Like most boys, the memory of going to my first match is stamped on my brain. Dad was a Notts County fan and took me to see them play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This was in the mid nineties, years before smart phones and social media would dilute the experience. That meant you had to live in the moment, take it all in or it was gone in an instant.

The Premier League is no longer for the fans that it serves. With each game, my love has ebbed away, like the last drops of water swirling down the plughole. Most fans yearn for the nostalgia of old school football and I’m no different. Four divisions, 3PM kick offs on Saturdays, no VAR. That type of football outshone the EPL. Clubs weren’t viewed as commodities, owned by one person, but rather as community hubs. They were beacons of hope rooted within the local area, entwined in working class values. Time has moved on and football has changed but not always for the better. Clubs have become bigger and now have an even greater international pull, breaking away from their foundations.