will Manchester be the center of Football?

By: j | November 28th, 2008

Since the acquisition of Manchester City, there has been significant commentary by the upper tier of Premier League genuinely annoyed by the clubs new found financial resources and condemnation of the club potentially attempting to “buy championships.” Without even the slightest hesitation I stand against the notion of “buying success” but commentary from top clubs complaining of a possible spending spree by Man City is hypocritical considering how the Premier League has not seen parity for quite a long time.

From a strictly “Football” vantage while I would prefer for each league to independently establish salary caps to promote parity as well as a system to ensure the regional development of the game, I warrant that is very unlikely and the inequity of the sport will continue. For ardent supporters of English Football, each summer brings the excitement of the new campaign but quite honestly few believe that the “big four” will ever be challenged. While there noteworthy clubs such as Aston Villa and Everton who come “close” with enormous credit due to their brilliant leaders Martin O’Neill and David Moyes, the truth is that few clubs will ever get a chance to break into the sacred grounds occupied by the “big four.”

This of-course provides a unique background to the upcoming Man Utd – Man City derby. Certainly there is little introduction needed of the Premier League and Champions League defending champion but if can, try to look at this match for a brief moment as a unbiased viewer and ask yourself; is this the beginning of not simply a new entry into the upper echelon of the league but additionally the establishment of Manchester as one of the sports great centers?

It is quite possible that this will be the final match between the two before Man City makes a significant upgrade to its talent base. Presuming the ownership maintains it previous statements regarding signing new players, Mark Hughes will have every opportunity to lift the club into Premier League upper echelon and the “big four” will need to add a new place setting for Man City.

As a final note, for business reasons I think this situation would be highly welcomed by business parties if not “encouraged”. The league is unquestionably going through another series of business changes as it continues to expand the brand internationally, even through troubling economic times. With American-based media giant ESPN’s stated intent to acquire worldwide broadcast rights of the Premier League and its parent corporation, Disney, extensive marketing work with a wide selection of teams in the league, the league is far better positioned than any in the sport. From another perspective Nike Inc’s strategic acquisition of Greater Manchester-based Umbro, which equally brings in a litany of contracts including the FA and the National Football Centre at Burton-on-Trent, branding will be sealed within a tightly layered group. Couple-in former Nike “Brand Jordan” head Garry Cook, now the Executive Chairman of Man City, it seems business interests would welcome this change and be positioned perfectly to profit from it.

For the record, I am not a fan of any area being the “center” of the game or deeply intertwined business interests but respect others opinion on the matter.