RedsUnite: a man utd blog

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Not much news today, so I want to run something by all of you. As some of you know, Red Ranter and I have been engaged in a fairly academic discussion over the proposed 39th game and all it’s potential meanings. I came to the conclusion that there is a void to be filled.

I am curious as to what my readers think. The following is an edited version of one of my posts to him in our discussion over The Global Expansion. Give it a read, if you have the time, and let me know what you think. I know that my argument must be filled with holes, I just wonder what you think they are.

While perhaps none of the current clubs or leagues provide the proper framework for a greater appeal abroad, that does not mean that there isn’t a void to be filled. The current leagues, while steeped in tradition and historic worth, are unfit to adjust to the new global economy. There is, however, a massive market for internationally marketable teams and an internationally marketable league. The current league constructions, while great for localities, are relics of a time gone by. They were formed in a time with inferior travel capabilities, where it would have been implausible to travel from London to Milan for a match with regularity. Today it would take four hours.

In addition, improvements in technology have truly globalized the game. One does not need to live in the neighborhood of his club to follow it closely. A supporter could live across the Atlantic from his favored club and still watch nearly every match, receive the news minute by minute, and purchase all the clubs merchandise locally and from businesses abroad.

With the ability to broaden a club’s market well beyond its geographic surroundings, the current domestic leagues stand in contrast to current business models. “Globalization” has increased potential consumer bases by billions. Instead of being forced to appeal to those who they can easily ship to, today’s commerce has no walls. Information can travel around the world in an instant and products can be shipped to any shore. While there is certainly room for local clubs, I would argue that today’s global economy provides fertile ground for an international league. A league comprised of the largest cities in Europe, with a regional or national support base. While the economics of such a league will attract financial interests, it is my contention that such a league will be, eventually, demanded by football fans.

Consumers demand their products to be of the highest quality and having several competing leagues with hundreds of clubs necessarily diminishes the quality of the play within those leagues. While it may seem unimaginable, the formation of a league that would concentrate the world’s best players into one league would provide an inevitable quality to viewers.

The centralization of talent would invariably lead to a better product. Instead of having to wait until the Champions League semifinals to see Ronaldo and Kaka on the same pitch, they would face twice annually. Instead of having to follow several different leagues for fans to keep tabs on their favorite footballers, they will be able to see all of them in one league. The sides that comprised this super league would undoubtedly be 20 of the greatest club sides ever fielded. Instead of having a talent pool watered down by the existence of hundreds of clubs, with no league proving itself to be inarguably the best in football, talent would be centralized to a top league of 20 or 40 sides.

While I don’t believe that today’s local clubs will ever become extinct, I do believe that the prospect of them becoming “farm teams” to larger, national or metropolitan based super clubs is a distinct possibility within our lifetimes. There is a reason why people are so resistant to moves abroad. They are possessive of their clubs and have every right to be. There is a void to be filled, however, and where there is void there are financial interests that will look to fill it. While Manchester United, Barcelona or Milan may not be suited to fill that void, as they are necessarily restrained by tradition and their 100,000 core supporters, to assume that the EPL is as good as soccer could be and therefore is not vulnerable to competition is foolish.

Domestic leagues, as they are currently constructed, are bad for competition. The big clubs that are able to market themselves internationally will continue to grow while the smaller clubs will be unable to do so. Derby City will never be as good as Manchester United. The gap between the haves and have-not’s will continue to grow until competition is non-existent. The correlation between what clubs are able to pay for players and their success on the pitch is no accident. Eventually, as the large clubs continue to expand their revenue, the disparity in quality between the top 3 or 4 teams in each league and even the 9th and 10th placed teams will be massive. This is a recipe for a horrible product. Supporters for mid-table teams will have little to be excited about and will demand that something be done to insure viable competition. Today’s football has very few, if any, mechanisms to insure that fair competition exists. There are few restrictions on how much teams can spend and there is no draft system to insure that bad teams will improve. The rich get richer and the poor get relegated.

An international league could be constructed to insure fair competition. Larger geographic bases to draw support, internationally marketable players on all clubs, and the leagues international appeal would insure that all clubs were financially viable and capable of fielding quality sides. Such things as salary caps could be instituted to insure that the clubs based in the largest areas are not able to dominate clubs from smaller regions.

Such a transition would not be easy. Supporters of current clubs are, in many cases, fourth and fifth generation supporters. They have an emotional attachment to their sides and will not be quick to trade allegiances. I don’t see it as a zero-sum game however. Both can exist in the same world. Mancheter United can still exist while its supporters also support their regional international clubs. The English Premier League will be the primary talent pool for the larger English international sides. As currently displayed by the quality of play in the current leagues, the talent pool of footballers is deep enough where a top league could be created without leaving the current leagues talentless. They can both exist simultaneously.

While we are all comfortable with and accustomed to the current constructs, there is the possibility of a better product. The clubs would be the wealthiest in history. The quality of play would be unparalleled. The competitive balance would be improved. The greatest players would play against the greatest players every week, not every so often. And where there is a void, someone will move to fill it. The adjustment will be brutal and supporters will kick their feet all the way. But when there is the possibility of improving the game on so many levels, such change seems inevitable to me. It may not come tomorrow, it may not come next year, but as technology continues to bring us closer together our current institutions will adjust to these changes. It may not be a pleasant transition, but, in the end, the football on display will be the greatest ever seen, and that is reason enough for me to believe in its eventuality.