[From: A reader that browses Guardian] Shed no tears for Liverpool: our football needs deflating

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Shed no tears for Liverpool: our football needs deflating

Bill Shankly was wrong. This unimportant game is an insatiable monster. Financial collapse would get it back in perspective

Martin Kettle
Friday October 15 2010
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/14/shed-no-tears-for-liverpool-football-club

There are things that matter. And then there are things one cares about. Sometimes the two coincide. In my own case the list of things that are both subjectively and objectively important includes family, a good education, and having a double-door American fridge with an ice-making machine.

On the other hand, there are also things that one cares about that do not ultimately matter as much as one sometimes imagines. This list includes things such as balsamic vinegar, foreign travel and the leadership of the Labour party. And then there are things that matter a lot, even though one does not care about them as much as one should ? tackling the budget deficit, solving the Middle East problem and ironing my own shirts.

Finally, however, there are the things in the twilight zone about which one does not care and which don't matter either. At the top of this list, for me, is every single reality TV show ever devised. But somewhere close behind comes the ownership of Liverpool FC [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/liverpool" title="Guardian: Liverpool], followed by England's 2018 World Cup bid [http://www.england2018bid.com/" title="England's 2018 World Cup bid] and, increasingly, by the precarious condition of English football in general.

Don't get this wrong. I'm a northern boy. I like football as well as gravy. I enjoy going to football matches. I have a season ticket. I'm loyal both to my birthright and to my adopted teams. I watch a lot of football on TV. I always at least scan the football news. I can speak fluent football if required. It's still the people's game. It's still the global game. Sometimes it is still the beautiful game.

But the truth is that English football has become an insatiable monster. And the truth is that we ought to face up to the fact, but have shied away from doing so. In the 1990s the culture bought the idea that we couldn't have too much football, and that it didn't matter how it was run as long as English football felt like the centre of the world. We lionised the players and thought lots more money in the game meant lots more satisfaction from it. Fatally, we also thought this was all really positive. In fact, football was too big. This wasn't living the dream. It was living the deception.

The parallels with what was happening in the financial sector at the same time and for many of the same reasons are absolutely unmissable. In some ways the processes were not even parallel, they were one and the same. The owners, the sponsors, the merchandisers ? increasingly even the mercenary players and coaches ? were more interested in the money, then leveraging the money into more money, than in the game, never mind the fans or the clubs.

No one regulated. No one objected. No one thought strategically. Stopping it was too difficult and too unpopular. We took the line of least resistance. Even the supporters, never great strategists, were more interested in today than tomorrow. If a billionaire bought their club they didn't boo, they cheered. They only objected when the money dried up.

That's why it is hard to feel sympathy for Liverpool, whose survival hangs on court cases on both sides of the Atlantic this week. The current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, bought Liverpool in 2007 so they could borrow massive amounts of money against the club. They were not interested in football but wealth. It should have been stopped. Inevitably it wasn't. Now Liverpool are loaded with millions of pounds of extra debt that no one wants. But neither Hicks and Gillett nor Liverpool were unique in the deal they struck. Leeds, Portsmouth, Newcastle and West Ham have all been tempted down similarly ruinous paths. Even Manchester United are not wholly safe. There but for fortune go many other Premier League clubs too. Fortunes made and lost, the money is now heading elsewhere in Europe, leaving England's wrecks behind.

If it is Liverpool's fate to be the Lehman Brothers of the Premier League, then that is hard luck on them. But so be it. Shed no tears. A football club is not a bank. Lives do not depend on its existence, and no amount of anguish in the streets around Anfield can make it so. Governments have no obligations here. No football club is too big to fail, especially when, on the contrary, English football is too big not to fail. The moral hazard on which so much English football has partied for so long has to end somehow. The football authorities, so-called, are unwilling and incapable. If only a collapse will do, then bring it on.

Football is a game. Football is entertainment. Yes, it's a really good game. Yes, it's exciting entertainment. Yes, it is hugely enjoyable ? or can be ? to follow your own team through thick and thin. But that's all. Football is not more than that. It's not the reason we exist. It's not a way of life. It's not even a religion, except inasmuch as it is a comforting delusion. Football doesn't prove anything at all about anything. It certainly does not validate the worth of the disturbingly large number of people, still almost all male, who appear to think that it does. Great footballers are nothing more than great footballers.

Liverpool are simply one club among many. Their self-absorbed glamour, their tough, storied past and the iconic splendour of Steven Gerrard should not distract from the club's collective responsibility. Don't blame the Texans ? at least not just because they are Texans. Liverpool are just another club that got greedy, got careless and, blinded by the allure of quick success, got their priorities wrong. Even a quarter sensible club would have got together with Everton to build a shared stadium on the Mersey years ago. The fans haven't been betrayed. They have just been blind.

