Premier League North vs South All-Star game: Big-six greed disguised as razzmatazz

“Does he want to bring the Harlem Globetrotters as well?"

Jurgen Klopp’s immediate reaction to Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly suggesting that the Premier League should look to put on an all-star game each year spoke volumes.

The Liverpool boss was clearly taken aback by the idea, as I think the vast majority of his peers would be too.

“Did he really say that?” Klopp continued. "He hasn't waited long! Maybe he can find a date for it. 

“It's completely different in America. He forgets in US Sport they have a four-month break.”

Boehly’s suggestion, which came while he was speaking at the Salt Conference in New York, was that an all-star game could be used to help redistribute funds down the football period.

“Why isn’t there an all-star game?" he questioned. “With the all-star game in LA this year, we made $200 million from a Monday and a Tuesday.

“You could have a North versus South all-star game for the Premier League and fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily.

“I hope that the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure it out.”

So there you have it.

The man who has just spent £250m on transfers in one summer and then sacked his manager about a week later, hopes the rest of the Premier League figures it out.

Todd clearly knows best already.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are a couple of reasons why an all-star game could be fun.

Firstly, it would be a football match involving some of the world’s best players.

So clearly there would be some big global appeal and I’m sure it would generate plenty of revenue, as Boehly was keen to point out.

But that’s really where the potential positives end.

Let’s face it, this isn’t about dripping funds down the football pyramid in this country. This is about putting more money into Chelsea’s pockets.

That’s what this, the European Super League, or any new idea raised by one of the big six is ever about.

If they are really bothered about helping out clubs in the lower leagues they could do it already, they could push to change the way the huge sums of revenue that they earn now is distributed.

But they don’t. Because they just want more, it’s what they always want. Every new idea is about getting richer.

The NFL and NBA all-star games in America are a great spectacle, but there are so many reasons why it just won’t work over here.

Klopp’s stunned reaction was spot on. When on earth would it be played? During an already congested season? No chance.

During the summer when the big clubs are squeezing every last second out of their free time to earn themselves more money out of commercially driven pre-season tours?

It’s just not going to happen.

And are clubs going to be happy to just release their players for a glorified friendly, risking the possibility of an injury that could rule them out for months.

There are big cultural differences as well.

Fans over here really won’t buy into the whole thing. It’s just too tribal.

Are Manchester United fans going to watch and cheer a team packed full of Liverpool and Manchester City players? Are they even going to be in the slightest bit bothered?

Would Arsenal fans have any interest watching a team called ‘The PL Southern Stars’ that has a frontline of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

A big glitzy all-star weekend might work in the States, but on the whole it would just be treated with complete apathy over here.

The vast majority of fans in England don’t want razzmatazz, they just want football - like they always have.

Look at the Champions League final in Paris earlier this year and UEFA's determination to make it more like the Super Bowl with a Hollywood style ‘pre-show’.

Pop star Camila Cabello came over expecting to be treated like the star she is, yet found herself getting booed out the building by Liverpool fans as she attempted to belt out some of her hits in the Stade de France.

“I can’t believe people were singing their team’s anthem so loud during our performance,” she moaned afterwards, in a tweet that was swiftly deleted.

And whilst it might have been a tad unfair on Camila, it was just another example of how fans, especially in England, don’t want things forced on them when it comes to football.

They just want to sing their songs and build an atmosphere, they don’t want one manufactured for them. It’s really not rocket science. 

And that’s why this all-star idea is doomed to failure.

Boehly or any other chairman or owner of the Big Six can dress it up and put whatever spin on it that they want.

But the fact is that it’s not about helping others out or growing the game. 

It’s about one thing, money. Nothing more, nothing less.