This picture is firstly dedicated to my good friend, Running Sheep. In memoriam. Fergie got his man, and the sulkiest player in the Premiership is now a Red. Nothing to do with cash, of course: "If I want to play for the money, I would accept the Manchester City offer or Chelsea," Berbatov told MUTV. "The red shirt is the really big thing for me. I want to play for the biggest club in the world."
Hmm. This weekend has been an odd time to be a football fan. We know that money talks, and that the Beautiful Game is all about the Beautiful Fee. And yet...
After Chelski comes Middle Eastlands. And the new monster threatens to belittle the former. The Arab multi-multi-multi millions came after serious deliberation. They thought about buying Arsenal first. Or Liverpool. Or a number of other clubs before settling on Manchester City. So they have real commitment to the club. And the fans don't care - they have real cash, so what's to complain about?
Er, the heart of the club? I mean, despite the fact that this has been about failure for so many years, it has been a local club, a proud boast of belonging to Manchester. Hey, let the good times roll! Till the money men get tired of football, of course. Ahh, that's not going to happen.
Again: hmm. Gordon, I warned you about Thaksin, and it's not taxing anyone's brain to see that this is all going to end badly.
Don't the Premier league have any power to say - hold on, prove yourselves, commit to this club for 5 years minimum, or this is a no go?
Course not. That would take something other than footballs.
And Dr Al-Fahim's money now makes a mockery of Hull and Villa and everyone else. You want a decent winger? Sorry - amongst the hype we've just discovered hype-rinflation. Ronaldo? OK - here's £134 million, ready to buy him in January (so says today's Times). Even Abramovich can't compete on those terms.
The only two things that make this even remotely bearable are:
1. They may be great business men but they will have no idea how to run a football club. Mark Hughes - you have six months left in your job. And then they'll lose patience with the next guy. Real Madrid also learned the hard way that Galacticos don't win trophies.
2. This summer we saw that Man Utd wouldn't sell if they didn't want to, and would buy if they did want to (despite Real Madrid in one corner & Man City in the other). Villa too refused to sell when they didn't want to. What money on more clubs learning this? Having to learn this?
The love of using money to win football matches is the root of all sorts of evil.
(P.S. Dear Dr Al-Fahim, if you are reading this, as a committed Anglican and member of the Church in Wales, I can think of a really good use of your millions: there's another episcopal election coming up for us soon. Transfer fees in the Anglican Communion - I think they should be huge, to make such moves prohibitive. Come on, wade in! Call me! I'm never in Fergie's car...)
1 comment:
You should read the press about the City takeover: there are some splendid lines out there. One of my favourites, referring to the quixotic Zenit St Petersburg winger was marr Dickinson's: "Whether he (Al Fahim) knows his Arshavins from his elbow is questionable."
But the truest response from a genuine football fan I read was this, from Tony, a City fan:
“At the end of last season I went to see City's youth team - made up almost entirely of British and Irish kids who have been nurtured through the ranks - defeat a Chelsea side, who had been acquired on a global scale, to win the Youth Cup. I know the sense of pride that I felt that night will never be repeated by anything achieved by the first team as long as we are backed by someone who simply throws cash and expects results, whether it be a dodgy Asian politician or a Middle Eastern property fund. The consortium have made it clear that they want us to be another United or Chelsea. I can't think of anything more abhorrent.”
That's the voice of City I have been longing to hear. The voice of football.
Sadly, Tony, I fear that your day and your local pride is a thing of the past. I am genuinely sorry.
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