British sport is heading the US way as the financial giants take over, says ALEX BRUMMER
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All my Boxing Day experiences are about the outdoors. As a young adult in my native Brighton area my brother Daniel and l, together with some friends, had a routine. In the morning, it would be a visit to the dog track in Hove for a flutter at the annual holiday meeting.
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Then back to my parents’ home for chicken soup and cold turkey before legging it the old Goldstone Ground to watch Brighton & Hove Albion, then usually in the old Second Division. Later, in married life, when the holidays were spent with my wife’s family in Cardiff, the routine was different. We would make the short journey to nearby Caerphilly to watch the hunt set out, all bright red coats, ruddy faces and beautifully trim horses, and a pack of hounds. Then we would set off for a hike across the hills.
Sports on the day after Christmas is now dominated by the Premier League fixtures in much the same way as the National Football League (NFL) occupies the Thanksgiving Holiday in the US. The Americanisation of Premier League soccer continues apace with eleven clubs in US ownership and Everton now fully controlled by Houston-based The Friedkin Group. We have already seen at Chelsea, under the leadership of Todd Boehly, how US ownership brings a new perspective to management.
Changing game: Chelsea, under the leadership of Todd Boehly, show US ownership in action. The free and easy transfer system in Europe means that at most clubs, short-termism prevails. Managers come and go, and players’ contracts have been short, requiring constant renewal.
