The Power of Talent

I wouldn't consider myself as being an expert in the day-to-day pressures of making a business out of elite sports teams, but a comment by Luke Johnson in his book 'Start it up' caught my eye recently and seems to strike a chord with some recent developments in UK football. Johnson points out that the desperate struggle for top talent by football teams is leading to an imbalance where clubs' incomes are being used almost entirely to reward star players and (perhaps to a lesser extent) managers.

I must agree that there seems to be an almost cult-like obsession to this pursuit of talent, with shareholders willing to fund endless losses (which other industry possesses investors with such a high tolerance for financial failure?) and fans enduring increasing ticket and merchandising prices to fund the huge transfer fees and salaries of their star players. Surely funds will dry up for all clubs, admittedly except those few supported by the mega rich, once the experience of fan protests against the owners of Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and Everton, to name but a few, diminish even the enthusiasm of the most romantic or publicity-hungry of owners? And will the value of talent be proved to be just a myth, with investment in a hardworking team becoming the new paradigm?

It is against this backdrop that I was disappointed to seeing a number of articles suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the time had come for Arsene Wenger to either step down from his jobs or his principles, by making major investments in new star signings. Surely here is a man and a club that should be applauded for not being willing to pay salaries that they consider to be so expensive that it puts the long term health of the club at risk?

This is not to say that Arsenal is a kind of Utopian club, where the club's principles ensure cheap prices for fans and a risk free investment for it's owners. But the focus on a long-term vision for the club, rather than the pursuit of a short-term talent fix is refreshing to see and, although there will always be clubs with more money than sense, it is undoubtedly a model that will become more universal in the future.

And I would also like to applaud the other, much more unlikely hero of this story - Manchester City. The fact that they are willing to stand-up to former captain Carlos Tevez, shows that, even for the most extravagant of clubs, there is a limit to the power of their talented players.