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The Premier League leaders’ race; a politico-football metaphor

By on April 9, 2015

Gone are the days of the English Premier League being a two-horse title race between Manchester United and Manchester City. Also gone are the days when the UEFA Champions League (coalition) spots were predictably won, and of course, everyone still wants to get to Wembley (Westminster).  With the upcoming Premier League run-in and UK election in May, Richard Lewis compares the two:

The seven-sided Leaders’ Debate, 2014/15 season:

Conservatives/Chelsea; Liberal Democrats/Arsenal; Labour/Manchester United; Greens/Manchester City; SNP/Liverpool; UKIP/Tottenham Hotspur; Plaid Cymru/Southampton

Explanation for political positions:

Conservatives/Chelsea: They both have been top for a while now, and the other contenders don’t look like they’ll be able to reduce the deficit. Some fans have defected to a rival party after their actions on a Paris Metro; Stamford Bridge is also where you are now most likely to see Jeremy Clarkson hanging around; they seem intent on balancing the books, even it means cutting the squad in areas many people disagree with. However, Russian donors mean they still maintain rich spending powers. Their current leaders calls West London his home.

Liberal Democrats/Arsenal: They talk the talk, but rarely deliver on their promise. Not so long ago it seemed their leaders would lead them to future success, but recently some have lost faith with those leaders and they may soon be departing; if the entrance fees were not so high, fans may have less to complain about, meaning broken promises will be accepted more easily and the supporters’ won’t put as much pressure for positive results. Plus, their current leaders are most certainly Arsenal fans.

Labour/Manchester United: Their new leaders divide opinion and have unusually shaped noses. They are willing to spend to be restored to former glories, and while they pay some of the higher wages they are also more likely to offer longer contracts to their best workers. Sir Alex Ferguson is a famous supporter, but they have not won anything so far under their last short spells with a Scottish leader, or their current one, so far. Injury prone players has meant protecting the NHS is crucial for them.

Greens/Manchester City: They believe recycling and reusing former greats like Frank Lampard will solve everything; their current leaders do not seem to be the type who would do well in an interview or press conference, given they aren’t British and don’t like one of the favorites for this May on current form. Many younger fans have chosen to support them over rival sides. However, recycling other club’s players has not fulfilled all their expectations yet. City has Joe Hart, but may need more than that against the very best.

SNP/Liverpool: Popular amongst many, but not likely to win the whole thing; however, they could play a key role in who does win. They could play a part in the run-in as well, Liverpool still have to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Even with their strong and loyal fan base, their best bet would be to ‘Never Walk Alone’ and choose which of sides at the top they would rather see in charge. Chelsea could clinch their leadership destiny after the result against Liverpool, too. Their best players have surnames starting with ’S’ (your choice, Liverpool fans: Sterling or Sturridge?), and look set to be offered highly paid contracts.

UKIP/Tottenham Hotspur: Prompts the British by choosing leaders such as Harry Kane and Ryan Mason — plus, they both want to leave Europe (in Tottenham’s case, just on Thursdays). Their leaders are foreign and only started speaking English to the media less than a year ago, but still play English players above foreign ones and have philosophies which have caught the attention of many. Their leaders would also prefer a reduction of immigration into the squad, with mostly young English players being preferred to the highly paid foreigners — Emmanuel Adebayor and Paulinho the first to be trimmed to make space for other players, in Tottenham’s case. They haven’t got a huge chance of topping the tree in May, however, and struggle with consistency (which Tottenham mainly blame on their European Thursdays).

Partial photo credit: Nicolas Raymond on Flickr

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.