According to Greek mythology, people affiliated with the number seven are believed to be insightful, intuitive, truthful, introspective, intellectual, and wise. Fans of Standard Liege, Hertha Berlin, Seville, Vasco de Gama and Genoa may think otherwise. All sides under the ownership or involved with the 777 group have suffered poor starts to the season. Everton, who were a side the group were interested in purchasing, may well be counting their lucky stars.
In Belgium, Standard Liege have just one point from a possible 12 to start the season, with only one goal scored in the process. Hertha Berlin, relegated to the Bundesliga 2 last season, have also started poorly. The club from the German capital, once the biggest achievers within the city, are now clearly in second place behind Union Berlin. They have yet to win in the league, with defeats to Fortuna Düsseldorf, Wehen Wiesbaden and Hamburg. The side have not scored yet either.
Over in Spain, Sevilla have also started winless. While they have only played twice and came close to winning the UEFA Super Cup, in La Liga they lost 2-1 at home to Valencia on the opening day before a 4-3 defeat away to Deportivo Alaves. Across the Atlantic, the groups Brazilian side are faring poorly. Vasco de Gama are currently in the relegation zone, five points off of safety. There is still plenty of time left for the side to save themselves, but it is just another poor situation for 777.
The final of the groups clubs, Genoa, got their season started over the weekend. Their return to Serie A was not a pleasant one, as Fiorentina won 4-1 in the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris.
With the transfer window still open in Europe, all of these sides are by no means set to have bad seasons. However, with the picture across all the clubs owned or part of the 777 group, fans will be concerned at the track record across the portfolio of clubs. It will certainly make a number of English club fans nervous, as the group has been keen to add a team from the Premier League to the group. Perhaps focusing n bringing success to the current portfolio of clubs would be a better use of resources.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
