Community Shield may be an irrelevance, but the FA Cup holders at least made the best of their day out at Wembley
As a fundraiser it is a worthy event, even in a half-full stadium. But the Community Shield as a contest and spectacle is mostly worthless, especially when one of the teams – in this case Manchester City – deploys a skeletal side because many of their players are making their way back from tournaments that matter to them. Even its symbolic value as a curtain raiser feels forced, like new socks on Father’s Day, something no one particularly wants but most accept out of politeness. A rethink of the format is in order. Or the teams could just make a donation to good causes and save everyone the bother of turning up for a half-speed chore in a cluttered schedule.
It was not always like this. It used to be worse . . . and then for a while better. When Spurs won the Double in 1961, they could not play themselves in the Charity Shield so instead faced an England XI. That would not have been an option this year because England’s players – with the exception of Jack Grealish, apparently – are still working their way back from Euro 2020. When Arsenal did the Double in 1971, they shirked the Charity Shield altogether, so Leicester got to play in it for the first time on the basis that they had won the Second Division. Manchester City’s appearance the following year seemed even more random: after the league champions, Derby County, and the FA Cup winners, Leeds United, decided they could not bear to face each other, City were called up because, well, they had finished fourth in the league, and they faced Aston Villa, who had won Division Three.
Related: Iheanacho punishes wasteful City to win Community Shield for Leicester
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