Football has grown rather tedious, hasn’t it? Not the actual football — the standard is as good as it has ever been and continues to improve. Organised pressing, well-drilled teams, fascinating tactical battles and a sprinkling of individual stardom means there’s a lot to like. It’s the rest of it. PSR, VAR, the inability of referees to referee games. Terms like pure profit, amortisation, release clause and Sky has announced its next round of televised fixtures. Here we go! The simple fact is there’s way too much of it.

The off-field has subsumed the on-field. We’re as gripped by Man City’s 115 charges as we are by their relentless dominance. We’re as concerned by bank balances as we are points on the board. How many points will Everton be docked this season? What’s the point in complying with the rules? Is anyone even watching the football? It’s like something out of Adam Curtis’ documentary HyperNormalisation. “They know we know they lie.” Which is why the Man City stuff matters. Is what we’re watching honest, or is it a footballing equivalent of Lance Armstrong?

⬢

To read the rest of this article, you need to join TSB+ — members get access to this plus extra podcast and video episodes, all podcasts advert-free, can read every issue of our magazine online and much more. You can join or log in below.