SUPPORT CLUBS IN BLEAK TIMES
DESPITE the introduction of a new character every two pages and a plot that wanders like a Bedouin tribesman, Charles Dickens’ Bleak House does have some redeeming features.
One of the most notable is Mrs Jellyby, a zealous philanthropist so devoted to creating settlements in Africa that she bankrupts her husband, neglects her children and generally makes life miserable for those in the immediate vicinity.
For Dickens, whose work was rarely without social subtext, Jellyby represented Britain’s errant focus on ‘saving’ those in the colonies whilst its own poor lived in squalor. Charity, in other words, begins at home – not with grand gestures or popular causes. As Greg Clarke, the FA chairman, warns that clubs and leagues could be lost, it is a sentiment that well-meaning Premier League players must carefully consider.
Talks between Jordan Henderson, top-flight captains and several senior players have led to the creation of a charitable fund – run by the PFA – which will provide tens of millions to good causes.
It is a heartening gesture, and far more sensible than the blanket 30 per cent cut proposed by the Premier League itself. Whether born of misguided public pressure or simply a mercenary desire to cut costs, the ill-conceived Premier League scheme would have snatched cash from the public purse and plonked it straight into the pockets of mega-rich owners.
Disparity
It would have done little for charity, nothing for football and everything for the balance sheet at clubs already amongst the most profitable in the world.
Don’t believe for one second the hand-wringing of chief executive Richard Masters, who claims the Premier League could lose £1bn in TV revenue if the season isn’t finished. England’s elite clubs will get their hands on that money, even if it means playing behind closed doors or booting next season into the Autumn. The plan’s architects also failed to acknowledge the vast disparity between an established player like Raheem Sterling and a first-year pro at Norwich City, who could easily spend the next decade in Non-League football. Resistance was inevitable, and justified. Like most people, players want to aid the needy, not the rich, in a time of crisis. But who do you help? And how?
As things stand, the players’ fund has three main objectives; to protect employees at their own clubs; to aid community groups helping the underprivileged in society; and to provide NHS staff with funds and vital equipment. They are all laudable causes and I am not here to tell responsible adults how to spend their money. There has been quite enough of that. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, made himself look foolish when he demanded that footballers fund hospices whilst making no mention of bankers, business owners and the myriad other millionaires who out-earn Premier League stars many times over.
But what of causes closer to home? What about all those clubs in the pyramid who may go out of business, taking jobs, history, and a community asset with them? Giving money to the NHS makes a lovely headline, but the organisation has supply issues, not a cash shortage.
It will survive perfectly well without donations. Football clubs – many of whom gave those very players a break – will not.
Yes, the Premier League has pledged £125m to aid EFL and National League clubs. But only as an advance on future monies. That is hardly benevolence, unless you consider Cash Converters a charity.
Death’s door
And when you consider League Two will see only eight per cent of that money, how much will be left for the clubs below the EFL?
There is certainly an argument that Championship clubs, having pushed the boat out so far in reckless pursuit of the Premier League, do not deserve to be bailed out.
But below that – and especially in Non-League – responsibly run clubs are at death’s door through no fault of their own. They desperately need assistance, and it is unlikely to come from an outside source. Speaking at a meeting of the FA Council this week, Clarke called on everyone in the game to lend a hand. “It is time for the stakeholders to agree common cause to save our game,” he said. “So contribute. Help. Football is a team game and now is the time for teamwork.” Nobody is in a better position to heed that plea than contributors to the players’ fund. Unless the football landscape is to be altered forever, their charity should begin at home.