God Help the English Premier League
Ran into this over at Bill Simmons’ weekly links on ESPN. In this story about an American consortium (from Detroit?) purchasing cellar-dwelling Derby County (who my favorite team managed to actually lose to this year), is a note about Mr. Hanky considering investing in Prem side Tottenham Hotspur.
The Steinbrenners getting involved in the Premiership is a scary thought, especially for Yankee-hating, soccer-loving Americans (guilty as charged). They’d fit better as owners of Manchester United, but a Spurs takeover could change the face of the Prem. If you aren’t familiar, there’s the big four (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United) that pretty much monopolize the top talent, trophies and representation in European tournaments, then there’s everyone else.
That said, the Spurs (and maybe Everton and Manchester City) have been the closest to breaking into the Champions League spots in recent seasons. If they had the Steinbrenners’ money, it probably wouldn’t take long to break up the big four. Frankly, the idea of Tottenham becoming the Yankees of the EPL is stomach-churning for this Newcastle fan. It’s already hard enough to bang with the big boys every weekend, and this might make bringing the glory days back to St. James Park all the harder.