EFL will punish ambition... but support failure
cooped up in four-star hotels for weeks on end. ‘I don’t understand why people can’t just do what is required,’ said Holding, stonefaced. ‘Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a cell and he did nothing wrong — that is sacrifice.’
Extreme, certainly, but the principle remains. A lot of cricket is about just doing what is required. On the field but also in the endless days off it. Sticking together as a team; a group, putting ego aside, being self- sufficient, requiring the lightest touch.
A great England side fell apart because personalities began clashing and players struck out as individuals. One can only imagine the consternation as Archer revealed he had gone in the opposite direction to the rest of the squad, eastwards along the coast from Southampton to Hove.
His previous infractions have been minor, almost endearing: a spin on a Segway, pre-match; wearing his jumper tied around his waist like a second XI bowler. This is different.
Archer’s time in isolation should be spent reflecting on what it is to be a Test cricketer. It means being a good tourist, even when you’re at home.
STEVE BRUCE knew that Sheffield Wednesday’s owners wanted to invest in the club. He also knew Football League rules restricted them, which was one of the reasons why he left for Newcastle. The attempted funding brought an EFL charge and now there is the possibility Wednesday could be relegated instead, for the crime of ambition. If the EFL repeat the nine-point deduction for Birmingham last season for financial misconduct, Wednesday will be level with Charlton, who are one place above the bottom three. If they deduct 12 points, which some rivals are privately advocating, they will be in the relegation zone; deduct 20 and they would be gone. And who might survive instead? Possibly Hull City where, far from investing, the club’s owners are systematically stripping its worth. They sold their two best players, Jarrod Bowen (right) and Kamil Grosicki to West Ham and West Brom in the January transfer window, and failed to agree terms with captain Eric Lichaj and vice-captain Jackson Irvine, to continue post-lockdown. Hull have never recovered from the debacle over renaming the club Hull Tigers, with the owners taking their frustration out on fans by ending concessionary tickets and curtailing investment. This week, Hull lost 8-0 to impoverished Wigan, and were 7-0 down at half-time. The club does not even own its stadium, but has been on the market six years, at the unappealing price of £40m. And yet this is all perfectly fine with the EFL. Indeed, Hull may remain in the Championship at the expense of a club, and a board, that genuinely wants to grow and move forward. This, apparently, is financial fair play. It sucks.