I resumed my interest in reading once again (YaY!) Not sure what rekindled this passion but anyways, here’s the book I read. Premier Leech by Neil Humphrey. It is actually written by an Englishman living in Singapore. The title of the book is a deliberate play on Premier League. Yes the football league that legions of Singaporeans and football fans all over the globe go mad about every weekends and sometimes mid weeks. I myself was a football fan of Manchester United (yes, boo all you want) until the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo and Anderson came about and personally for me. I am not a blind fan who supports a club with a recent run of silverware successes for the past 2 decades. I can see for myself that the club has changed alot along the way (actually it’s more of modern football as a whole).
Anyway, this book is a fictional book that touches on the ills of modern football. Footballers being paid millions and millions of dollars by playing football while minions like us can only work our socks off for a decent living and yet still cheer them like the stars they are (so far in the sky). Footballers marrying pop stars? Check. Footballers with gambling problems? Check. Agents who help their players negotiate a huge pay check? Check. Footballers who sleep with tons of women other than their own wives/girlfriends? Check. Footballers who sleep with his club mate’s wife? Check! Rich Arabs who buy football clubs just because they can? Check!!!
It is very entertaining to read something so fictional and yet one can relate so closely to familiar names that commit those exact deeds. I was thinking to myself “Isn’t that Terry? Hey! Beckham! Oh wait, Rooney too? Manchester City, Chelsea…” I tell you, it is almost as good as reliving those moments when footballers gripped our hearts with their not so favorable antics and “problems”.
Definitely a good read for football fans and for those who mocks highly paid footballers.
