BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES Arrogant, ignorant architects of plan are burnt by fan power
THE lofty ambitions of those
main hit 600 subdeck
who planned on stealing
football turned to dust last night as the grim edifice of the European Super League started to come crashing down around them.
The shortest-lived revolution in the sport’s history looked to be ending in ignominy as the rebel alliance cracked and splintered.
Manchester City are out and Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were poised to follow. When the dirty dozen is whittled away to single figures, the ESL isn’t looking so Super is it?
The domino effect is in play with last in, first out rules and it will only go in one direction from here. The capitulation will soon be complete.
The arrogance and ignorance of the architects of the plot is staggering. Only when you are blinded by colossal conceit can you misread a room so badly.
How do these owners move forwards from this? How do they ever show their faces again at places such as Old Trafford and Anfield?
If we didn’t already, we know now for certain the true motivation of the Glazers and John W Henry – greenbacks not glory.
It says everything about the existential threat that has been placed over European football that Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour were being portrayed as back-door saviours in some quarters after their U-turn last night.
They at least had the wisdom to see they were wrong and the humility to act upon it, but do not for a moment imagine they were the good guys in all this.
They, remember, would have happily signed up to the closed shop 24 hours ago.
The real heroes of the hour were the supporters who turned on their cartel clubs because they would have no part of the shameful scenario, and the players and managers who went public against their billionaire employers.
Pep Guardiola’s dismissal of the project as anti-sport
summed up the feelings of so many, while James Milner said it how it was on national television.
Manchester United’s Luke Shaw wrote powerfully of his opposition, team-mates Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford made it clear they felt the same way.
The Liverpool players, collectively, through their captain Jordan Henderson,
came out against it with clarity and passion too. These were individuals with football’s integrity at heart speaking up, bravely, as one.
Young people are no longer interested in football claimed Florentino Perez, the
Real Madrid president and co-architect, with the Glazers at Manchester
United, of the hijack plan. Well those young people who blockaded the Chelsea team bus last night noisily demanding their club withdrew certainly seemed emotionally invested. Manager, player, supporter – they all came together to stop death of fair play and the
preserve the pyramid of dreams. Winning this battle, when they do, will not guarantee winning the war.
The conspirators need watched like hawks.
They will be chastened by the scale of their defeat and the opprobrium they have been met with but they will still be around. Money lust on that gargantuan scale does not just go away. For the moment, to be though, football family, often derided as a myth, can reflect on a job well done.
In a time genuine crisis disparate members came together to fight off the of its
ROMAN RULE: Blues owner Abramovich the dark forces that menaced the entity they love. The power of unity prevailed. That’s the thing Mr Glazer. And Mr Henry. And Mr Kroenke. And Mr Perez.
For all your money and all your influence, it’s not your game. It’s ours.