The trouble with Super Leagues... and other points of interest from the weekend
Where do you start with the plan for English football’s top six to breakaway from the Premier League?
It should hardly come as a surprise. It has been in the offing for years and it is worth remembering that the Premier League itself was formed after a breakaway by England’s greediest clubs in a bid to ensure the largest slices of the pie.
But, back in the early 90s, the elements of what makes football a worthwhile spectacle remained intact: reward based on merit, local rivalry, supporters, history and tradition. Should the clubs follow up on their plan to leave, they will crush those kernels underfoot.
And for what? Money obviously and without barely a consideration for what has gone on over the last year regarding travel restrictions, empty stadia and people’s finances. The lucrative rewards for the clubs – said to be a minimum £300 million a season – will offset the losses brought about by 12-plus months of a global pandemic.
This is in part a response to powerful clubs’ disaffection at being denied automatic entry to the Champions League – a spectacularly arrogant viewpoint from some of the prime movers in this putsch considering the performance of their clubs, yes you Stan Kroenke. The plan misses the point, too.
The magic of European football stemmed from an exotic mix of the rare and the unknown. The Champions League has lost that glitz not because of the format but rather because it has become monopolised by certain teams. It is a status quo in which apathy is rife – exactly what the Super League proposes to reinforce.
Tuchel the hero, but for how long?
Some clubs change their managers as frequently as their players do training kit. Chelsea are one such outfit with Thomas Tuchel their 10th different boss in 10 years.
But Roman Abramovich’s decision to dispense with Frank Lampard in January in favour of the German has been a masterstroke. Tuchel has lost just twice in 20 games since he took over, rescued Chelsea’s topfour aspirations, taken them to a Champions League semi-final and ended Manchester City’s quadruple dream.
At this rate, he might have a chance of lasting beyond the 12-month average of his predecessors. But Abramovich once sacked Carlo Ancelotti a season after winning the double, so don’t bet on it.
Sky’s tired strategy
It must have been hard work for Fulham fans listening to their side’s 1-1 draw against
Arsenal yesterday. Sitting in the commentary box as analyst was Alan Smith – you know, the former striker who played more than 300 games for Arsenal?
It is one thing having to listen to the monotone Smith drone on in matches, quite another altogether when everything he says is expressed through the prism of an Arsenal supporter. As such, Fulham’s penalty in yesterday’s game was up for debate, there was the insinuation that Josh Maja was lucky to score it and Bukayo Saka was the only hope of creativity (not the game’s but Arsenal’s).
Too often, it felt as if we were watching something on an inhouse TV channel rather than a subscription service where
you would expect a grain of objectivity.
Sky have increasingly pursued a strategy of employing highly partisan panellists expressing opinions on games in which they struggle to be impartial. As a live football broadcaster it was once the standard bearer but those days have long gone.
A year’s a long time in football
West Ham United were fourth bottom this time last season. It is the position Newcastle United found themselves in prior to their victory over David Moyes’ side on Saturday. Moyes eventually guided the Hammers to 16th place, before embarking on a thrilling campaign this time around that has them sitting in the Champions League places.
Any suggestion that Steve Bruce might be capable of the same next season would have been met with incredulity not long ago but there has been some kind of ju-ju at work as Newcastle have gone on a run in which they have lost just once in seven matches. Is it a template for next season? Perhaps, but as Bruce admitted you never know quite what you are going to get with Newcastle.
Brewster epitomised blunt Blades
And so John Fleck, Oli McBurnie and Oli Burke’s stay in the English top flight has come to an end following
Sheffield United’s relegation in the joint-quickest time in Premier League history.
Last July, when the 201920 campaign came to an end, there was little sign of the carnage ahead but perhaps transfer strategy played a part. Chris Wilder had built a team on a shoestring but spent almost half his £50m budget on signing Rhian Brewster – an unmitigated disaster with the former Liverpool striker failing to score in 23 appearances.
Fleck, McBurnie and Burke may return to the Premier League, but should they remain at Bramall Lane, they will hope the club’s recruitment plans return to the kind of calculated punts that served their club so well previously.