Transfer culture is a basic part of fandom and sustaining concerted opposition to owners is almost impossible Oh! pleasant exercise of hope and joy! For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood upon our side, we who were strong in love. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive. But to be on Fulham Road, wreathed in canisters of blue smoke, holding a home-made banner reading FANS NOT CUSTOMERS, was very heaven.Yes: who can forget the famous European Super League protests of April 2021? They were a vibe, weren’t they? Peace and love and Florentino Pérez memes. Prince William ferrying cups of tea and bottled water out to the picket line. Gary Neville, hair wreathed in daisy chains, serenading...
The fines handed out demonstrate English football cannot continue its global growth without the snaky six on boardIt read like something drafted by the Spanish inquisition rather than the English Premier League. The European Super League Six had “acknowledged once again that their actions were a mistake”. They had “reconfirmed their commitment to the Premier League and the future of the English game.” They had given praise to Gary Neville and pledged to kiss the hem of his robe. Related: Six English ESL breakaway clubs agree to pay £22m to grassroots causes Related: Transfer of tickets via Euro 2020 app risking touting and crowd problems Continue reading...
Exits for Conte and Zidane, together with talk of Pochettino returning to Spurs, epitomise the chaos of modern football At first glance, Antonio Conte leaving a club in dispute with the owners soon after leading them to a league title may not seem particularly significant. This is what he does. His departure from Internazionale follows ostensibly similar departures from Juventus and Chelsea, and he left the Italy national job early as well.But this is about far more than Conte. What is happening at Inter is emblematic of the chaos of modern football and the struggles of an industry that had become a stage for the soft-power machinations of various states and oligarchs and was in need of major financial recalibration...
Fans are right to protest but unless the game’s riches are better redistributed the super-rich benefactors are here to stay Whether you see in the demonstrations at Old Trafford last week an outrageous affront to law and decency or a legitimate mode of dissent, a public expression at last of long-held grievances, it is clear, perhaps for the first time in English football, that there is a real sense of militancy among fans. With the super-clubs in retreat, the possibility of change appears real – or at least more real than it has been for years. In which case fans should probably work out what they want.Already it is notable that the serious protests have been focused at the two...
Amid the grievances that have brought fans into the streets in recent weeks there is a yearning to feel something againA lone saxophonist was playing in the sunshine outside Old Trafford on Sunday evening. This was after the tumult, after the crowds had been pushed back, after the police had regained control of the concourse outside the megastore, before the inevitable 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Liverpool had finally been called off. And on another surreal and poignant day in English football, it was possible to hear in those breezy notes a lament for something that had been lost, something that even now might never be recovered.Earlier in the day, by all accounts, the mood had been mutinous, bordering...