The FA is, once again, trying to redeem itself over the pathetic way it managed to massively overpay for the “new” Wembley.
As usual, the way it chooses to redeem itself involves ripping off supporters, this time those of Chelsea and Manchester United who are, totally unfairly, expected to pay back some of the lost revenue.
They have increased ticket prices at Wembley by up to 35% from the semi-finals. Why? Other than blatant profiteering, (which we thought was illegal), there is no other excuse for it.
Regular readers will know that this publication is fervently against this annoying obsession we have in England whereby every major event has to be held in London. There is nothing remotely attractive about the capital and the money wasted on Wembley could have been far better spent on more needed and useful projects.
Where is the requirement for a national stadium anyway? Depending upon your point of view, England playing all their games in London is either a major positive, as it keeps them away from your city, or it is a major negative because anybody wanting to watch them has to accept travelling to London and, yes you guessed it, being ripped off by the FA and everybody else to whom a face is a pound.
So our answer is a simple one. All clubs north of Watford should refuse to play at Wembley unless it’s the final of a competition, doesn’t involve a team from London and is a genuinely neutral ground.
If, for example, Manchester United and City were to meet in the FA Cup final, why shouldn’t it be played at Anfield? It’s a neutral ground and the long-suffering fans would only have to travel around thirty miles!
Using Anfield or Goodison Park as a neutral ground for these two and their fans would make much more sense and keep the money where it belongs – in the north-west!
This, of course, wouldn’t help pay off the Wembley debt but so what? Why should supporters of clubs from outside of London contribute to the payment of a debt they didn’t incur, particularly a debt which is almost as stupid as the people who did incur it.
We, for one, would be quite happy if Wembley were to burn down tomorrow and so, we suspect, would the people at the FA who sanctioned the building of it and, consequently, the debt.
The World Cup…..
There is finally going to be an international break of which most people approve. Why is that, we don’t hear you ask? Because the World Cup is just around the corner.
It is an acceptable tournament because it takes place after the regular season has ended, unlike those friendly games which are so important that the season has to be brought to a halt to accommodate them.
Our little country, England, is hoping that Gareth “The New Messiah” Southgate is going to take his motley crew of club bench-warmers, unknowns, untried and, in some cases, old men and achieve two things that no manager of this country has achieved since 1966. The first one is to reach the final of a major competition and the second is to win it!
Only this time the country doesn’t appear to expect him to win it. The usual insane rush of illogical optimism which normally rears it’s ugly head every two years has failed to materialise on this occasion. Normally crazy, drum-beating patriots are behaving quite sensibly and would, apparently, be quite happy for England just to “put on a good show”.
With so much tempered enthusiasm about there is a chance England could even qualify from the group stage. They certainly don’t appear to be under any pressure from the folks “back home”.
Gareth Southgate – Is unlikely to learn much Russian during his brief visit to the country in this year’s World Cup
We do, however, despite all this newfound common sense, expect the team to be scouring the internet for a return flight not too long after touching down on Russian soil.
And finally…..
There are now only two months, give or take, until the transfer window officially opens. Football supporters around the world will be glued to whatever it is they glue themselves to nowadays in order to keep up with the latest news on their club.
We, as a responsible and caring publication, will do our utmost to keep you, the non-paying reader, abreast of what is going on at your club providing it is one of the top six in England or, occasionally, one of Europe’s elite.
We will plumb the depths whilst reaching for the sky in our attempt to bring you all the news that is news across the nation. We will contact our contacts, call in all our outstanding favours, (both of them if necessary), and generally do all within our power to ensure that nothing is missed in our quest for the best.
And if all that fails, we will sit back in our comfortable armchair, beer in hand, and write some imaginative drivel which has no bearing on the comings and goings at the time but which will probably be quite interesting.
Don’t say you haven’t been warned!
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 