As millions of Premier League fanatics stand at the bedside of English football, nursing trepidation with the insight to know that their beautiful game is slipping away, the loss for many is too much to take. For a majority ignorance is bliss, as they bury their heads in the sand formed the disintegrated rubble of our great nation’s game. But as the symptoms continue to become all the more clear that ignorance forces English football into an inevitable coma that will send the game beyond repair.
Make no mistake, our nation continues to love a game which has given and taken so much. But the time has now passed for us to dampen the brow of this great game with the magic sponge and make some real changes.
The remedy is simple though. All the game needs a little more discipline. It seems as if the controls we once had in place have all but gone, as the head of FIFA continues to stir the pot with offense and laughable statements when he should be the one deterring them.
It started with players diving, as players started to fall to ground like a scene out of Saving Private Ryan. But what was worse than the inauspicious amateur dramatics, was our acknowledgement and acceptance of what is essentially cheating.
And like anything, its cold, icy existence snowballed, spreading like a viral plague through game. Our immunity to its acceptance broke down until it had infected all of the clubs in the Premier League. Since then though, the problems have escalated all the way to management level.
Mancini shows his anger in Carling Cup tie
This morning, it has been revealed that Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini shared an angry exchange of words with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, following his sides 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Carling Cup.
Mancini felt that the two footed challenge made by Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson on Joleon Lescott was far worse than that of his club captain Vincent Kompany, who had received a red card for a similar incident no less than four days ago.
The spat between Gerrard and the City boss escalated when the Liverpool skipper questioned Mancini on how the Italian could criticise Rooney’s trying influence for the Kompany sending off when he had done the very same to Glen Johnson during the Carling Cup tie.
Mancini made his feelings clear in the post-match interview, dismissing the media questions raised about his side’s performance. His answers we short and petulant, blowing his smooth Italian image out of the water only to replace it with one that resembles a child incapable of the managerial pressures.
Mancini’s behavior might had been easier to take had the tie had been over and not spread over two legs. After all, that is the spirit of competition. Emotions run high and passion flows through fixtures like these. But there is never any need for stoppage time when it comes to passion, it should purely exist within the 90 minutes on the pitch. At the end of those 90 minutes, the result stands and though there may have been controversial decisions made, they should be dealt with in a professional manner. After all, this is a profession for these managers is it not?
Granted, steps need to be taken into the clarity of what condones a red card offense, when is a player really offside and whether goal line technology should be implemented sooner rather than later.
Sure enough, it starts with us. As fans of the game we are the employers for those football clubs we support. Without that support, the football club would cease to exist. That’s not to say that all fans need to rip up their season tickets, cancel their Sky Sports package and sit in darkness while you quicken up the blow for the demise of English football. However, to sit on your hands like an 18-year-old at Spearmint Rhino equally isn’t going to cut the mustard.
Like those that work within football industry will tell you, the power of social media is becoming an ever potent force. So much so, it ousted John Terry’s alleged racist comments. It was a fan that posted initial video up with their lip-reading interpretation to what the Chelsea captain had said. That in itself caused a worldwide investigation as news even travelled to South America, sparking debate. And though images showing what the former England skipper had said are still open to interpretation, racism in football has been cast back into the limelight, forcing FIFA to address the issue.
Benjamin franklin famously said ‘a little neglect may breed a greater mischief.’ So use the powers you have and talk about football.
Think in the greater good for the sport… think football.
#FansFixingFootball
