Fever Pitch

(With apologies to Nick Hornby)

Football is boiling over; the frenetic stories of the last few weeks threaten to drown the few lights of decency in football. Men like Sir Trevor Brooking, Ryan Giggs (a true one club player and a legend with it). Men of their word, like Gianfranco Zola who famously turned down Roman Abramovich to honour a promise with his hometown club of Cagliari. Men such as Guus Hiddink, who despite considerable pressure, both in the bitter aftermath of the Champions League semi-final second leg and in the face of widespread chanting to stay, kept his dignity and his word.

Then there is the other side of modern football, well, top-flight football. The side of football particularly evidenced at this time of year, in the money sloshed around in transfer fees and player wages. The long running Tevez saga, for example, which to my mind should have been resolved by FIFA and very simply too by stating all players can only be registered to clubs and not individuals or agencies.

The ‘supposed’ bidding war, denied by all parties, between Chelsea and Real Madrid for the services of AC Milan’s Kaka. A war that inflated his price to around £70m. This following the January nonsense involving the same player and Manchester City with a figure in the £100m bracket. On that occasion Kaka said he could not leave AC Milan, particularly because of the fans. Really? Or, having heard some of the ludicrous and surely made up demands of his advisory team (led by his father, Bosco Leite), including a whopping 10m plus euro commission for his father, was it a case that certain elements felt they would not get enough slice in their cake?

The side of football that means players like Cristiano Ronaldo, however great he is with a football, state with no sense of humility, remorse or irony that as a special player he would be worthy of being in any such £100m plus transfer bracket. At a time when the average football attending Premier League fan is being credit crunched, finding it increasingly hard to keep going to matches at home, let alone away.

Astonishingly look at the figures again and read something else. Newcastle, recently relegated, owned by Mike Ashley who is looking to sell the club, supported by over 50,000 passionate fans at St James’ Park every other week, for between £100m-£150m. Or one and a half Cristiano Ronaldos in other words.

Is this still making any sense to people out there? We have had the scandals of Westminster, of the banking system, but the way football is going, we have already surpassed the sums of MP’s expenses and are supercharging our way to bank loss proportions.

Compare this to Formula One. A sport that is usually derided by non fans for being a playboy's playground, a rich man's paradise, an expensive hobby past its sell by date. A sport actively trying to work out a way to move forward in the current economic climate and reduce spending. The teams spat out their dummies, baulking at the prospect of an immediate budget cap of around £40m. £40m!!!! Bear in mind that although engine costs, driver pay, marketing and hospitality, as well as any fines and penalties meted out by the FIA were not included, this figure was still to run a two-car team operation for an entire year. That is almost half a Kaka in current football transfer market conditions. No wonder the teams wanted it raised or introduced incrementally among other issues.

I could go on with the way money is making football turn ugly, about the nightclubs, the punch-ups, the hangers on and the imbecilic behaviour of players in their teens and early twenties given riches, beyond even some millionaires’ (who worked a lifetime to earn it) dreams, in an instant. I won’t though. I am too bewildered and bothered but through the deluge of banknotes I can see a way out. I have set myself my own get out clause in my love of football.

It will pain me, because I love the game so, but like a relationship gone wrong the game is turning into something I don’t like. The game on the pitch is arguably better than ever at seducing me, but off the pitch football is committing behaviour akin to abuse, battering me over the head with ugly stories. UEFA were concerned about Didier Drogba’s behaviour after the Champions League semi-final second leg and rightly so, but if they really wanted to repair football’s fraying image, they need to coordinate with FIFA and set a transfer cap and a budget cap for all teams as well as an overall salary cap for teams.

My get out clause? The first £100m player and or £200,000 a week player. That will be my straw, on my arthritic camel's back.

(Images courtesy of Fabbio and Shareski, flickr users)