Hello my good football people, we’ve finally reached the moment - no more football!
The good news is, because of World Cup interference, we ‘only’ have nine weeks until the start of the new season.
Before you know it transfers will be flying, friendlies will be kicking off and boom, we’ll be in it again!
But wow, what an end to the season it was. Before I say anything else… well done City, they deserved the treble. Pep Guardiola is a brilliant coach and they are an amazing team.
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 12, 2023
I watched the final with a bunch of mates from FN Rangers which included a few United fans. Of course they were pissed off. Not only was this their local rivals taking the limelight, but bang went the full glory of their historic treble in ’99.
Wherever you look, United fans are calling City’s achievement “hollow”, saying “all we know now is that it takes 15 years to buy football”.
But they need to relax, after all didn’t United outspend everyone in England for years prior to the great ’99 season? At some stage ya’ll need to get off the moral argument of winning stuff back in the 1950s with boys from the neighbourhood.
TREBLE WINNERS!!! 🏆![CDATA[]]>🏆![CDATA[]]>🏆 pic.twitter.com/K4fhk5VhjC
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 12, 2023
It just ain’t like that anymore. I’m one of those who preferred the ‘real’ game back in the day compared to the new theatre version, but it’s gone and there ain’t jack sh!t we can do about it.
Back to the final and it felt strangely similar to the FA Cup final.
City were always gonna win it. It appeared close but they were largely in control. Following Pep’s (Champions League) defeat to Chelsea in 2021, you just knew there’d be no mistake in this one. Every player was immersed in every detail, every drill, every tactic. This was Guardiola’s lifetime goal delivered by proxy. A team of completely brainwashed players, minds devoid of anything except the job at hand.
You could see it as the final whistle went. I’ve never witnessed that kind of reaction. Just about every City player broke down crying. It was a moment of pressure release like never seen before, a moment that showed us this team isn’t just a machine, they’re human after all.
It took some time before any of them could be interviewed. It’s worth searching for Jack Grealish’s post-match words on Youtube to catch the true emotional intensity of the moment…
What next for City, Pep? Could the psychological effect of reaching the panicle be detrimental to them next season as it was for Liverpool? Somehow I don’t think so…
Let's hear from your Player of the Season! 💬
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 12, 2023
Take it away, @ErlingHaaland ✨#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/6PjilUx1FK
On the subject of money and success, I’m not sure exactly what to make of the sudden emergence of Saudi Arabia as a possible threat to world football? On the face of it, it appears the oil rich nation is simply becoming a destination for end of career players.
But what happens if younger, top, mid-career players bite at the eye watering cash on offer? How important is competing in the Premier League, FA Cup, Copa Del Rey or Champions League?
Then, if the world’s best gravitated to Western Asia, what would become of the traditional big leagues? Would we all watch the EPL if it was the equivalent (quality-wise) of the EFL League 1? Wow! So many questions! Perhaps they simply want a few big brand players to encourage interest in the ‘Saudi Professional League’ to help encourage the genuine development of the game locally?
However it does appear that what’s happening is similar to the business tactics of the American MLS, signing the likes of David Beckham in the mid-2000s.
Thankfully that didn’t go too far, mind you Lionel Messi to Inter Miami is a shocker!
I guess an interesting question to ask yourself is, if you’re working as a van driver earning R10k a month in Cape Town and you’re offered R1m a month to drive in Saudi, would you do it?
Would you pick up and relocate your family and everything you know? of course you frikkin would! Why should footballers be any different. N’Golo Kante, legend that he is and possibly the best holding midfielder of all time doesn’t really have much star appeal, not the kind of player tourist’s flock to see, but he’s been offered nearly £2m pounds a week for 2 years, my god, that’s like R50m per week.
Don’t tell me he’d consider a move aged 32 to anywhere in Europe. That’s the type of wealth that looks after a family (and community) for generations. How important is football and the achievements within it to professional players?
I personally believe that tradition and history will prevail. I think Saudi will become an incredible ‘twilight’ destination for a season or two cash-in and panic in certain quarters will prove to be groundless.
It will be sad to lose the Karim Benzemas of this world from the Champions League, but you can’t begrudge any player who makes that decision. What the effect has on the transfer market is unclear.
I’d also predict Fifa to step in at some stage to ‘save’ the status quo. Unless of course (as we’ve just seen with world golf) billions of dollars are exchanged for favourable contracts!
Man, you never know? As Francis Bacon said; “Money is like muck, not good unless it be spread”.
Chat next week, bye byeeee.