American Dream Is A Liverpudlian Nightmare

Optimism is a pre-requisite for football supporters. It takes different forms; winning a trophy for one club is the equivalent of avoiding relegation at another. The supporter, before and during a season, will invariably swing between belief and the less palatable outcome. As the Premier League avalanche sweeps all before it, the downward trajectory is being ignored. Until yesterday when the true extent of the Promised Land became evident for Liverpool supporters.

The optimism of Hicks and Gillett’s takeover was hardly unbridled but new owners wasted little time in raising the stakes, lifting the belief that they had new investment to build a new Anfield, give Rafa Benitez funds to spend on new players and deliver the Premier League title, the obsession for a club that became used to being champions of England but had not heard those words precede their club name for 20 years.

Having finished closer in 2008/09 to winning the title, the new season was approached with a guarded optimism. The plans for a new stadium had been put on the backburner as it was apparent that the American owners failed to borrow the money required, refusing or unable to invest their personal wealth into the club’s future. The length of commitment required for personal intervention was probably a driving force behind this. Neither makes any attempt to disguise their disdain for the other, quite probably regretting their dual involvement.

Their summer transfer dealings were disastrous. 2008 saw a distasteful public courtship of Gareth Barry, a signing which never materialised, and the attempted offloading of Xabi Alonso to Arsenal, reportedly falling through over £200k. Fast forward to 2009 and one of those transfers happened, Alonso returning to Spain. Barry upped sticks to Manchester City whilst Aquilani was brought in from Roma. The Italian though came with a proviso: he was injured, unavailable until autumn.

Having spent the majority of his funds on this transfer and Glen Johnson from Portsmouth, Benitez was unable to invest in forwards, a situation which haunted him as the Champions League was exited and the Premier League slipped from his grasp as Fernando Torres was sidelined. Europa League football is not much of a prospect to look forward to but this is the reality facing Liverpool for 2009/10 and quite possibly the following season as well.

Prior to the home fixture with Arsenal, Benitez gave a frank assessment of his situation. There was no money to spend nor would the coming seasons bring any immediate improvement. £60m of debt had to be repaid and with no-one willing to match the £100m sought by the owners for a mere 25% stake in the club, spending would be drastically reigned in. Media supposition that Gerrard and Torres may be sold to fund this was dismissed by the Spaniard yet the nagging doubt cannot be so easily shaken.

The club’s financial state is a warning for those clubs looking at foreign takeovers or already subjected to huge debt burdens on their parent company balance sheets. Unless you are delivering trophies – major ones at that – your business is unsustainable. Asset stripping is too strong a term but realisation of valuable assets is around the corner unless the American nightmare turns to a dream.

For many the Liverpool scenario is one that was destined to happen at Arsenal. Funding a new stadium restricted activity in the transfer market. Arsene Wenger and the board had thought ahead, bringing through young talent over a number of seasons, building an Academy and scouting system that created a sustained turnover of players. Liverpool is some way behind as the Carling Cup encounters over recent seasons have shown. It is a path that they are now treading, a path which will show how good a manager Benitez really is. If it comes to fruition, Hicks and Gillett may be consigned to the history books with not many good words accompanying them. If not, they may be remembered as the men who broke the bank of Anfield.

PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY SIX

Arsenal started the day in top spot and were expected to crush Hull City at The Emirates. Football though has a habit of bringing you back to Earth, the visitors doing so by winning 2 – 1. It did not seem that it would be the case when Cesc Fabregas forced McShane to put through his own net five minutes into the second half but Geovanni scored a thumping equaliser from thirty yards, followed by a Cousin header from a corner two minutes later. Hull held out thankful to some fine goalkeeping from Myhill and the intervention of the crossbar from a Gallas header.

The two hundred and eighth Merseyside derby followed the pattern of recent years with Tim Cahill receiving his marching orders for a wild tackle on Xabi Alonso, the eighth player to do so in as many seasons. Everton slumped to a 0 – 2 defeat, Fernando Torres scoring a quick-fire brace to give Liverpool top spot albeit temporarily. Robbie Keane paid back about 50p of his transfer fee by setting up both goals but yet again proved to be closer to becoming the first footballer on the moon than scoring his first Liverpool goal.

