Last week Harry Redknapp commented on Man City’s appetite for top-class players, hitting out that they’ve completely changed football’s economics. But to suggest that Man City are solely responsible for sending football economics off course, is to totally miss what’s been happening in football since the formation of the Premier League.
Since 1992/93 there’s been a huge injection of income, principally through TV rights, that have driven ever soaring wage and transfer inflation. Sure, Roman Abramovich changed things further when he entered the fray, paying top dollar for top stars, but the inflationary spiral had already started way before he settled in at Stamford Bridge.
The current Man City phenomena (and Real Madrid too) is not so much a shifting of football’s economics but a clear picture of the way in which modern football operates. To be a football chairman it’s no longer possible to be a benevolent millionaire, you now need to be a super rich billionaire to be able to make any impact on the football economy with its rapidly increasing player prices.
But, if the football economy has not changed, that doesn’t mean that Harry doesn’t have anything to worry about either. For clubs like Spurs, who don’t have a wealthy sugar daddy, the real problem is not their inability to attract new players, but the inflationary pressure that Man City’s behaviour places on their existing player wages. Put simply, once players see other players increasing their salaries they’ll want a piece of the action too. Add into this a new tax regime that’s going to see player’s salaries hit hard and club’s like Spurs have the potential for player revolt on their hands.
So if I can offer Harry a little advice, don’t pitch for the players who are motivated by the riches of Eastlands, make sure you invest in players who want to wear the shirt whatever the wages.
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