Todd Boehly’s All-Star game proposal was harmless, but it comes from the same dangerous place as others before it: a businessman concluding he's ready, after brief exposure to European football, to play a part in mapping the future. Writes OliverKay
in 2008 and advocating a breakaway Premier League of just 14 clubs with no promotion or relegation.
There were hints of that in what Boehly said. Not about the All-Star game, which he said was an idea to help football’s poorer relations — no doubt, fellow Premier League club owners Joel, John, Stan and the guys will show him the error of his ways — but certainly the part later on when he was talking about his plans for player development at Chelsea.
Boehly has evidently gained a greater understanding of the industry in four months than some owners gain in four years. If nothing else, appointing yourself as interim sports director during a hectic summer transfer window will guarantee you learn on your feet. Like the proliferation of takeovers by investors with no connection to the club in question, it is a phenomenon that has dawned slowly but spread quickly without the game’s authorities being able to reach any kind of consensus on whether it is a good thing or something to be clamped down on.
Not All-Star games, closed-shop competitions or anything like that, but better regulation, a clearer licensing system and, while we are at it, a fairer distribution of the game’s wealth to restore some degree of competitive balance.