The irreversible effect of football and why ‘cold, hard money’ doesn’t always win

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. That is one legacy of 2024 for the game, in how “Forever Football” was finalised, but it says much that it won’t even be the biggest consequence of the year. All of football is now built up to be “big” but it conversely means that much less of it feels that way, as we’re always just onto the next game. open image in gallery Pep Guardiola gives instructions to Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva during Man City’s slump Except, such has been the escalation over the past six months that it feels like football is already moving beyond the courts to an arena of far greater intrigue. open image in gallery Thomas Tuchel has bucked an England trend as the FA replaced Gareth Southgate That appointment led to so much debate about nationality but the most significant discussion should have been about why so much English expenditure on football doesn’t yet mean a structure that produces a top-level coach.