How Much?

After the most dramatic of climaxes to a season since the days of Michael Thomas celebrating at Anfield, the pound sign appears to have had the last laugh, triumphing over hard work and honesty. As a result, 2012/13 seems to be set for an equally exciting and controversial campaign with the biggest winners surely to be the back pockets. The clubs who were victorious this season, most notably Manchester City and Chelsea, have devoted huge amounts of money provided by foreign investors to guarantee success. However, with this success comes greed which is damaging the beautiful game. Even Liverpool, who won the Carling Cup in February, spent a whopping £56million on transfers last summer to end a six year trophy drought. In an age where money really is everything, just how much passion from the game is being lost by the will to succeed financially? With minutes remaining at the Etihad, and with City needing two goals to claim their first top division title in 44 years, up steps £65million of footballing talent. After Edin Dzeko had equalised with a close range powerful header, Sergio Aguero showed composure and class to beat Paddy Kenny and therefore Manchester United to the title. Roberto Mancini will say that because of these contributions it is money well spent, yet just how deep will the City owners reach into their pockets to make this club, as Yaya Toure so blatantly put it, “the biggest club in the world”? It cannot be denied that in order to be consistently successful in today’s football, you must be financially supported. Just ask Ally McCoist. However, this factor is depriving inferior clubs and managers of achieving their potential. Had a wage and transfer cap been installed when the Barclays Premier League was launched, the careers of many could have been dramatically altered. For example, would our shores have ever graced ‘the special one’? Perhaps instead, managers like David Moyes and Martin O’neill would be receiving trophies as well as admiration and respect, whilst Ashley Cole would be left swapping provocative images with that larger-than-life hairdresser instead of donning the front pages of celebrity magazines. However, it is too late for any kind of structure to be put in place now to recapture the glory days of our sport. Instead, in addition to the money pouring in, passion must also be included into the cauldron. Looking back to that final whistle at the Etihad, as a neutral who were you most happy for? Joe Hart, Micah Richards and Vincent Kompany? Or Aleksandar Kolarov, Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic? The sheer joy seen on Hart’s face as he ran towards his team-mates in jubilation showed just how much winning a trophy with the club meant to him. I have huge admiration for Manchester City and Chelsea’s success because of these kind of players who still play for the love of the game. Passion for football is something that will never be what it used to, yet it must also not be forgotten. Otherwise, the ball deflates as the wallet gets bigger.