Kicked Out of Play

I was planning to write about another off beat schlock movie today, but I've just had to go another round with my ailing washing machine.  Which is now, officially, fucked.  The seals between the drum and the main door seal have clearly gone - as witnessed by the flood in my kitchen.  (To be fair, the flooding was nowhere near as bad as that caused by its predecessor when it finally died).  So, I'm now in the process of buying a replacement.  Anyway, the upshot of this disruption to my day, (actually, it had already been disrupted by another development from left field, but that's something I can't talk about just yet), is that I'm just not in the mood for talking about old films.  So, instead I'll say a few words about the whole business of the 'European Super League' (ESL) and the furore surrounding its announcement.  I can't remember the last time I've heard such a tsunami of sanctimonious and hypocritical shite than that which has flowed from the media and football pundits regarding this development.  I found the likes of Sky Sports and BT and all their tame 'experts' shedding their crocodile tears over how the ESL was some kind of 'abomination' that 'betrayed fans' and would kill the game, particularly offensive.  All that they were worried about was the fact that the existence of the ESL would, in effect, devalue their current deals to carry UEFA's current European competitions.  Believe me, once the dust had settled, they'd be queueing up to try and secure rights to screen the ESL.

Because that's the point - it is all about money.  Whether it is the ESL or the existing set up, it is all about how much the clubs and media can scalp fans for in order to see their teams play.  I find it ironic how all those football fans lined up with the FA, UEFA and the media to condemn the ESL and demand sanctions against the six English clubs involved.  I seem to remember them protesting at the way UEFA and the FA sold the rights to screen matches exclusively to pay-TV - yet they now seem to want to defend this status quo. (Indeed, despite their protests and threats of boycotts, these 'concerned' fans all happily signed up to Sky Sports).  As for UEFA - that anyone should see such a corrupt and venal body as a 'hero' of some kind is beyond me.  Likewise the Premier League which, let us not forget, was similarly formed as a 'breakaway' league when the top tier of clubs decided they wanted a bigger slice of the pie when it came to TV rights and the like, so decided to split from the Football League.  The only difference between them and the ESL is that they retained a mechanism for promotion and relegation to and from the lower leagues.  As for the talk of the six clubs being sanctioned or thrown out by the Premier League - empty threats.  These are the six wealthiest clubs in English football, the Premier League simply wouldn't be viable without them.  Certainly, they would no longer be able to command current levels of payment from the TV companies.  

Which, finally, brings us back to all those pundits, mainly ex-footballers who earned millions in their playing days and now want to earn millions more for talking bollocks on TV.  Barely a handful of them are capable of delivering any kind of meaningful analysis - the rest are idiots like Rio Ferdinand, Danny Mills and Paul Merson, who seem barely able to string together a coherent sentence between them.  There's a very good reason why they didn't end up as managers and instead spend their retirement sitting on sofas spouting ill informed shite.  You know, I don't have any idea of whether the ESL would actually be good for football or not, any more than any of the above have.  I do know, however, that if it ever came to pass, that all of these idiots would be busy reporting on it and enthusing over it as soon as their paymasters at Sky, BT et all signed up the broadcast rights, (just like all those fans threatening boycotts would have signed their new Sky or BT contracts and been buying tickets for the matches).  I will say one thing in favour of the ESL, though: Boris Johnson waded in to oppose it and make all sorts of threats as to what he would do to stop it, (strangely, I thought he and his cronies were in favour of free enterprise and against government interference in private industry), which means that I'm automatically primed to support it.  Still, it all seems to be a moot point now, with all of the English participants withdrawing.  But while the ESL might be dead in the water, the issue that sparked it - UEFA's  ridiculous proposals for reforming their existing European competitions, turning them into an even bigger money making joke than they are now - still needs to be addressed.