Why football doesn't work anymore

Great Martin Samuel article in the Times today about the G14 clubs in European football.

The G14 is made up of some 18 self-styled 'elite clubs', including such world beaters as Bayer Leverkeusen - who as Samuel points out are included in the G14 neither on grounds of support or past achievements but because they have won an incredible '...two trophies (the 1993 German Cup and the 1988 Uefa Cup) and were quite good five years ago' - and Paris St Germain (one French title in 20 years).

The G14 is not about improving the standard of European football, or delivering a better game for the paying punters, its about money - pure and simple. More than that, its about making sure the select few who pulled up the ladder being themselves, aren't inconvenienced by outsiders taking a slice of their TV revenues. As Samuel puts it,

'This racket is necessary to shield the inadequacies of the self-appointed elite. Without a freak set of circumstances, Everton would have taken Liverpool's Champions League place last year [I'll declare an interest here naturally!] and there is still time for Bolton to nip ahead of Arsenal over the next two months. This would be a financial disaster for any big club. So the G14 cartel is not truly about the desire to progress, but the need to thwart that progress in others. The well-run small club must be shut out: in the qualification process, at the draw, by rearranging the format to the benefit of the select few.'

The end result? Falling attendances across Europe as crowds get bored of watching the same old faces play the same old faces; and threats to the integrity of international football (one of the G14's aims is to get national FA's to pick up the wage costs of players on international duty).

Am I simply being old codgerous about this; am I the only one who feels football has lost its way? Let me know in the comments section.