What Do We See Through the Transfer Window?

Sometimes when RTG ponders the wrongs in football today, we wonder if maybe we’re just spoiling it for the countless people out there who still enjoy the game and simply want to appreciate it for the spectacle that it is. There’s no doubt that there are still many things about the modern football era that are worth praising. But, too often we find ourselves viewing events that seem to be nothing short of destructive to the long-term future of the game and it is hard to be anything other than pessimistic and critical. Monday night’s transfer window deadline did nothing to change our view that English football continues to plunge further and further into the abyss.

As RTG writes this article, Manchester City has accepted a bid from Abu Dhabi United Group to take over the club from Thaksin Shinawatra. In all likelihood this is a more positive move for City than sticking with Thailand’s deposed ex-Premier, given the reported skeletons in the closet. This time last year, many commentators and City supporters were delighted with Shinawatra’s purchase of the club in that it might represent a chance for City to achieve the standards their fans have long waited for and for them to finally challenge United for honours on an even playing field. RTG were less than optimistic about this situation and our viewpoint appears to have been vindicated.

One year later, City supporters are once again delighted that control of the club has passed into new, and wealthier, hands giving them, potentially, the biggest injection of cash into a club since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea. Despite still being in due diligence, they have broken the English transfer record with the purchase of Robinho for a reported £32.5M from right under Chelsea’s nose. At the same time, they had reportedly had a similar bid for Berbatov accepted by Spurs—a deal that was never likely to happen. RTG can only speculate as to whether this was a deliberate ploy to make Manchester United pay over the odds for the Bulgarian striker. If the “Anyone But Uniteds” out there see this as a cause to smile you shouldn’t. Football is a sport and healthy rivalry should be about competition on the field not trying to put your rivals out of business. Despite what you may think, a Premier League with no Manchester United is no Premier League at all.

In all, the whole transfer window saga did not paint English football in a very good light. Why the English media, and especially Sky Sports News, feel they have their own role to play in this by constantly fuelling rumours based on little or no evidence is beyond RTG. The entire process appears designed to squeeze out yet more money in favour of a few beneficiaries rather than benefiting football as an entertainment and a sport. At a time when three clubs are languishing at the bottom of League 2 with negative points, following administration proceedings, this constant speculation about whether a player loves his club or would be flattered to play for another in order to get a few more digits added to their weekly salary haul is utterly obscene.

So used are we now to this increasingly over-egged August shenanigans that it is easy to forget that the transfer window only started in 2002 after our old friend Sepp Blatter conceived it as a way of preventing players walking out on their contracts at any time. The European Union's competition commissioner, Mario Monti, proposed at the time that transfer fees be outlawed entirely because they were against EU regulations for fair competition and free trading across Europe.

It was also suggested at the time that having no transfer fees would effectively put clubs in the lower leagues out of business, as they rely on selling their few home-grown gems in order to pay the bills. Consequently, the whole game signed up to a compromise that has sought to escalate transfer fees way out of proportion and has further polarised the gap between the haves and have-nots. The now desperate need to sign big players before the end of August, and the money it creates, has allowed the Premier League the licence to watch our national game be gradually flogged off to the highest bidder while genuine competition within the top level of the game gets ever-more scarce. Meanwhile, more and more clubs at the lower levels are struggling to simply stay afloat.

While Arsene Wenger attempts to claim the moral high ground by refusing to get involved in this annual end of August bun fight, RTG suspects that he is really just entrenching himself in his beliefs in order to fend off criticism from Arsenal supporters who feel the side has under-achieved in recent years. It is quite possible that he is merely sounding off in frustration at his inexperienced team who will, once again, struggle to compete for honours over the course of a season. Is it not the case that, even if he were to produce another championship winning team, many of his home-developed players would simply use it as a platform to jump ship for higher wages elsewhere? RTG strongly suspects that, if Arsenal win nothing significant again this season, Wenger may well take his skills to a new challenge. Sir Alex Ferguson, in contrast, knew that he needed to buy a striker and had no option but to pay way over the odds or be left with a squad that, potentially, might already be out of the running come the January window.

It is not RTG’s goal to be the harbinger of doom. Quite the opposite in fact. Were it not for the fact that we believe in the power of the supporter’s voice, and the desire to see the game continue, we would not be writing this blog. But Monday’s events seem to reinforce the fact that the game is on a collision course to disaster. Competiton and sound administration, at all levels, are essential to the continued enjoyment and longevity of the game. Otherwise, why not just put the Premier League trophy up for auction to the highest bidder at the beginning of the season and have done with it. Supporters exist in sufficient numbers to have a voice. And that must be heard now, more than ever, if football is not to be swallowed up by the greed and short-sightedness of people who seek only to use the loyalty of supporters to line their pockets.

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.