Too much football can breed contempt

Television has undoubtedly enhanced football fans' pleasure, but in the rush to beam every moment of action into living rooms around the world there's a creeping feeling that the sport is reaching saturation point.

With European leagues increasingly battling with fixture congestion it is now possible to watch a game every night of the week, but is more really less?

Growing up in the '80s, I remember FA Cup day meant everything to English football fans. The two main television channels would dedicate their entire day's coverage to the spectacle because back then live football was still a rarity rather than the norm.

Nowadays the magic of that competition has severely waned and I doubt too many neutral fans tuned into this week's replays with much enthusiasm.

The same feeling goes for the Premier League which SKY would have us to believe is the greatest league in the world. With all due respect to fans of those clubs I can't really get too excited by the prospect of Bolton versus Blackburn on a Wednesday night. In fact, I increasingly find that only the marquee matches can generate any serious thrill of expectation but too often these are drab affairs that peter out to nothing.

The Champions League remains a genuinely exciting tournament but as a colleague of mine pointed out recently the group stages can be tedious. However, those games shine compared to the drab and completely needless Europa League which seems to be continually being played between Europe's lesser lights.

The truth is the sheer excitement of football is being eroded by the sheer number of fixtures. And if fans are suffering then think about the players. Several major competitions have been hit by player fatigue with last year's World Cup more notable for the lack of quality on show by the so-called stars than anything else.

The problem is there's no easy solution when the game brings in so much revenue for everybody involved. Governing bodies, clubs and players are all making a very good living out of the game and would undoubtedly by less than enthusiastic about reducing their share of the pie. However the fear remains that in the rush to make the most of the golden goose, the sport is slowly losing it's glitter.

Football remains a genuinely exciting experience that can bring people together, but like anything in life familiarity breeds contempt. It's a lesson TV and football bosses would do well to remember.