Colin Sheridan: Football again does the wrong thing for the wrong reasons
SILENCE: Manchester United take part in a minutes silence following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II prior to the UEFA Europa League Group E match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Pic: PA
When the terrible news that an entire schedule of football was postponed in England this past weekend due to the unexpected (!) passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the cynic in me had to ask, who stood to benefit most?
Was it Trent Alexander Arnold, the beleaguered Liverpool right back, whose performance on Wednesday night in the Champions League against Napoli was so extraordinarily bad, the only possible reprieve from the universal scorn was an event so grand it captured the attention of a grieving nation?
Was it Chelsea’s brand new boss Graham Potter, who is now faced with the prospect of a month (depending on next week’s fixtures which, in turn, roll into an international break) without a game, thus allowing him to familiarise himself with his new surroundings, and elongate his sure-to-be-short tenure as manager at the Bridge by a few weeks at least.
Was it Mikel Arteta, whose team Arsenal will likely remain top-of-the-table for a little while longer, albeit without kicking a ball?
When you’re putting your end-of-season PowerPoint together, these things matter… Nobody wanted a break so early in the season (save for the three men above), and yet a break they got, leaving hundreds of thousands of fans disappointed, millions of tonnes of stadium food gone to waste, and tens of thousands of zero-hour contract workers who rely on the football economy for their livelihood out of pocket.
As horseracing (the Sport of Kings, no less), golf, rugby and cricket reset and continued after a one-day hiatus, association football - the people's game - decided a postponement of all matches from Premier League to schoolboys and girls was the appropriate action to honour the death of a 96-year-old monarch.
Maybe it was the abject performance of Manchester United who lost at home to Real Sociedad just a couple of hours after the news of the Queen's death broke that convinced those decision makers that, as BT Sport absurdly argued, the players were not in the right frame of mind to continue, and so putting them through a schedule of games this weekend would have been nothing short of cruel given their overwhelming grief.
One can’t be sure how deeply affected Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia was by the breaking news, but let's assume he and his Portuguese, Brazilian, Swedish, Spanish and Danish Manchester United teammates were unduly put-out by the Queen's passing.
No, football, so often guilty of doing the wrong or morally dubious thing for capital gain, chose to do the wrong thing “out of respect” to an institution they owed nothing.
Once the decision was made, their partners in business, Sky and BT Sport, dutifully carried the message and perpetuated the fallacy that this is what the people wanted, and what she would have wanted.
There was no greater example of the grand delusion being sold to the public than the glaring Sky News own-goal on Saturday afternoon, as their presenters spoke over live aerial footage of a large crowd moving from Trafalgar Square towards Buckingham Palace, united in grief we were told, and undoubtedly sharing their memories of their Queen as they walked.
For an excruciating minute, this pup was erroneously sold to the many millions watching. In fact, the crowd was marching in protest of the killing of Chris Kaba by armed police officers in South London last Monday night. The error was genuine, but indicative of the perception of those who control the message that we all think the same.
Another week, another LIV Golf story that continues to keep golf on the back pages at a time of year that usually sees its demotion to the bleachers. The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was surely delighted with all the attention as players from the PGA, DP World and LIV tours gathered for the first time under the same canopy of perfectly manicured trees since the Saudi-backed league poached another plethora of the world's top players.
Professional golf, so often the refuge of the cliched dad joke, has undoubtedly benefited (from a PR and exposure perspective) from the LIV split, and Wentworth was to be its first televised showdown.
For the most part, it didn’t disappoint. Rory’s loaded press conferences, Lowry’s unguarded admissions of friendships lost, Jon Rahm's frank and honest opinions on who should and should not be there… it was all very un-golf like.
Footage of a mildly heated putting-green discussion between Billy Horschel and rebel Ian Poulter amplified the narrative that the LIV crew were in the main not welcome in Wentworth, and their presence was nothing more than a disruptive stunt, one costing more deserving tour players a starting spot and a potential career-changing opportunity.
That conversation may have been relegated to background noise by the weekend had Sergio Garcia not withdrawn himself without explanation after an opening round 76, only to show up on American television hours later at a college football game in Texas.
Garcia’s presence at Wentworth was fought for in court, and ultimately came at the expense of compatriot Alfredo Garcia Heredia, who is desperately battling to retain his tour card. Even Garcia’s paymasters, so indifferent to public opinion, must wonder what the estimated $125million they paid the Spaniard is getting them.
The Buffalo Bills began their latest quest to break one of the great hoodoos in American sports last Thursday night in some style, demolishing the defending champions the LA Rams in a performance that catapulted them to the top of the power rankings, after one weekend's play.
The performance of their star quarterback Josh Allen was another testament, not just to Allen's abilities, but the patience the Bills have shown in a player whose talent was obvious, but whose journey to the top of the quarterback pile was as rocky as the Catskills.
As another season unfolds, it’s ironic too to consider the league will probably have another new champion, proving with its draft and salary cap, it has achieved an unlikely market where the strong become weak, and the weak have an opportunity to prosper.
With club championships in full swing, it is as yet unknown whether this first proper split season has had the desired effect of allowing clubs the space and time on the calendar while also protecting the welfare of the most exposed and vulnerable players.
No doubt, as autumn turns to winter, we will learn how successful and popular the endeavour is. What is already certain, however, is that an August devoid of any inter-county championship action was a bitter pill for many of us non-players to swallow. January used to be the longest month, but now she has a bitter rival.
