The death of football. 2025-26 Season Review

 

 

By Brendan Hunter

Football used to be the best thing in my life and probably yours as well. It didn't matter who was playing, if there was a game on I watched it. I demand it to be on TV, I wanted every team in the worlds jersey and I wanted to be a footballer when I grew up. 

Fast-forward 20 years and wow is the reality different. Yes I am not a famous footballer earning hundreds of thousands of pounds per week, nor am I an ex wonder kid that sadly had to give up the game to injury. I am just simply a fan. At least I was until this season.

It's fair to say being a football fan this season has been a tough ride. No matter what team you seem to watch now the result is almost identical at all levels. Watching player son more money than you could ever dream of earning, raising his hand and demanding to be given the ball, only to pass it backwards or sideways. Every. Single. Time. 

And it is not just me having my Abe Simpson yelling at cloud moment, screaming that "football was better in my day" to anyone that will listen. The stats back me up. In the English Premier League, the self-declared "best in the world" only 2 teams have had an increase in open play expected goals. To translate that to the non OPTA subscribers it simply means this: Nobody wants to score any more.

At least not the way you or I ever scored when we played as kids. And for one simple reason:Analytics. Long shots, free kicks, crosses? All of these are low percentage chances. Sure we all remember those amazing runs by R9 in Barcelona, or the crazy volley by Van Basten, or the skill moves and footwork of Ronaldinho, but in the modern game how many great goals or individualism can you recall? No, seriously have a think and try and remember the last goal that blew you off your seat, or the highlight that made you show your friends on your phone? The managers all agree that it is simply better in today's game to score from tap ins than from having fun and creativity. 

 Now I have no problem with teams like Manchester City or Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona etc playing this way. They are the best teams in the world with some of the most technically gifted players on the planet. Kevin De Bruyne at Man City is a great example where his best skill was his passing, and it is being utilised to full effect. But can anyone tell me why Crystal Palace, West Ham or the now relegated Wolves are trying to copy the elite despite having no real quality? Crystal Palace and West Ham just played out a 0-0 draw. Both teams are trying for something with Palace aiming for a European Place and The Hammers fighting for survival. Over 300 million Euros of transfer fee's alone this season were spent by both of these clubs combined. The result? One of the most boring games of the year that neutrals automatically switch off after 5 minutes of viewing. The results speak for themselves, with very often these games ending in stalemates because neither team wants to risk getting caught out. Why shoot when you can pass it back and recycling possession?

Ultimately it is the fans who suffer this. Never so much in my 28 years of watching football have I heard so many fans groan and moan when the ball goes from a cross or shot opportunity all the way back to the goalkeeper in 3 seconds. Not only are you, the fan paying your time to watch this dross, but I guarantee you are paying more money for your season ticket, more money for your burnt pie and cold bovril, more money for the jersey that seems to last until Christmas if you are lucky before the sponsors peel off. And next year? You will pay more again. But at least we have the world cup right?

The 2026 World Cup. Essentially everything that I have discussed as being low points in the modern game but somehow worse. Tickets for the match? Better sell your house if you wanna go! Train ticket to the match? Better hope your match falls on payday so you can afford the travel cost. And good luck getting into the country, that tattoo of a clock on your arm might mean your entry to the USA will be accepted but only in an ICE cell with all the other "gang members". Now the football at the world cup might actually be good, I am writing this 2 months before the first game but with the way the season has been in terms of quality all across the board, along with all the nonsense coming from the host country, I have serious doubts it will be even worth watching.

So that is football now. A mind-numbing expensive experience that shows no sign of improving or becoming lighter on your wallet. And as sad as it might seem I think I am not the only one that has essentially given up and turned his back on the sport that once brought me so much joy, fun and excitement for good.