I saw a post on the BBC Sports page the other day. It was about Harry Kane scoring again for Bayern Munich. There was a bit of a love in from England and Spurs supporters but it wasn’t long before the gammons joined in the party and started abusing him.

Farmers League Diver

Whenever I see Harry Kane interviewed he seems a very humble, pleasant sort of bloke. When I see him play football, he appears to do what he is paid handsomely for, pretty well. If you don’t watch football, his job is to score goals with the minimum of fuss. That’s what he does, nearly every week. He is the ultimate professional.

Apparently, I am missing something. Fat blokes from Chatham could score goals in the farmers league (The Bundesliga). Not only that, despite being fat, they would play 7 days a week 24 hours a day, for the money that Kane gets. They wouldn’t be injured all the time, that’s for sure.

Too Much Money

It also seems to make these people physically sick how much money footballers make. Why would that make someone so angry when we have a government full of ministers, Lords and Baronesses who have made eyes watering amounts money from misery? Around 9 billion pounds has been written off because of Covid fraud and incompetence and it hasn’t even been entertaining. There is lot of barking up wrong trees in my opinion.

If a footballer scores goals or dictates games as a midfield maestro, the following things happen. The club that owns him gets more fans in the ground, the fans buy more tickets and replica shirts and the wealthy sponsors move in. Hey presto, the value of the asset (the player) goes up. With all that money coming in, the footballer providing the entertainment would have to be insane not to be part of the financial action. If that equates o £300k a week, then so be it.

Always Diving

Do footballers dive? Some do but they get booked if caught. Diving has always been part of the game and a shithousery way to gain advantage. However, a bit like not walking off when edging one to the wicket keeper, it is all part of the pantomime. If a player is getting big money and a manager tells him to dive, he’ll dive. Rugby types claim that’s what make their sport more honest. More honest apart from the steroids, blood capsules, eye gauging and giving players shares in companies to avoid wage caps.

Of course, footballers are far more protected these days. However, whilst we always liked the footballing villains of the 70’s and punch ups on a mud baths they caused, I’d argue that I would rather see a bit skill. Players like Maradona, Best, Cruyff and Pele, used to get the shit kicked out of them. Pele literally got kicked out of one World Cup. So, rather than witnessing the artistry of the beautiful game, we watched players get their legs snapped in half.

Less is More

The one thing I don’t like about modern football, is that there is too much of it. It’s ruining it as a spectacle because the players are always injured. All I have heard about this season is the various injury crises that clubs have. The pace and intensity of the modern game has reached such a level, cruciates are collapsing, Achilles are snapping, and hamstrings are pinging all over the pitch.

So, the fans demanding more are getting less. They pay £60 for a ticket then watch a game where the star players are in the treatment room. Bar stool football observers seem to think that getting paid a lot of money means a player is not allowed to be injured. The fact is, domestic football is played from early August to the middle of May. Then, every 2 years, there are international tournaments in June before pre-season training and club tours start in July. That means finely tuned players are constantly carrying niggles. As proof no one is learning, there will be a 32 club World Club in 2025.

This means that on the international stage, the nation that is the least depleted by injuries will be the favourite. The Euros and the World Cup are supposed to be global spectacles where there is a coming together of the most skilful players on the planet. The reality is a host of teams featuring players (if they actually make it there) mentally and physically exhausted from the demands of domestic football. I don’t feel sorry for footballers, I just want to see them play at their optimal level.

It’s a shame we rarely see that.