The so-called beautiful game has been having a torrid old
time of it over the past few weeks.
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| Barnes and the Banana: we've come a long way since these days...haven't we? |
Liverpool seems happy enough to make an example of bigots on
the terrace but the club seems rather less surefooted when it comes to the
censure of its multi-million pound mary-boys and their unreconstructed views on
race relations. As for Chelsea’s John Terry...
But just in case you thought this was just an issue on the
terraces or in the dressing room, the shame of the game’s establishment is
further evidenced by the paucity of black managers in the Premiership. Black
footballers are apparently good enough to be demographically over-represented
in the playing ranks but it would appear that they lack the ability to read the
game strategically or to man-manage. (Don’t even get me started on the Asian players – that’s
right, what Asian players?)
And let’s not forget BBC commentator Alan Hansen’s
pronouncements on ‘coloured’ players. Jesus H Christ, when did we go back to
1970s South African terminology to describe black footballers? And still every
Saturday and Sunday, this intellectually challenged fuckwit graces the Match of
the Day sofa with the same sense of smug entitlement that is almost a trademark
of the BBC.
Racism is sadly only one of the fatal structural flaws of
the game here in the UK. Tottenham Hotspur’s manager (and current favourite for
the poison chalice that is ‘Eng-er-land’ manager) Harry Redknapp has just
beaten the rap on a tax evasion charge associated with his period at Pompey’s
helm. (Having covered British ‘justice’ down the years, in the form of the
Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four, I have of course every confidence the
right decision was reached in this case...)
But it’s not all bad news (at least if you’re a Celtic fan
or a member of global financial advisory and investment banking firm, Duff
& Phelps). Rangers – who have been
docked 10 points by the Scottish Premier League and currently sit 14 points
behind Celtic – are awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal which could see them
owing the taxman as much as £75m.
Earlier this week Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, of Duff
and Phelps, said: “We can report we have made very good progress within the
first 24 hours of being appointed administrators over Rangers Football Club.”
What can it all mean? Will we never again hear the heart-warming
strains of ‘The Billy Boys’ echoing around the Ibrox? It would surely be a real
shame if they were never again to be up to their knees in Fenian blood (as
opposed to just being up to their necks in debt). But apparently, "supporters can be reassured
that Rangers will continue as a football club and we hope to reach a stage as
soon as possible where the Club can emerge from administration."
The fallout from Rangers’ demise may yet be far-reaching. Global
management consulting firm AT Kearney are playing Cassandra here. Emmanuel
Hembert, one its principals posits that "this dramatic development with Rangers
highlights the fact that the beautiful game may be on the verge of a systemic
crisis."
Certainly, football in the UK has all the hallmarks of a
bubble on the point of bursting. The recent January transfer window seems to
confirm this as spending was down and even for the majority of big clubs it
seems cash is available in only limited proportion.
"In
the A.T. Kearney EU Football Sustainability Study conducted in 2010, we warned of the similarities
between football and banking asking whether football was too popular to fail.
The financial woes of Rangers seem to confirm they mirror in many ways," said
Hembert. "The question is now: is
Rangers the Lehman Brothers of football?"
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