The State of Football: August 2015 – What is actually going on?!?

Prize fighter (Prize Fighters plural), Prizefighter – A Prize Fighter is a boxer who fights to win money.

I’m angry, like most other times when I’m angry, there may not be as much humour in this post. I’ve just watched West Ham’s Under 21 team, captained by the dynamo that is Kevin Nolan, spiritedly limp out of the Europa League, losing 2-1 to Astra Gobbledegook.

Yes Astra Giggedygoo! That fine side. Currently sitting 6^th in the Romanian top flight after a 2-2- draw on the weekend against… I can’t remember who, and I can’t be bothered to look it up either. They drew against a side who were obviously as good as West Ham are, seen as that result was all that we could muster a week ago when we played them at home with a side a lot stronger than our Under 21s (even if they were captained by Captain Fantastic, Stevie Gee MKII, Kevin Nolan).

I'm not even angry that Astra Gogglebox beat us. Well that’s a lie I am. But I'm not angry because I think that our Under 21s should have done better. I'm angry because of the attitude that we took towards the fixture.

By “we” I mean West Ham United as a club, well whoever has a say in picking the team; some (not all) West Ham fans; and the media over here in the UK.

Let me paint a picture for you: It’s the 16^th May 2015, a sunny Saturday afternoon in east London. West Ham United are at home to Everton in their last game at the Boleyn Ground of the 2014/15 season. Both teams, despite not having the best of seasons, are in with a shout of qualifying for the Europa League by virtue of having fairly good disciplinary records that season.

If you’re not sure the Europa League is Europe’s 2^nd most prestigious club tournament, after it’s bigger, more moneyed, brother the Champions League. It has been running for 45 seasons and has been won by many great players and teams. The winners of the Europa League are granted automatic qualification to the following season’s Champions League tournament. It’s kind of a big deal!

The prospect of playing in the Europa League is exciting to the West Ham fans in attendance on that sunny Saturday, so much so that there is considerable talk about West Ham’s chances of qualification and each Everton yellow card, there are 4 in the game compared to West Ham’s 1, is greeted with a cheer and the song, “You’re not going on a European Tour” (to the theme of the Beatles Yellow Submarine). While the singing and cheering has an element of tongue in cheek to it, make no mistake, West Ham and their fans want to play in the Europa League the following season; even if they don’t expect to get anywhere near winning the trophy.

On the 22^nd of June 2015 the draw for the 1^st round of the Europa League takes place. West Ham have qualified for the tournament based on their fair play record and are drawn against Lusitanos of Andorra. Lusitanos have been quite successful within their own domestic league and as a result have reached the qualifying rounds of the Champions League a few times; each time though, they have been comprehensively beaten by relatively weak opposition. So they’re no trouble, right?

West Ham sell out their 1^st round 1^st leg match at home and the talk is of us racking up a cricket (more likely rugby, cricket if you’re talking Australia batting in the 2015 Ashes) score, the bookies are only giving half decent odds on there being over 5.5 goals. This is going to be a glut, or a rout.

It wasn't.

West Ham win 3-0. Which, while showing that there was a considerable gap in quality between the two sides, is hardly an indication of a complete mismatch. It’s OK, we’ll get em’ in the 2^nd leg! The 2^nd leg a week later ends 1-0 to West Ham and one of our players is sent off. Now I didn't see that 2^nd leg, but in mismatches the better opponent should never have to exert themselves to the point that a player is sent off. Hmmm? Surely just a blip, who cares? West Ham are through!

 

Proved to be a difficult opponent back in Malta

Next up are Birkirkara. To this day I can’t pronounce that name. “Bir-Kaka”? “Bir-Kirk-Kaka”? God knows? What I do know is that they’re from Malta and Malta is not renowned for producing good football teams (although I recently watch Italy struggling against them in a Euro 2016 qualifier), these Maltese are gonna get it right…! The Andorrans got away, but not Bir… That team! They’ll be on the end of a hiding. Actually it was a 1-0 win secured in the last minute of the 1^st leg at home. Never mind, we’ll get them in the 2^nd leg in Malta right… Wrong! West Ham lose 1-0 and must play Extra Time and Penalties to get through. Penalties?!?

