Soccer v. Cricket

By Monitor I am bored of football. I must be honest that for the first time in many years I am not looking forward to the months ahead of first division, Champions League, and Cup competitions and then at the end of it the World Cup. Football for me, has lost its edge, because there is simply too much of it. Also, while millions of euros and pounds are thrown at players I would say that there isn't a single team in either Spain or in Britain which shines and deserves praise for playing the beautiful game. Take Real Madrid's all-stars beaten by Celta last weekend, look at Manchester United struggling against Villarreal and even Chelsea are only a goal away from singing the blues. This summer the enthralling test series between Australia and England has been like a breath of fresh air and I am sorry that it has ended. I, like many others, got hooked. It was nice to see England retake the Ashes but more importantly it was even nicer to see two teams giving everything they had in a titanic battle, which was a mixture of courage, skill and dedication. Cricket came home this summer, thanks to Australia. While cricket will never rival soccer it was refreshing to see that England can produce players who can play with the dedication which has been sadly missing from the football team since 1966. To England and Australia I am very grateful for giving an insight into how sport should be played.