Tuesday 19 April 2011

Mario Balotelli

Am I alone in thinking that Mario Balotelli is a complete prick? Not content to rub the Greater Manchester Police up the wrong way ("Why do I have £5000 cash in my pocket? Because I'm rich, that's why") he now seems intent on trying to put one over on United, a superior team in every respect, just because they fluked a semi-final. He had previous in Italy (though appeared to be fairly provoked, it has to be said), but don't these nouveau riche scumbags ever understand the basics of living harmoniously in society? Reams have been written on the overpaid pond life that pass as athletes and entertainers on our screens and the situation only seems to be getting worse: talk of salary caps is idle; footballers' wages will not go down  as long as there are people willing to throw good money after bad, and their numbers appear legion. It would be too easy to evoke memories of players who have had to pursue new careers once their boots were definitively on the peg, but that's no more a reality for this and any future generation of Premiership players than the prospect of them acting as stadium tour guides à la Bobby Moore (yes, him) and Charlie George (yes, him, too).

It's not easy to disconnect from the unacceptable aspects of current football practice, but if we still love the game and wish to enjoy a decent encounter it's what we have to do. Either that or start following a lower league club. Actually, that's not such a bad idea...

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