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Given that Eggert Magnússon could find £5.5 million in the turn-ups of his trousers after a night out and that membership of next year’s Premiership is liable to be worth quite incalculable riches, that famous fine was – it goes without saying – a joke. But it also sent out a clear message. A precedent has been set; unless a player actually cuts off an opponent’s head with a rusty hacksaw blade he’d concealed in his sock, or a club are caught on CCTV stealing the Crown Jewels to make an illegal payment to a player who, it turns out, is owned by Osama bin Laden, there will be no proper points deduction. Clubs now know that they can do what they like, and no one’s gonna stop ’em.
Which is exactly why, on Sunday, the players and officials of Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United should make full use of this new, Premier League-endorsed Wild West disregard for the law. I write before Charlton Athletic’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this evening, but it looks like (assuming the Hammers lose to Manchester United) a 1-0 win for Wigan at Sheffield United would save both clubs and consign the Londoners to the relegation their crimes (though not their army of passionate fans) so richly deserve.
There should be no shame about this; Wigan and the Blades have been shafted. Their players should make no effort to score, but waste time in every conceivable way, ensuring that the ref has to trowel on copious heaps of added minutes. That way, they can be sure that West Ham have come a cropper in Manchester. Then, armed with that knowledge, the Sheffield lads could lie in the spring sunshine while the Latics stroll up the pitch and nab the goal that ensures justice, however harshly obtained.
Which is exactly why, on Sunday, the players and officials of Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United should make full use of this new, Premier League-endorsed Wild West disregard for the law. I write before Charlton Athletic’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this evening, but it looks like (assuming the Hammers lose to Manchester United) a 1-0 win for Wigan at Sheffield United would save both clubs and consign the Londoners to the relegation their crimes (though not their army of passionate fans) so richly deserve.
There should be no shame about this; Wigan and the Blades have been shafted. Their players should make no effort to score, but waste time in every conceivable way, ensuring that the ref has to trowel on copious heaps of added minutes. That way, they can be sure that West Ham have come a cropper in Manchester. Then, armed with that knowledge, the Sheffield lads could lie in the spring sunshine while the Latics stroll up the pitch and nab the goal that ensures justice, however harshly obtained.
