Arsenal Wins FA Cup Final on Penalties as Man U Dies

The oldest knock-out competition in the world is the Football Association Cup in England. This year, two very deserving teams played end-to-end soccer and finished in a goalless draw. Then, on penalty kicks, Arsenal beat Manchester United 5-4. It was a sad ending to Manchester United’s existence as a soccer club and its beginning as a business.

The shoot-out is the worst possible way for a major soccer game to end, and FIFA should get off its collective backside and change the rules. Penalty shots have as much to do with the game of soccer as free throws do with basketball. It’s a single skill, not the whole game. That said, this game was not really about the Cup for many Man U fans. Instead, it was their last chance to complain that their team, which trades on the stock exchange, was taken over by American Malcolm Glazer, owner of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While they dressed in black and marched, a few of them, before the game singing anti-Glazer songs, the Arsenal fans waved American flags and chanted “USA! USA! USA!” British soccer supporters are not a very sympathetic bunch.

What has the Man U crowd upset is not so much that Mr. Glazer is a Yank who bought their team (after all, Chelsea supporters adore their Russian bankroll named Roman Abramovich) but rather that his ownership portends changes that traditionalists hate. For one thing, he didn’t really buy the club with his own money. He raised debt to buy up his 75% stake, and to pay that off, he’s got to squeeze more money out of the club. What that means is higher ticket prices, a possible withdrawal from the Premiership’s TV deal (figuring he can get more if he sells the Man U rights solo), and there have even been talk of moving the team out of Manchester. Mr. Abramovich is using Chelsea to park his Russian money, and he’s paying cash for things, lending a great sense of stability to the operations at Stamford Bridge.

The Manchest United die-hards have a few shares, but they are out of ammunition. Not even a boycott of the stadium will help – after all, Manchester United prides itself on being the most popular team in the world thanks to a great marketing campaign and a decade of success on the pitch. Those fans from abroad (or God forbid, London) will gladly take the empty seats. Change is coming to Old Trafford Stadium, and it may not be for the best. Manchester United will no longer be run like a sports team, but rather like a business. It looks like there are a lot of fans for the burg’s other team, Manchester City, on their way.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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