The FA's decision to abstain from voting in the upcoming FIFA presidential election may seem like a principled stance, but in reality it is a step away from one of the biggest issues ever to face football at just the moment a breakthrough seemed to be on the horizon.

After the Panorama and Sunday Times investigations, after Lord Triesman making allegations in front of a Parliamentary commission and after the widespread condemnation at awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, it felt as though a tipping point was approaching.

A perfect storm was brewing, with conditions in place which could

Why does football insist on placing itself so far from the
rest of humanity?

The idea that it can exist divorced from reality pervades
the game.

At the top, FIFA refuses to recognise national governments
and insist on investigating allegations of criminal acts within their own four
secretive walls - and insists on total tax immunity from prospective World Cup
hosts.

And further down, the game operates an employment system completely
removed from that used anywhere else in the known universe.

Witness the almighty barney engulfing the Second City, as
Aston Villa try to sign up ex-Birmingham

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the British Government issued a series of pamphlets and public information films under the banner 'Protect and Survive', aiming to instruct the public how to deal with any potential nuclear crisis.

The nuggets of worryingly dubious advice included that if you cannot reach a shelter or sturdy building when Russia/China/Skynet launches an attack then simply find a shallow ditch to lie in. It would almost be funny if it were not real.

However, some of the more practical guidelines include making sure you are stocked up on long-lasting supplies, ready for the

In their first top-flight game for 34 years, relegation favourites Blackpool defied the odds to claim a remarkable 4-0 win at Wigan to go top of the table. For a couple of hours.

It was a day of joy for the club unparalleled since the glory days of the 1950s.

But after the game, manager Ian Holloway cut a downbeat figure, telling the BBC in his post-match interview:

"Our boys have got some fantastic spirit and we're going to need it by the end of the season to be perfectly honest ... What you want to do is not have a long bad run in this division because you can get very morose and depressed,

Infrastructure and sustainability are unfortunately not sexy concepts in the modern game. No one wins the admiration of supporters for a robust financial model or positive long-term projections; trophies are not handed out for particularly holistic training grounds. Just ask Arsene Wenger.

Instead, the world of football is one in which short-term gambles, with ruinous long-term impacts, are often pursued to the detriment of clubs. Early Doors was reminded as much when we saw goldfish aficionado Peter Ridsdale all over its TV screens again on Monday.

His continual employment is probably proof

A Michael Owen brace, a Ryan Giggs solo goal, Mikael Forssell lumbering about... There was a touch of the retro Premier League about Tuesday night's Carling Cup action and Early Doors is not sure that it likes it.

ED remembers when the League Cup existed simply for clubs to give their youth teams something approaching a competitive match.

The arguments against England's second-tier cup competition were strong - too many matches take the edge off already overworked players during the testy winter months, there is added expenditure for fans of an already-bloated game, while the tournament itself

Nobody confounds and confuses quite like Theo Walcott.

The man is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Inside a nice middle-class boy with silly facial hair, who runs very quickly but doesn't always kick a football in the right direction.

In the first half against Udinese last night, Gervinho set him up for what looked a simple chance, but instead of lifting the ball into the net he shot low at Samir Handanovic.

This was 'proof' of Walcott's terminal lack of finishing instinct and subtelety, laid bare in front of a continental audience.

Everything critics have said about his failure

With a grand total of one goal in 18 Premier League appearances since that £50 million British record move of his, Fernando Torres is hardly in a position of strength to criticise his team-mates at Chelsea.

But criticise them he apparently has, using an interview with the official webiste of La Liga to emulate Roy Keane's infamous Play the Pundit rant which never saw the light of day at MUTV. Well, if Keane were a rather reserved Spaniard, much less mad and his criticisms were more considered anyway.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas confirmed in his press conference prior to Tuesday's