Oh Right, Liverpool Played A Match Yesterday, For Some Reason

I didn't open a thread about Liverpool's friendly at Ibrox against Rangers yesterday, because honestly with the Champions League matches to watch I forgot it was going on. From the sounds of it, so did most of Liverpool's squad. While Johnson and Agger got run outs coming back from injury, I could have sworn that's what the reserves were for. Anyway, Liverpool lost 1-0, and pretty much looked like they couldn't wait to stop freezing and get back home. Can't say I blame them. And now a pretty useless friendly that was just a cash grab for a Rangers club that badly needs the cash is over, and we can all get on with our lives.

-One thing going on that I find worth commenting on is the report that the foreign owners in the Premier League scheming to get rid of relegation. I suppose it's not surprising, they're all terrified of watching their investments go into the toilet if their clubs were somehow punted down to the Champo. Still, it's hard to fathom that the owners of Liverpool, Chelsea, United, Man City, and probably soon to be Arsenal give a toss either way, because these teams would really have to kick themselves in the dick to worry about relegation.

I could see where Randy Lerner at Villa, the owners of Blackburn and Sunderland, as well as QPR might have a fancy at this. But it's so frustrating to watch these individuals claim to know better than the tradition that's lasted over 100 years to disguise protecting their cash. It would only come to pass if there were a few more owners from other shores coming to England, but you can't completely discount the possibility, which is scary.

And it's kind of hypocritical, at least for the Yank owners, though it might not involve them directly. If anything, American owners should be finding a way to incorporate relegation into our leagues. How many times have we listened to MLB or NHL owners moan and complain that they're forced to send money to smaller teams in revenue sharing and then howl when those teams don't reinvest that money into their playing squad to compete? Could the smaller teams get away with that if they knew they could get punted to Triple A or the AHL? It would assure that a good portion of that revenue sharing was invested in players for the fans in those smaller markets to support.

But I'm just overdosing on logic here. It's far easier to scrap a system that might cost you money in a place where you don't have the familiarity with things instead of revolutionizing the way you do things back home. Or something. For me, I think relegation might be the best thing about footy. I've slogged through so many Chicago Cubs seasons where they had nothing to play for after May. Same with some other teams here in my hometown Chicago. While it probably would cause a stroke or two or twelve, at least I'd have a reason to watch if the Cubs had to actually risk their Major League status with another horrific season.

But that will continue to be my wish.