Chelsea travelled to the Britannia Stadium, favourites to put Stoke City to a swift end and despite some pressure from the hosts, did exactly that in a 2 – 0 victory. Jose Bosingwa scored his first for the club after his summer move from Porto, the second added by Anelka in the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo made his first Premier League start of the season for Manchester United and scored the first in their 2 – 0 win over Bolton Wanderers in what was a generally lacklustre performance. Ronaldo fell over in the penalty area and unsurprisingly won a spot-kick, which he duly converted. Wayne Rooney emerged from the bench and added a second in the seventy-seventh minute.

Gianfranco Zola’s reign at West Ham continued its’ bright start with a 2 – 1 win at Craven Cottage, Fulham falling closer to the bottom three as a result. Carlton Cole broke the deadlock two minutes before the interval, Matthew Etherington adding the second in injury-time. The hosts rarely looked like pegging them back but a Danny Murphy penalty on the hour gave them hope but The Hammers held out for their second win in a week.

Nobody bet on a 2 – 1 result at The Riverside, just as well really as former ‘Boro captain brought his West Brom team to raid and emerge with a 1 – 0 victory over Middlesbrough thanks to an Olsson goal in the fifty-third minute. A short hop, skip and jump up the road to Newcastle saw the farce at St James Park descend further as Blackburn outplayed them in their 2 – 1 win. Chris Samba opened the scoring with a dubious header, the defender clearly offside when the ball was despatched from a free-kick. Roque Santa Cruz sealed the win four minutes before half-time although Michael Owen won and converted a penalty in the fifty-first minute to offer hope to the Geordies. Another false dawn arose, the debacle completed when it emerged that interim manager, Joe Kinnear, cannot sit on the touchline for two games due to a ban from 2004 that had yet to be served. Still, at least he brightened the day by swearing on Football Focus at lunchtime, much to the embarrassment of the cringeworthy presenter.

Aston Villa are going about their business quietly, climbing to third in the table with a 2 – 1 win over Sunderland, completing a miserable afternoon for the North-East. Footballing Peer, Djibril Cisse, gave the visitors a tenth minute lead, cancelled out by Ashley Young eight minutes later. John Carew won the match on thirty-three, the summer’s tribulations over Gareth Barry disappearing in a haze of good results for The Villains.

Wigan hosted the Manchester City rich kids and promptly taught them that money can’t buy you love or three points for that matter, the hosts winning 2 – 1. Antonio Valencia opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour with a stunning thirty yard effort that left Joe Hart in City goal helpless. Robinho went close soon afterwards but if fell to Vincent Kompany to equalise, heading home an Elano free-kick. The match was settled when Wilson Palacios produced a dive that would earned him 5.9 from Olympic judges. Referee Steve Bennett gave it a 6 and Wigan a penalty that Amr Zaki despatched comfortably.

Tottenham headed to the South Coast and ye olde worlde charms of Fratton Park on a high having won at Newcastle in the Carling Cup. Portsmouth had conceded ten in their last two games so an away win was on the cards. Only kidding, this is Spurs after all and they were undone by two former players and an Arsenal loanee in Pompey’s 2 – 0 win. Jermaine Defoe converted a penalty after Jermaine Jenas handled in the area whilst Peter Crouch converted the rebound from Armand Traore’s well-struck shot. Not even Lassana Diarra’s sending off two minutes from time could dampen ‘Appy ‘Arry’s mood whilst Spurs continue to show what a strong side they are by propping up the table for yet another week.

Tevez And The Future Governance Of English Football

Carlos Tevez was widely tipped to be remembered for his silky skills when he burst onto the scene in his native Argentina. Sadly for the player, unless he achieves the greatness of Pele or Maradona or their ilk, the abiding memory of his time in England will be that of his transfer to West Ham. The ins and outs are well documented within the media yet they leave several questions unanswered, ones that have far-reaching consequences for the English game.

Third party ownership of players is a common practice on the distant shores of South America yet FIFA and their constituent members from UEFA have developed a distaste for this practice. Unquestionably, there are uncomfortable aspects of such deals but are the authorities overstating the case. Put simply, they believe that undue influence can be put on the playing side of a club if third parties own the economic rights to a player, presumably a key one at that. However, unless there are two sets of circumstances applicable in any case, it is hard to follow their logic.

