Sky Blues

Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee’s excellent comment piece on Rupert Murdoch’s latest shenanigans brings an annual dilemma back to the forefront of my mind. While clubs prepare for the new season by renewing acquaintances with their local non-league feeders or by embarking on their annual globetrot, I, like many thousands of fans, carry out my own pre-season ritual: to recommence an internal battle over whether to subscribe to a TV sports package.

Knowing that handing over Direct Debit details will directly contradict the line I take on the commercialisation of the game, it’s a decision that I’ve always struggled with (not to mention the price), but the 200 miles between my house and Plymouth combined with an ever-increasing interest in the flight or plight of other clubs makes the decision a complex one. With coverage likely to be sparse on the Beeb, this year’s quandary, set to be another epically tedious affair, will go to the wire. Either way, I can be thankful that at the very least I won’t have to sit through endless clips of that ad for another year.

Lloyd

is co-editor of The Two Unfortunates. He's 31, supports Plymouth Argyle and takes a particular interest in the fortunes of those Football League clubs west of Bristol. He tweets @lloydlangman.