- It is more than likely that child abuse is still rampant within professional football
- Should Arsenal learn to shoot more often?
By Tony Attwood
Chaos in the Premier League? Most certainly for four clubs. Consider Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea… each with a different form of chaos, but each facing a chaotic future. Everton look like they could well get a new stadium, be relegated and have (for a variety of reasons) difficulties in paying for, well, anything and everything.
Manchester City are most obviously at war with the league facing 115 charges while simultaneously suing the league. Manchester United are not where they want to be in the league (8th last season, 14th at the moment).
And Chelsea are, well, Chelsea, spending the billions and getting headlines such as today’s in the Observer, “Todd Boehly wants Chelsea resolution as Clearlake relationship breaks down” with the subheadings, “Billionaire believes club’s structure is untenable” and “Talks over buying each other out have not taken place”.
These are the sorts of headlines that the media love: chaos, chaos, chaos, with the implication that if only those jolly chaps who write newspaper columns were allowed to get on with things, they’d jolly well show everyone how to make everything all right.
But it is rather interesting that the problems elsewhere have by and large stopped the journalists from writing about Manchester City’s issues much. Still, those of us with memories know what’s waiting in the wings.
But the key point is that four out of 20 clubs (ie 20% of the Premier League) are in utter turmoil, and the key element in all this is that the old stability upon which Premier League football was based has gone.
For in the past, there was Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. No journalist would dare challenge him, no one would doubt him, and if he wanted to buy someone he would. Now the club is fair game.
In the Guardian today there is also the headline, “Chaos club Everton reap the whirlwind of Premier League’s financial revolution”. Back with Chelsea the Telegraph has Fears of civil war at Chelsea as Todd Boehly’s relationship with Clearlake reaches breaking point.
Of course some of the prurient traditional newspaper writing is still there with the Telegeraph’s Emi Martinez repeats lewd World Cup final celebration with replica Copa America trophy, and the Mail retains its view that what pundits say is more important than what actually happens with “Roy Keane SAVAGES England for ‘awful’ second half performance in win over Ireland… accusing subs of showing ‘arrogance’ and players ‘playing for themselves’.”
But to be fair to the Mail (and I don’t think I have ever written that before) they do have the headline “Declan Rice ran the show”.
And yet in all this something is missing. Well, actually two things are missing.
First there is no commentary on the fact that all the major issues within football are happening at once. Four clubs at war with the whole system, uncertainty over the actual future of the League with Manchester City’s legal action against the body of which it is a member… such things are not the norm.
But more than that, in the midst of all this, one real, actual crisis is eternally ignored: PGMO. How could the monopoly supplier of referees and linespeople actually run out of money? I mean, ordinary companies can run out of money because no one wants their products or services any more. Or indeed because another firm comes along and does it (whatever it is) better and/or at a lower price.
But PGMO has no rivals, it is a monopoly supplier – which also brings up the thought of why the Monopolies and Mergers Commission has never looked into them. In fact I shall drop them a line and ask them this very question.
And speaking of monopolies with eternal support even when it is perhaps not deserved, we might ponder Manchester United, the Independent tells us that, “The team may have looked weak in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool but support for Ten Hag and his team stayed strong. Old Trafford has for a long time been a stadium that sings for the side no matter what. There can be boos and empty seats, sure, but United’s modern Premier League era has never seen the kind of open revolt against a manager that has been visible at other stadiums.”
Which then raises the question, is support for the manager when things are clearly going wrong, the way to continue?
In the last three years Manchester United have come sixth, third and eighth in the league.and won the FA Cup. Which is a bit like Arsenal coming eighth, eight and fifth, and winning the cup between 2020 and 2022. Except that with Arsenal there were endless cries from journalists and people proclaiming themselves to be Arsenal fans asking for of Arteta to be sacked but Manchester United don’t seem to get this.
Of course maybe Manchester United are helped by the rank stupidity of the media, as when in May this year the Guardian ran the story that “Manchester United decide to sack Erik ten Hag regardless …” That was going to happen, “after the FA Cup final against Manchester City. In an echo of United parting company with Louis van Gaal despite winning the FA Cup in 2016, it is understood that even beating City at Wembley on Saturday will not save Ten Hag.”
And maybe that is what keeps all this chaos running – it is the notion that no matter how crazy football gets, those football journalists will always be crazier.
No chaos at City. As with UEFA, the club are clear the charges are nonsense. It’s the Prem that is chaotic. Not us.
@ Jeremy
But with UEFA, not being found guilty had nothing to do with innocence or charges being nonsense, did it? Man City got off on a technicality. Not quite the same thing as being innocent I’d suggest….
