Seemingly the fat cats at Manchester City awoke this morning and a moment of clarity dawned on them. They have too many players.

Muffled voices were reportedly heard from behind the doors of executive offices at Eastlands this morning “we need to sell, not buy, we’ve got to many players” they could have said, as they struggled to open the door wedged shut by an excess of money.

So far City have been happy to embrace the opportunity to add to their bulging squad and wage bill, by signing Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Alexsander Kolarov.

The Premier League’s new 25 man squad rule has potentially found its first victim and it’s Spurs sometime defender Jonathan Woodgate.

Spurs manager and general wheeler-dealer ‘Arry announced to the BBC “Woody’s nowhere near right now. I couldn’t put him in my 25. It’s just impossible at the moment.”

It should come as no great surprise though as Woodgate makes Darren ‘sicknote’ Anderton look like the embodiment of health and vitality in comparison.

The protracted transfer saga of James Milner to Manchester City has more than a hint of déjà vu about it.

This time last year Villa fans were in a similar position with Gareth Barry and his move to City, as he too expressed his desire to leave and there were similar mumblings of discontent that the teams brightest star wanted out, but the team progressed in his absence reaching a league cup final and the FA Cup semis.

Now, according to manager Martin O’Neill, Milner has also seen the bright money lit lights of City and has decided it’s his time to earn pots full of cash, but would his departure be a curse or a blessing?

After England’s disappointing exit from the World Cup thanks to a thrashing at the hands of Germany the investigation began as to why a supposed golden generation of players could perform so poorly and what this meant for the future of the English game.

With an ageing squad that averaged 28.5 years, there were concerns for the future, as many of the star-studded squad would be not be making the trip in four years time to the World Cup in Brazil.

Usually after England exit from a major tournament the FA will step forward proposing a grand plan to secure England’s place at the top of the tree for all future competitions, but rarely has the country’s governing body delivered on their promises.

Possibly the biggest and most hyped transfer of the summer is seemingly a done deal, although as of yet no money has changed hands and no move has actually taken place.

Cesc Fabregas’ protracted transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona continues to rumble on with all the drama of a soap-opera love triangle, despite everyone involved already knowing the eventual outcome.

Arsenal don’t want to lose their inspirational captain, Fabregas remains no committal on his future and Barcelona are unwilling to break the bank in their pursuit of his signature, but despite this Mexican stand-off seemingly halting his transfer, the Catalan club remain remarkably confident of a move in the future.

In its simplest form football is a game of blinding simplicity. The team that kicks the ball into the opponents net the most wins.

Despite the lack of sophistication when it comes to the scoring system, it seems that not every facet of the world’s media has been able to grasp the delicacy of the outcome of a game and once again during this World Cup, USA has emphasised its fleeting relationship with the game.

Not wishing to bash a country merely for their comparatively tame interest in football when compared to the majority of the rest of the world, but the reaction of their media and its seeming lack of understanding of the game is astonishing.

Bored with the reality of everyday life, FIFA have seemingly shrunk into the warm and cosy bosom of a dream like world where England are the considered to be the seventh best team in the land, according to their latest edition of the world rankings.

Not content with merely securing England’s undeserved position inside the top 10 of the world’s best teams, FIFA have felt it necessary to elevate Mr Capello and his golden generation up one place from eighth to seventh.

This decision is all the more confusing considering that just days earlier the same governing body placed England as the 13th best team at the World Cup.

The 1994 World Cup in America had Diana Ross busting the net in half despite her penalty trickling wide, France ’98 had the mysterious fit of Ronaldo before the final and 2006 saw Zinedine Zidane head-butt Marco Materazzi after the Italian offered him a few choice words.

When it comes to the World Cup, memories rarely gobble up all the facts and over time specific details relating to players, teams and fixtures become cloudy, but for whatever reason, some remain with you in full Technicolor.

They don’t necessarily relate to the final or even the semi-finals, as memories have no time for the importance of a match, but often do for a charm that helps build a picture of World Cup personal to you.

Spain were crowned World Cup winners on Sunday night and deservedly so, as their squad of newly found heroes performed in a manner that was a credit to their country.

They approached the game in a positive way that would have made the creators of the beautiful game proud and their legacy of attractive and stylish football will live long in the memory of fans all over the world.

Every hero needs a villain though and Netherlands competently filled the role of the baddie and in doing so cast aside their reputation as exponents of total football.

All that is pretty is not necessarily entertaining.

A delicate flower, an elegant and graceful butterfly and Kate Moss are a treat for the eyes, but none of them have the power to enthral.

Spain are also a delicate flower.

Who needs Parliament? Who needs the White House?

All any progressive and thoughtful leader needs these days is Facebook, as exemplified by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who decided to reverse his suspension of the national football team from international competition after seeing hundred of posts persuading him to do just that on his profile page.

Seemingly madder than a March hare during a particularly special moment of madness, Jonathan couldn’t be persuaded to overturn his decision by any of his back-bench, who are employed to make such important decisions and offer guidance, but a few hundred people on his favourite social networking site grumble and he springs into action.

The second quarter-final between Ghana and Uruguay promised little in the way of excitement, as the two teams nervously attempted to go beyond the expectations of many and reach the last four of the competition, however what was delivered instead was a game of such monumental excitement that is unparalleled in my memory of World Cup football.

The match had more twists and turns than a complicated Hitchcock thriller when he was in his double crossing pomp.

Just when it appeared to be obvious who was going to win, the rug was pulled out from underneath the potential winners and the audience was no closer to having a sense who would be the victor.

Liverpool’s’ search for a new manager has at last been finalised and former Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has been given the job.

He arrives at Anfield in a time of delicate transition and his appointment represents a change in the priorities of Liverpool, as after a difficult and extremely frustrating season on and off the pitch, they look to stabilise their position in the league and also their dire financial situation.

With mounting debts that currently top £351m according to the BBC and on the back of a season in which they finished seventh in the league and failed to win any domestic or European silverware, Hodgson has been brought in to do what he does best and that’s polish turds.

Football is no longer a sport held dear by a minority of hardened fans who travel the length of the country, or even around the world to follow their club or national team, as it is now a part of mainstream culture.

This is by no means a bad thing, as it has helped propel the sport away from being just the reserve of the loutish few, into a sport that can be enjoyed in comfort by people of all ages, but this does have its down side.

Even though conditions inside football stadia and local boozers were not as welcoming as little as 20 years ago as they are today, you could be in no doubt that all the inhabitants inside were there to watch the football.