Perhaps it was overdue, what with the chaos that Tom Hicks & George Gillett laid on Liverpool FC’s doorstep. Perhaps it’s merely a trend that’s sweeping Europe, what with unlikely clubs like Mallorca, Sampdoria, AJ Auxerre and FC Twente staking their Champions League claims. Whatever the reason, this Cinco de Mayo could see something akin to a changing of the guard atop the Premier League.
5th-place Manchester City hosts 4th-place Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN2, 2:55 PM EDT) for a midweek battle that could determine England’s 4th and final Champions League bid. If Man City wins, it leapfrogs Tottenham into 4th place and can clinch the bid with a win at West Ham on Sunday. If Tottenham wins, it instantly clinches entry into the Playoff Round. A draw also benefits Tottenham, who would maintain a one-point lead over City and need only to beat relegated Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday to clinch 4th place.
Some are already calling it “the £60M match,” which must make Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s little merc heart skip a beat. Those numbers, however, might be a bit inflated. According to UEFA, Manchester United only received roughly £34M in prize and media pool money for reaching last season’s Champions League Final. Match-day income for six home Champions League fixtures might put the number close to £60M, but neither White Hart Lane nor City of Manchester Stadium can hold almost 75,000 fans like Old Trafford can. It also ignores the fact that earning the bid is only half the battle. The last non-Big Four club to win a 4th-place bid, Everton in 2005, crashed out in the Playoff Round and never got a whiff of that Group Stage succor.
Many would suggest, of course, that an August flame-out would not happen here, and a long and bountiful Champions League campaign would beckon for this season’s 4th place finisher. In my mind, however, the scenarios here practically write themselves.
- Man City wins the game and defeats West Ham to take 4th place. Sheikh Mansour immediately gives Roberto Mancini £250M, which the Sheikh just happened to find in the couch cushions on his private jet, and instructs him to go out and assemble the greatest side ever. Mancini makes nice with Carlos Tevez after informing him he’ll be playing next to Fernando Torres. Then Mancini lures an unhappy Kaká out of Madrid and signs Gigi Buffon for twice as much as it cost to sell Joe Hart to Arsenal. Three or four big purchases later, and City has assembled a colossus that could compete for trophies for the rest of the decade. Michel Platini faints. Harry Redknapp asks for a huge transfer kitty. Daniel Levy gives him a fiver and tells him to start selling.
- Tottenham wins the game and takes 4th place. Daniel Levy, ignorant of recent history, gives Harry Redknapp carte blanche in the transfer window. Redknapp immediately goes nuts and brings in £75M worth of players while only getting £20M back in sales. Several agents are seen driving nice new Audis. Spurs then get upset by Ajax in the Playoff Round. British press looks at the numbers and declares Spurs are the new Leeds. Roberto Mancini gets sacked for failure to deliver Champions League football to Abu Dhabi. Steve McClaren turns down City’s millions and tells the press he’d rather manage in the Champions League. Sheikh Mansour pulls Phil Scolari out of Uzbekistan, gives him a £100M transfer kitty and says, “Build me a winner.” City finishes in 5th place, 2 points behind redeemed Liverpool, now managed by… wait for it… Mark Hughes.
Those are the obvious futures, anyway. For now, though, there’s only this one game to decide between them, and the hopes of two clubs and their tens of thousands of supporters rest on that one game. Never mind that it’s the hope that kills you. Get your popcorn ready. It’s gonna be a glorious day.
