Saturday 6th October 2007 was both a remarkable and historic date in the history of English football. The date will not be remembered for any particularly astonishing results or incidents, but for the fact that only one game kicked off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Of course the big wigs at the Premier League protested that games had to be re-arranged because of the involvement of English teams in the UEFA Cup, and there is a certain degree of truth in that argument. However, there can be no escaping the fact that Television schedules are dictating kick-off times: football has become a product, and perhaps more disconcertingly, supporters have become customers.
"This is a matter of great concern," said Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation. He added that: “It's symbolic of the way things are going but the views of the match-going fan seem to be bottom of the list of priorities.”
When the Premier League was launched it was supposed to serve multiple purposes: to improve the performance of the English national team, to attract a new audience to the game, to glamorize the sport and generally give English football the kind of makeover that it desperately needed. The game in this country had its reputation badly tarnished by hooligan problems and an obsession with the long ball tactic. The Premier League was promoted as the antidote to all of footballs ills.
And to an extent it has been the antidote; problems with racism and hooliganism have decreased, there has been an influx of the best foreign talent and the perception of the English game on the continent has certainly improved. However televisions belated realisation that football could be a serious money maker has forever changed the sport, and the FA Premier League, or the “greed is good league” as it has been known, is leading the way.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe acknowledges that the commercialisation of the game is coming at the cost of your average match going supporter. He said that football authorities should be more willing to listen to views of the fans: “The Saturday three o'clock kick-off is a great tradition of English football and one that supporters, myself included, would like to see continue.”
Sutcliffe added that a better balance needs to be found between maximising profit and rewarding the loyalty of supporters. “While TV rights have contributed to the success of the Premier League- money from which is now filtering down to lower league and community football- fans concerns’ need to be listened to when fixtures are drawn up,” he said.
This commercialisation has manifested itself in a number of different ways, unfortunately none of which appear to serve the best interests of the supporters or the traditions of the game.
The advent of the Premier League coincided with flotation of a number of top-flight sides on the stock market: proof, if any were needed, that football is officially a business. Consequently an enormous financial chasm has developed between teams at the top of the pyramid and the teams at the bottom. Fixtures have become uncompetitive and the outcomes are often predictable.
The grim reality of the situation is that the game of football has sold itself out.
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Saturday 10 May 2008
It's Just Not Cricket
It is somewhat ironic that the game of cricket has been Americanized by a group of wealthy Indian bussinessmen. But the glitz and glamour, not to mention the vast wealth, of the Indian Premier League has totally turned the cricket world up side down.
The IPL, which is an inter-city Twenty20 competition which lasts for roughly two months, has overshadowed the beginning of the English county season and dominated the cricket agenda. The worlds best best players have been attracted to the competition by huge sums of money and the unquenchable thirst for the game in India. And whilst the tournament has not been a totally unqualified success, it has succeeded in laying the foundations for a competition which threatens the future of the world game.
The IPL has attracted substantial and long term sponsership deals with internationally recognised brands and the broadcasting rights have been sold for more than $1 billion in total. Amongst the current list of contracted players are Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Ahktar, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Also the IPL are actively looking to recruit more star players for next years competition, and are especially keen to speak to memembers of the current England team including Andrew Flintoff.
Presently only one player currently in the England setup- Dimitri Mascheranas- has agreed to sign up for the competition, but others including star batsmen Kevin Pietersen have expressed an interest. The ICC and the ECB both worry that the money offered by the IPL could lead to the sports best players retiring early from the international game to exploit their commercial value in India.
Also the county game could be deprived of the best overseas talent because of the lure of the IPL, which would in turn damage the overall quality of the English domestic game. Clearly cricket has reached a cross-roads and for the games governing bodies there appears to be no obvious solution.
Please leave a comment.
The IPL, which is an inter-city Twenty20 competition which lasts for roughly two months, has overshadowed the beginning of the English county season and dominated the cricket agenda. The worlds best best players have been attracted to the competition by huge sums of money and the unquenchable thirst for the game in India. And whilst the tournament has not been a totally unqualified success, it has succeeded in laying the foundations for a competition which threatens the future of the world game.
The IPL has attracted substantial and long term sponsership deals with internationally recognised brands and the broadcasting rights have been sold for more than $1 billion in total. Amongst the current list of contracted players are Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Ahktar, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Also the IPL are actively looking to recruit more star players for next years competition, and are especially keen to speak to memembers of the current England team including Andrew Flintoff.
Presently only one player currently in the England setup- Dimitri Mascheranas- has agreed to sign up for the competition, but others including star batsmen Kevin Pietersen have expressed an interest. The ICC and the ECB both worry that the money offered by the IPL could lead to the sports best players retiring early from the international game to exploit their commercial value in India.
Also the county game could be deprived of the best overseas talent because of the lure of the IPL, which would in turn damage the overall quality of the English domestic game. Clearly cricket has reached a cross-roads and for the games governing bodies there appears to be no obvious solution.
Please leave a comment.
The Golden Boy
Having disposed of Stevie "2 pound" Forbes, 35 year old Oscar De La Hoya finds himself two laps from the finish line, two wins from greatness. 'The Golden Boy' had hand-picked Forbes because of his similarity to Floyd Mayweather Jr, and as tune-up fights go this was an impressive display.
In front of 27,000 fans in the Home Depot Centre and millions watching on HBO, De La Hoya showed the kind of dominant jab and good footwork he will need to defeat Mayweather in their September 20th rematch. The stinging left jab of De La Hoya dominated the fight from the outset and in truth this was something of a miss-match as all three judges awarded the fight to the California native.
However Forbes, despite being schooled by memebers of the Mayweather clan, is no Floyd. When De La Hoya stepts in the ring in Las Vagas on Spetember 20th, he will need more than a sharp jab to defeat the 'Pretty Boy.' At 35, and with his best years most definately behind him, De La Hoya recognizes that he needs the performance of his life to record the most significant victory of his distinguished career.
"This is how I plan to fight Mayweather. Straight up. On the balls of my feet. Using my jab. This is the way I wanted this fight to go. This is the same style I'm going to use to beat Mayweather because I know I can. Now that I've been in there with Floyd this is personal. I'm going to beat him. You watch. It's about having the perfect game plan. Have to take your time, be on your topes, pop, pop, pop. We'll get it down. This is very personal. You watch. I'm going to beat the best.''
Despite having recorded victories against the likes of Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez, it is generally believed that the Olympic gold medalist of 1992 requires victories in his last two fights to be remembered as a genuine great. De La Hoya is easily the most marketable name in the sport but his current record of 39-5 falls fractionally short of greatness. Victory over the undeated, pound-for-pound king would unquestionably propel him back amongst the elite and cement his place in boxing history.
Mayweather justifiably remains favourite for the contest and outside of the De La Hoya camp few experts forsee anything other than another "L" being added to Oscar's record. Mayweather's hand speed, accuracy and defensive technique led him to victory in the first bout, and at just 31 it is difficult to imagine these skills have diminished any.
Following the re-match with 'money Mayweather' Oscar has stated that he will fight once more in his home state of California. Although an opponent has yet to be named, and one suspects it may depend on the outcome of the September 20th contest, there are rumours suggesting he could fight either Miguel Cotto or Felix Trinidad. Cotto is an exciting up-and-comming Champion who would pose a real threat to 'The Golden Boy,' whereas a rematch with Trinidad would be a paper per view smash.
Whatever the outcome of his final fights boxing fans should just cheerish a champion performer who has done nothing but good for the image of the sport.
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