Unbelievable, Jeff!

I found myself at a social gathering this weekend.

Famously in the Soccer Business office I am widely recognised as not being the life and soul of many parties and quite frankly on Saturday afternoon there were many, many places that I would rather have been.

But every August Bank Holiday my best mates mum organises a Barbecue. I have grown up with these people for 30 years and that, I am afraid, means that I have to turn up for small talk and sausages.

It was during the former that I was introduced to a fella I’d never met before. Nice chap. Talked about how much he’d enjoyed some gigs we’d both been at in the last month or two.

Then it happened. One of the lads I was standing with says: “who do you support” to my new friend and the reply rather shocked us all. “Oh, I don’t really follow football,” he explained. Rather matter of fact, like it wasn’t odd.

The four others of us in the group are just about as big football fans as you can get and this news rather set us back on our heels.

A muttered: “oh, ok” was about the best one of us could manage.

Maybe it’s just the business I work in – but probably not as just about everyone I know is a football supporter – but I am not used to people who don’t like football.

My aforementioned best friend and I met, in 1983. And we did so with these words:
“Do you like football?”
“Yes”
“Do you want to be friends?”
“Ok”

Simply football plays a massive part in a massive amount of people’s lives.At Soccer Business, we know. We do it every day, and even if we wanted it re-enforced then pick up any newspaper, and if you so desire check out Sky Sports News (which is on as I write this in the office) and watch as every single minute detail of the transfer window is poured over.

I can tell you that Wigan have signed someone I’ve never heard of and West Ham are close to bringing Papa Bouba Diop back to England. I can tell you this because its on the Breaking News strip now.

And yes. We all know its hype. We all know that neither the signings of the Spanish winger of the man they used to call “The Wardrobe” when he was at Fulham are either important or breaking news. Except they are. Its football. And football matters.

And it matters to people who want to play 5 a side or 6 a side, and want even more, to pay you for it.

We know this at Soccer Business. We know because we, just like you, are football fans.

And we are in the vast majority – especially at parties.