Matt Maher: Football chiefs desperate for a return to action
There has long been a suspicion one of the biggest obstacles to football getting its house in order is the sport itself can be so easily distracting.
The scene usually plays out thus: A serious issue around the game’s governance will surface, people get angry, then the action starts, someone sticks one in the top corner and the troubles are forgotten.
How bosses at the Premier League, then, must be hoping for an action-packed weekend to deflect some attention from a controversy-filled international break.
First came the 10-point deduction handed down to Everton which, even if you were in the camp which believes such penalties are the way forward when punishing clubs who break financial rules, still had you pondering the leniency previously shown to the would-be Super League Six, not to mention asking why Manchester City, charged with spending breaches before the Toffees, are still allowed to saunter on serenely?
The short answer there is while Everton were hit with one charge, City are facing 115. Yet while the likely interminable wait for the latter case to conclude makes perfect sense from a legal standpoint, from a sporting one it will always feel wholly unsatisfactory.
Many of the restrictions around spending were introduced following Abu Dhabi’s 2008 takeover. The trouble is the Premier League should have been getting tougher and considering financial limits long before Gulf States ever took an interest.
Bolting the door before the horse has broken loose is essentially what it attempted to do on Tuesday, by introducing a temporary ban on loans between clubs with the same owners for the forthcoming January transfer window.
Alas, enough clubs thought otherwise. Wolves were among eight to vote against the proposal. Newcastle, with four Saudi PIF sister clubs in the Saudi Pro League, are likely to be the biggest short-term beneficiaries.
The issue of multi-club ownership is among the biggest facing the sport and in truth one which needs addressing at a much higher level, by Uefa or preferably Fifa.
But throw in the fact the Premier League failed to reach agreement on the New Deal designed to aid EFL clubs, after years of discussion, and this was a fortnight which once more made you roll your eyes at its politics.
