Football's ills in focus...

Modern Football Is Rubbish

Even if the recent takeover of Man City by Arab billionaires
was final proof that football has bought a platform ticket, put reality on the
train and waved it goodbye, the signs were already there. Plans for a 39th
game, match tickets that cost the same as a two-bed semi and players who swerve
into trees when learning of their latest ‘insulting’ wage offer all show just
how bloated, detached and greedy football has become.

But the question is: was it ever any different? According to Modern Football
is Rubbish: The A-Z of All that is Wrong with the Beautiful Game the answer
is a resounding ‘yes’. Sure there was the odd outbreak of hooliganism, the
shorts were too tight and the hairstyles awful, but football was once the people’s
game and not a toy for bored billionaires with plots of desert real estate to
promote.

With growing disillusionment among fans, the authors have hit the nail on the
head with this poignant and thought-provoking hook. For anyone who has read
Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? the format will be familiar. Football’s equivalent
takes an A-Z of topics ranging from nostalgia such as Panini stickers and Grandstand’s
vidiprinter and mixes it up with swipes at the modern game, via such topics as three
o’clock kick-offs and Club Wembley, and a dose of well-observed humour, such as the forgotten
smells of football.

It strikes just the right tone throughout, somewhere between gentle nostalgia
and constructive criticism; has many laugh-out-loud moments yet poses some
serious questions; is nostalgic, without wallowing in sentiment; and remains
cutting without moralising.

But above all, Modern Football... leaves you wondering just how football
slumped into its present state — a timely reminder just why modern football is
indeed rubbish.



Jon Crampin