by MadBob

Created on: February 16, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Capitalism.

America needs stats. Stats mean spread betting. Spread betting means more taxable gamblers. More tax means they can build more casinos. More casinos... well you get the picture. Soccer (the shortened form of 'Association Football' don't you know) doesn't lend itself to the plethora of statistics that American Football or basketball does, where frequent scoring or breaks in play mean stats can be collated and compared. It doesn't lend itself to in-game bettig (except half-time/full-time betting). Sky Sports have tried, believe me they've tried. And it was terrible.

David Gold, co-owner of Birmingham City (Birmingham, England!) says since 1994 he's lost 10million through his devotion to the Blues. I don't think there are many American business gurus who think this is an acceptable operating loss. Look at Glazer, Lerner and now Gillett: they're all about brand development, looking to exploit lucrative overseas markets as yet untapped. What? What football fan wants to be exploited? Especially by those patronizing faux enthusiasts with the baseball caps and lack of understanding of the traditional roots of football.

In Brazil, it's the joy of playing (read Alex Bellos' "Futebol") that's key. There are millions of people playing in all knds of swamps and forests and tiny grass clearings. They don't care about sponsorship or TV revenue. They want to play. If playing means a trip to Europe and therefore more money for the family or the village, then all the better. But football first. Garrincha didn't care about money, only dribbling past as many opposition players as he could (and playing away from home with the ladies and drinking sugar cane rum). Pele only learned to care when his career was winding down and someone was skimming his profits without his knowledge.

It's coming together though. Football might yet be a profitable business venture. Hurray for business! Abramovich wants to be operating without loss by next year. Good luck to him! Glazer might yet earn enough to buy his way out of his hedge maze. Gimme cash! (Quick digression - Manchester United is THE biggest brand in football history, and they ain't even making that much.) No money, no interest. But there are those men with the plans.

So, to surmise: there's not enough money in it for the grasping followers of the American dream. So the US will have to suffer being that much worse than the whole world. They make it into FIFA's top 10? Because they play other American continent teams with no pedigree and even less money. Can they cope? I doubt it! So we can look forward to the merrigoround of salary caps and draft-style recruitment in the near future.

Oh goodee.

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