Farcical Fridays

Last Saturday the most anticipated Premier League season for years (although that's what we say every year) made an overdue return, and to be quite honest, what an anti-climax it was, with reigning champions Leicester City going down two goals to one against an extremely depleted Hull City team. Gary Lineker presenting Match of the Day in his pants was probably the only true highlight of Saturday, with the fixtures only being able to be described as dour. But I digress.
The purpose of this piece is to discuss the arrival of Sky Sports' new addition to their footballing broadcasts; 'Friday Night Football', and it's possible impacts.

Friday Night Football: A good idea?

Now, as a League 2 fan who dabbles into the depths of non-league on a regular basis too, the fact that the Sky Sports corporate steamroller have ventured into a Friday night prime time slot as part of their £8bn TV deals means very little to me, and quite honestly I was unaware of it happening until very recently. It has no bearing whatsoever on my attendances at Wycombe Wanderers games, and its introduction will purely give me the option of watching a Premier League game at home or in the pub on a Friday night if I wish to do so. However, for many, the introduction of  'Friday Night Football' will have consequences - some positive, and some negative.
The clear winners here, are without a doubt the broadcasters, another box has well and truly been ticked, they have managed to secure Premier League football on a Friday, meaning effectively it could mean that we could see the stars of the Premier League, and the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher grace our screens every day between Friday and Monday, another nail in the coffin away from the old school tradition of purely having games on a Saturday at 3pm and the odd few on a Tuesday night. But like I've alluded to before, the giants of the corporate sports world (Sky and BT) care very little about fans, rather customers and viewing figures, and alongside this - lining their pockets with hard cash. If Friday Night Football is a success, which I'm predicting it will be - with the likes of Rachel Riley and Jeff Stelling involved, it could prove to be an extremely profitable venture. Obviously the arrival of Friday Night Football will also go down well with those who are Sky viewers, another opportunity to savour the delight of one of the most elite leagues on the planet - and with the prospect of more televised football it will likely mean more Sky Sports subscription purchases - another profitable tributary in the ever flowing monetary stream that is Sky Sports.
Another benefactor of the new Friday fixtures are pubs, as someone who has worked many a Friday night behind the bar I know that Friday is more often than not the busiest night of the week, the added incentive of football being televised is only going to see an influx in the amount of people visiting their local. Although, if you're like me and were unaware of these Friday games, I doubt it is likely to make too much of a difference to some establishments... regardless Sky Sports win in terms of exposure and pubs buying the rights to show these extra games.
Now, I fully appreciate the likes of BT Sport and Sky Sports and their ease of use, the users ability to discover new sports and their ever growing influence on sporting culture, however, the introduction of Friday Night Football could prove to be extremely detrimental to both football fans who regularly attend matches, and smaller league and non-league clubs who already live in the shadows of the superstar teams of the Premier League.
Although the Premier League have recognised the extortionate ticket prices and have therefore capped away tickets to a maximum of £30, the concern is logistic nightmares these Friday night matches could bring to away and home fans alike. Take tonight for example, as Southampton travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United, an 8pm kick off. A fan driving from Southampton would take on average three and half hours to arrive at the home of Manchester United, meaning your Average Joe working a 9-5 weekday job hasn't got a hope in hell of attending the match, whereas if the fixture was played on a Saturday they would more than likely be able to take the trip. In addition to this public transport is far from trustworthy, or frequent for that matter, with trains available after evening matches, especially on a Friday, at a premium. It would be a different story if television money acquired by clubs from the broadcaster was used to help out their fans that evidently care for the club, but obviously this feeling isn't a mutual one. This means fans could become alienated from their club, and attendances could prove to suffer because of this - Sky Sports win again.
Away from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League in the ever so different world of the football league and more so non-league there are concerns that the introduction of football on a Friday could see attendances continue to fall. Already faced by Tuesday night televised Champions League matches, some non-league clubs, such as Wealdstone and Oxford City who play in the National League South have begun moving fixtures from a Tuesday to a Monday night, as attendances have plummeted as the obsession with the biggest club competition in Europe continues to grow. It could indeed prove to be beneficial with football fans looking for another local club to support on a Saturday, however, time will very much tell.

Non-League teams have changed fixture dates to retain attendances

By no means has this piece been a tirade against Sky Sports, merely a way of analysing the effects of the introduction of Friday Night Football. However, what is clear to me is that we've enter into a new realm of televised football, in which money well and truly talks with sports channels getting preference over football fans. Evidently, not everybody is happy about its introduction, however what is clear is that it has arrived, and it's here to stay.

Money talks, absurdity rules.

