The English Premier League had two hugely defining momentslast season, and each brought a reaction in the days leading up to the start ofthe new campaign last weekend. One was the night in March when Fabrice Muamba,an energetic midfield player for the Bolton Wanderers, suffered heart failureduring a game at Tottenham in London. He was dead when emergency medicalpersonnel, including a cardiac specialist, reached him, and clinically dead for78 minutes. But through the wonders of modern science and the fact that adefibrillator was available to shock his heart into action 15 times, doctorswere able to bring him back to life. Muamba is still a symbol of hope. Lastmonth, he took a turn carrying the Olympic flame through East London, where hisfamily settled after fleeing the former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic ofCongo. He looked good, and he spoke optimistically of returning to an activerole in the game. A checkup last week deemed otherwise. He might still have adecent life, but professional soccer is too great a risk.
The other defining moment of last season? The fact that thePremiership title went to the last day of its 10-month season, and to the verylast seconds of injury time in the 38 games played by each club beforeManchester City was declared England’s champion for the first time in 44 years.City and its more titled neighbor, Manchester United, finished all square onthe number of games won, tied and lost. But City, the team massively investedin by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, eked out the prize because it scored two moregoals than United over the season, and conceded six fewer.
There has been a reaction to that aspect in the last fewdays of preparation for the new season. Alex Ferguson, who has managed Unitedto 12 English league titles in his 25 years at the club, has beefed up hisgoal-scoring power. He signed Shinji Kagawa, a goal maker, from BorussiaDortmund during the summer. And he vied with City to buy Robin van Persie, thePremier League’s leading scorer by far last season, for 24 million pounds fromArsenal.
Van Persie, now 29,released a public statement saying that wanted to win big trophies before histime ran out. It was not, he insisted, about money “ not about personal paymentanyway. United will pay him a reported 250,000 per week pounds, the same thatit pays its star player, Wayne Rooney.
So far, the total expenditure by Premier League clubs inthis transfer round exceeds a quarter of a billion pounds. Wages are extra. Wemight ask if England’s summer sport is spending money. Some of it isrecoverable. It isn’t about the money. We have the players’ word for that.
