[meandbrenarebaggies]

I am surprised that in my dotage my interest in football seems to be waning. I played it in the street when all we had was a leather case stuffed with newspaper; I played it endlessly on summer days that seemed to last for ever; I played for the village, the regiment, and turned out at the drop of a hat simply because playing football was always a joy even in the rain and snow. When I couldn’t play – I watched. TV bought precious viewing of great exponents and the games were exciting. Nowadays people pontificate about managers, owners, transfer deadlines, huge wages,contracts, etc,etc all of which is frankly boring and has very little to do with the original reason to be interested in football in the first place – love of the actual game itself. I want something we will never have again – the thrill of lining up against a team knowing that The Albion will go out there with the intention of trying to win the game above all other considerations. Hanging on for mid table survival isn’t an ambition; it isn’t even a worthy strategy. We need the people with money and influence to get back to the simple, beautiful game.