James Shield's Sheffield United Column: Pay-per-view protests are merely a battle in a much bigger and potentially game-changing war

I’ll save Wilder some money and tell him what they would have said. Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during a trophy-laden reign at Manchester United, would be aghast at the attempted power-grab cooked-up inside the Old Trafford boardroom. Shankly, a self-confessed socialist like his fellow Scot, would have welcomed the suggestion to redistribute some of English football’s wealth. But he would have been furious, absolutely contemptuous, if the owners of Liverpool had attempted to democratise the game during his period in charge. The enhanced voting rights for established top-flight clubs, which were being proposed by The Glazer family and John W Henry, would have done exactly that. Not even Boris Johnson, one of the most shameless chancers in modern politics, is ever likely to propose that billionaires can vote twice at a general election. (Mind you, on second thoughts, the access both he and some of his predecessors have granted to lobbyists, means he can simply let them shape policy instead).

United, of course, were never going to be included on the list of PL members whose interests the PBB conspirators felt were more worthy than the rest. That, every bit as much as the huge gulf in transfer and salary spending between them, underlines the scale of the challenge Wilder’s squad will face when it travels to the North-West for a match which is being televised live on a major satellite channel’s pay-per-view-platform. If being banned from attending matches isn’t bad enough, particularly when all sorts of indoor group activities are still permitted to go ahead, being charged the best part of 15 quid to watch their side’s fixtures is another slap in the face for supporters who are already forced to pay hefty monthly subscription fees for their television sports packages.

United and Liverpool have little in common on the pitch but thankfully, the same can not be said of it, where followers of both have expressed their fury at the PPV deal. Many have proposed donating the money to local food banks instead, to help those in their communities less fortunate than themselves - a gesture those who seemingly regard fans as untrustworthy knuckle-dragging neanderthals might care to consider the next time they review how social distancing measures are implemented.

Newcastle supporters raised more than £20,000 for one of these projects after boycotting coverage of their team’s meeting with Manchester United six days ago.

"Someone just suggested the idea on Twitter and we thought, 'that's great, let's do it'. Whoever recommended pay-per-view, pitched it wrong,” their spokesperson Bill Cocoran said. “If you're a season-ticket holder and already pay for games on TV, this was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back.”

“I’ve gone on record, about what I think about some of the things that are happening at the moment,” Wilder said during United's pre-match media conference yesterday, attempting to walk the tightrope between reitterating his disdain for those who want to deconstruct the English pyramid and writing Liverpool’s team talk for them – Henry noe reportedly being involved in discussions about establishing a breakaway European league. “The history we’ve got here, I think that should be respected personally. It counts for a lot and it’s also the people’s game. It belong to them, not owners, managers or even players.”

But back to those in charge of running football, not the country, during the Covid-19 era.

Even though supporters are desperate to flood back through the turnstiles, the power-brokers and executives responsible for putting forward ideas like PBB or the revised broadcasting model are playing a very dangerous game if they believe people’s loyalty can be taken for granted.Last weekend, before United’s draw with Fulham at Bramall Lane, I found myself chatting with a colleague from a rival publication about the state of the sport today.

“To be honest, with everything that’s going on and with the grounds still effectively empty, I’m beginning to fall out of love with it a bit,” they told me. “I feel further away from football than ever, which really bothers me, but that’s just how it is.” Bearing in mind this is someone who, as well as being a supporter, is still fortunate enough to be allowed to attend fixtures.

Hopefully those directors and owners - or “custodians” as Wilder reminded them earlier this month - listen to the dissent and remember that yes, although football might be a business, it is a business like no other. How many shareholders of Fenway Sports Group - the parent company Henry uses to control Liverpool - would protest outside its Boston headquarters about a change in its corporate governance? Then remember how Reds supporters reacted when low paid staff members were placed on furlough earlier this year. That decision, like one to raise ticket prices following a ground expansion, was dropped in the face of fierce opposition.

The kickbacks against PBP and PPV aren’t isolated incidents. They are part, when you consider the evidence, of something much, much bigger - a battle for the very soul of our national sport.

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