The ''competitive balance'' between the top clubs and the rest of the domestic leagues has been upset. The Champions League has created, in almost every country in Europe, an elite of rich clubs whose increasing dominance is turning their domestic title races into predictable turn-offs for fans.
Ten years ago, English football was a different game. Fans could pay at the gate, grounds were often only two-thirds full, average attendance was 26 000 and not every Premiership stadium was all-seat. Sky Sports showed 40 live matches per season, and only on Sunday afternoons and Monday nights. But fast forward a decade and Malcolm Glazer's bid to buy Manchester United starts to make sense.
Uefa is trying to stem the growing influx of ''foreign'' footballers by forcing clubs across Europe to have up to eight home-grown players on their books and a new maximum squad size of 25. The Uefa leadership has finally brought forward detailed proposals to counter what it regards as serious problems.
Imagine a club where there is more farce in the off-field antics than an average Carry On film, the dressing-room politics would shame ancient Rome and the back four appear to be the Keystone Cops of premiership defending.