Are Chelsea and City ruining football? Pt 2

Wages are having to be increased to meet the demands of players, who can now offer a cheeky nod in the direction of over-priced players at clubs like City and Chelsea, and other corners of Europe, to substantiate their claim that they are entitled to over-inflated wages. Football does not need to attract players. It is not a profession that is ailing, and which needs a consequential incentive to draw players in.

You’ll find that most of today’s players would still be professional footballers, even if the going wage was a few grand a week tops. But if clubs are selling their hearts to the twin-pronged devil of cash and success, there is little option but to match the wages at the soul-selling empires, thereby distorting the canvas.

But the blame for this altered image of football cannot be solely laid at the doorsteps of Stamford Bridge and the aptly-named Etihad Stadium. UEFA’s policy of allowing four (and in some cases, five) clubs from the top leagues around Europe to lock horns in the world’s Premier club competition has caused players to clamour over each other for the perspective of playing for a Champions League club. Of course, this luxury is one that no longer requires shouldering by Manchester United, who have whimpered out of contention by poor showing domestically.

But in bygone days, the European Cup was a rather welcome distraction from events at home, and one in which you only had to play three rounds to reach the final, playing just six games in the process. It was not such a demanding schedule for the players, and did not call for the “owners" of the participating clubs to assemble an entire squad that could compete both home and abroad. There was also no guarantee that joining a big club would promise continental football. It was only the champions that entered the competition, so the clubs presence in the competition could not promise to be long-term, and was never used as a bargaining chip to draw in the big names.

Chelsea have made a success of the Champions League. They have only won it once so far, but they have endured some marked misfortune down the years, and could have lifted Old Big Ears on at least a couple more occasions. However, some may cite this as poetic justice, given that they had no heritage in the competition, and were only able to compete in it due to a billionaire’s whim. Either way, any player joining Chelsea is virtually guaranteed Champions League football year on year.

Likewise at Manchester City. They fumbled around in the darkness of the group stages for two years, before finally navigating their way to the knock-out phase, where they were duly dispatched by superior outfits, who swatted them away like an irritating fly. But it cannot escape anyone’s attention that they will continue to throw money at the competition until they win it, and are certainly laying down their place mats, indicating their intention to continue dining at Europe’s top table.

Football has poetically been referred to as the beautiful game. It has also been tagged a funny old game.

However, its beauty is being stolen, and it is certainly not very funny.
Sooner or later, the financial bubble will burst, and with it, the dreams of those clubs who have allowed themselves to be morally defiled by business men.