Over a week later, there is really nothing new to report in regards to out want-away striker. He showed up to training today, and almost ten days after he put in his transfer request the club has not received a firm offer. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays in any of the upcoming preseason friendlies should the manager want him to. It’s all been beaten to death, so I won’t beat that dead horse. It has been a busy summer in the greater world of football, and many of those events have at least some impact on our club.
Sepp Blatter continues to push forward with making Qatar 2022 the first winter World Cup. For an organization as corrupt as FIFA, it should surprise nobody that they let Qatar essentially buy the World Cup and that FIFA would arbitrarily not follow their own rules when it suits them. As the club game, especially the big European Leagues, become more popular globally the big clubs and FIFA have been at odds. If FIFA tries to force through a winter World Cup, that could start a war between them and the big European Leagues. This might be one battle that Blatter can’t win, I wouldn’t count on a six week break in the middle of our season in 2022.
There has also been small-scale protests about Premier League ticket prices. We are fortunate that our club has some of the most reasonable prices in the Premier League. If more fans can afford to go to games, that will only help the club in the long run.
What these protesters don’t understand is that the toothpaste can’t go back into the tube. Once prices go up, they will only go back down if people stop buying them. Yes prices have gone up astronomically since the advent of the Premier League. The reality is that before the Premier League, Taylor Report, and Hillsborough, football in England was so backward that prices were probably artificially low to begin with. Once English football moved out of the 19th century by having modern and safe stadiums and actually putting games on TV, the sport was always going to evolve into what it has become.
Another American has bought into the Premier League as Shahid Kahn has taken over at Craven Cottage. Kahn is a self-made billionaire, but doesn’t have an endless supply of wealth like Sheik Mansoor. Part of his motivation is likely due to the fact that his Jacksonville Jaguars, probably the least supported team in the NFL, will be playing one game in London for the next four years. Owning a Premier League club in London creates opportunities or synergies and cross-promotion. If he talked to Randy, I’m sure Randy warned him about trusting a manager too much with a transfer budget.
It UEFA doesn’t vigorously enforce Financial Fair Play, that organization will lose all credibility. Clubs like Villa, have at least publicly cited FFP as a reason why they have cut their expenses. Taking them at face-value, UEFA has to make sure all clubs abide by the rules. It that means Barcelona or Real Madrid are in violation and aren’t allowed to compete in the Champions League, it will give that competition more credibility and not less.
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