Deserved winners and unlucky losers

Has there ever been a game that sums up sport’s intrinsic connection to capitalism more than yesterday’s relegation dogfight/six-pointer/grudge match/pure theatre/thriller at Hillsborough between Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace?

This was the ultimate big winner and bigger loser scenario, with a place in the lucrative Championship for the winners and a descent to lowly League One for the losers. Rarely has a match been so perfectly and clearly placed on the last afternoon of the season: Wednesday needed a win, Palace needed a win or a draw. Perfect for the primetime slot on the BBC, perfect for the Hillsborough coffers with a full house of 40,000 through the famous turnstiles.

And also, of course, the sub-plot of Palace’s financial plight: in January, they entered administration, and the 10 point deduction led to the showdown with Wednesday on Sunday. The first law of capitalism: the successful, strong, well-run businesses survive, and the weak ones will go wither or implode. This ensures the economy is strong; meritocracy will always prevail. If you deserve success or failure, you’ll get it, right...?

The trouble comes when the social fabric of a town or city is centred on the organisations that are so driven by capitalist principles, and when so many thousands of peoples’ time, money and emotions are invested in a clubs, as shown by the endless shots of die-hard supporters crying on the last day of the season.

So what can be done? Or should anything be done? In terms of the finances, it must come down to the supporters having more of a say. Who really has more of what’s valuable to them invested in Man United - lifelong fans or the Glazers? In the Bundesliga the fans must own a majority of shares. Or could the government help out more? If they’re going to bail out the banks, then surely football clubs are the social equivalent that needs more of a leg-up.

As for the relegation battles... I’m afraid in the old school British football leagues, the joy and pain will be around for a while, and make sure you buy shares in Kleenex every May.