Sunday, November 04, 2007
Prime Minister irritated by Sports Ministers comments
The sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe's attack on the financial excesses of the Premier League drew predictable ire from Chelsea and Manchester United this week, but it has emerged that the prime minister was among those irritated by his comments.
Downing Street sources have indicated that Sutcliffe's criticism of Premier League wages and ticket prices went down badly with Gordon Brown, who is thought to have been "annoyed" by both the timing and substance of his argument.
Factual errors in Sutcliffe's speech - he inflated Terry's weekly wage from £130,000 to £150,000, and said Chelsea were £250m "in the red" when their actual losses for the past two years are £220m - allowed the clubs to focus on detail rather than Sutcliffe's wider arguments, but it seems the prime minister has little sympathy for either.
The timing of Sutcliffe's comments about Terry, 24 hours after the government had thrown its weight behind the World Cup bid, is thought to have caused irritation, and Downing Street has little sympathy for the wider argument.
Downing Street sources have indicated that Sutcliffe's criticism of Premier League wages and ticket prices went down badly with Gordon Brown, who is thought to have been "annoyed" by both the timing and substance of his argument.
Factual errors in Sutcliffe's speech - he inflated Terry's weekly wage from £130,000 to £150,000, and said Chelsea were £250m "in the red" when their actual losses for the past two years are £220m - allowed the clubs to focus on detail rather than Sutcliffe's wider arguments, but it seems the prime minister has little sympathy for either.
The timing of Sutcliffe's comments about Terry, 24 hours after the government had thrown its weight behind the World Cup bid, is thought to have caused irritation, and Downing Street has little sympathy for the wider argument.