Fundamentally, it is in the interests of such parties to have their asset on the pitch in every match. The concern is that they dictate to a club / manager that he plays whatever happens, whatever his form or fitness. This cannot be right for their economic rights suffer if his form dips or he plays when injured. Anything that is detrimental to the player’s game is detrimental to their financial interests. In those circumstances, it is hard to see where the interests of a club and the third party conflict as they have, ultimately, the same outcome.

Where the conflict arises most sharply is if the third party has a vested interest in another club but the question that has never been answered is why they would not put or keep the player at that club. This follows in the Tevez case, a club is owned by MIA – Corinthians – and Tevez plays for them. He moved to West Ham and Kia Joorbachian fronts a consortium that tries to buy the club, willingly up for sale at the time. In itself, a logical step albeit one that sits uncomfortably yet where is the difference between ADUG and MIA? Only in the ownership of Tevez, something that would undoubtedly be considered by ADUG if the opportunity to own Robinho, for example, came to bear.

The second instance of discomfort would be any link between the player’s owners and any betting syndicate. This is perhaps the more serious question, one where third party ownership may be subject to extreme concern but once more is it overstated? There are huge monies wagered on football in any country but rarely are there attempts to influence the top sides, more often the cases which are found come as a result of matches in the lower leagues. That is not to dismiss them for those circumstances still call into question the integrity of the sport, even one as obviously corrupt as football.

More immediately, the problem for English football is the governance of the game. As the leading income generator, the Premier League believe their interests matter more than anyone else’s, an arrogant, bullying position to hold and one that will ultimately lead to the downfall of the individuals who bring it to bear. Ridiculed for the ‘Thirty-nine Game Plan’, the Premier League attempt to cross swords with the Football Association at any given corner. Whilst the majority of the points upon which they argue are seemingly trivial, the governance of English football cannot be considered so.

The Premier League’s handling of the disciplinary aspect of the Tevez affair leaves much to be desired. Faced with a decision that would require action impacting the league positions of two teams, independent inquiries ruled to hand out a monetary punishment. This is fundamentally wrong. Whilst the finanicial gain for remaining in the top flight is huge, to allow a transgressor to escape points deductions for infringements committed that allow sporting gain is wrong, ethically and practically. There is little doubt that the influence Tevez had upon the outcome of the season in question is huge; West Ham survived by three points. Remove the points gained by the Argentinean’s goals and they would have been relegated. That is natural justice, not the convoluted punishment handed out by the Premier League.

Moreover, in making the judgement that the Inquiries came to, the natural progression should have been to the Football Association and then the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), rather than permitting Sheffield United to take their action to the High Court, a motion doomed to fail before it had even been heard. That the Yorkshire club chose to opt for legal rather than ’sporting’ outcomes serves to highlight their folly. The expected judgement is that they will win substantial damages. Had they progressed through sporting channels, perhaps their status as a Premier League club would have been preserved and who knows where they might have progressed to in their second season in the top flight.

Whatever the arguments put forward, the Premier Leaguer is perceived to have closed ranks around West Ham. At the end of the original appeal, Sheffield United should have been directed to the Football Association for a second appeal. This did not happen for were that to have been successful, the Premier League’s control over their members would have been usurped; the ruling body would have been seen to be all-powerful, something that the greed of the top flight clubs will not permit to happen.

English football regularly finds itself at crossroads over the game’s future. This is not quite one of them but merely the taster for what is inevitably to come. The Premier League and Football Association are not comfortable bedfellows; both seek to control the sport in this country and neither will back down willingly unless their long-term gameplan is served. In the not-to-distant future, UEFA and FIFA are going to be faced with a stark choice; back the FA or Premier League. Logic dictates that their constituent member be the beneficiary but money talks and that backing cannot be depended upon. If the battle is won by the Premier League, God help football for those in charge will not have done.

PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY ONE

The 2008/09 campaign kicked off with the top three from last season all at home, all avoiding defeat. Arsenal set the ball rolling with the lunchtime kick-off against last season’s Championship title winners, West Bromwich Albion. Having been relatively inactive during the summer transfer window, The Gunner’s major signing, Samir Nasri, took just four minutes to introduce himself to The Emirates crowd. A signature flowing move down the left took the ball to the touchline where Denilson cut the ball back to the Frenchman to sweep the ball home. It was to be the only goal of the game but not for lack of Arsenal effort with Albion rarely threatening their host’s.

