Setanta Sports Goes Bust

The most ridiculous piece of football news this week concerns the sports television channel Setanta. The supposed rival channel to Sky has gone under with millions of pounds outstanding. They could not even meet the latest payment that was due to the clubs. This is a clear breach of contract by Setanta Sports. The matches they had exclusive broadcast rights for will now be sold to the highest bidder. That is a polite way of saying they will be snapped up by Sky.

Opinion on the failed channel was mixed to say the least. One criticism was the Premiership games often lacked variety with one team in particular screened regularly. Any non subscribers who were considering signing up must be heaving a huge sigh of relief. Getting your money back in this scenario can sometimes be a struggle.

Presumably this means the return of Sky’s Prem Plus package. Why they cannot just keep all the games in one package is beyond belief. If a customer subscribes to Sky sports, they should not have to fork out to see some more live Premiership football. It is just a ploy to squeeze some more money out of the loyal customer base. In the present economic climate these tactics are not welcome.

The reasons for the demise of Setanta Sports are not clear although they had obviously bitten off more than they could chew. Whether you like them or not Sky are an established giant when it comes to sport on television. Now that Setanta has come and gone there is only one real solution for sports on television.

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Good Riddance To The Winker

It was always a possibility that Cristiano Ronaldo would eventually get his way and move to Real Madrid. He is one of the best players in the World but his behaviour does not always match his skills. This goes back to the World Cup when he played a part in getting his club team mate Wayne Rooney sent off. That game between England and Portugal showed the global television audience exactly what Ronaldo is like.

Many felt that Sir Alex Ferguson should have washed his hands of him back then. However, he did nothing of the sort and instead he remained loyal to Ronaldo. He has developed into quite a player although it could be said that is not necessarily a good thing. He has behaved like a spoilt child at times in the last year throwing his toys out of the pram when he did not get his move to Madrid. Although he pledged loyalty to United, it was not convincing. It was more a case of delaying the inevitable.

This year he has looked disinterested and brilliant often in the same game. In the Premiership, he has thrown tantrums when being substituted. After the Champions League final, his criticism of Fergie’s tactics was very disrespectful. The time was right for Manchester United to get rid and get the best possible price for him. The £80 million transfer is a World record and allows replacements to be brought in.

Ronaldo is the latest in a long line of great players that have left the club. The manager is an expert at rebuilding teams when key players depart. When next season gets underway Manchester United will still be a good bet for the title even without the winker.

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The Rich Man's Toy

At the start of the season, not many people would have tipped Newcastle United for relegation. The fact they now find themselves in the Championship is due to a catalogue of errors. Numerous mistakes have been made during the course of the season by the owner Mike Ashley.

The reason for the sacking of Sam Allardyce was reported to be the type of football the team was producing. This is a valid point but Allardyce would not have delivered relegation had he remained in charge. The hierarchy decided to bring back Toon legend Kevin Keegan. This raised an eyebrow or two in some quarters but it was considered a safe appointment. Keegan would have the backing of the fans and would get the team playing attractive and attacking football.

For some strange reason Ashley then decided to bring in a director of football. Club chairmen do not seem to learn that in English football the director of football role rarely succeeds. This scenario just creates conflict between the manager and the director. The manager should be solely responsible for deciding which players should be bought or sold.

The appointment was cheeky cockney Dennis Wise a man with no connection to the North East which made matters worse. Furthermore it is believed that Keegan and Wise did not really get along beforehand. The rest is history as Keegan walked away after issuing an ultimatum that was not met.

The next manger to be given the job was former Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear who had been out of the game for some time. Ill health put paid to his stint and that is where the crucial error was made. An experienced manger should have been appointed immediately but instead Ashley left Chris Hughton in charge.

The last throw of the dice was appointing Alan Shearer with only a handful of games remaining. Shearer is worshipped by the supporters but had an impossible task to keep them up. Money has been thrown around like confetti in recent years on a host of poor signings. Average players have been given very generous contracts and have simply not earned those wages.

If the club is to make an instant return to the Premiership then a massive clear out is required. Under performing players who are on contracts of £50,000 a week or more, need to be moved out of the club. You need a fair amount of fighting spirit to get out of the Championship and that is one quality the current squad does not have in abundance.

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