Money talks in English game

English football has never been so costly.

The television subscriptions, the tickets, the merchandise – it’s all ridiculously overpriced.

Then you’ve got the overpaid footballers, costly television deals and ludicrous transfer fees.

Today is the day which epitomises everything that is wrong with football nowadays.

English clubs have spent upwards of £800 million this summer on human beings who have a talent for kicking a ball.

Don’t get me wrong I love football. But paying £25 million for a person who is good at it can never be justified.

It’s the same reason paying them £250,000 a week is ridiculous too.

But I don’t blame the footballers for one second.

Nobody would turn down that amount of money, the problem lies with the fact so much of it is in the game.

When transfers are going through for £5 million and nobody is batting an eyelid it shows you how the game has gone mad.

In Scotland we can only sit and shake our head at the riches down south.

The second a seven figure bid comes in for any player you can almost guarantee they will be on their way out.

We don’t have the pulling power any more to keep players because the clubs need the money and the players likewise.

English clubs can pay more in wages than our clubs – Old Firm aside – and it means there are very few reasons why a player would choose Scotland over England.

Unless a player has a connection to a club in Scotland the chances of them playing in the SPFL are minimal.

But that is exactly why we should be celebrating our game.

Our football clubs are vital to our communities.

They have an impact, they bring people together and matter more than money-making machines down south.

Manchester United may spend hundreds of millions on players and have Jose Mourinho as their manager – something a club like Motherwell clearly can’t compete with.

But a club like Motherwell must thrive on their connection with the local community.

Through coaching, community outreach programmes and matchdays they are a vital part of locals’lives.

The likes of Dom

Money has made the game go mad