The defending Champions, Manchester United, found Newcastle United to be unusually obdurate. Missing last season’s golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo, the home side lacked a cutting edge and were taken by surprise when Obefami Martins opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half. Such joy was shortlived as United equalised through Darren Fletcher but despite Vidic hitting the bar late on, the Toon Army travelling back to Tyneside with a well-deserved point.

Chelsea on the other hand made light work of Luis Felipe Scolari’s first match in charge, FA Cup winners Portsmouth proving to be lambs to the slaughter. Joe Cole set the ball rolling in their 4 – 0 drubbing of Portsmouth with the opener on twelve minutes, a lead doubled on twenty six when Nicolas Anelka broke his Premier League duck for the season. The end to a contest long viewed as over was confirmed in the final minute of the first half when Frank Lampard converted a penalty. Deco made his debut and scored with two minutes of the match remaining, giving the Chelsea board the style they craved in Scolari’s first match in charge.

New boys Hull City, making their debut in the top flight of English football, entertained Fulham at the KC Stadium. They proved to be the Sunshine Band as they overcame Ki-Hyeon’s eighth minute opener for the visitors through Geovanni midway through the first half and Folan with nine minutes remaining to give The Tigers a 2 – 1 opening day victory.

Performance of the weekend though surely belonged to Blackburn Rovers who scraped a victory at Goodison Park. David Moyes had found it difficult to strengthen his squad during the summer and the lethargy seemed to severely impact Everton as they fell behind to a cracker from David Dunn midway through the first half. Spaniard Mikel Arteta spared blushes by equalising two minutes before the interval and Evertonians believed in a bright new future when Yakubu put them ahead midway through the second half. It was a short-lived joy as Roque Santa Cruz equalised two minutes later with The Toffees coming unstuck as the visitors took three deserved points when Andre Oojer scored with almost the last kick of the ball.

Sunderland entertained Liverpool at the Stadium of Light and despite holding out for eighty-three minutes, they succumbed to Fernando Torres’ first strike of the season. It was a rare bright spot for the Merseysider’s following the summer’s aborted and terminally dull courtship of Gareth Barry, mixed with the interminable in-fighting between their owners, eventually agreeing a truce that will last all of about five minutes. Oh, and Robbie Keane did not score for the first time this season.

Tottenham Hotspur were once again tipped to be the team to break into the cosy cartel of teams in the top four and once again failed abysmally to live up to that expectation, fading almost invisibly to a 1 – 2 defeat at The Riverside. Hosts Middlesbrough took the lead with twenty minutes to go when David Wheater scored, Spurs old boy Mido doubling the advantage with four minutes to go. Indeed, a Tottenham player failed to find the back of the net all afternoon as their goal was down to Robert Huth putting through his own net three minutes into injury time.

Stoke City were many people’s tip to go straight back down to The Championship and set about proving the pundits right with a poor performance at The Reebok. Bolton Wanderers took the lead on thirty-four minutes through Steinsson, Kevin Davies adding a second before the interval. The points were wrapped up in first half injury time when another summer addition to The Trotters squad, Jonas Elmander scored his first goal for the club. Scant consolation was gained when Fuller opened The Potters account for the season with barely a minute of the match remaining.

At Upton Park, Dean Ashton scored twice in the opening ten minutes to give West Ham United an unassailable lead against Wigan Athletic. Zaki pulled one back for the visitors two minutes into the second half as they looked set to struggle during the coming campaign.

Aston Villa met fellow UEFA Cup competitors Manchester City in a pulsating clash at Villa Park, emerging victorious with a 4 – 2 win. Surprisingly it took forty-seven minutes for the opening goal, John Carew for Villa beginning the glut. Elano equalised from the spot just past the hour before Gabi Agbonlahor took over the show, scoring a hat-trick in seven minutes. Corluka’s final goal for City before his protracted move to Tottenham served only as a goodbye gift for the stunned visitors.