It is almost three weeks since the European Championships in France came to a climax, a tournament to forget for England and one to savour for the likes of Wales, Iceland and the eventual victors Portugal.
Since the completion of the European tournament I must say I have been struggling for inspiration to compose a meaningful post. I refuse to post generic rubbish about the transfer window using the 'insert player, club and price tag' framework, as let's be honest a good nine times out of ten nothing at all comes of posts like, as after all they are purely rumours, and away from the transfer window, no pre-season campaigns or any other footballing happenings for that matter have really struck a cord with me.
That was until a few days ago when it was revealed Juventus had shelled out a cool £75.3 million for Gonzalo Higuain, making him the third most expensive transfer in history.

Gonzalo Higuain unveiled to the media as a Juventus player

Now, this post may sound like a contradiction of myself - 'I refuse to post about the transfer window', but in this case this transfer is about much more than that, it is the astronomical, absurd figures that are becoming more and more ridiculous, but also more frequent in football, which makes me question whether owners of these 'mega clubs' are putting business first and almost amassing their own 'fantasy teams' to illustrate their riches and prestige before what should really matter - football itself.
In a world which has recently seen major volatility in the global economy following the UK's surprising exit from the European Union, football's own economy has not been effected one jot, instead fees for players and their along with contracted future wages have visibly sky rocketed.
Don't get me wrong a player such as Higuain comes with an impressive goal scoring record (36 goals in Serie A last season, a record) and will definitely bolster the Juventus front line. However, he by no means is the first name to pop into your head when you're thinking of a consistently world class performer, a few individual honours to his name, but nothing ground breaker, he didn't even feature in last season's Ballon D'Or squad. Yet still worth upwards of £75 million. On a side note, a deal likely to be around £100 million for Pogba?
Ten years ago that would be unheard of. The mind boggles. However, it just shows just how much money now talks at an elite European domestic level, if teams don't have the financial backing behind them they will get left behind at the highest level (in the most part - Leicester winning the Premier League will never happen again).
Market inflation is clear to see, to put things into perspective, in 2003 Manchester United acquired Cristiano Ronaldo for £15 million (after add-ons), in 2016, Jordon Ibe signed for Bournemouth for the same price. Now, no disrespect to Ibe, as a player who came through the ranks as a youngster at my club Wycombe before moving to Liverpool, I respect his talent, however, if you compare the two players abilities at this stage in their career, and their possible potential, there is no comparison.
But who is to blame for this baffling level of inflation we now see in the footballing market place? Well, clearly there are multiple factors that have a bearing.
A transfer has three main 'actors' - the clubs, the player himself and the player's agent, all of which have different requirements that should be adhered to in order to complete a deal. It seems to me that clubs are charging more for players to pay for their insane wage bills, as well the shear amount of money at clubs disposal the market level is being pushed ever more skywards. You could argue introducing wage caps would solve this problem, but players will just go elsewhere. In order to attract world class players you need to offer competitive wages, and with clubs becoming richer and China starting to entice players away e.g. Hulk, Ramires and Pelle to name a few, wages and player prices will continue to rapidly grow, it is a vicious cycle of greed from a player's perspective. Let's be honest no player dreams of playing in China.
Greed isn't a trait that used to really exist in football, players wanted to play football because they loved the sport, they wanted to play for their home team and they wanted to win for themselves and the fans. Back in 1996 Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle, at £15 million it was a lot at the time, a record fee, but the rest as they say is history - an enigma, a cult hero, he cared for the club and the club cared for him. However, these days things are different, players come and go, with many players (and their agents) always looking for that next big pay-day, a reason why China is such a coup for many players these days - who wouldn't say no to over £200,000 a week to kick the ball about a bit, without having to show any passion or care for the club you've signed for. It has become merely a power game - sign a player for obscene money - gain from commercialisation. This is business, not football.

Much has changed financially in football since Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle back in 1996

Unfortunately, the ever increasing popularity of football isn't benefiting football supporters, who dedicate their time and money to supporting a club, but instead football 'consumers', those who go to big game once in a lifetime, or sit in front of their Sky TVs week in, week out, those are the people these clubs at the top of the footballing pyramid are catering for - with clubs being obliged to sign big players by these so called fans, only ever seen on YouTube highlight reels, just to keep the peace. With the hardened supporters then having to pick up the pieces in terms of increased ticket prices, and watching eleven players on an ego trip kick a ball about for a six figure sum.
With broadcasters now shelling out £5.14 billion for broadcasting rights - a 71% increase from three years prior - and with Premier League teams seeing between £65 million and £100 million of this figure, you can understand why player prices are rapidly inflating - and why valuations that used to be outlandish now don't even raise a solitary eyebrow.
Regretfully this is the world of football we now live in, and it is very unlikely to change anytime soon, if anything the 21st century footballing mantra of money buying success and riches will only escalate. Give it 20 years and £75 million for a 28 year old will be a comparative steal.