Wilson's World (of football)

The Soccer War was over, peace had broken out and the new, unified, Atlantic Coast League was scheduled to kick off on 6 November 1929. But on October 28, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 13%. The next day, when more shares were traded than on any single day for 40 years, it fell another 12%. Over two days, US$30billion had been wiped off the value of the stock market. By November 13, the Dow Jones was down 48% on its high of September 3.

The tensions that had been rumbling under the surface almost since the inception of the American Soccer League erupted in 1928 into what became known as the Soccer War. Perhaps the shock of the Wall Street Crash would have caused the collapse of the league anyway, but devastation was ensured by its weakened state. The American Soccer League had been becoming increasingly self-assertive anyway but that process was accelerated by Charles Stoneham, the disreputable owner of the New York Nationals.

It was the Wall Street Crash that broke the American Soccer League, but it wasn’t just the Crash. The edifice was already swaying thanks to the Soccer War; the financial shock just applied the final push. In some ways, everything looked healthy in 1926-27. ASL sides were back in the Challenge Cup and bridges appeared to have been mended. Nat Agar, the owner of Brooklyn Wanderers, said that receipts had climbed from $5388 in 1922-23 to between $120,000 and $150,000 four years later.

The Hakoah tour of 1926 had opened US eyes to the Jewish audience that existed for sport and to the money that could be made from football. Ambitions were raised. The following year, Nat Agar, the Sheffield-born former accountant who ran Brooklyn Wanderers, decided to arrange another tour by a high-class Jewish side from Europe. But, he realised, there was even more money to be made if, rather than simply paying a European club, he controlled the touring party as well.

Even as attendance records were being broken by the American Soccer League, the tensions that would ultimately bring it down were festering. The ASL owners looked at baseball, saw the power of the clubs and wondered why they were so subservient to the United States Football Association. To an extent, they had a point. Of the $16,000 the USFA took from the Challenge Cup in 1923-24, $13,000 came from ASL or St Louis clubs. Why did they also have to pay subs? Why did the USFA have such power?

Perhaps a glorified pre-season friendly against a team who were far from ready and a season opener against a newly promoted side weren’t the best way to judge a team. Aston Villa are a team undergoing a difficult transition, players leaving almost faster than they can be replaced, yet Arsenal toiled to beat them on Monday. This might perhaps not be the procession to the title for Arsenal many had already begun to assume it would be.

The Champions League draw will take place at 1700 UK time on Thursday. A couple of decades ago, the draw seemed like one of the key moments of the calendar, something that had the potential to set the agenda until Christmas. But then the financial disparities between clubs grew, the group phase lost its meaning, and then the format changed so that it’s just a load of fixtures. Fans of the clubs involved may know who they have to play, but nobody can retain more than that in their heads.

It’s only the first weekend of the season. All judgements at this stage have always to be tempered with an awareness that nothing can ever truly be concluded from one game, and particularly not when squads are still being assembled. This summer particularly a lot of clubs feel undercooked, the World Cup having delayed preparation and squad composition. But, still, what happened at Hull on Saturday is exactly what Manchester United feared. It feels like the cycle is beginning again.

1 Arsenal They were convincing champions last season, and summer signings appear to have made them stronger. And many of their rivals are going through a process of transition. 2 Chelsea The club’s financial situation is troubling, and the squad still too big, but there were signs in pre-season of what Xabi Alonso was aiming at, and the lack of European football is a major advantage.

Last summer, Arsenal made seven permanent signings at a cost of around £250m. Of those seven, one has already left the club and the suspicion is that four are essentially expendable. Only Eberechi Eze and Cristhian Mosquera can be completely sure their medium-term futures lie at the Emirates.