COLUMNIST JOHN HOLMES

A Call to Arms

By John Holmes :  09/02/2008 :  Comments (8) :

?The end is nigh and the soul is sold?; the near unanimous reaction of the fans to the Premier League?s proposal to take the English game global. Ignoring the contradiction in terms, a stark reality has been exposed that most were aware of but none had seen in such disambiguated terms before. The Premier League is run by businessmen for businessmen. Read the reactions from those within the game; few make any mention of the benefits to the English, or indeed world, game, it?s about money, market and growth. Yet, these aren?t only businessmen coming out in support. The most disheartening of all was Roy ?prawn sandwich brigade? Keane, coming out in support of the proposals. Just why is a figure with such a reputation for belts and braces over diamond earrings and WAGS coming out in support of this move? Have the fans missed the benefits to the smaller clubs? Is there more to these proposals than meets the eye?

Firstly, let?s get two things straight. 1) Major English teams will increasingly play games abroad ? the rewards are too high, the demand is too great and the English market is saturated. They?ve milked us for all we?ve got so new cows are needed. 2) The 39th game is a farcical proposal that even the Premier League will eventually have to admit is unworkable? I?m sure others will outline just why so I won?t waste words. Suffice to say that there is no way it could be incorporated without shattering the integrity of the league and the suggestion that the top five (oh how generous to let a fifth into the cartel) should be seeded is a pathetic piece of protectionism. If the top five should be seeded to ensure fairness, why not the bottom five who have as much at stake?

With those two facts in place, why are those within the game voicing such diametrically opposed views to those looking in? Part of the reason, I suspect, lies in the reality that ?English football? means increasingly little as a phrase. Is Arsenal an English football team? They only use English players as an afterthought; their manager is French and, although the attendees of the match are English this is an accident of history, the majority of their supporters are scattered globally. The same could be said about many teams, Everton included. A couple of years ago I had a naïve pride that we were a team doing it with a largely British squad, yet only Lescott, Neville and Carsley are now guaranteed starters. So with Englishness having little actual stake in the makeup of clubs beyond those who attend matches, why would those within the clubs feel any great attachment to a concept of English football which would be damaged by these proposals?

Whilst those within the clubs see themselves as part of cosmopolitan, global enterprises; the supporters, particularly the regular match-goers, still live in their local communities; increasingly multi-cultural they may be, but still essentially English. There is little cosmopolitanism in the Gwladys Street. The global brand appears only on the pitch, not in the stands. What we are seeing is an essential contradiction between the roots of the game and the game itself. The roots remain highly localised whilst the game has spread itself across a far broader geography. The tension of these two forces will be stretched to breaking point in the coming years. The saturation of the English market (it was widely agreed last season that the demand for UK televised football had been met) and the sold out stadia of the power-brokers means they will seek new revenue streams, streams with no connection to their roots, and in doing so will dislocate themselves entirely from these foundations. There lies the future of the English game, a label with no meaning. A game based on competition, on and off the pitch, but instead of the passion and pride of locality, simply the glamour and glory of spectacle.

Stripped of all the trappings of its place-based history, the move to Kirkby makes sense for Everton Football Club. It?s accessible from major transport links, it?s a place of non-descript locale and its surroundings are familiar the world over ? the out of town retail park. I?ve never been to the area but I can imagine it doesn?t look much different to Clifton Moor and Monk?s Cross on the outskirts of York. It?s McDonaldization in action ? make it the same experience the world over and you have a global market.

If those within football see the remnants of the English game in a different way to those on the outside, is there anything positive to come out of these proposals, particularly for the small teams (amongst which I don?t number Everton who I suspect will do rather well, financially at least, out of globalising the Premier League)? Will it limit the current oligarchies power? Currently, teams like Middlesbrough and Reading, and the other less cosmopolitan of the current Premier League 20, may much to gain from these proposals. The Riverside sits half empty on match days. Partly due to shoddy performances but also, I suspect, because such performances are coupled to a reality that they have no realistic chance of ever winning the League. I sometimes wonder if fans of such teams would rather be relegated and at least have the opportunity to play in a competition they have a chance of winning, but then I still believe that Everton can overcome the financial inequalities of the league to take the title in the medium-term, maybe they do too. With little hope amongst those who make up the numbers, perhaps their manager?s and owner?s optimism surrounding these proposals reflects a belief that they may then be able to remodel themselves after the fashion of the bigger teams. By joining the road-show they can hope to put themselves in the shop window to a greater degree. Few overseas fans can surely be excited by the prospect of Fulham vs. Birmingham City on the TV, but, with the marketing surrounding ?The Best League in the World? coming to ?YOUR city?, the additional promotion could change their fortunes.

However, it is highly questionable that the big winners would be anyone other than the predicable four. With the overseas marketing structures already in place, they can simply expand their operations and, perhaps another reason for ensuring they are playing against the ?lesser? teams, put on a show to dazzle the locals. Make no mistake; the teams that put on the classy show will be the ones with the sponsors banging on their doors. Perhaps there is a reality that there are only a small number of genuinely world-class players and one team can only be ?so? good. If that?s the case, maybe the others can play catch up as the top clubs stall. However, the real question is, would anyone care anymore as foreign players play in far-flung climes to supporters with no attachment to the club?s history. The format of the competitive elements matters little if the fans back home couldn?t care less.

The financial arguments for these proposals are strong, the fatalism of letting nature take its course is equally compelling. Yet, as supporters, and particularly for those of you who regularly go to games, a power remains. Boycott, protest and harangue at every turn. Full stadia and passionate crowds are part of the brand that is being sold. Empty stadia and rebellious supporters are ugly and unmarketable. If people want to protect the English game from those who see it as a saleable asset rather than a matter of passion then they need to do something about it. Let them have their exhibition friendly matches if they like, but the heart of the game lies in the passion and pride of the competitions. The internet and the weekly gatherings of supporters give a power of organisation that few other areas of life can match. Make use of it.

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