Wenger the CL and Catch 22

Henry
By Boris Mellor
March 26 2005

Wenger and Fergie have got flak because they are unhappy over lack of seeding for the Champions League. Understandably this has led to accusations of Arsenal and Man U wanting to achieve off the field what they cannot achieve on it. So do these unlikely bedfellows have a case?

It certainly looks like sour grapes, but could it be they are arguing the case badly?

We have to remember that the Champions League was brought about by a revolt of G14 clubs, and beyond, that wanted the development of an European Super League. It was a league they wanted, not a bloated cup competition.

The concession that put an end to the revolt was a CL of two group stages, and then the knockout rounds. This meant that the possible winner would play 17 games in total. This guaranteed an increased income for clubs, even if they got knocked out early in the knockout stage.

In turn this led to squads being radically restructured as managers effectively needed two teams. This put pressure on the price, quality and wages required for players.

The theory was that TV revenues would pay for this, but the amount of interest in the CL has never quite justified the hype. Indeed, the Sheffield United v Arsenal Cup game recently got a larger audience than most televised CL games.

A couple of years ago UEFA realised that declining TV audiences could be a problem, so they cut back to one group stage, without consultation. This was bitterly opposed by Wenger at the time. Especially as he had inflated the size of the Arsenal squad to cope.

It is this that has caused Wenger's anguish, no doubt his argument is not attractive to many, but it is not based on big clubs have a natural right to win the CL. Indeed Wenger had to cut back on the size of his squad after the changes. This in turn has led to it being even more difficult for him to progress in the competition.

A club now has to have a lot of money to maintain two complete teams to compete seriously in the CL. But can that be justified for what is now, effectively, a knock out competition again?

Any manager who created two expensive teams to win the FA Cup would be considerd mad. Can they be expected to do it for CL? Yes if you are Real Madrid or Chelsea. But even Man U will feel the strain. The reality will not be the minnows winning it every year, but it could be just one or two clubs dominating all the time.

It is a Catch 22 situation - invest big and take chance - spend realistically and be outplayed by the few big spenders. It could be argued that rather than a level playing field it could lead to the exact opposite.

Wenger has not argued the case well, but he is right to forsee problems. The CL is a hybrid, neither fish nor fowl, neither league nor knock out cup. If the the contradiction is not resolved there probably will be a revolt.