Jeremy Poynton
“As per Der Spiegel, Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has claimed that he would rather spend 30 million pounds on the 50 best lawyers in the world for the next 10 years than agree to any financial settlement or penalty from the Premier League. Khaldoon Al Mubarak also added that the Premier League should focus on player workload instead of punishing Man City for trying to “grow the game”. This video details what Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s comments mean for both Man City and the Premier League moving forward.”
“agree to any financial settlement or penalty from the Premier League.”
So that’s how Khaldoon Al Mubarak thinks it works then is it? If they are found guilty, as it appears he thinks they will be, Man City have to ‘agree’ to any ‘settlement’ or ‘penalty’ do they?
I didn’t realise that. There I was believing if I was found guilty the judge just sentenced me as he felt fit. He didn’t ‘negotiate’ with me.
Either way, talk of a ‘negotiated’ or ‘agreed’ punishment, sounds very much like a possible admission of guilt to me?
But it seems he doesn’t even want to do that, he would much rather ‘bankrupt’ his accusers than face them.
Sounds like another possible admission of guilt to me?
The thing is, he’s not really even actually trying denying these charges is he. He just believes that, and I quote ” ….the Premier League should focus on player workload instead of punishing Man City for trying to “grow the game”.
Can you believe the arrogance of the man.
So ‘funding’ Man City to a level at which they now monopolise the Premier League completely is ‘growing the game’ is it.
It isn’t simply growing Man City at all then?
What a bunch of deluded self serving arrogant bullies Man City and their owners are.
And as Poynton proves, it seems some of their fans actually buy into this drivel.
@Nitram,
my suggestion would be every other team in the PL field the U23 players for each game with City,
It will be game over very quickly.
Imagine fans starting to ask for it. siging at each City game until it happens : play the kids….play the kids
City may then win the PL unbeaten with 200 goals. But would never win anything else. And in terms of statistics and history, there would always be an asterix next to the 1 of the Pl table. No real serious competition, no way to build a team and the players most probably fed-up with the situation and bored and would look for the exits. And the PR damage would be way worse.
Chris
I think that is definitely an option. There are others.
My biggest fear is that, by and large, the media are still four square behind Man City, and why not?
The money they pump in feeds 2 or 3 ‘commentator’s’ during the match. 2, 3 or 4 ‘pundits’ in the studio. 2 or 3 chasing ‘interviewers. All the producers, directors, researchers (Don’t make me laugh). You get the picture.
Why would the likes of Neville and Carragher want this gravy train to end? Hence the outrage at anything that suggests there is another way?
There are far too many vested interests in the Status Quo for anything to change any time soon I’m afraid.
You only have to listen to people like Jeremy Poynton, who seems to of actually convinced himself that Man City are actually doing this for the benefit of everybody else to realise just how perverted this has actually become!
“Time-barred” will not enter into the case between the PL and Man City. It might become a factor if PL clubs decide to take individual action against City based on the outcome of the PL case.
seismic
Do you not feel that yet again there is pressure from the media feeding into this, either directly (who knows what pressure certain ‘outlets’ may or may not be exerting on the PL behind closed doors, to find in such a way as to suit them? IE, let it go), or subliminally?
Given the enormity of the charges and the ramifications Man City’s actions may/will have on every other club, the easy ride afforded Man City from the mainstream media is actually quite shocking.
(And no matter Man City fans may think the opposite. Given the magnitude of the charges. The fact others have already been accused, investigated, charged, judged, and sentenced. Yet Man City’s case drags on and on and we hardly hear a murmur from SKY or TNT MOTD and the rest, confirms this. It would NOT be like that if Arsenal faced similar charges)
The silence is deafening. From the outside looking in, there seems very little will to see Man City’s case brought to a conclusion. And certainly no desire at all to see them found guilty and dealt with in the proportionate manner, given what’s already been meted out.
Maybe they are TOLD by Man City’s lawyers not to even mention it, and if they do be ready to face the consequences, and given Man City’s propensity to threaten with bankruptcy anyone who disagrees with them, who knows what’s being said?
All I know is, the feeling I get is that the ‘media’ just want this all to go away asap, so the gravy train can be just be allowed to carry on it’s merry way, and they can be left alone to fawn over the wonder that is Man City and pep Guardiola.
The thing is, as you, Tony and others suggest, I’m not so sure the other clubs see it in quite the same way, and will not take the medias (apparently) preferred solution lying down.
