Foolish Talk!

After four postponed games in a row due to the wintry conditions, I suppose it's only understandable that that old debate about summer football should resurface. Let's face it there are already far too many summer distractions and I for one couldn't see myself attending games when I could be away playing golf or better still sporting myself at the seaside, on the rare occasions when we get some summer weather. What would we do during the close season? On a personal note the last three Saturdays have been a struggle as I have had no argument for my partner's quote 'If the football was on you'd go, snow or no snow' and so I reluctantly accompanied her on a shopping trip.

For any hot blooded man to have no alternative but to go shopping is a travesty of justice. Our forefathers didn't fight for the forty hour week, so as men could go shopping on their weekends off. Saturday afternoons are and always have been for attending football/sports games. If the 'little lady' wants to tag along and do her shopping during match-time, well and good, but and I stress the word 'but', if men have to traipse round shopping centres on Saturday afternoons from December to March they might as well be emasculated. Of course some of the people trotting out these bright ideas may already be emasculated, but I see no reason for the rest of us to be put in the same boat.

Then there's the hard bumpy pitches, football is at it's best when it's played on a surface with a bit of 'give' in it. I think that is what turns me off about summer football, the ball is bobbing about so much it's more like 'ping-pong' on grass. When I say on grass I'm using the term 'grass' in it's loosest term as by June or July it's hard to tell where the tarmac ends and the grass begins. Players will I think be more injury prone on hard pitches and watering isn't really much of an option given the high water rates prevalent at the moment.

The I.F.A. would be better employed delivering on those empty promises of the 'wealth' which every club would reap in this all new 12 team Premier league. This was to be the 'be all and end all' of football in this country. Here we are 18 months into the 'new deal' and half the clubs are admitting severe financial difficulties. Bangor have already gone to the wall and one of the oldest clubs in our league, Distillery, are facing a winding up order. If that's progress, why didn't they leave well enough alone. Enough of this foolish talk, let's just get on with things as they are, it's the only game in town!