Football by its very nature is a competitive sport

Indeed the Football League was formed to offer teams of this young sport a recognised competition, with every team having an equal chance of glory.Was the F.A. Cup not introduced so teams of let's say, lesser infrastructure, were given a chance of sporting fame ?

But from this small beginning, the gentlemanly sportsmen who controlled these competitions have all but disappeared. Football is now a global industry, with more cut throat pirates than the Spanish Main ever saw.

There are so many governing bodies, more than could be listed here, all trying to get a larger share of the financial market. Every country and continent has at least one governing body, in England alone there are three, the F.A. , the P.L. and the Football League.

And sitting at the very top of this multi-national conglomerate is FIFA.  It's so busy arguing internally and trying to invent more ways of capitalizing financially on its own piece de resistance, the World Cup, that it doesn't have the time or inclination to lower itself to help lesser bodies resolve the real problems within the game.

So each organizing body, measures its success by its yearly bank balance, they seem more concerned with how much capital is invested within its own sphere or control, than with any problems suffered by the clubs they claim to represent.

If a club get's into financial problems trying to compete with those that have more financial clout, do they really care? If a club goes out of business do they mourn it? The answer seems to be a resounding no!

Just as long as they slip away quietly and do not upset the trough that these bodies are feeding from. I can just imagine the cigar smoke and aroma of fine wines filling the room, as these powerful men congratulate themselves on another fine season and saying 

"Oh Rovers went bankrupt did they....?"

"Well it's their own fault for spending above their means....pass me another glass of that excellent port will you"

With not one shred of concern that they have unwittingly (or perhaps, not so unwittingly) caused the demise of said Rovers.

By allowing these outrageous transfer fees and obscene wages and demands of players to rise uncontrollably, more and more clubs are finding themselves living above their means, now it could be argued, that it is the clubs own fault, but why enter a sporting event if you have no intention of trying to win it?

And like all sporting events you have to have some outlay if you want to have some success. Each new season clubs are faced with a choice, borrow more capital to be competitive, with the risk of bankruptcy if they fail to achieve, or just make up the numbers and play out the season hoping to not face relegation.

The latter choice, whilst probably economically more viable, is not likely to attract a large audience or help with merchandise sales, so their income will drop accordingly. Making it harder to raise capital next season, should they wish to become competitive.

The governing bodies from FIFA downwards, need to put their foot on the ball, slow the game down a bit, allow smaller, slower clubs to catch up. Otherwise the marathon that is the football season will become a sprint with only half a dozen or so teams left to play each other.

The one fear that grips me, with so many clubs owing each other money from transfer fees, to the point it seems to be one large circle of debt,  is not just one club folding, but what  the outcome would be if three or four clubs spaced within the circle folds?

They would surely pull a lot more clubs down with them; the ripple effect would spread much further than the small pond each club swims in. It is such a frightening concept to theses cigar smoking men behind closed doors, they just lock it away  in their cupboards and pray it never escapes. If they do not surface from their private utopias and help to erase the problems that exist in the game today, then one day it will escape, maybe in ten years time, maybe in fifty, but it will happen nonetheless unless they act now.

I firmly believe, for our game to have a realistic chance of remaining a competitive sport past the next two or three decades, it needs strong leadership and a sense of direction emanating from the very top. After all, an army is only as good as the general who commands it

So......."Excuse me Mr Blatter, our ball has gone in your garden, can we have it back please"