COMMENT: It's over. Done. Brexit has KILLED the Premier League. English football is now officially a backwater...
... or so the doom merchants would have us believe. If you ignore the noise. The wailing. And do your own research. Erm, it's difficult to see what actually will change.
But you don't understand! The pound is in freefall. English clubs will never be able to compete in the transfer market again. Never, I tell you! NEVER!
Alright, alright, keep your hair on. Yeah, the pound has fallen. But so has the Euro. And for the majority of transfer business outside the UK this summer, it'll be done with clubs on the continent - tied to using the oh-so-stable Euro.
Those record falls the doom merchants keep pushing on news bulletins are against the US dollar. So unless there's some 3-goal-a-game striker buzzing around the MLS none of us have heard of, the pound's drop isn't going to make that much difference.
As for the pound/Euro exchange. Yes, there's been a fall. One which we haven't seen since... last week. After Brexit, David Sullivan, West Ham's co-chairman, issued a statement warning Irons fans that the fall in the pound would hurt their transfer plans. And then yesterday, news breaks that the two Davids have offered Olympique Marseille a record €38 million for Michy Batshuayi. Er, yeah, Brexit has really hurt the dealings of West Ham.
And as for mid- to long-term business, well, just apply some commonsense. The UK was the second strongest economy in the EU trading bloc. The fifth strongest in the world. In terms of the pound versus Euro, it's obvious which is going to emerge stronger.
But what of the children?! The players! All the non-British footballers in the Premier League. They'll all have to be booted out. The stars will leave. It's over I tell ya! Why can't you understand?! The Premier League is DONE!
Er, yeah... Iceland, Norway and Switzerland aren't members of the EU. Yet, the UK has long welcomed players from all three nations to compete in the Premier League as Europeans. Just a couple of weeks ago, Lorenzo Gonzalez was snapped up by Manchester City from Servette. The 16 year-old will join City's academy. There's no Africans in that squad. Nor South Americans. The home office wouldn't allow it. But Gonzalez, with his Swiss passport, is fine.
We must have missed all those reports about Gylfi Sigurdsson having to re-apply for a work permit every year as the Icelander bounced between Reading, Tottenham and Swansea City. Or is it that they just don't exist? As for Norway. C'mon, Norway and English football? They go together like pie and mash.
We won't bore you with the ins and outs of the European Free Trade Association, where the UK was once the leading state, but it's allowed all three countries and their people to work and trade across the EU with little compromise. Sorry, well no we're not actually sorry... nothing to see here.
Ha-ha! But what about Gareth Bale?! Our greatest British player? The Spanish will kick him out! He's British! He's Welsh! Real Madrid can't keep hold onto him with their non-EU spots full. Brexit has KILLED Bale's career!
Again, can you just calm down? There's a teammate of Bale's. You may've heard of him. His name is Martin Odegaard. A Norwegian. Y'know, not a member of the EU. Yet, he's treated as a European player at Real Madrid and in the La Liga. Unless something ridiculous happens, the same will apply to Bale. And for that matter, any British player playing in Europe.
Vitesse Arnhem have just taken Lewis Baker on-loan for a second season from Chelsea. Willem II are this week having a close look at Baker's teammate Kyle Scott. If Dutch clubs were concerned about an early exit by the UK, which is being pushed by the EU bureaucrats, would they be giving up their precious non-Euro places to untried English kids?
If Bale ends up at Manchester United or Chelsea in the future, it won't have anything to do with Brexit. It'll just be your typical piece of run-of-the-mill football business.
There is a lot of uncertainty around. And a significant proportion of it is being driven by the catastrophics in the media. Or to give them their technical name, dipsticks. This is their transfer deadline day. Their chance to shine. And the only way to get you coming back tomorrow is to tell you the world is about to end... tomorrow. You get the drift.
In contrast, leaders in the Premier League have reacted quickly and been measured in their response. The message has largely been 'stay calm and carry on'. The vast majority backed the 'Remain' campaign (what monopoly wouldn't?), but they haven't sulked. From Richard Scudamore to Gordon Taylor, they've been out there on the front foot, assuring their members and the public. Essentially putting the game ahead of themselves.
Yet again, English football has put their political cousins to shame.