The Impossible Dream

The departure of Jose Mourinho is perhaps the most and least surprising event of the week. It has been coming for a while; when the owner and the manager of a club have a dispute, there is but one winner and rarely, if ever, is it the man whose responsibility of picking the team. With hindsight, it is easy to say that the self-styled ‘Special One’ has been angling for this to occur since earlier this year. He has been injudicious to a certain extent in all of the ‘fights’ that he has provoked; the mask of diversionary tactics utilised to its fullest extent, anything to divert away from his players, their weaknesses overlooked in the media whenever they have been exposed on the pitch. This parting of the ways with Chelsea though highlights his own failings as much as it shows Roman Abramovich in an equally idealistic light.

The Urban Legend surrounding Abramovich’s involvement with English football would have you believe that he fell in love with the idea of owning a club having attended the Champions League clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid. Would that it were so romantic. It is reasonably certain that he likes football; he would not have invested in CSKA Moscow were that not the truth, even if his ‘interest’ in the Russian club is masked through sponsorship. Monies put forward for the benefit of the national team are easily dismissed as ‘political’, currying favour with the current occupant of The Kremlin or his acolytes.

It tends to be lost in the talk of ‘Ten Year Plans’ and Chelsea being self-sustaining within five years that Abramovich is first and foremost a businessman. Romanticising his involvement at the Club, portraying him as a benevolent investor is at best naive, more accurately delusional. The man is willing to pursue the glory associated with an English club winning in Europe but make no mistake, crunch time is coming; he wants a Return on his Investment. He may well have put the ownership of the club into his son’s name to protect its future. It is not an entirely altruistic step. If anything happens to him personally, no vultures can swoop to buy the Club on the cheap; they would have to pay more than a pretty penny to wrest the club from his family’s hands.

Motive though is perhaps the most perplexing aspect of his involvement. Yes, the money that can be made from football, particularly English football is certainly eye-watering. Why else would Glazer and co have invested in half of the top flight. Yet it is not the only reason. He does want success, he would not have achieved his own wealth were that not the case. However the size of the task ahead of him has, I think, hit him over the past six months. For two seasons, everything went Chelsea’s way in the Premiership. He could console himself with that whilst looking on in anguish as the Champions League evaded his grasp. Three semi-final defeats whilst favourites to progress to the Final hardly represents a guargantuan achievement. That he has spent £500m in pursuit of this dream is an indication that it is not an idle pursuit. Yet winning a Cup competition is more than pure skill. Each victor has their share of luck en route to the spoils. Liverpool dumped Chelsea out with a dubious goal and then won the trophy, well, no-one is quite sure how. Porto won the Champions League due to everyone of any note being eliminated beforehand. Porto beat Manchester United with a perfectly good Paul Scholes goal disallowed but of real consequence, there was no-one else in their scalps. Luck of the draw is an immense boost.

Yet Abramovich wants that but equally as important is the manner of victory. And in hiring Mourinho, it is probably certain that the style he craves could never be achieved. Mourinho is unlike Ferguson or Wenger. He builds his teams from a solid base at the back; the other two put their emphasis on flair and attacking technique, closer to George Graham in outlook. Yet he was a proven winner. Champion of Portugal, champion of Europe. Therein lies the rub; he traded flair for glory. The two are not mutually exclusive – Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real have all proven that – but in Mourinho’s eyes, they are. The most telling example of that came after Arsenal won 5 – 4 at White Hart Lane. The ‘Special One’ dismissed it as a hockey score yet all fans and owners would rather win the League with a season of those results than one of 1 – 0 victories which makes the decision to hire him all the more surprising. Claudio Ranieri in his one season in charge under Abramovich gave him attacking football but curious tactical decisions. Mourinho was the polar opposite. Entirely rational but unattractive to watch. Success but no plaudits for the manner of victory.

Is Abramovich chasing the impossible dream? Financially Chelsea are a big club yet next week they will fall down the rankings as Arsenal declare results that will show them to be the second wealthiest club in Europe in terms of turnover. On the pitch, pragmatism must reign in flair at some point. To win the Champions League with verve and panache is rarely done; perhaps in the last decade on three teams have managed to do so. Abramovich wants the trophy twice in a similar time frame ignoring historical evidence that it is hard enough to win it once. How long any manager will last at Stamford Bridge without winning ‘Old Big Ears’ is up for debate. Style is as important as substance but one has to give way to the other to be totally successful.