Pandemic? Greed is endemic in big clubs

THE PANDEMIC was supposed to change the face of football in this country – for the good.

Caught in the grip of a global emergency, the game did its bit to restore spirits, providing a glimmer of hope that we would one day return to normality.

Boosted by the financial firepower of the Premier League, football played on.

Money filtered down the pyramid in support of those less fortunate, fostering a belief that when it was all over we might witness real, lasting change.

At Everton, then-boss Carlo Ancelotti contacted isolating adults. Tottenham opened up their super-duper stadium as a mass vaccination centre.

Yes, by rights we should be celebrating a more inclusive, more sensible world where the strong protect the weak, the playing field is more equal and everyone lives happily ever after.

As if. It’s turned out to be a pipe dream. An illusion, sold to naive believers. A fairytale with a sick ending.

Where are we now, within a couple of days of the transfer window closing?

Yet another huge chunk of money has been hurled at the market, while the wounds of the majority are still not healed. It’s ‘as you were’ – particularly for the big boys.

They have simply carried on spending, funding their ambition in a quite grotesque fashion. Some even had the cheek to furlough staff before pumping umpteen millions into the market with yet more recruitment.

Chelsea spent one-quarter of a billion pounds in the middle of this pressure 12 months ago. They added to their outlay this summer with the £97.5million capture of Romelu Lukaku (above right).

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have somehow thrown £1.2bn at the thorny problem of landing the title. A figure given a hefty hike after £110m went on Jadon Sancho (right) and Raphael Varane – and that is without the salary Cristiano Ronaldo will command.

Manchester City broke the

British transfer record when they signed Jack Grealish (below).

If they could have, they would have done so again to land Harry Kane.

Meanwhile, at the bottom end, Burnley have balanced the books, and Norwich are trying to make good the loss of star Emi Buendia, cherry-picked by Aston Villa, as another slog beckons.

Newcastle, strangled by takeover inertia, have spent £25m on Joe Willock. While Watford have blown half of that in trying to preserve their status.

As level playing fields go, it’s as flat as an

Olympic ski slope.

This pandemic was the chance to even it out, mend some of the ills. It hasn’t happened.

It has just highlighted the differences between the haves and the have nots even more.