Posting on this site has been something of a rarity in recent times and the truth is, I have been falling out of love with football. There are almost no reputable human beings involved in the sport any more; no heroes, no magnanimity in defeat, no honesty, no loyalty.
I had been working on a season preview for Tottenham Hotspur but have been listening to the increasing noise of a rumoured Robbie Keane transfer request to Liverpool; a team who arguably have less quality and could well drop out of the top four this season in favour of Tottenham, his current employer.
If Robbie Keane does cash in his seven years at Tottenham for a likely single season in the Champions League at Liverpool, it will be the straw that breaks the donkeys back. No player purchase can overcome the message that selling your best striker, one of your longest serving and best-loved players, makes. And crucially, no message can be stronger than that of such a talisman wanting to leave a club so close to breaking the self-perpetuating cartel.
Football is about hope; no matter who you are or who you support – hope is the quitessential footballing emotion.
If Robbie Keane has asked to leave for Liverpool, my hope in this game and my interest in it, will end.
