Initially I wasn’t at all sure why Edin Dzeko hammering in Manchester City’s sixth goal at Old Trafford yesterday left me feeling so flat. With no allegiance to either side and despite having been thoroughly entertained by the afternoon’s proceedings I found myself profoundly wishing the game had been a bit of a non-event where neither side had made any great strides or significant result been attained.
It wasn’t until I got into the car on the way back home that I finally put my finger on it. Listening as I was to the BBC conducting a post-match interview with City’s Vincent Kompany, I realised that the ludicrous over reaction to the result in the media would quickly crush any real pleasure I had taken from what was undoubtedly another incredibly exciting weekend in the Premier League.
The phenomenal lack of perspective that accompanies coverage of England’s top flight and the wider footballing world has always been a slight niggle. I must confess I found it hard to stomach the anointment of four players as the ‘greatest in the world©’ in the space of six years- each a little more ‘great’ than the last.
Yet it has been this season that has taken things to a new height and, at the risk of myself sounding hyperbolic, been the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen. The last four weeks in particular have been like watching a hyperactive child fed nothing but energy drinks and jelly beans being taken to a theme park for the first time.
Where do we even begin? With Sky’s wall to wall coverage of the game and constant need to sell the jewel in their crown to any subscriber who was ever considering jumping ship the sport has reached saturation point.
Every game, every week is significant to the history of the game, every season of the Premier League is better than the last. At times it is hard not to feel like Adam Sandler in a remake of ’50 First Dates’ as every week the memory of the average football fan is wiped and a new set of established rules and truths are laid out.
This season’s cast of characters and ludicrous storylines have taken the whole concept to new heights. Targets of praise and derision are singled out with the same lazy attitude that means genuine stories and excited moments are lost in a sea of filler and rumour.
Phil “the new Duncan Edwards” Jones, Steven “He has barely played in 18 months but is a shoo-in for a starting berth at Euro 2012” Gerrard, Wayne “He left his exercise programme at home in the summer” Rooney and Frank “He’s had two poor games so must be retired” Lampard have all figured prominently.