I imagine that the media are (by and large) incapable of doing anything relating to this case. Most (although not all) of the “journos” seem to lack understanding of the charges and what they actually mean in relation to the rules. Many of them don’t seem to understand what the charges are. If they had actually bothered to look at the facts in the UEFA case, they would quickly realise the importance of the story. Many City fans have claimed that their club is innocent, whilst ignoring the failure of CAS to appoint independent arbitration. Remember that UEFA found City guilty, and banned them from the CL for two years (and fined them £25 million).
Here is a four-year-old article from the Guardian which is relevant.
If you are on X, I suggest taking a look at @themagic_tophat who has a lot of detail on the UEFA case and the subsequent appeal.
seismic
I agree they (The media) may not be able to do anything practical relating to the case, but I doubt very much that would stop them from at least trying to influence the outcome to suit themselves, and what suits them seems to me to be keeping everything as quite as possible and maintaining the Status Quo.
They can’t influence a football match in a practical way, but as I have been saying for years that doesn’t stop them trying, and succeeding, to influence how a referee performs.
They have a massive vested interest in how this plays out, especially the major broadcasters as they could possibly lose their broadcasting rights if, for example, new league/s are set up.
I think if a new league is set up clubs may look at Pay Per View type arrangements. My understanding is Manchester Utd for example could quadruple their TV revenue if they did this?
Either way, with such enormous amounts of money at stake I do not doubt for one second that these guys are all over this, and as such know exactly what is going on.
But why would SKY for example (especially in fact), bad mouth the Golden Goose? If they went into this as per Tony, your good self, and man others on Untold Arsenal, and exposed all the incompetence, duplicity, criminality, that is professional football, they would be exposing the very reason a group of clubs tried to quit and set up their own league a few years ago.
With regards to the Manchester City story, they again would be exposing the very reason why the rest of the clubs would quite likely consider doing the same again, or at least something similar.
In other words, by exposing all this mess in it’s full glory could be writing their own death sentence.
As for the written media, although they would still continue to write about football and just get on board the next gravy train in whatever form it took, it would mean big questions asked as to why they failed to mention any of this (in such detail) before?
It would mean explaining why they fawned over all things Man City when they had all this information at hand?
Why they didn’t flag up the metaphorical asterisk that should of been placed against every Man City title since they started buying them?
I do not believe for a moment they don’t know every single thing Untold has exposed, including all the CAS failings and what it really meant.
In the case of the written media, they have dug themselves such an enormous hole by their failure to properly write about and expose what has really been going on, that to suddenly ‘be all over it’ so to speak, would make them look as pathetic, incompetent and complicit as they actually are.
I think that day will come anyway, but they will try to avoid it for as long as they possibly can.
PS: I am not on x or any other social media at all. Untold is my only contact with the outside World. Which could explain a lot!!!
And right on cue to prove my point.
Above I said the following:
“But why would SKY for example (especially in fact), bad mouth the Golden Goose? If they went into this as per Tony, your good self, and man others on Untold Arsenal, and exposed all the incompetence, duplicity, criminality, that is professional football, they would be exposing the very reason a group of clubs tried to quit and set up their own league a few years ago.
With regards to the Manchester City story, they again would be exposing the very reason why the rest of the clubs would quite likely consider doing the same again, or at least something similar.”
I repeat:
“But why would SKY for example (especially in fact), bad mouth the Golden Goose?”
And guess what we have on SKY Sports this very night:
DRINK IT IN: THE RISE OF MAN CITY
Manchester City’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric; from an 8-1 humbling in 2008, to six-time premier league winners. Follow the record breaking journey of the noisy neighbours.
—–
Does anyone wonder why the media, especially SKY don’t touch any of this? They absolutely love it. Man City’s Billions being pumped into the game is what’s paying all their wages.
Nothing, I repeat nothing will happen to Man City, because everything they do is to be admired by everyone They couldn’t give a shit where the money comes from. The ruinous effect on every other club.
All hail Man City.
Whatever happened to the great investigative journalists? That’s actually a rhetorical question. The mainstream media has been cutting funding for investigative journalism since the media conglomerates arrived on the scene in the ’80s.
As far is sports journalism goes, funding is an issue, but modern journalists are very lazy compared to their predecessors, and sporting organisations are not renowned for being cooperative.
seismic
The truth is they do not need to do much ‘investigative journalism’, all they have to do is read Untold Arsenal.
And as I have pointed out, if not exposing the truth isn’t bad enough, SKY Sports openly support Man City.
And funding isn’t an issue. It’s who’s doing the funding.
When your biggest funder is also the biggest criminal on the block your hardly going to investigate them are you?
The game is bent. End of.