Mad Brit Diary

Imperialism diminishes drama from Premier League title chase.

(Thursday, December 18, 2003) -- The English Premier League has succumbed to soccer imperialism. The mega-clubs now rule, leaving little for the smaller clubs.

Over the last 10 seasons in top-flight English soccer, only three clubs have claimed the title. Manchester United walked off with seven championships, Arsenal won two and Blackburn Rovers -- in what now looks like a complete aberration -- earned the crown with the help of Alan Shearer in 1995.

In the 1990s, Manchester United threatened to sweep all other clubs aside in the search for silverware. The imperial powers of Manchester United, Arsenal and up-and-coming Chelsea, with its Russian benefactor Roman Abramovich, is now dominating the English game.

It's all becoming a little too predictable. There are no more surprises. Either United, Arsenal or Chelsea will win the league. The EPL is starting to look like the Dutch league, where only three teams: Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord rule the Eredivisie, season in and season out. Even mighty Liverpool, which once dominated the English game in the late 1970s and early 1980s (winning the league in 1973, '76, '77, '79,'80, '82, '83, '84, '86, '88, '90) is a shadow of its former self. Prediction: Michael Owen will end up along side Raul on the frontline at Real Madrid, knocking in passes from David Beckham.

And who can blame him. Life on Merseyside, is just soggy fish n' chips and mushy peas. Long gone are the days when Liverpool and Everton won everything in their sights. Where are Gerry and the Pacemakers ("Ferry Cross The Mersey" circa 1965) when you need them. (Wearing pacemakers by now, no doubt.)

England's top division was once a competitive league, full of hungry teams, with a slew of possible contenders. Now the EPL is as predictable as Michael Jackson never seeing the inside of a prison or Saddam Hussein seeing the outside of one. It's all Man. U., Man. U. and more Man. U. Not that the Mad Brit has anything against the brilliant Red Devils. It's just that it would be nice to see other clubs battling for the crown jewels.

The MB would like to see Sir Bobby Robson winning one for Newcastle United before he retires. Variety is the spice of life, but there's not too variety at the top of the EPL these days. It already looks like another title for either Arsenal or United; that's why the MB is rooting for Chelsea or Newcastle to break the mold this season. I mean Aston Villa won the title in 1981, Nottingham Forest in 1977, Derby in 1972 and 1975, and Leeds in 1974. From 1961 to 1971, eight different clubs won the tile: Tottenham (1961), Ipswich Town (1962), Everton (1963), Liverpool 1964, 1966) Manchester United (1965, 1967), Manchester City (1968), Leeds United (1969) and Arsenal (1971) ran off with the goods.

According to the stats, Liverpool owns the most titles with 18, followed by Manchester United at 15, Arsenal with 11, Everton at nine and Aston Villa with seven. It's hard to believe that Huddersfield Town, now in the Second Division, once won the title three times in a row back in 1924-26, and that a great club like Chelsea has just won the big one once, back in 1955.

Kudos to Bolton Wanderers' talented striker Jay-Jay Okocha who has ignored the appeal from Bolton coach Sam Allardyce to give up his international career. Okocha says he will play for Nigeria in the African Nations Cup in January which means he could miss five weeks and be away for the Carling Cup semifinal against Aston Villa. "The African Nations Cup is massive for us," said Okocha. "It doesn't really get the publicity it should. It is like playing in the European Championships. I am going late to the training camp. I can't do much more."

Jim Shine writes: "Sir, you might want to recheck your facts on Kasey Keller in your most recent Mad Brit diary. While Keller's original contract would have run out this year, he signed a new one last spring which will keep him with Tottenham through the end of the 2004-2005 season.

Alan Kutachis says: "MB, does anybody know how big (Freddy) Adu's parents are? Is he maxed out at 5-foot-8 or is there reason to expect him to be a lot bigger? Sorry to draw you further into the age question epidemic, however, I'm disturbed that so many of the letters think he'd have a falsified age document for the sake of his soccer career. I don't care how old he is exactly, but if he's not 14, it is most likely because his mother wanted him to start back a grade or two if his English skills were not up to what his classmates would be. Not everything in the world is soccer, even less so for a mother thinking of her eight-year-old son."

