A Season of Soul Searching

It's time for the smell of paint to waft across the pitch and all those other cliches as the new season is finally here. For me though, this is genuinely more exciting than normal as I look forward to spending the next 10 months watching the Welsh Premier League. I am searching for the soul of football.

Back in the day when the sport first captivated me football was a simple game. Top players could tackle. Goalkeepers didn't fall over if someone breathed on them. Chants from the terraces had an element of wit about them. The radio wasn't full of idiots spouting their non sensical opinions. (How long after Saturday's game until we hear a fan calling in to a radio station and calling for the manager to go? I reckon it will be the third caller!) In fact the wall to wall football coverage is damaging the game in my opinion, as more and more people sit on their sofas watching 'The Best League in the World' instead of playing themselves, or actually going to watch a match.

I'll always love football, but I honestly think that I can cope without seeing the megastars. Top level football is beginning to resemble WWE wrestling to me. It's skilful, entertaining and extremely popular, but it doesn't resemble real life. The players live in a bubble. They don't care about the team. Last season Adebayor may have kissed the cockerel, but he's already kissed the Cannon and the Eagle. When Graham Roberts or Steve Perryman played, they did it for the club as well as themselves. They cared.  It's also often extraordinarily predictable. Would there be less of a crowd at Old Trafford if it was actually decided beforehand that Utd would win 4-1? I doubt it.

I'm not knocking people who like watching the Premiership, I'm just saying it's not for me anymore. I'm more of a Greco-Roman Wrestling man rather than WWE. I like my sport a bit grittier, and less predictable. Normally I find my interest satisfied by the lower levels of the football league, but news of players in League 1 on 15 / 20k per week has ruined that. Certain negative memories of my time working for a then League 2 club also come flooding back. At least the players in the English Premier League are really 'big time'!!

Ronnie Corbett Launches the WPL.

I was meant to pick a WPL team to support for the season, but, in one of the greatest cop outs of all time, I will be following both Bala Town and Carmarthen Town. The 2 clubs could not have been more friendly. Both have printed me in their matchday programmes, even though I am just a random stranger! They reply to tweets and e-mails too, which is great, and helps me to keep intouch with what is going on. They league itself  showed an extraordinary sense of humour by getting Ronnie Corbett to help with the launch. (Corbett Sports Welsh Premier League in case you were wondering) I have underlying reasons for picking the WPL, but I imagine the same is true for all non league clubs, especially those below the Conference.

I urge you all to give a non league club a go. I'm not saying stop supporting your team, but why not pick a local non league team and give them a chance? You won't be being unfaithful. It's like following a completely different sport. It's like football used to be. For alot of you, that may not be a good thing, but for me it's perfect!

Bring on the season!