Premier League’s Predictable Procession Marches On

On October 22nd last year RTG reviewed the opening phase of the current season, with it a quarter complete. At that time, our basic conclusion was that very little appeared to have changed: the big four were still the big four and occupying the top places, despite pre-season optimism to the contrary; the level of genuine competition was becoming as humdrum as ever; England were struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 despite the usual mindless optimism from the media; most clubs outside of the big four were struggling to fill their grounds.

Now that just over half the season is complete, has anything changed since then?

Well, the government and financial press seem to be talking us into a recession and this appears to be reflected in even more empty seats in some grounds and making the current transfer window seem even more about speculation than actual deals being completed.

Subject to Liverpool beating Aston Villa tonight, at Anfield, the big four will once again occupy the top four places in the Premier League. In fact, it seems likely that any deviation from this by the end of the season, should Everton, City or maybe Villa make it in to the Champions League, will be purely down to Liverpool’s owners mismanagement of their affairs than anything else.

The rest of the Premier League has predictably polarised with perennial strugglers, Fulham, plus the newly promoted teams, fighting out the relegation issues. In summary, there does not appear to be much for the objective football supporter to relish in competitive terms. There will be no new name on the Premiership trophy. Or, for that matter, any of the other trophies up for grabs. In fact, the only “surprise” is that Arsenal’s name may appear on the Premier League trophy for the first time in four years. Big deal! Little wonder that people seem reluctant to part with £30-£90 of their hard-earned cash each week to watch the Premier League’s predictable procession.

Revenues from the new TV deal seemed to have very little competitive impact despite this being hailed, amidst a frenzy of summer transfer activity, as potentially the most open Premier League season ever. In fact, more money actually led to more panic, with more managers being sacked….sorry leaving by ‘mutual consent’ in the first half of the season than throughout the whole of last season. Most commentators have suggested that this is as it should be and only reflects common practices in the business world. RTG would suggest that failing business leaders who walk away with multi-million pound pay-offs is not a practice that we would like to replicate in the football world. After all, it is our money that is being leaked away through incompetent management and poor recruitment.

So are there any grounds for optimism or is it all doom and gloom? Well, at least FIFA and UEFA have begun to address one of RTG’s pet issues – the club v country debate. RTG will return to that in our next posting barring any major developments elsewhere. The English FA’s Burton project, which is currently in moth balls, is being debated again, at least, and we have a new England manager who does not appear to be afraid of the media – though his first squad selection should give us an indication as to whether he has the balls to end the ridiculous David Beckham 100th cap debate. RTG’s advice to Fabio, should he wish to listen, is give him a picture of a Spitfire or his gold watch and send him on his way with a handshake. England has bigger mountains to climb.

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

• Amidst the acres of press coverage given to the ‘Messiah’s return’ this week, Kevin Keegan put paid to any idea that he does not have his finger on the pulse of the modern game by stating that the big four are ruining the FA Cup by fielding weakened teams. Errrr…..Kevin….even League 2 Peterborough fielded a weakened team in the FA Cup this year! Get with the programme Kevin…sorry matchday magazine!
• Sir Alex Ferguson denies making obscene gestures at the Reading fans citing relief at scoring the second goal as the reason for his slightly bizarre hand/arm actions. The truth is likely to be that the grey haired season ticketholder who sits behind the bench at the Mad Stad does look a little like Arsene Wenger.
• RTG wonders how, as Manchester United fly off this week for a million pound “earner” to Saudi Arabia, travel visas will be obtained for the Glazer family – their failing to qualify on account of their Jewish faith. Or is it just another case of money over-riding everything, including racism and propping up inequitable regimes.

Hats Off, Take A Bow (or not)!

Player of the Week - Benjani Mwaruwari, as much for his season’s performances as for his hat trick against struggling Derby County.

Villains of the Week – chiefly the journalist panel on Sky’s Sunday Supplement, but also the bandwagon jumpers who feel that David Beckham’s 100th cap is more important than re building a new England team. And no! He doesn’t deserve it.

Hero of the Week – Neil Warnock. When he took over at Crystal Palace, they were second from bottom. Having beaten second placed Bristol City at the weekend, they are now handily placed in 5th.

Shock of the Week – Havant and Waterlooville’s FA Cup 3rd round victory over the best team in League 1, Swansea City. Oh the romance of the FA…..

Cliché of the Week – “Return of the Messiah”. No he’s not, he’s a very naughty boy!

January Sales: Queue Up for the Big Four!

Happy New Year to all football supporters.

By way of an introduction to 2008 we have a little January tale for you.

