The gravitational pull of money has left English football perennial nearly men when it comes to doing what has now become the unthinkable… winning trophies.
A cynic could argue that nobody would even win the league if there was a minimum points requirement. Of course someone has to win the league, but that accolade is achieved after a season of political tap dancing between operating as hedge fund and playing football.
No wonder Leicester City sailed their way straight through to winning the league, everybody else was too busy tweaking their financial model.
In a recent poll 25% of Spurs fans admitted that trying to win a cup could jeopardise a top four finish.
Dave Kidd in The Sun [CLICK THE WORDS ‘THE SUN” TO READ THE ARTICLE] has nailed it.
We are barraged with the line that the Premier League is the best league in the world, but that’s hype, that’s spin.
And Champions League group blow outs Spurs are part of the myth.
‘We’re pushing on for one of them top four spots’ an earnest sounding haircut tells us. Fans have been fed the line the the glamour is where it’s at.
Dogs chasing cars, wouldn’t know what to do with one if they caught it; not just Spurs but few English clubs aren’t equipped for the task.
So why is this happening?
Because most English sides simply aren’t even vaguely set up to compete on two, let alone three or four different fronts.
Club owners no longer sit in trophy cabinet lined walls, instead they are surrounded by accountants.
Players have (in their own minds) become specialists opposed to grafters which all too frequently equals needy pansy.
A flotilla a tight ships. Or anuses. One or the other.
