I had written a blog, at least in my mind about what I would write today following the announcement about the European super league and then everything fell apart for them.
It doesn’t quite detract from the fact though that it’s a sign of the times and the elite and the people at the top of the pyramid will always try and leverage to the top of the pyramid for their own means.
I’m not a football guy and I didn’t grow up playing football but I do remember watching Richard Gough score a goal against England at the Celtic end at Hampden to score the winner and Scotland see off England, as I was sat in the stand with my dad.
I remember watching Scotland qualify for the 1986 world cup at Hampden too and Kenny Daglish received his 100th cap.
I’m not football but football is engrained in the culture but so is capitalism and hyper-capitalism and hyper-consumerism and everyone can see that the head of the snake is eating the tail of the snake and will therefore eat itself.
What we saw in the announcement of the European super league proposal was Milton Friedman, economics and shareholder primacy at its very best.
The purpose of an organisation is to serve the needs of the shareholder.
What was required (and has been seen at least a little bit) is some principled action.
People who already have enough need to understand that they have enough and not try to wreck what already exists and is good, for their own benefit.
I, at least, was hurt some what by the massive, violent, noisy and vitriolic response of the whole of football to the prospect of the ESL.
Sometimes it's hard to see that FIFA and UEFA are doing this out of anything other than self protection, but at least, for now, we have protected the basis of our national sport from globalisation.
I can appreciate that Chelsea didn’t want to be the last one ‘on the bus’ and risk the prospect of the bus driving away and sending their club spiralling downwards into what would have become not better than a second tier of football but I can also understand why people now expect those in the highest level of privilege to act with responsibility and principle.
Sadly though, this is only a metaphor for many other things that are happening in corporate society and it seems hard to believe that it’s nothing other than a small victory in a minor battle as we lose the overall war.
Blog Post Number - 2711
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