The Premier League is not that great

I remember the first time the ball was put in to touch to allow treatment to an injured player, it wasn’t that long ago, a world cup game if I recall correctly. I had a lump in my throat when the ball was given back to the team that put it out, at this display of sportsmanship gracing the beautiful game. It heralded a new era of respect in football, regardless of which side a player was on. A wonderful moment.

Its coming around to that time of year when people start discussing who will be voted footballer of the year. Last season was pretty clear cut. Cristiano Ronaldo was outstanding and swept the board. This season no one player has stood out like that, well apart from Vidic but when did a defender ever get the recognition they deserved?

The financial elite

Watching the aftermath of the dire game at Old Trafford on Saturday night, suddenly one man, and an unlikely one for such wisdom, put into a nutshell exactly what is wrong with the current state of football. That man was Edward Sheringham, and what he said was ‘footballers want to win things, they don’t want to just stay up’ (pardon the fact that this is not an exact quote!). And he was dead right. Fans also want to win things, I would argue more than they want to stay up. And in a league where only a small handful of teams have any genuine chance of taking the title that leaves the domestic cups for the other 15 Premier League clubs, and their lower league counterparts, to chase after.

At the start of the season I made two predictions that had eyebrows raised on this site. The first was that Aston Villa would comfortably make the top 4 in the Premier League this season, and the second was that a surprise club would be relegated. I named that club as Manchester City. Despite the interference of a royal family in the latter, I am pretty confident of both of them at the moment.

Is this the year we lose a so called big club?

The Premier League table makes interesting viewing right now. The situation at the top, with Hull sitting pretty in 3rd place has been discussed recently here so I will not dwell on it, other than to say that it is fabulous to see them there and long may it continue. It’s the state of the bottom three that I want to concern myself with.

England’s main man
I think the performance last night by a man with the middle name of Ivanhoe finally shut the naysayers up for good. At least I hope it did. For many years now Emile Heskey has been working like a Trojan for club and country, giving a majority of fine performances along the way, yet dogged by criticism from people who clearly don’t understand the game because he doesn’t score enough goals. Last night, as on Saturday, he was simply outstanding.

Did Spurs fans go to far?

The issues raised at Portsmouth on Saturday, regarding the vile song sung by ‘supporters’ of Tottenham Hotspur have opened up a can of worms that has quite frankly been sealed too long. Sol Campbell was subjected to a song that was racist (hanging from a tree), homophobic (HIV reference)), personal (lunacy reference) and offensive on almost every other level. Whether sung by fans on a terrace, rugby thugs in a pub, or drunks in the street this song doesn’t just cross the line, it shoots past it at 100 miles an hour. There is no place for it in modern society.

Take us to the promise land

I know that I generally write negative things about the Premier League, but I genuinely feel that its existence has been eroding all that we love about the game of football for too long, and that the world would be a better place without it. Too much money is being funnelled into it, by too many people who don’t give a monkeys about the game, or about anything but short term financial reward. I really hope that the so called big 4 all fail early in Europe this year, as it could make these cynical investors look elsewhere and leave us in peace.

What does the future hold?

These are interesting times to be a football fan. Recent events at Manchester City, Newcastle and West Ham have led many people to look at the game in a new light. Talk is flying around on the chat rooms of a ‘fans rebellion’, the ‘death of football’ and so on. Is it real or is it bollocks? Sadly, and it breaks my heart it is the latter.

I believe that supporting your local football team is hugely important, and have nothing but respect for those people who week in week out traipse to the shack they call a grandstand and watch a non-glamorous club. These, in truth, are the country’s true football fans, the ones who don’t expect trophies, just to enjoy the game in its purest form. Because I hold this belief people often think that I am from Leicester because I support the mighty Foxes. I am not.