\n<\/p>\n
Early 2008. The club that are now officially the richest in the world were managed by Sam Allardyce, their biggest signing the previous summer being Joey Barton.<\/strong><\/p>\n The previous richest club, and the most successful in recent years, were considering it exotic and exciting to be owned by Thaksin Shinawatra, but were fading to an eighth place finish after making a promising start, their table topping early weeks of the season considered as good as it would get and the last time they\u2019d reach such lofty heights for another 40 years. They could, however, be consoled that they boasted the hottest property in English football in their young full-back, Micah Richards.<\/p>\n Speaking of hot prospects, Rio Ngumoha hadn\u2019t been born yet.<\/p>\n It all seems like ancient history now, and it is against this backdrop that the prospect of \u201cGame 39\u201d was first mooted. An attractive opposition to some club owners and also some of the senior executives of the Premier League itself, the idea was that all Premier League clubs would play one match on foreign shores, but rather than anybody be stripped of home advantage and the gate receipts that would come their way, and in the interests of balance and fairness and the integrity of the competition (I\u2019m keeping a straight face while typing this, honest), everyone would still play 19 home matches, thus this abroad fixture would be an extra match-day for everyone \u2013 Game 39.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n Like with the European Super League in 2021, the backlash from supporters and the media alike was so instant and so fierce that the idea was swiftly quashed. However, like the European Super League, it\u2019s never really gone away, it\u2019s always lurking under the surface, ready to burst out again. For the latter, by the time of the next TV deal, the re-vamp of the Champions League, with the extra match-weeks and its own rather liberal interpretation of the Swiss System, it has turned into a de facto European Super League. Likewise, the expansion to include third and fourth placed teams from the richer leagues in 1999 was in response to similar Super League threats. One could argue though that these want-away clubs had to be placated and that the re-imagining of the old competitions has been a necessary compromise.<\/p>\n An obvious compromise to Game 39 would have been to play the Charity\/Community Shield abroad. This particular showpiece game has undergone so many changes during its existence, and is met with such indifference even by match-going \u201clegacy fans\u201d, that moving it abroad may not have been met with the same negative reaction and would still give greater foreign exposure to the English game. However, given that this match would not fall under the umbrella of the Premier League, it\u2019s difficult to gauge if this would have generated the same interest for foreign fans, or been considered worthwhile by the English authorities. Not to mention Wembley having to be utilised for every possible match in order to both justify and recoup the rebuilding costs. Furthermore, the pre-season tournament of the \u201cInternational Champions Cup\u201d began to grow around this time, with the influential European teams playing each other in venues throughout the globe, perhaps pacifying football supporters in these areas who could at least attend a game involving these teams, albeit in friendlies (\u201cexhibition matches\u201d, they\u2019d no doubt call them), which the Charity\/Community Shield also effectively is.<\/p>\n However, the Spanish authorities did have the imagination to begin playing their equivalent \u2013 the Super Cup \u2013 abroad, albeit during their mid-season winter break rather than as a pre-season match, something the Premier League wouldn\u2019t have the luxury of being able to do. \u00a0Perhaps testing the waters for the potential interest in and success of playing a domestic fixture abroad. That they expanded the \u201cCup\u201d to four teams (the league and cup runners up also included) suggests that it tested very well, so much so that the Italian Super Cup followed suit.<\/p>\n Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/p>\n And it is the Spanish and Italian leagues that are bringing Game 39 back to the fore. Both were due to have one of their \u201cregular season\u201d matches take place abroad this season, however, in the last few days, due in part to overwhelming opposition to the move in Spain, including the La Liga players themselves, who have protested by standing still for the first 15 seconds of their match, the proposed Miami hosting of the Villarreal vs Barcelona game in December has been cancelled.<\/p>\n Whether or not Milan\u2019s match against Como in February will still be played in Australia remains to be seen.<\/p>\n Even if it is called off, at this point, it may well be a temporary setback \u2013 an overseas game will be pushed for every season. The traditionalists have to prevent it every time, however, the progressives only have to actualise it once, for both sides know that once the first overseas game happens, it will open the floodgates.<\/p>\n If and when it does go ahead, it will force Game 39 back on to the table. The self-styled best league in the world is going to have some difficulty continuing this claim when their rivals leagues have gone global. The danger of being left behind will be very real. The expression \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke\u201d can no longer apply. Back in the late noughties, attempts to justify the mere suggestion of this game by the equally well worn maxim \u201cwe can\u2019t be seen to be standing still\u201d were met with derision by sports journalists and fans alike. That dismissal felt all the more vindicated as the Premier League continued to prosper, both in terms of bigger and broader TV deals with every renewal, and in terms of the success of its clubs on the European stage and even the World stage, with Chelsea recently becoming the inaugural winners of FIFA\u2019s expanded World Club Cup.<\/p>\n It came out of the pandemic in better shape than some of its rivals, and saw off the aforementioned specture of the European Super League.<\/p>\n Sticking with the winning formula has worked. It can even be argued that the other leagues are resorting to this game in part to try to compete with the Premier League when it comes to TV revenues and global reach.<\/p>\n However, now that La Liga and Serie A are no longer standing still, our league may be compelled to also move. Problem is, as it stands, the rival leagues will get there first. Those who pushed for this innovation almost 20 years ago will be suppressing the urge to scream \u201cI told you so\u201d with great smugness.<\/p>\nThen<\/h5>\n
Now<\/h5>\n