A couple of seasons ago a mid-table Premier League team (let’s call them Midtable City) sent their scouts out to Eastern Europe and uncovered a bit of a gem, Bac Netov. City needed a striker and Netov seemed to fit the bill and came at half the price of any of his English counterparts. He duly came over to England on a fairly lucrative deal and slotted in to the Premier League nicely. So nicely in fact that Midtable started to improve form and began to move up to the top half of the league; finishing the season in their highest ever position. Netov became a bit of a local hero.

The following season, initially, his form continued and Midtable consolidated their position in the top half of the league and began to even contemplate a UEFA Cup place. Netov, however, now well established in England, saw the promise of better things. His agent started to put out rumours that, if a big club came in for him, he would simply have to move to further his career and win trophies. Well, that’s how it was explained to the press at any rate. Suddenly his, and consequently Midtable's, performances declined along with their league position. Come December, with the rumour mill spinning out of control, Midtable supporters saw a sudden leap in his performance levels. Indeed he scored 80% of his season's total of goals in the run up to the transfer window.

Arsechester, one of the so-called Big Four, needed a striker. Chelpool, also one of the Big Four, needed a striker too despite spending hundreds of millions on their squad over the past couple of seasons. Midtable knew that Chelpool could afford a lot more than Arsechester so put a massive price tag on Netov in order to procure the highest possible price for him. Well, if he was going to leave anyway, they might as well get some decent cash for him. Arsechester, realising that they were out of the reckoning for Netov, started to look elsewhere and paid over the odds for Johnny Englander, a player who had recently become part of the England setup.

Netov moved to Chelpool for an astronomical fee – far more than he was actually worth but money was no object for Chelpool and they had their man. Arsechester paid over the odds for a different player. Consequently, Midtable, despite having uncovered a real find in Netov, were glad of the money and continued to plod on with no real prospect of improving their position. Arsechester and Chelpool never dropped out of a top four slot and consequently qualified for the lucrative Champions League spot yet again (for the eighth year running), ensuring a nice revenue earner for the following season - money that would allow them once again to ensure that the best players would be available for them and them only. Netov became an instant millionaire through his share of the transfer fee and merely a bit part player in a massive squad. Johnny Englander also became an instant millionaire, made some promising performances for Arsechester but never really made any impact on the international scene due to his irregular appearances and fairly comfortable lifestyle keeping the bench warm. Well, when we say the proverbial bench we actually mean a thermally heated Corbeau Carrera massage and orthopaedic seat.

Ok, the names are made up but you get the point. Whether a team spots a player and buys him, or even if they develop him themselves, the likelihood is that, if he wants to win anything and earn top brass, he will end up at one of the Big Four or in Europe. In effect, any club currently outside the Big Four is acting merely as a feeder club to them. And, when the Big Four sell good players, they invariably sell to Europe and leave their detritus for the remaining English clubs. The polarisation thus continues with little prospect of anyone outside of the Big Four breaking into the financial stratosphere of the Champions League. Little wonder that many of the grounds outside of the Big Four appeared a little sparsely attended on New years Day.

If we’re still not raising a certain degree of concern with you, for Netov read any of Berbatov (as seems likely), Saha, Tevez, Mascherano etc.. For Johnny Englander, read Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick, Steve Sidwell, Scott Parker, Glenn Johnson….the list goes on.

If the English Premier League is ever to regain its true competitiveness, English clubs are going to have to find very wealthy owners or some restrictions have to be put in place Europe-wide. Fixed squad sizes is perhaps one option. Should Burton, or its equivalent, ever happen, perhaps the weakest teams, or the promoted teams, should have the first pick of the players coming through. RTG does not profess to have the answers but as usual, the issue of competitiveness is not being addressed at all. By anybody!

Hat's Off Take a Bow for 2007 (Or Not!)

Player of the year - Cristiano Ronaldo. Played a significant part in Manchester United's 2007 Premier League championship win and has continued to be a major player in their current bid to retain the title.

Young Player of the Year - Cesc Fabregas. This guy is still only 20 but seems to get better and better and is now an integral part of Arsenal's bid for glory this season.

Hero of the Year - Leicester City. After Leicester City player Clive Clarke collapsed at half time the Carling Cup match between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City had to be abandoned with Forest 1-0 up. When the match was replayed, Leicester allowed Forest keeper Paul Smith to run unopposed from the kick off to ensure Forest began the game 1-0 up. A fine gesture indeed.

Villain of the Year - Sepp Blatter. Continues to support corrupt officials and put corporate money ahead of genuine supporters in a bid to further his own causes rather than those of the game.

Shock of the Year - Chelsea failing to win the Premier League last season and losing Mourinho. Few could really have predicted that the Blues would not win a third Premier League championship on the trot. It took all the experience of Sir Alex and Manchester United and a bit of in-fighting to see Chelsea knocked off top slot.

Cliche of the Year - "Nothing wrong with that. Very professional." The creeping acceptance (mostly on Sky) of blatant cheating as an acceptable part of the professional game.