It was at this point that the grumbling began. “The Europa League is two bob anyway…”, “It’ll damage our league form…”, “Look at Sp*rs! All those Thursday/Sunday games have caused them nothing but problems…”, “I'm not sure I want us to get through the next round…”

 

Even better than Bir... Kaka!

Then came Astra Sirigu. I’d never heard of them. Me! I'm like the king of obscure football teams, I had to look these guys up (I’d never heard of the other two either by the way)! We’d beat them, but now that was a problem. Playing to win, in the 2^nd best club competition in Europe wasn't best for West Ham?!? So we play the first leg and draw 2-2, as I've already mentioned, with a relatively strong (or experienced squad). And then the floodgates opened. Not the goal scoring floodgates. They remained firmly closed. There was no danger of them being breached. The nay saying floodgates, “We've got to focus on the league, that’s our priority…”, “We've got Arsenal on Saturday!”

And as mentioned above, we went out. Astra Giurgiu (that’s their proper name, I owe them enough respect to write it at least once) beat us. Not on away goals, which was the threat going into the game. They scored more than we did on the night. Now we’re out.

We went from “We’re all going of a European Tour” on the 16^th of May to “(Sh*t! We’re not as good as we thought) I think it’s blessing in disguise that we’re out…” on the 6^th of August. The whole thing was over before it even began, partly because we weren't good enough; and partly because in English football we've developed this arrogance when looking at the Europa League and somehow people up and down the country, regardless of footballing allegiance, have written off the 2^nd biggest European club tournament.

Why? Because you get more money for being in the Premier League. So teams like West Ham should not focus on tournaments like the Europa League; for fear of exhausting their resources, losing games in the Premier League and not finishing high enough to avoid being relegated from it.

What has become of our game? This isn't football. Let me get this straight, “We shouldn't focus on the Europa League for fear of it affecting Premier League status”, “We definitely shouldn't try in the League Cup for fear of it affecting Premier League status”, “The FA cup is no longer taken seriously until you get to around the Quarter Final stage for fear of it affecting Premier League status” and “International Football gets in the way of the Premier League and tires players out”?

So basically, “If it’s not the Premier League, and therefore not gonna make you a sh*t load of money (even when you do badly), it’s not worth competing in.”

I repeat. What has become of our game? We’re trying not to win competitions just so that we can guarantee that we stay in the Premier League and continue to rake in insane amounts of money. Meanwhile, ticket prices are insanely high and replica kits cost an arm and a leg.

Are we watching a sport or competition to see who can grow the biggest company?

Mediocrity is now the name of the game as it brings the cash in! So by this logic West Ham should aim to finish in positions 1-4 (which is never going to happen) or 7-17 in the league thus avoiding qualification for the Europa League, THE 2^nd BIGGEST CLUB TOURNAMENT IN EUROPEAN FOOTBALL!

So what next for West Ham? The race Champions League places is already saturated, there are 6 teams realistically going for 4 spaces (you could argue 7 in years gone by with Everton). We aren't even good enough to properly qualify for the Europa League based on our league positioning. What do we do? The aim is to get better, which in turn will grow the club financially (the owners will be pleased to hear that), but how do you when the next step up is one you don’t want to take?

In my eyes West Ham, and other teams in a similar situation should be aiming for consistent Europa League qualification and performances, which would in turn attract a better calibre of player (not just half decent foreigners looking for an extra bit of cash, oh god I sound like Nigel Farage now!!) and mean that we could then strengthen and eventually challenge for the Champions League spots.

Instead we've become Prizefighters, not aiming to win any competitions, but happy to plod along playing Stoke and West Brom, winning some and losing some, and just doing enough to finish somewhere between 7^th and 17^th.

Amendment: Prize fighter (Prize Fighters plural), Prizefighter – A Prize Fighter is an English football club, which basically has no ambition other than, to play in and subsequently continue to play in, The Greatest League In the World ™ (AKA The Most Competitive League In The World ™ at times when it’s obvious that the standard is sub-par, AKA The Premier League) and continue to pick up cheques from Sky/BT.

In other news. The season starts tomorrow. Hashtag “Coyee” (#COYI), let’s go get that 17^th place…!

PS I already find James Corden to be a bit of a sycophantic "Try Hard" then he goes and does this… 

So pleased we're out of Europa League. pic.twitter.com/UbKw074Kld

— Jkcorden (@JKCorden) August 6, 2015

Dick!