Is money bleeding the game dry?

by Rachel
(Norwich)

Whilst recession hits us all hard, us footie fans are confronted with the fact that players are now earning in one week more than most of us would dream of earning in a lifetime....is it time we took a reality check and realised the real damage being done to our game?

The formation of the Premier league back in 1992 was seen as an attempt to ensure the top teams in England could once again compete with the best in Europe. With help from BSkyB, it was transformed and the rest of the world stood up and took notice. Slowly those top players plying their trade in Spain, Italy and leagues alike realised their meal ticket lay in the English (should that now be foreign?) Premier League. So the foreign invasion was born. We have witnessed some of the greatest players of all time...Zola, Cantona, Henry, Bergkamp....but to what cost to our national game? Today we see average players...and I mean average...earning £60,000 a week. Players who spend more time on the treatment table than the pitch becoming millionaires in less than a year, and perhaps my biggest gripe, players at 17 who have a couple of good games, get themselves an agent and bleat on about how they are not appreciated or loved by the clubs, in order to get a multi-million pound contract. They don't earn it, clubs it seems are just stupid enough to pay it.

It does not take a genius to see our national team is suffering. "But if they are good enough, the English players will play..." We have heard Messer’s Wenger, Benitez et al. churn this out time and time again. Yes My Wenger, in theory. But when you would rather scour the world for cheap imports, not to mention nurture half the French team under your stewardship, then what chance do they have. Ask Mr Bentley. Teams are not even bringing through the English youngsters anymore, instead bringing them in from abroad when they are barely old enough to clean their own boots...(oh, sorry, they don't do this sort of apprenticeship anymore do they...c'est la vie as Mr Wenger would no doubt concur.)

Those who support the extortionate amount of money in the game (those who presumably can afford to enjoy the odd prawn sandwich when a certain Mr Keane is not present?!) will cry, "They are entertainers and deserve their money," So, lets look at this. The levels of cheating, diving and unsporting behaviour that we witness each week, yet to mention the unequivocal predictability of the league which is all too apparent…..that's entertaining is it? The pressure applied to referees to almost give decisions to the bigger teams for fear of being lambasted by managers in the post match press conference, and the way they are scrutinised by players and pundits alike when making a decision to the best of their ability......that's entertaining is it?

Ok, so maybe I am generalising too much. I am after all an avid fan myself. I follow a team who are currently in an all to precarious position in the Championship. "Ah ha, that's why you're so against the big teams, and Premier League..." I can hear your cynicism now. Well on the contrary, I may be a passionate follower of a Championship team, however I have experienced the Premier League twice with my team, most recently in 2004-05. I am not bitter against the league, the so called big boys and nor do I boycott coverage of the Premier League, Champions league and other lucrative competitions. But what has struck me in recent months is the effect on the rest of us. Whilst Chelsea and United way up offers of £20/£30 million for players, and Manchester City contemplate spending £100 million plus on a player who could break his leg tomorrow.....what about us in the lower leagues? Look at the squads of some of the teams and you'll find that the majority of them are made up of loan players. Players who couldn't really care what happened to your team, as they'll hop it back to the deluxe of the Carrington or Cobham training grounds as soon as they get the chance. It is a sad state that half the time this season when watching my team, I haven’t even known who the players are. There's no affiliation, no love or respect between fan or player alike. More so, once upon a time fans were able to relate to the players of teams they support, they would drink in the same pub, mingle in the same crowds. Now, they're untouchable. Surely this is what it all comes down to...the fans? The FA assume by making the league the most lucrative and exciting in the world, the fans will follow in their numbers. Yet, this may well be it’s downfall. Fans have started and will continue to fall out of love with the game. Without the average fan where would the FA Premier League be? Would all clubs be run by foreign investors and fans consist of corporate city workers? Well we're already half way there. Watch highlights on Match of the Day at the weekend…..how many stadiums are full? Not many. How can you're average man or woman who works a 40 hour week just to make ends meet and then pays good money to watch a game on a Saturday, be expected to understand when players now say they are too tired playing 3 games a week and “would quite like a break please, preferably around Christmas so we could spend it with the family like everyone else.” (yes, like all those doctors, nurses, policeman who get to watch their children open their presents on Christmas day....) Yes you're quite right, poor footballers, they have a hard life don't they? In this time of recession, when people are losing jobs everyday and everything else that goes with it, we must stop and think how hard it is for them. Having to run around for 90 minutes possibly up to 3 times a week must be emotionally and mentally draining. Almost as draining as picking up a cheque for 100,000 for doing something they love, something millions of others would do for free.

No fan, no game.....the death of football could be sooner than we think, unless those in the suits (you know, the same as those with the prawn sandwich) stop letting those £ signs rule their heads and their decisions.

Or, maybe I’m talking a load of rubbish. After all I am no writer. This is the first time I’ve ever written an extended piece of written work that I didn’t receive a grade for at the end of it. Second of all I am but only a woman…and what on earth do I know about football?! :)