Football? Bah Humbug

Football is back. I should be excited. But I’m not. And that’s unusual. The impending football season for me is like the unwanted return of the Genital Herpes which you thought you had shaken off, only to return when you least expect it. This really shouldn’t be how I feel.

The Championship is a few days away and is swiftly followed by the return of the Premiership season. Cue adverts from Sky showing that we cannot live without football. But for me that simply isn’t true. After the end of the season I was actually grateful. The season finale and in particular Survival Sunday was a heart wrenching, nerve wracking spectacle which few other sports could ever match. A great note to finish on and then to take a good couple of months break before getting all excited about the next season...

....which like a flash has already arrived. But am I bothered? Not really. The two month break has descended into a two month orgy of football rumours/non football rumour which means it’s like the season has never ended. I understand that journalists must be having a difficult time of it to be honest. Like school teachers in the 6 week holiday, they have pretty much the square root of f*ck all to do. However, this for me is no excuse to just churn out non stories or link players with clubs a million times over without substance. The Tevez, Fabregas affairs are typical of this. Every time I see an article with either of these players in I just want to take the paper and wipe my arse with it. Am I the only person who thinks it would be way better if the papers just reported things when something was actually going to happen? E.g “Fab signs for Barca for £50 million on a 5 year deal.” Now there would be an article worth reading. Instead, all we get is “Fab - should he stay or go?” etc etc. Do I really give a f*ck? Just tell me when the transfer happens and then I will be interested you morons.

The internet and media have changed massively in the last few years and throw Twitter into the mix and you have a high potential for a cocktail of massive bullsh*t and conjecture. Can we really believe anything anyone says these days? Let’s take Daniel Sturridge for example. He has been linked with about nearly all 92 teams in the football league by my estimate (slight exaggeration perhaps). I mean, this is clearly a farce, newspapers are clearly taking a wild stab in the dark in order to try and claim that they got the exclusive right. Is this really what journalism is about? I am sure a few of you will be saying I should just avoid all football news but for it’s nearly impossible these days and at most times its unavoidable.

The lack of a break has not been helped by Europe. Stoke and Fulham are playing some farmers in Iceland whilst still arranging pre season friendlies. What the hell? Why bother even having a break at the end of the season these days? For me, it’s just too much. In former years, the lack of any real action in the mid season break (not sexual) would mean that I could not wait for the new season to start, with new signings abound. I do not even feel as though the old season has finished. It’s still lingering, much like an old fart. Obviously, in a couple of months I will be back in the football groove and all will be fine and dandy. I just wish that the last couple of months could have been a more football-less affair. A bit like a game at the Brittania Stadium.

Sunil