They say that all good things must end and when it comes to the Super League, this statement is absolutely irrelevant.
It was never a good thing, it offered absolutely nothing to anyone who carried a group of billionaires with an insatiable appetite to buy multi-million pound boats. In the end, common sense prevailed when all six Premier League clubs withdrew their intention to participate in the suspended competition.
Premier League must protect its future Catherine Ivill – AMA / Getty Images
With Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs all rushing back with their tails between their legs, the governing body of English football has been given a bit of a dilemma. What are they doing to their miserable little refugees?
Of course, it will be tempting to welcome them back from the cold, throw a blanket over them and hold on to the kettle, but is that really a wise move?
It can not be denied that the above clubs are “golden geese” for English football and in the end the FA need them as much as they need the FA, but the premise of an elite, erupting event has been hovering for some time now and they would be stupid and naive to think that this is the last thing they hear about it.
Put it this way: if your partner threatened to run away with the handsome, younger, prettier guy from the next door, she packed her bags and had a foot out the door before threatening to take her name from the mortgage if she left, while you would be relieved when she changed, would not you feel betrayed and annoyed that she had threatened it in the first place?
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s sides can and should be punished Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
And what’s worse, chances are she’ll pull the same stunt again as soon as a better deal comes, knowing you’ll hold on to the kettle as soon as the better deal goes up.
The only way to stop it from happening again is to impose proper sanctions to remove the temptation (by the way, we have moved away from the relational analogy, we do not advocate clearing point deductions to your partner).
Handing out fines to billionaires who can drop their Ferrari in a parking lot and just go and buy another one because they can not bother to look for it is completely pointless.
In the end, they only backed away from the Super League idea due to fan pressure, and unfortunately, fans will be caught in the crossfire by any punishment that actually acts as a deterrent in the future.
The Premier League has some big decisions to make James Baylis – AMA / Getty Images
Of course, it is not fair that the players, managers and fans should suffer a points deduction on the back of a decision that they not only had a part in but also actively expressed their dissatisfaction with, but it is the animal of football nowadays.
Wigan Athletics players absolutely pulled up trees to give themselves a chance to stay in the championship last season – losing just one of their last 15 league games of the season – yet they were disappointed by their owners and were released to League One after a 12-point deduction.
Going into the administration had nothing to do with fans or players, but unfortunately it is they who get the consequences.
As early as 1997, Middlesbrough scored three points for not fulfilling their role in the league after the entire squad was struck by an illness and they did not take part in their away match at Blackburn. Boro were docked three points and said that penalties ultimately caused them to be moved.
It remains to be seen whether UEFA will take any action against the 12 breakaway clubs Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
If not participating in a game leads to a three-point deduction, how can the risk of the future of an entire football pyramid be swept under the rug?
Sometimes football is not fair, and if you have not learned it yet, you have not followed your team long enough, but unfortunately the game’s governing body has an obligation to ensure that the game has good health going forward, and the only way for them to to do so is to impose harsh sanctions on the English Super League contingent.
