So, that’s just about that for another season then and you do rather wonder where the time goes given that the next time around we’ll be into the 2014-15 campaign. That’s 20 years since we had the Division Three title season under Mick Wadsworth and of course 40 years since we were in Division One. If that makes you feel old though then just consider the fact that in a couple of years time it will be the 50th anniversary of England winning the World Cup. We’ll no doubt see some commemorative shirts come out for that too, although hopefully they won’t cost £90, how did we get to a stage where an England replica shirt costs £90 by the way?
The World Cup of course the main thing to keep us going during the off season this year, infact by the time we get through the play-off finals, it’s only four days until England’s first friendly ahead of the big tournament. Then when that finishes in mid-July we’ll already have had our first pre-season friendly I would have thought, so you’ve got a full run through from one season to the next if you need your football fix every week. It being an almost perfect World Cup as well for most as far as kick-off times and work hours are concerned, although you can see a few people appearing bleary eyed early in the morning with there being quite a few 11pm kick-offs on the books.
Sometimes though you do wonder if you can watch too much football these days with there being a match from somewhere in the world on some sort of television channel every day now. Today for example as I type there are 11 games live across BT, ESPN and SKY, how much is too much and do I really want to watch a German Second Division match at lunchtime on a Sunday? Surely you just end up diluting the product by hurling so much at people all the time, although of course it doesn’t help clubs like us, particularly on Tuesday night when the Champions League is on the television.
The television companies still think we can take more matches in though with the Women’s Super League now on BT Sport as well, that providing even more work for the ever growing list of pundits. I’m so old I actually remember the days when you just had a commentator and that was it, never mind the way it is now where we seem to have expanded from having one pundit to talk us through the game at half-time to having four. I mean what is the point of having that many? By the time you’ve had the adverts and the person introducing the game has had their say each pundit probably gets about 30 seconds each.
It seems to be a fantastic way these days though for the well-known and sometimes not so well-known ex-professional to earn himself plenty more bob after his playing days. I mean can you remember any point where you were watching a game years back and you thought what this really needs is not just one pundit at half-time but four? No, I can’t either. That seems to be the theory now however from television companies as far as the production of live sporting events is concerned, that more is better regardless of what the more actually is. If you throw enough, erm, something at a wall then some of it will stick I guess is the idea.
No doubt we’ll get even more thrown at us for the World Cup coverage, although if it means less time for some of the horrendously cheesy football associated adverts you see for the England team then I might just change my mind and be all for more pundits. Don’t forget too that you are near forced to get into the rest of it as well, caught up in the World Cup fever, until we get knocked out in the group stages. I wonder if car flags will be de rigueur again for a start, one thing is for sure though and that’s that everyone will be trying to stick an England flag on something to make some merchandise sales, official or otherwise. Wayne Rooney nodding doll anyone?