WARNING: LONG ARTICLE
But very pertinent IMO, especially given my post on Tiger Talk re: the Cheryl Critchley article.
Even if this is by Graham "Long Ball" Taylor, manager of a useless England side which is no surprise since he came from *shudder* Watford.
Yes, some of us do follow sides outside the Premiership ;D
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The Inside View: Freddy Shepherd's lack of compassion for small clubs is true to form
By Graham Taylor
(Filed: 04/12/2004)
At last we have the confirmation of what many of us have suspected since the formation of the Premiership in 1992. According to Freddy Shepherd, chairman of Newcastle United: "The big fight will be for the Premier League to take over the running of the other leagues.
"The others can't hold us back. The time will come, I think, when it's the Premier League running the whole show." As four of the 12 sitting on the Football Association's top committee are from the Premiership, they are already well on the way to making Shepherd's prediction come true.
The fact that the FA were party to the break-up of the football family in 1992 does them little credit, but under the leadership of their new chief executive, Brian Barwick, they must surely once and for all decide who are the governing body of football in this country. This must be Barwick's predominant challenge and one that he must grasp firmly and positively to avoid what could become a bitter battle.
The Newcastle chairman also said: "Many of these clubs will have to go part-time. [How many times have we heard that?] When we've got 52,000 fans at each home game, the last thing we're worried about is clubs in the third division [League Two]."
I believe Freddy is telling us the truth. He resigned his place on the Newcastle board a few years back when an undercover journalist quoted his feelings towards Newcastle supporters, describing them as mugs for buying replica shirts at exorbitant prices.
Why should a man who is prepared to treat his own supporters in this fashion have any thoughts of compassion for a lower division club?
I can actually see where he is coming from, but I cannot abide those who are making loads of money out of football at the expense of supporters. That is definitely a result of the formation of the Premiership. If these people get their hands on the commercial revenue of the England team and the FA Cup then the FA can be readily accused of spitting in the face of both the England supporters and all the lower division clubs.
The FA Cup is the last bastion for the football family. We have already had preliminary and qualifying rounds involving many non-League clubs. This weekend sees the second-round proper being played with the winners having an opportunity to put themselves up against the big clubs in the third round.
You may just have to worry about one of the potential "part-timers", Freddy, if you draw one in the next round. Remember the Cup games against Stevenage Borough a few seasons ago? You could be drawn, for instance, away to the winners of today's Exeter City versus Doncaster Rovers game.
Talk about a club rising from the ashes: you have it almost literally with Rovers, whose former chairman Ken Richardson was jailed for his part in the arson attack on the club's main stand, apparently to get some money through an insurance claim when the club were on the brink of going under.
A superb rebuilding job has taken place led by chairman John Ryan, manager Dave Penney and his assistant Micky Walker, breathing new life into what is now called The Earth Stadium Belle Vue, which in turn has fed the whole community. But don't let's think about them, Freddy, as we make our money and take over the running of the game.
Will it really happen? I think not, but I am not totally convinced - and change is inevitable. In this country we seem to follow what America does, albeit 25 to 30 years later.
Agents, owners, television channels have all become an accepted part of our football. One could argue that television actually runs the game. Rupert Murdoch's Sky have helped introduce a new kind of football supporter. They are young, sit in their chairs at home and watch mainly Premiership football on television. But most of them never see their heroes in live games, because it is either too expensive or they live too far away.
They are, in fact, television football supporters. They are being brought up that way. Being a supporter of your local club is not the fashion for many youngsters, especially if that club are in the lower divisions. Is that a good or bad thing? Ask the fans of Doncaster Rovers. They nearly didn't have a choice.
The major responsibility of the FA is to be the guardians of the game. It is impossible to be that if other people are running it.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Watch the Bees lose to Hinckley United! They may even play us off the park, a la Kingstonian in 2000.
) I hope for a draw between Arse and Scouse.
)