Money is the root of all evil

MONEY is the root of all evil is one of the more-misquoted passages from the Bible.

The more accurate quotation is that: "The love of money....etc", while some classical Greek scholars insist the passage from St Paul's first letter to Timothy, chapter six, verse ten should read: "The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil".

You pays your money, you takes your choice, while doubtless down Ibrox way, some re-incarnation of Robbie Coltranes's immortal character Mason Boyne is muttering: "See the bother thae Tims cause".

But, in football at the top level at least, the love of money has got us into a pretty pickle. Take yon Wayne Rooney for instance. Now to me he's simply the latest in a long line of players to be dubbed: "The best English player of his generation". This is a damning phrase, dreamt-up by the most-myopic and xenophobic media on the planet.

The boy is good, by present day standards maybe very good - but for me, not nearly as good as the English make him out to be. He suffers from the commonest failing among British footballers - he's as thick as shite in the neck of a bottle.

He is paid a ridiculously over-blown salary, he's going through a crisis at present, so he wants away - leaving Manchester United with a problem.

Do they say: "Good riddance" and punt him across the city to their near neighbours, probably the solitary English team who could afford the salary and conditions Rooney's agent will attempt to wrestle from him; or do they find some (monetary) way of keeping him sweet and at Old Trafford.

Option one, they get the £50 million quoted price, most of which they immediately have to pay out for a less-good replacement. Option two, his already obscene salary increases.

Another club in England is his solitary option, because I don't see too-many of the big Spanish or Italian clubs coming in for him, they've been badly-burned too-often by English players, who travel about as well as Belgian wine.

Whatever happens, an awful lot of money will change hands and football will sink lower into the mire of being disliked by even more people.

Money has ruined British football and the madness shows no sign of abating. Dundee have lived beyond their means for years and are paying the price, but you still expect some well-heeled Dundonian to come in, pick up the pieces and help the club stagger-on for a few more years.

Rangers' debts are down to £27 million or thereabouts, praise the Lord and pass the Buckie. They are still over-paying some fairly average players, who are not Rangers' class - Lee McCulloch wearing Jim Baxter's number six jersey: I rest my case.

And when it comes to delusions, what about their Chairman hailing Walter Smith as the club's greatest manager - If there is an earthquake around Craigton Cemetry this week, it's only been caused by Bill Struth spinning in his grave.

Football needs to urgently wean itself off its over-dependence on ludicrous sums of money, or the reckoning, which is coming, will make anything which has happened in recent years seem small beer.

After all, if all those highly-trained pilots who fly Harriers can be so casually binned, why should we care about some Scouse scally who has become a millionaire through his ability to make a five yard pass to a team mate?