The Hunger Game

                                                 Gerry Byrne played through the pain

Jose Mourinho looks so relaxed despite the media pressure and Chelsea's current plight of being in a relegation fight. Louis Van Gaal sits on the bench each week holding his leather portolio, writing down the odd note or two, before coming in front of the cameras to reassure everybody that Manchester United are on an upward curve. They are not the only ones who seem oblivious to the real world, who apparently cannot see what the majority see, or is it merely because it doesn't really matter that much.
The majority of players in the game now, especially at the top level, are financially secure from an early age as agents manipule clubs and the transfer market. The fact that they are 'rotated' and spend long periods on the bench doesn't appear to bother them too much. They will quickly retire from a game with an injury that will keep them on the sidelines for a while because they can enjoy some family life or recuperate somewhere in the sun. In fact John Aldridge recently made the comment that ex player Joe Cole was 'out injured with a twisted sock most weeks'.

Remember the days of the late Gerry Byrne who famously played on in a Cup Final with a dislocated shoulder because he wanted to for the team, the fans and for himself. "Gerry's collar bone was split and grinding together yet he played on in agony. It was a performance of raw courage from the boy." - Bill Shankly. There were many such players from those days who come to mind: Dave Hickson, Dave McKay, Bert Trautmann, Stuart Pearce and Terry Butcher to name but a few. These players not only wanted to play because they depended on the income but they had an inherent love for the game, a passion that is now seldom seen only in the likes of Wayne Rooney or Jamie Vardy.

It is this seemingly lack of trying that makes the ordinary fan annoyed, that makes them take to social media to vent their frustration as they want to see at the very least someone putting in the effort that they have to in their workplace.

Is it that the hunger has gone out of the game or is it merely that it is just down to incompetence and lack of ability and a hunger for money? That comes from the very top. From FIFA and the corruption that is endemic in that organisation; from chairman who appoint managers without qualification and allow them to spend millions of pounds before dismissing them at short notice and then do the same again appointing managers who 'talk the talk' but 'can't walk the walk'?
Take the case of Gary Monk. At the end of last season he was being touted as a potential England manager after Swansea finished with a record 56 points finishing 8th and on the 30th August 2015 Swansea were in the top four after beating Manchester United 2-1. Just over 13 weeks later, Monk is out of a job with the likelihood that 'sacked' managers Brendan Rodgers or David Moyes will replace him.
Albert Einstein's definition of Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.