Call me sentimental but I remember as a young boy watching England play The Rest of the World in 1963 at Wembley. The match was to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the English Football Association.
60 years on I now know the result. England lost as the Rest of the World took over all its best teams and ownership was lost. Gone are the days of British ownership Mears at Chelsea, Edwards at Manchester United, Hill Wood at Arsenal just to name a few. The overnight bidding for Manchester United and the would be entrance of another Arab backed purchase following the acquisitions Manchester City and Newcastle brings the sand to replace the grass. The American have already taken Chelsea and Liverpool , the Indonesians Leicester and so on.
In the course of proceedings the game has been destroyed by filthy Luca as prima donnas don the shirt for their £200k per week and the likes of Ronaldo sign up for a £150 million pay day. It’s all got very Messi. Now we face the prospect of PSG from France playing Manchester United under one ownership ( who’s going to be cheered on when you can’t lose ).
Is it a bad thing, call me old fashioned but yes I think it is. Manchester City are currently under the microscope for breaking 110 fair play fiscal rules and money will dominate all. Deep pockets bring deep problems eventually. My hero goalkeeper that day Lev Yashin from Russia played . He had hands like shovels and wore all black it was a joy to watch him. Now his nation are at war.
Brexit Britain has brought up continuing downside as we leave Europe and find England firmly in the relegation zone. Can it return to its former days of glory with muddy pitches and steel goal posts scattered on Hackney Marshes or we will be playing on the sand surfaces that this bring on magic green Aladdin carpets where pitches are manicured and there is never a muddy match.
Or will The Rest of the World be a good thing. No more Bovril or Dalton nut moments at half time on the terraces of life. Then in 2063 we can watch the Rest of the World v The Rest of the World at the new Wembley and the mystique of watching Lev or Pele , Eusebio or De Stefano will be lost forever. Or will it be The Rest of the World v The Planets with Elon Musk in goal and Richard Branson on the wing with Jeff Bezos in midfield. Who knows but I won’t be there but probably watching from that new stadium called Heaven.
On a happier note England won that match in 1963 when Paine and Greaves scored two goals and Denis Law scored one for the Rest of the World ( yes that’s right a Scottish player when Scotland was The Rest of the World and something no doubt Nicola Sturgeon would love to see again )
qbitblogger 