The idea that English football deserves the World Cup can only be the work of an ironist. A tournament whose early rounds were played exclusively in the grounds of bankrupt clubs and which climaxed in the awful, debt-crushed, windswept new Wembley stadium with its bumpy pitch would, perhaps, have a kind of macabre metaphorical attraction. But the sight of David Cameron hosting Sepp Blatter and his fellow international football bigwigs at Downing Street this week [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/13/sepp-blatter-england-world-cup-2018" title="Guardian: Sepp Blatter praises England's example in tackling hooliganism] in pursuit of the awful 2018 bid made the heart sink. Cameron has a country to run. He shouldn't follow New Labour down this demeaning route. There are no votes in football.

Get real about English football. It is a god that failed. Stop worshipping it. It is the reflection of the unbalanced, short-termist hedonism of the financial boom era. Bill Shankly was wrong. Football isn't more important than life or death. It is infinitely less important. Enjoy it and get it back in perspective.

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ESQ Parenting 101010

ESQ Parenting 1010

 

ESQ is now 10 yrs, and seeks to be neutral. 420 staff, pretty impressive growth.

 

Delivery done in multimedia, rah-rah interspersed with introspection, very different to traditional Islamic madrasahs. In a way, it's a very much underdeveloped way of education transmission, although there is a hadith that the Prophet asked that the transmission be done bil-hikmah. Emotional "manipulation" is perfectly done. While motivations and learnings are good and maximises introspection, content and the after-effects of increased personal awareness would be better if related to tazkiyyah, tarbiyyah and jamaah. Later, the question of how-to and "after-care" support will be raised and takes up a different question. I can probably surmise it as it should not be seen as a religious education, although it speaks the same language, and most importantly, should be how Islam is conveyed in this day and age.

 

Everything is carefully stage-managed. Very professional, and I would say it's world-standard. Symbolisms, imagery, sounds, music, voice intonations - all served to deliver. Some messianic imageries is a bit concerning, but I guess it's part of marketing. To be nit-picking, it's not all about Ary's parents, everyone in the hall has parents. Otherwise, training brief and learnings served to emphasise the points extremely well.

 

Several controversies that were raised before were I think dealt with, except for one or two things. God-spot is now replaced with fitrah, to mean suara hati. Manacles referring to nafsu(?). Hati dilingkungi oleh 6 rukun iman, dan 5 rukun Islam. But later there was also a reference to a God-spot in oursleves while pointing to the head, so is that a yes or no? Anyway, there are better ways to convey this content surely, and adaptation of business management concepts and precepts should be done but the overarching framework of our understanding of Tauhid should be firm and unwavering, but also with an updated delivery style. The understanding of Tauhid and Zaat of Allah goes through the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah's way of tauhid uluhiyyah, rububiyyah and asma' was sifaat should be retained, and within that context the elements of Maqasid Syariah and all should be used as a mission building capacity using these modern business approaches.

 

In essence, the process part is the delivery, the content should be the Syariah-advisor responsibility.

 

Content is where the training is excellent, and succeeds in moving my own personal paradigms, views and outlook towards creating a tamadun, a multi-generational commitment to khilafatu fil-ardh, and especially of the parenting mission: pengabdian penuh kpd Allah 51:56, fulfilling of covenants  7:172, fulfilling role as khalifah 2:30, preparing for life's realities, accountability 75:36, Reminder of Vision is excellent. Must enhance vision! Middle / average is not good enough, and I do need to update, enhance and expand these previous do'as of mine - "+Naeem's rounded personality devt,+Husna's quiet leadership, +Hadi's excellent leadership, +Hafiz's human touch and love"

 

Crowd –I think there is this admiration bordering on awe, but I must stress this is the delivery portion. The cause, content and veneration should be limited to that which comes from the Almighty, as contained in the Book and the Sunnah of the Prophet. I think Pak Ary made this point clear on many occasions throughout the 1 day, and I don’t see this as misguided veneration of pak Ary or ESQ or even the “rituals”. I’ll try my damnedest to keep my comments fair lest I mistakenly damage someone’s reputation. Others should partake in guiding and providing the “after-care” services rather than criticizing from their high-chairs.

 

 

 

Civil War at Anfield

1.       Cool,.. a real-life civil war is unfolding right in front of my eyes.

2.       LBOs in 2007 were a dime-a-dozen, a true-and-tested means of making money out of practically thin air. It has elements of maysir, I should think a bit more than gharar, but collateral is somebody else’s assets, and also in this case, a very passionate set of supporters who calls Anfield a home, shrine even. Failure to commit and support the club as what they had set out to do, loading debts onto the club’s revenue streams all suffocated the means for the club to focus on the on-the-pitch issues. It just happened that Rafa is the sacrifice in the civil war.

3.       When all this is done, fans boycott and direct action, thereby rendering G+H’s continued involvement practically impossible was the right move. However, the major decision now would be, who now comes in?

4.       How do you ensure that the partner who comes in commits to a sizeable investment budget for the commercial operations of the club? The investment in the team? Finding a world-class manager, not a caretaker. This is without talking of the new stadium? Fan shareholding is still a pipedream, and could make matters worse if not done correctly.

