I bet they wear Prada
Is it any wonder that politics in this country fails to grab the imagination of the so called Electorate?
For those of you that can be bothered to vote, choices are as beguiling as a Mark & Sparks sock display. Rows upon rows of nothingness, separated only by the promises on the label.
Whether you buy into the arrogant incompetence of Brown or the incompetent arrogance of Cameron doesn't really matter, for their games are the same. Fool enough of the people for enough of the time and bob's your speaker.
The problem with politics is that even though we all know the majority of ‘them' are corrupt or at the very least, are one man closet fascist states, there is very little we can do about it. Unless you fancy going back to college and studying as a as a lawyer or ad exec and then forgetting all the common sense you learnt in the real world, you have very little chance of influencing the direction that this country is taking.
Erica Roe
You could of course riot and incite anarchy. That would do it. Have your Erica Roe moment in full view of the media before feeling the full weight of the Government's might at the hands of the underpaid, understaffed Police or what remains of the Army following years of underequipped struggle at the hands of the opium growing, sandal wearing, Kalashnikov wielding Afghans.
If politics and therefore Government in this country is such a mess and who's to argue when Bankers can get rich whilst the rest of us go bust (where's Marx when you need him?), then what chance is there of football (it's game a Jim but not as we know it) of getting its act together and actually behaving in the best interest of the paying fan rather than the ruling elite's lardy @rse?
Little I'd say, if recent events are anything to go by. Whether it's Wenger's babes outing Celtic on the back of a shameful dive or Redknapp's perpetual infringement of rule K8, you get the impression that every decision at the Prem or FA is taken with one eye on self interest and the other eye on... self interest.
More interested in Sound Bites
During several recent discussions I had with the Prem, it became evident that the people that run the League are more interested in sound bites and appearance than they are sound governance and dare I say it fairness.
On being asked why Redknapp was allowed to continue with his rule breaking, I was basically told to mind my own business because unless clubs complained, in this case Pompey, they wouldn't do anything about it and they certainly wouldn't lower themselves to discuss it with a member of the great unwashed.
And on enquiring as to whether Al-Fahim was or was not the owner of PFC in the eyes of the League, or to put it another way, had they checked out the source of his money or lack of it, I was given so much ball and spin that the end product was almost incomprehensible. All wrapped up in an ‘off the record'.
Now had I been the Jellygraph or another part of the football media conspiracy, I would have been briefed with the understanding that I didn't name names. But given I'm a fan, my importance, our importance, is relegated on the back of a ten point deduction for daring to step outside of knowing our place.
And our place is the bottom of the chain. We the fans are federated behind clubs who in turn are in league literally with the League. In other words rules are made to control the people whilst those that make the rules decide when and if to apply them and only ever in the interest of perpetuating the status quo. In other words keep them at the top making decisions and us at the bottom spending our money.
Another Mellor?
You'd hope that the Government would realise, that despite the dalliance of Mellor, that football does need a football minister. It needs someone with teeth and a mandate to get to grips with the game and in doing so to get football's house in order, because clearly the folks currently in charge, as regards looking after the interest of the vast majority, haven't a clue.
Whether it's the debacle of the F.A. appointing subsequent Royal Mal failure Crozier all those years ago, the laughable Tevez situation or some self important Prem Press talking head spouting rubbish about the whys and wherefores of the PFC takeover, the governance of the game outside of the odd 90 minutes of ball chasing, really is in a mess.
Fans deserve more. According to Maggie, we are entitled to make our choice and pay our money, only the truth of the matter is, we the fans of Pompey have no choice. If you are Pompey you are Pompey, it's as simple as that. We can't nip off to Waitrose and langoustine sarnie in hand head off for Old Trafford.
Hobson's Choice
We support one club for better or worse and the folks that make the rules, be it those at the FA or Prem, or for that matter Brown or Cameron, really need to start regulating what happens in captive markets such as football and in particular in areas where clubs enjoy fanatical one sided local support.
Such clubs wallow in blind faith followings without a single rule, aside from statutory consumer rights and anti bell-ringing Health & Safety, defining the interests of the fans, let alone guidelines suggesting how a club should act. Instead fans are given football's equivalent of Hobson's choice, support or don't support the club, which of course, is no choice at all.