Liverpool as "the top brand in world football" which, aside from being the height of arrogance itself, is a phrase that goes against everything we at RTG stand for.

Shock of the Week - Avram Grant. For amazingly holding it together right up to the point of only having three games to go, despite being under enormous pressure from supporters, players and the media. But sadly it all went wrong in his last press conference after the Everton game.

Cliche of the Week - "Another one of those special Anfield European nights. It's like playing with 12 men." Well maybe, although Arsenal supporters might claim that they were playing against 12 men both at the Emirates and Anfield. It just so happened it was a bloke with a whistle rather than the crowd.

And We're Back...... to Corruption and Gambling

Yes, RTG has been off-line for a couple of weeks or so, because we’re in the process of setting up a website, as part of our on-going campaign. So, do bear with us with our, temporarily, irregular posts to the RTG blog.

Now that we are in the “business end” of the football season, what’s been happening? To some, RTG’s musings on how the football industry would become more corrupt and more difficult to control with the ever increasing amount of money sloshing around it, seemed like too much scare mongering . Yet, in the last couple of weeks, a Premier League player has admitted to getting himself sent off deliberately, as a pay off for his own substantial gambling losses. Gone are the days when you bet simply on a result or who scored. Nowadays, you can bet on winning/losing margins, number of corners, number of red and yellow cards being brandished, time of first thrown in or corner – and a whole host of aspects of the game that RTG has never come across or considered. RTG not being of the gambling fraternity, except for Grand Nationals (lost again on Saturday!).

It’s clear that the FA, in their tireless pursuit of more and more money, courted gambling organisations for sponsorships and joint deals. In this spirit, it also relaxed the rule on players betting on matches, as long as they didn't bet on their own teams' involvement. Of course, given that gambling is legal in the UK, it would be foolish to attempt a ban on players gambling in general, but it seems very appropriate to impose a blanket ban on players and associated management and back room staff within football. What recent revelations have shown us is that the English league's bribery scandals of the sixties and the case of Ossie Ardiles' Swindon team, who were denied promotion to the top division, because of the gambling misdemeanours of a previous manager, were not isolated cases. It is hard to imagine that they are not taking place now.

It’s worth pointing out that in the US, players are absolutely forbidden to bet on their sport. This situation came about mainly as a result of the infamous 1919 Baseball world series, where Chicago Black Sox players were bribed to throw the series. It is also strictly enforced. One of Baseball’s all time greats as both player and manager, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds was thrown out of baseball and excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame. His crime? Betting on his own team to win!

A few seasons back, rumours persisted of an odd incident involving Manchester United and West Ham in a Premier League televised match. If RTG’s memory serves it right, straight from the West Ham kick off, Frank Lampard – then of West Ham – belted the ball out to touch. There was much talk of there having been money riding on the timing of the first throw in of the match. Rumours, we know, but with the Premier League’s avowed intention of investigating recent claims, they might just want to have a look at that incident too.

And it’s not just in our country. Last week, the Portuguese FA announced that they were investigating corruption and bribery at Portugal’s top club Porto. This allegedly involved Porto officials making bribes to opponents to throw matches. Interest in this country is mainly because the allegations stem from the period that a certain Jose Mourinho was in charge.

It is clear that safeguards, in this commercially crazy era, must be put in place to protect the integrity of Football. That’s why RTG believes that a blanket ban on footballers gambling on their own sport must be put in place – with stringent punishments being meted out to those transgressors. If, like RTG, you believe that football integrity is under threat from coporate interests, then please join the Reclaim the Game cause by signing up for our campaign (on the right of this page).