5.       Due diligence should focus on actual financial strength – looking at the cashpile they are sitting on, commitment to sports ventures – ie proven track record in sports franchise holding, strong investor team that can value-add on the commercial aspects, supporting the on-pitch structure and respecting it by staying out of it – except to sign the cheques.

6.       At the end of it though, the fans win.. yeay!

 

Week just ended review: Eid, People, RE

1.       Lessons from socialising, berayaing, and generally meeting other people

a.       Eid – of the one month variety is a great concept when it involves visiting and learning of the ways of others, their fears and concerns, their comforts and thoughts. I oppose the open house concept other than having an opportunity to gather the right ‘gang’ and clique at the right place at the right time. So, thus I guess our 3 “mini-open” houses this year.

b.      This past weekend was a pretty good one. After the kids Kumon, we kicked off firstly with Villa Sutera, where lessons of articulation and speaking a lot more than expected can be distilled. Then, it was a Kinrara trip, where a property investment opportunity presents itself. And also, the fact that I have a marketing agent to turn to in the future should I need one.

c.       The night ended with a Raya-cum-residential meeting, the post-mortem from a recent break-in just 2 days before, baying loudly for the security guards to strap up and do work properly. Sitting back, the baying of blood from the masses is a source of concern to me, primarily when I don’t feel it serves its purpose of enhancing security. First, is the fact that neighbours need to be vigilant and keep a lookout for each other. Secondly, security needs to be in your face, and no resident should raise an objection to this. Thirdly, technology solutions should be optimised. This is a position I should stand firm on, and kacau the rightful AJK constantly of the need to go beyond the superficial mingling. I see a mini-open house for the gang, Nik, KJ, J etc is in order.

d.      MAD followed the next day. Again, after not doing anything in JDC for the last 2 years despite sitting on the committee, and from a larger picture, not doing anything for the last 8 years, I contributed to drafting a resolution for dissolution of the branch. Ironic! But after giving it much thought, it is the best alternative, and when put to the vote, it was accepted by a thumping 20-10. Key learning points, Menang dimension is in effect, and it feels good to be able to lead in the though process when everyone else is trapped in the miasma.

e.       Then, it was a lightning trip to Putra Hts, and again the GIH connections loom everywhere, before a quick trip to FZ’s. Nice prime property, highly in demand etc, but so dead in terms of life and society. Give me Primaya any day. Quick mental note on next home, overlooking Masjid, security, corner at least.

f.        Amran’s was next – Mum is now 2 weeks with an ailment from whose description I’m guessing its septicimea, the same that brought down Arwah. His dedication to my old place is exemplary, but I get the nagging feeling that in the greater scheme of things that this is extremely misleading and suboptimal. You don’t get educated at the best Ivy league universities to negotiate CAs and become union activists – leave this to the proper MTUC types and use the gifts of intellect and articulation where it is best suited. Engineering sector in Malaysia is extremely stagnant, and no one has made a proper stab at marketing our  intrinsic capabilities thus far. As much as I hate to say it, Francis Yeoh has been one of the few who has managed this extremely well (leaving aside the lop-sided sweetheart deal he is the beneficiary of). Note – pls make dua for his mom, and dus that I have the strength to conduct and do what is right for the engineering fraternity who opts to stay in the technical line, rather than leaving to work in the more lucrative financial sector, or leaving to the Middle East.

g.      Wan Roslan was dropping a hint that his employers will be proceeding with an ETP identified mega project soon. Worth checking out this lead.

h.       Mak was still waiting for Fiza, but at the same time, I felt sorry that I did not participate in providing a valid excuse for her to recuse herself from joining CIk Yah’s trip to Gambang.

 

2.       Lessons from others

a.       And then there was this morning. I should appreciate my wife more, she’s helpful despite not feeling the best of health.

b.      My own slipping iman, as seen from solat times, is a concern. More of the Ramadhan spirit needs to be invigorated. Mujahadah this week to finish off the Syawwal fasts, zakat to JDC, and qurban to Kemboja.

c.       Hodgson – good or lousy? I quote buy the player power sidestory, as even a crappy 442 formation should still be good enough to overpower Blackpool, as we did in the 2^nd half. But the late / inadequate subs, the wrong personnel, the lack of a plan B, the lack of drive and motivation.. on the whole as of now, we’re slipping fast and need urgent remedial action. Professorial dithering isn’t good enough, sorry.. we have too much of that in the workplace already.

 

3.       RE interests and opportunities

a.       There is a reason why engineers shouldn’t do sales, marketing, and it was evident this morning. Siemens had as their conference launch gimmick a dance troupe wearing reflective costumes, then cornily raising highlighted promo phrases associated with climate change, you know the phrases that jumps out in the powerpoints. Message lost. Don’t bother next time.

b.      Dinner tonight, but I’d need to understand who to target and questions to ask. Perhaps can start with questions on what are the opportunities when the industry is so fragmented. Service integrators, legal and regulatory advisers / consultants?