Football - A Beautiful Game or Not

The new football season should bring excitement and high expectations but the controversies of last year linger on - West Ham and the Carlos Tevez affair.

I read an article today that summed up how I’m feeling about football at the moment – disillusioned. The ‘beautiful game’ has a lot going for it but there are so many things that you question about it.

Usually, after the summer break I can’t wait for the new season to start – last season’s disappointments have been set aside and expectations are high that ‘this will be our year’.

I’ve bought the tickets for the first three home games, the flights were booked well in advance, but that excitement is missing. There’s a feeling that it doesn’t really matter what happens out on the pitch, somehow behind closed doors everything will be worked out to ensure that the rich get richer, the big clubs get bigger and that everyone else is only there to make up the numbers.

Last year wasn’t a great year for football. There were some very close and exciting finishes to League competitions across Europe but there were many things that disappointed.

• Last summer’s World Cup ended with the controversy of Zinedine Zidane being sent off in the Final for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi.

• Then, of course, the winners, Italy, returned home to a country awaiting the outcome of investigations in to match fixing allegations.

• In England, the Carlos Tevez affair continues to run where the outcome could be determined by the Courts. This has brought discredit to both West Ham and the authorities but there will probably be a last minute resolution on the steps of the court as none of the parties want the whole matter to be scrutinized in great detail.

• The game in England is awash with money from television and foreign investors so transfer fees and salaries continue to escalate – John Terry is reported to earn £135,000 per week and now others at Chelsea are dissatisfied with their astronomical wages.

• Looking after your own best interests now comes ahead of what is best for the game. Both Manchester United and Liverpool fielded under-strength teams last season which lost to relegation threatened sides. Fulham and West Ham benefited at the expense of Sheffield United.

• The pinnacle of club achievement is to win the Champions League. A competition no longer restricted to the champions of each country and last season’s winners from Italy were a club embroiled in the match-fixing allegations. Initially, AC Milan were barred from the tournament and relegated from Serie A but on appeal their punishment was reduced to a simple points deduction which allowed them to focus their attention on the top prize in Europe.

It’s easy to become disillusioned and focus on all the bad things in football but the article suggested that I should focus on the positives and the excitement that the game brings to millions around the world. So as I await the start of the Premier League I’ll direct my thoughts to the better side of football and look forward to the new season.