Football problems
The first rash of transfer deals reminds us that, incredible though it may seem, the Association Football season is now but three weeks away — and yet England are about to enter only the second of four Test Matches with the Australians. What seems clear, however, from the first batch of news to emerge from the soccer clubs is that the close season — growing ever briefer — has not been used to much effect by the clubs who most bitterly and plaintively complained about straitened times, declining crowds and tightening resources last year. More than three quarters of English clubs, it is believed, are in debt to their banks, and many of these are in serious financial trouble. Yet there is no indication that, in the new season, playing standards will be much higher, or that many coaches have given any serious attention to the real reason for diminishing crowds — the increasing dullness of English play, combined as it is with hooliganism which cannot, it seems, be restrained. Until both of these problems are seriously tackled by club managements it is unlikely that the reduced state of English football — only partly caused by general inflation — will improve.
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