New TV Deal – Same Old Rip Off

The new TV deal that has been struck between the Premier League, Sky and BT is the richest ever and will be worth just over £3bn (a 70% increase on the last agreement). The team finishing bottom in season 2014/15 will actually make more money from TV than Manchester City did last season as champions. The deal is worth 10 times the original Premiership deal back in 1992 – considered even then as a ridiculously large amount of money.

Like the original deal, the money will be coming from supporters’ and subscribers’ pockets. Note also that, in that same period, admission prices have increased by a similar amount. Again like the original deal, this huge windfall will not be spent at grass roots level or in the development of our national game, but will go on players’ wages and agents’ fees. And once again it will be the supporters who are short changed.

Adding injury to insult is the announcement that the number of games shown live will increase to 154 – nearly 43% of all matches. Expect even more disruption to supporters with changes to kick off times and disruption to travel plans.

Media Reporting Fans the Flames of Euro Racism

When the media reported on the potential for racist chanting and violence in the run up to Euro 2012, it appeared that they were almost licking their lips in anticipation of trouble – particularly with the now absent English hooligans to follow and bait as in previous tournaments. In fact, some of the language in relation to the Ukrainian and Polish supporters was positively offensive.

Nobody wants to see a return to the UK’s dark old days of neo fascist supporters groups so it is essential that these issues are brought to the fore. But if we are to pinpoint racism amongst football crowds, there are very few (if any) European nations who remain totally guilt free. It seems hypocritical, therefore, for the English media to take this rather patronising and holier-than-thou attitude in the way they did (not to mention the fact that the ex-England captain will shortly be making a court appearance on racism charges).

Rather than going on the offensive toward the Poles and the Ukrainians, they should really have focused on UEFA’s constant inability over the last ten years to punish perpetrators across Europe as a whole (including players, coaches and supporters) and paying lip service to the campaign against racism.

Italian PM Laments Football’s Warped Morals

“Football should be stopped for two to three years. It is not a proposal by the government but a question I am asking as someone who was passionate when football was still football. It’s particularly sad when a world which should be an expression of the highest values – sport, youth, competition, fairness – turns out to be a mass of foul play, falsehood and demagoguery.”

Mario Monti, Italian Prime Minister

Words of wisdom from Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy, in response to yet more match fixing and corruption allegations within the Italian game.

As RTG has written previously, the more money that floods into the game, expect to see more corruption – a situation not helped when the world’s governing body is one of the worst culprits.

Olympic Sponsors Pick GB Team

Adidas are one the major sponsors of the summer 2012 Olympics. It has embarked on a major ad campaign featuring David Beckham as its ‘main man’. Some of the ads seem to have it as a given that David Beckham would feature in the GB football team.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a sponsor has chosen a team. In France 1998, Brazil had to bow to contractual obligations with Nike that meant that Giovanni had to feature in the team, despite bad form and not deserving his squad place. Brazil obliged by playing him in the first half of their first match against Scotland. He wasn’t seen again in the tournament. Infamously, in the final, it was said that a clearly not-up-for-it Ronaldo played also only at the insistence of Nike.

RTG would love it for GB to do well in this tournament, but a lot of our passion for it will evaporate if it’s viewed as another corporate vehicle promoting its products and celebrity at the cost of sporting endeavour. There are many, many better choices than David Beckham.

UEFA Financial Fair Play Update

In June 2010, RTG wrote a piece about UEFA’s impending Fair Play Rules. Further details have since come to light which have clarified some of the rules. Firstly, we bemoaned the fact that the ‘carpet baggers’ like the Glazers, Hicks and Gillettes of this world, would still be allowed to continue to undertake highly leveraged buy-outs of football clubs. We now understand that this is not the case.

The amount of debt allowed by any club will be limited to the annual turnover of the club. Currently, both Chelsea and Manchester United fail this test. This explains United’s reported effort to make shares available on the Singapore stock market - a move that will turn that debt into shareholder equity but without the business restrictions that a London placing of the shares would entail.

Secondly, the ‘sugar daddy’ element, which up to now has seen Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour financially dope their teams over the last few years, will also have restrictions in place. At the time of our first article, it was widely reported that any extra investment could be made as long as that investment was turned into equity and not debt. Again, this is not the case. UEFA have clarified the rule and there will be a gradually reducing level allowed, thereby progressively curtailing the ability of such sugar daddies to influence unduly transfer markets.

The real test, though, will be in the ability of UEFA to control and monitor its own rules effectively. Given how British football authorities have failed so categorically to enforce simple tests of ownership rules, RTG is really not confident. The real indicator will be to see how this summer’s transfer dealings go. If half the rumours that abound are true, then both Chelsea and Manchester City will embark on yet another transfer splurge. If so, you can bet that they are not the slightest bit worried by Financial Fair Play despite both failing by miles to meet the terms of the new rules.

Gary Neville Is Our Mate

Following the appointment of Roy Hodgson, some of the media immediately laid bare their disappointment by poking fun at Hodgson’s rhotacism (yes RTG had to look it up also) – “Bwing on the Euwos”, screamed the Sun.

Gary Neville immediately tweeted: “Disgusting headlines, good journos under pressure writing pieces for their mates and a certain paper needs putting out of circulation”. Rightly, Neville has gained a worthy reputation for his insightful and honest punditry on Sky Sports but he must have forgotten that the Sun is a sister company to Sky, both being owned by News International. Let’s not forget what happened the last time a Sky pundit, Andy Gray, crossed News International during the phone hacking scandal. Biding their time, News International waited for Gray to slip up and took their revenge.

RTG can’t believe that Neville didn’t fully comprehend the implications of his tweet and we are, therefore, all the more impressed by him not being kow-toed to the evil empire that News International is. But watch your back Gary!

Hodgson – The Smart Choice

Finally, the FA has appointed the next England manager; Roy Hodgson. Vastly experienced and erudite, by English football standards, he was chosen ahead of Harry Redknapp, the football media’s choice, and by extension, the ‘people’s choice’. Whilst the selection process appears to be a bit of a mystery, it seems that Redknapp didn’t even appear to be in the running. Of course, rumours abound about the enmity between him and Sir Trevor Brooking costing him any chance of a successful appointment to the post.

However, it is clear that the prime qualifier for the job was to be English. With that in mind, Roy Hodgson is the right choice. It may be true that Hodgson’s main trophy winning feats occurred on the continent but he has a successful track record, at least, winning many championship titles and cup competitions throughout Europe. He also turned an international ‘minnow’, Switzerland, into the number three FIFA-ranked international side. Redknapp, on the other hand, has just one FA Cup credit to his name with what turned out to be a ‘financially-doped’ Portsmouth. Arguably, Hodgson taking Fulham to the Europa Cup Final was a more impressive feat than Redknapp reaching the last eight of the Champions League with Tottenham.

Many people, especially in the media, have voiced their extreme disappointment that the ‘people’s choice’ didn’t get the job. Given the experience when the last ‘people’s choice’, Kevin Keegan, was appointed, thank god this time we didn’t.