The Ultimate Pisstake

I am never surprised by the lengths people go to spend their hard earned cash when it comes to football. In fact I too am guilty perhaps of spending a rupiah or two too much in my pursuit of the beautiful game.

But would I go and see a bunch of ex pros with their beer bellies huff, puff and sweat under the lights of an indoor arena in the oh so cynically exploitive EPL Legends? Would I heck as like.

Taking some ex players and having them play futsal in Malaysia is considered a good business only because people there have been seduced by the glamour of the English game as they see it on TV and so given the chance to players like Andy Cole and Steve MacManaman up close is probably a wet dream come true.

Fair play to the players and the company that dreamed up this exercise but there is something incredibly sad about seeing people clad in Liverpool red signing You'll Never Walk Alone while watching players from a past generation high five each other and give big manly hugs to the opposition.

There can only be one thing sadder than that and even now, after watching it on TV yesterday, I am still struck by the incredulity of it. As well as ex Liverpool players there was a Manchester United team competing and in the game I saw, no doubt roared on by the Manc wannabes in the arena, they were wearing the sky blue of Manchester City.

I mean, come on. No doubt the Malaysians cheered wildly when they came on the pitch and cheered their every pass, shot, goal and toothy smile. But they were wearing sky blue. They certainly wouldn't have got away with that in England but the Malaysian masses? They I guess lapped it up.