European Super League plans have dealt a "significant, self-inflicted blow" to the Big Six
With possible government intervention looming, perhaps executives are wondering whether their greed may be about to backfire.
Wednesday 21 April 2021 12:33, UK
It was 48 hours which football will never forget.
A fiasco which began at 11.15pm on Sunday and by 10.55pm on Tuesday the last of the six English clubs still involved had taken their leave.
The European Super League limped into life with a press release, featherweight in detail, complete with a logo that may or may not have been designed on PowerPoint.
A PR firm, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson describes as the "Fortnum and Mason" of communications, was involved but this was far from a gold standard display.
Nobody was made available to sell this hare-brained scheme, the six billionaire owners of the English clubs conspicuous by their absence.
There were pleadings behind the scenes that this was not a closed shop league, that five teams each year would be able to qualify, but there was no elaboration about how that might work.
It would help the women's game, they said, but again no information to support this.
The vacuum they created was filled by critics of the Super League and most strikingly, the fans, united by shared outrage like never before.
Standing on the concourse in front of Old Trafford, an area decorated by photographs of some of Manchester United's most iconic European moments, Duncan Drasdo, the chief executive of the supporters trust, became emotional.
"People have died for this club," he said, referring to the Munich Air Disaster in 1958 which killed eight players, dubbed the Busby Babes, making their way back from a European Cup game.
It was quickly apparent that the six English clubs had seriously misjudged the strength of fan feeling about competition based on merit, not money.
At Elland Road on Monday evening, a plane flew over the stadium, trailing a banner urging clubs to "Say no to the European Super League".
It had been organised by the Leeds United Supporters Trust, a club which would have been frozen out by the breakaway, but the fan groups of the so-called Big Six were instrumental in bringing about its collapse.
It was a plot which completely disregarded them, but as the Super League came tumbling down on Tuesday evening they were there in their hundreds, marching to the doorstep of Stamford Bridge.
Some held signs urging their billionaire Russian Oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, to reconsider and as news filtered through that Chelsea was the first club preparing documents to formally withdraw, the mood changed.
They've not been allowed inside the stadium for over a year but this victory was celebrated as fulsomely as any other.
The Super League was being led by Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, but driving it forward were three American owners of English football clubs - the Glazer family at Manchester United, Fenway Sports Group led by John W Henry at Liverpool and Stan Kroenke at Arsenal.
They wanted to solidify the current status quo by removing the threat of relegation and creating a closed shop league similar to that in the NFL or Major League Soccer; they made their breakaway move without consulting fans or players.
In many minds, this is evidence of their lack of appreciation, or regard, for the history of these clubs or the rare role they play in their communities.
It shouldn't be assumed that is the case with all American executives in English football.
Burnley's recently arrived chairman Alan Pace told me on a video call after a meeting of the 14 other Premier League club executives that there was a sense of "anger" at the rebels.
"The heart and soul of football is the fans," he said.
"You can't take the heart out of the body and expect it to live.
"I see on social [media] people saying 'why on earth is Burnley even commenting because it's such a small club', but the reality is we're like every other club in this country and it's the small guy that has to stand up once in a while and say this isn't okay."
A different senior figure at a Premier League club told me they felt "betrayed" by "two-faced" executives at other clubs, including Bruce Buck, the Chelsea chairman who is part of the working group for the Premier League's strategic review, initiated in response to the ill-fated Project Big Picture, yet still played a part in his club's involvement in the Super League.
The next Premier League shareholders meeting promises to be a spirited exchange of views.
There are unlikely to be any ramifications for the so-called dirty dozen from UEFA, with President Aleksander Ceferin just grateful to have them back with their tails between their legs and promising unity moving forward.
But there is now pressure on the government to make this chaotic episode count.
The prime minister promised to land a "legislative bomb" on clubs to stop the Super League from happening but there is now a clamour for its collapse to be followed by genuine reform of the game and legislative change to limit the control and influence billionaire owners wield in football.
Conservative former sports minister Tracey Crouch is leading a fan-led government review of football, while Helen Grant, another former sports minister, proposed a bill for an independent football regulator, with powers to review finances and redistribute incomes.
The Big Six may get away without any immediate sporting sanctions for their short-lived and ill-fated scheme but this ugly episode has dealt a significant, self-inflicted blow to their reputations.
It has also illuminated just how out of touch some of them are with their own supporters. With possible government intervention looming, perhaps they will be wondering whether, this time, their greed may be about to backfire.