Rick Collins asks: "Mad Brit, what do you think the odds of having a friendly between England and the United States are? The U.S. has played the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. Why not England? I think it would be an entertaining match and a lot of press in America would take note of such a friendly. . . I know that friendlies mean nothing and the result wouldn't matter, but it would be an enjoyable match. Do you agree? (That would be a great game, MB)

Chris Jameson says: "It's a shame the U.S. league doesn't really have a youth team like the European leagues do where the children can develop their skills and learn and build their body and watch the first teamers. I think D.C. United will become desperate to win the fans and improve their standings and start throwing (Adu) in, and you and I know what is going to happen. This kid will get hurt time and time again until he gets beaten down so much he will forget how to play his style. . . Like a quarterback in American football is has been hit too many times starts to look around instead of concentrating on throwing the ball. This is the style of play here in America where you pay to watch a bunch of college players and some old-timers who are retiring go run around, toss the ball around like an egg, get frustrated they got beat and slide tackle the hell out of you."

Hubrist says: "Dear Mr. Mad Brit, maybe I have been following Italian football for too long or am too much of a conspiracy theorist, but it seems that your letter writers all missed a reason for Mr. Adu's to be listed as 14 instead of older: U.S. Soccer has gained a lot of publicity from Mr. Adu being 14. On the other hand, Mr. Adu's family showed more foresight and genius than anyone I know by listing him as eight when he was actually 11."

Bob Brown writes: "There is no evidence that Freddy's age is any thing but what he claims. He was first carded in the USA a number of years ago in age group youth soccer. His age has not changed since then. That age is consistent with his immigration papers. To think his age is doctored assumes that his mother decided, when she won an immigration lottery to the USA, that she would put his age back because the U.S. was the place for soccer prodigies to go to develop. If soccer was the Adu family plan, why not try to move to France, Italy or the United Kingdom? The young man is what he says he is."

Patrick Ward writes: "Can I help you pull the box of bricks you've had shoved on you about this Freddy thing? Have to say I love your column. Hope you continue to stir the pot up. God knows we need it."

Peter Ghobrial writes: "Love your column. It's a very entertaining read for a football fan such as myself. My comment regards Freddy's age. It seems to me that recently he's been only playing in teams above his age, in competitions set up for those older than he. Do you suppose it's possible that perhaps the powers that be might know his true age, and in order to keep him out of future trouble with eligibility rules, are playing in overage teams and tournaments so that he cannot cause results to be disqualified at some later time?

Samuel Kpakiwa writes: "So I see you got quite the shellacking from U.S. fans about Adu. Hope you learned your lesson, lay off the kid and let him play his soccer. I am not here to take a shot at you for Adu. I am here to address those who think that Major League Soccer should be a replica of European soccer leagues. You know the people who are chanting the 'single table, relegation/promotion' mantra for MLS. While I agree that the playoff structure in MLS could be tweaked so as to validate the purpose of the regular season, I think having conferences and a playoff are just fine. MLS is an American league and American's love a playoff. It's key in all American sports. And as long as MLS competes with other American sports for American dollars, it only makes business sense to cater to its customer base.

"On the issue of relegation\promotion? Give me a break. Oh yeah, you be the one to tell this to a brand new MLS investor. 'Thanks for dumping all your money in our league, but your new expansion team, you know the one that just played in MLS last season, will have to play its second season of existence in the A-League.' And on the concept of parity? We love parity in the U.S. It's all about the little guy, the underdog getting a shot at last year's big fish. I know the cost for parity is the loss of dynasties and great teams, but those just don't work well in the U.S.

Ramon E. Creager writes: "Enough on the (MLS) single table already! Right now, we are lucky to have MLS. To take the attitude not to support MLS just because it doesn't use a single table and relegation. . . is to wish for no soccer league at all in this country. . . Relegation just is not feasible, period. No investor\operator is going to put money in the league if he stands a 20 percent chance of playing in a lesser league the very next season."

Jack L. Patton writes: "I've been watching the Division I men's (college) tournament and frankly I have to shake my head in amusement as to the level of play that I observe among "high" ranked teams. Turnovers, weakly played balls, poor decisions, lack of tactical judgment. I swear if I didn't know better I could be lead to believe that this was just a neighborhood pickup game and that half the players hadn't played before. Am I expecting too much from our elite college programs to be able to string together four or five passes before losing possession?"

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.