In terms of on-field success, which Mr. Taylor correctly identifies as an element of global brand value, Liverpool far outstrips its English rivals, with more national championships than any other English team and as many European Cups as all the other English teams combined. Mr. Taylor refers to Manchester United’s victory in the 1999 Champions League as a “shot heard around the world.” Yet that result paled next to Liverpool’s astonishing three-goal comeback in this May’s final against Italian champions AC Milan. There was dancing on the streets of Africa that evening. Mr. Taylor goes on to write of ManU ‘s 1999 season that “three trophies in one year is an unrivalled accomplishment in English football.” But Liverpool won three trophies in 1981 and again in 2001.
Chelsea has benefited from the limitless financial resources of Russian “businessman” Roman Abramovich, who acquired Russian oil giant Sibneft in 1995 “at a fraction of its market value.” The fuller story was detailed in a September article in the Guardian, which examined the transfer of state-owned assets from the Yeltsin government to various “businessmen” in exchange for relatively paltry loans. Abramovich is currently being sued in the British Virgin Islands for business practices that would make Enron managers blush. There’s good reason he keeps a low profile.
The downside to Abramovich’s astonishing investment is that, as Mr. Taylor notes, “many middle-class local fans are beginning to feel the financial cost of their teams’ popularity.” Heaven forbid that working-class fans try to buy tickets for matches. Interestingly, the average price of tickets to watch Liverpool is two-thirds that of Chelsea. It’s quite obvious that Abramovich, both in his dealings in Russia and with Chelsea, doesn’t care much about the “little guy”—who is, historically, the average English football fan.
Finally, the several references in the article to the songs sung at Chelsea’s made me laugh, as their Stamford Bridge stadium is one of the least atmospheric in the English Premier League. While I’m sure the noise was unlike anything Mr. Taylor has heard at North American sporting events, he should take a trip to Liverpool’s Anfield sometime and hear the difference. In October, when the team lost to Chelsea for the first time in four matches, the Liverpool faithful sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with pride at the end of the match. Money might buy you some upper-middle-class arriviste fans but it can’t buy you love.
John Dutton
Montreal, Quebec
I am a Chelsea supporter, which disgusts my mate, who is Leeds, although the two clubs no longer meet in competition since Leeds was relegated to the second division. Imagine my amusement and delight, then, when I attended a Leeds match with him at the Queen’s Park Rangers grounds and heard the Leeds supporters chant the following, to the tune of “Que Sera, Sera”:
When I was just a little boy,
I asked my father, What will I be?
Will I be Chelsea? Will I be Leeds?
Here’s what he said to me:
‘Wash your mouth out, son,
And go get your father’s gun.
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