Football's changed beyond belief since my first game 26 years ago – cling onto fact there's still people kicking a ball
That within two months of the only genuinely heart-warming moment from a forgettable Premier League season, the one feel-good factor from 12 months of humdrum routine has been blown to smithereens.
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Crystal Palace beat Man Utd at Wembley to secure a spot in next year's Europa League
Credit: PA
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However, multi-club ownership rules saw them demoted to the Conference League
Credit: Getty
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Eagles chairman Steve Parish will battle the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Yet in less time than it takes for VAR to check for your average offside, the joy has been cut short.
Because the growing trend for multi-ownership and the pursuit of power among the world's richest has put football second — again.
With Eagles shareholder John Textor also having financial interests in Europa-League bound
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
Two clubs under the influence of the same bloke can't compete in the same competition. And fair enough.
So, Palace's
What was once a little-known legal body based in a mansion in Switzerland is now becoming as big a name as
And that
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John Textor has since sold his stake in Palace to fellow American Woody Johnson
Credit: AFP
Lawyers and business tycoons have replaced centre-forwards and centrefolds as the main players at the heart of our national sport.
Let's rewind to July 1999 and compare notes. The only reason I suggest this date is because that's when I started on staff at SunSport.
Crystal Palace legend Geoff Thomas slams Uefa for denying them a Europa League place
After bluffing my way through it for 26 years, this will be my last column before leaving so it's as good a point in time as any.
Back then, on the cusp of the new millennium, Alan Shearer was widely reported as the Premier League's top earner on £34K a week at
Shearer's £1.76million a year is dwarfed by the estimated £18.2m annually Mo Salah will trouser under his new
Average wages in the UK for last year were roughly £37,000 per year.
You don't have to be Carol Vorderman to work out that the gap has widened considerably.
In the summer of '99,
The only treble the fans can enjoy these days is a stiff one in the boozer after the latest abject collapse on the pitch at a fallen giant.
But at least that's football related.
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Man Utd completed the Treble in 1999 with a dramatic win over Bayern
Credit: Getty
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Jonny Evans' departure at the end of the season means there are no more players at the club who played under Sir Alex Ferguson
Credit: Getty
So much of what masquerades as our favourite sport has nothing to do with shirts, shorts and shin pads.
And back when Tony Blair was still regarded as a half-decent PM, there was no VAR to kill the spontaneous release that is a goal being scored.
In 1999, the beleaguered boss of the referees' union did not have to appear regularly on TV to desperately fight the corner of members.
In 1999, not every defeat was considered a national disaster by over-hyped figures in the game.
In 1999, clubs were not selling their own hotels back to themselves to get round spending rules.
Spending rules brought in to stop nation states hoovering up our best teams at the expense of fair competition.
In 1999, there were 17 managers of British and Irish descent working in the Prem.
Today it's five.
In 1999, the biggest transfer of the summer was Nicolas Anelka's exit from
The £22.5m was considered big money.
Most pertinent of all, in 1999 Premier League grounds were alive.
They were not stop-offs for foreign tourists sitting in silent bewilderment while clutching bags of overpriced tat from club shops.
The game hasn't gone these past 26 years but it's going.
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Somewhere in the middle of all the legal battles, foreign takeovers, stakeholders, rights holders, influencers, extortionate ticket prices, popcorn, VAR, play-acting and social media tripe, there are still people kicking footballs.
Cling on to that.
CAPTAINCY IS IN LEVI'S GENES
FAREWELL NOTE TO CHELSEA:
During the Club World Cup, the defender grew in stature so much off the pitch and is emerging as a superb ambassador for a club that can struggle for positive PR.
From discussing his secret LEGO passion, to bold declarations that
When
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Levi Colwill was integral to Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph in the US
Credit: Getty
JUAN-NIL LOSS
BARCELONA is 920 miles from London. Marcus Rashford seems to think it is a world away.
By refusing to answer any questions in English at his unveiling by the Spanish giants he has already scored a little own goal.
You can pretend it's to ingratiate himself with the Catalan locals but nobody over here is really fooled.
Rashford might think he has been harshly treated by the English media but I have never met a reporter who doesn't wish him all the very best and wants him to do well for his club and for
And more importantly than anything to do with football, his campaign for free school meals is a standout moment as a human being.
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Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on a season-long loan after falling out with Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim
Credit: Getty
It's worth remembering that his move to
There'll be questions then — and no hiding place behind the lingo.
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