This is why I've lost interest in the game. I still follow it because I'm old enough that I've been following football for decades. But the game means very little to me now. It is absolutely soulless, and arguably it has even gone beyond that, and is to some degree culpable in human rights issues. None of the clubs have any identity now, very few of the big clubs are even partially owned by people resident in the same country, and most other clubs only exist to provide opposition, they can't ever hope to achieve anything.
When Newcastle are owned by the Emirati royal family, apart from the fact that they probably won't change the kit (although this can't be guaranteed!), how can the supporters in any meaningful sense continue to claim that they support Newcastle? Every penny is going straight to the United Arab Emirates, doubtless there will be a playing squad comprised of players who couldn't point to Newcastle on a map. And yet the local press is so desperate for it to happen that they're already trying to
sugarcoat this guy.
And you can't really blame them because this is Newcastle's only hope of competing. I heard a journalist on the radio the other day, responding to completely accurate criticism of City. And he acknowledged that it was all accurate, but then also, quite rightly, said that without what has happened at City it would have completely impossible for them to ever compete in a sustained fashion. That's the world we're in now, you either get bought out by a morally dubious oil-rich royal family, or you might as well not bother fulfilling your fixtures.
I don't see how in that context football can mean anything to anyone.