Why would English football’s elite worry about propping up a system they have spent years actively seeking to obliterate?One by one, they lined up to condemn the madness. “It’s certainly destroying my enjoyment of the game of football,” said Roy Hodgson. “You’re ruining football for everybody,” fumed Jamie Carragher. “The game’s gone,” tweeted Andros Townsend. “Maybe we can all get together and stop it,” urged Steve Bruce.Meanwhile, on Monday a group of football fans, former players, administrators and politicians sent an open letter to the government warning that many EFL and National League clubs were “unable to meet their payroll obligations for next month”, and that without government assistance English football was facing “the collapse of the league structure that...
Brentford have a new home and must bounce back, as must Forest, while grudge rivalries await in Leagues One and TwoWith the transfer window open until 5 October, players primed for a move to the Premier League can give their clubs a leg-up in the opening weeks of the season. Bournemouth have so far retained Callum Wilson and Joshua King, while Norwich can still call on Ben Godfrey, Max Aarons, Todd Cantwell and Jamal Lewis. Watford, too, could start life in the Championship with Ismaïla Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu. Ivan Toney’s switch to Brentford feels significant in terms of a possible domino effect but Ollie Watkins and Saïd Benrahma, both of whom are valued at around £25m, are in full...
The argument for financial reform is at last beyond credible dispute as historic clubs face ruin owing to the Covid-19 crisisEven before football was plunged into crisis by the Covid-19 pandemic, influential people in the game were discussing the need for the Premier League’s improbable fortunes to be shared more equally. As historic, stalwart lower-division and semi-professional clubs stare at ruin, and promised investment could drain from the grassroots, the argument is finally beyond credible dispute.However the Premier League resolves its struggle to finish this season so that it can clutch the remainder of the TV money, it will still be a huge draw for broadcast billions when normal life finally returns. The pre-pandemic position, that the big clubs keep...
As Premier League clubs seek government support to restart the focus is on the brutal gap to the Football League’s three divisionsIf one impact of the Covid‑19 catastrophe has been to hold Britain rigid and shine a merciless light on all our structures, it was inevitable that football’s struggles would culminate in a piercing look at the money. And just as there are calls for fundamental improvements to the nation’s inequities when the horror is finally over, a focus is emerging on football’s own inequalities and how sustainable they really are.The financial gap between the Premier League and the rest has widened exponentially over the 28 years since the First Division clubs broke away from sharing with the Football League’s...
Amid expert advice-taking and scenario-modelling it feels increasingly that calling the season off should be stress-testedFair play to the Premier League, EFL and everybody trying to plot a cautious way back to normal life, but amid their expert advice‑taking and scenario‑modelling it feels increasingly that they should also be stress-testing the alternative – calling the season off.The more savvy professionals involved are exercising caution about the government’s position, after another oddly judged intervention this week by Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, who said that – health guidance permitting – he wanted to “get football up and running – as soon as possible”. Related: Premier League clubs united in desire to find way to finish season after meeting Related: Championship makes...