Life is cyclical. Well, at least until
it isn't.
However, in football, this is more
strangely true than in many other realms.
Take for example Joe Kinnear, who
reared his head
at Newcastle United in 2008 after nearly a decade submerged by
heart trouble, poor results and relegation. The man who signed his
pay cheques? Mike Ashley, who was known as a shrewd businessman when
he arrived Tyneside; the same man who lost millions – and, for
about two years, his mind – before rebuilding
the Magpies into a wonderful, cost-effective side.
His
reputation may not be restored, but it is certainly
rehabilitated.
The carousel nature of football finance
has been fixed for years. Some clubs emerge to challenge the
established plutocracy, often as those old money sorts trend towards
a kind of faux-austerity. However, often the nouveau riche
accomplish only
a mild sensation before owners who arrive in Ferraris depart the
scene in Greyhound buses. Nothing's easier than losing money in
sports ownership.
If development isn't sustainable, even
the most generous benefactor has a limited capacity for giving away
their money. Eventually, if baseplates and failsafes aren't created,
the carousel quickly rights itself and all returns to normal: old
money persists and questions pursue those who got rich quick.
This week's transaction
between AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain is of this nature. It
was a handshake made of Rossoneri
fiscal expediency and of PSG's
owners, Qatar Investment Authority, buying that ugatti Veyron they
always wanted. By shoving what amounts to fob change at both Thiago
Silva and Zlatan
Ibrahimovic in that most notorious “double swoop”, QIA have
rounded off their transfer expenditure at a satisfyingly even €200
million.
As
Champions League winners Chelsea and EPL Champions Manchester
City have succeeded, so too will PSG. At some stage, however,
they will fall – Blackburn Rovers couldn't maintain their
mid-nineties success while the most high-profile team of them all,
the Galacticos, were only a moderate success. If expectations aren't
met, impatient men blow up their creations and begin the cycle again.
Clubs like
Liverpool, AC Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United have built up so
much equity over decades that their ascent again has become a
foregone conclusion. For entities such as PSG, who were created in
1970, that's not necessarily the case; a cycle isn't a short one but
could mean years in the wilderness.
A
ready example of how to spend their money already exists. Sheikh
Mansour has achieved short-term results without sacrificing altogether future, a sign that he hopes to accumulate that same equity.
Whether that has been the aim at Chelsea, QPR or PSG is still very
much in question.
The old money
temporarily cycles down as the new money rises. As always.
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