Is it just Early Doors, or has football become pretty depressing of late?
Where usually we would be discussing "wantaway" "stars" "refusing to rule out" a move to somewhere or other, instead due to a combination of factors it currently seems the subject of racism is as closely associated with our national game as half-time pies.
This is a situation that will not change any time soon. Not with the Daily Mirror reporting on Friday morning that the police want to charge the England captain with racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
If true, it is will be one of the most severe accusations levelled at an England international.
As the Mirror reports: "Police say there is enough proof to charge England captain John Terry over his alleged racist rant.
"They have quizzed six senior Chelsea players about the ugly on-pitch clash with QPR's Anton Ferdinand and are sending a file to crown prosecutors to make a final decision.
"A source claimed: 'There is a feeling among some officers that John Terry has a case to answer.'"
Of course, the Football Association has already charged Liverpool striker Luis Suarez with racially abusing Patrice Evra, ensuring we have two highly sensitive cases to consider, and two cases that must be handled with the utmost care.
Furthermore, in yet another serious development, Chelsea recently announced they were investigating claims one of their own fans racially abused Daniel Sturridge.
The picture these cases builds up is a profoundly depressing one, but that does not mean we should pretend they aren't happening and wish them away quietly.
Whenever racism allegedly rears its head, it must be confronted head on, investigated to the full without trivialising the matter or making snap judgments.
Sadly, some of the reaction to these incidents has been rather depressing in itself.
The Evra-Suarez debate in particular has been split on partisan lines in some quarters.
The instinct to support one of your own is understandable, but when the FA decides there is sufficient evidence to charge Suarez, ED would hope, no doubt rather optimistically, that club allegiance should be left at the door while the governing body reaches a conclusion.
It has not in a lot of cases. Certainly not with those Liverpool fans who have started an online petition to, and ED quotes, address the situation that "AS USUAL MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE HAD THEIR WAY WITH THE F.A AND LIVERPOOL FANS ARE'NT GOING TO STAND FOR THIS, WE WANT TO SEE THE EVIDENCE ON WHAT THE F.A HAVE BASED THIS CHARGE ON. LETS GET BEHIND LUIS AND SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY FERGIE AND THE F.A."
That's just the kind of rational debate, not to mention impeccable grammar, we are looking for, isn't it?
The last thing this situation needs is hugely unhelpful comments like those from Brighton manager Gus Poyet on Friday. Poyet, reports the Guardian, has "befriended" Suarez since his move to Liverpool in January. Can you tell in his assessment of the case?
"I believe Luis Suarez, it's simple," Poyet said. "I played football for seven years in Spain and was called everything because I was from South America, and I never went out crying like a baby, like Patrice Evra, saying that someone had said something to me."
Yes you did read that right, "crying like a baby".
"I'm surprised, in a really sad way, that he has been charged," Poyet continued. "Really sad. I think it's worse to charge someone because you trust one person when you have no proof.
"I'm really sad about this charge as it's going to become too easy. I can make a complaint about any opposition manager and if I take it as far as I can he's going to get charged. Why are we going to take one person's word over another? It's too risky."
As the manager of a club whose fans fight so commendably against homophobia, his 'advice' to Evra is hardly the most enlightened when it comes to matters of discrimination.
In fact Poyet's take on the matter is not too dissimilar from that offered by Sepp Blatter, who has presided over a quite spectacular PR disaster with his comments regarding racism on the pitch and his bungled attempts to backtrack that have set the racism debate back once again.
So poorly has this been handled, the debate appears to have shifted, on the front page of The Sun at least, from how players should deal with racist abuse to whether the president of FIFA himself harbours prejudicial views. Of course, the sensationalist angle taken by the paper hardly helps the debate either.
Blatter continues to come under attack on Friday, and rightly so.
David Beckham weighed into the debate when saying: "I think the comments were appalling. A lot of people have said that. I don't think the comments were very good for this game. [Racism] can't be swept under the carpet and it can't be sorted out with just a handshake.
"I do think, especially being around the England team and being around the FA - the FA do a lot of work in kicking racism out of the game. They've have made huge strides in the past 10-15 years - but it is still there."
What with David Cameron also having his say in forthright terms, we just need Prince William to chip in to reunite the trio that last tackled FIFA when securing one whole vote for England's World Cup 2018 bid. ED suspects Blatter isn't clearing his desk quite yet, sadly.
But it seems that everywhere you turn at the moment, there is a race row being played out.
It would be too much to ask to just focus on the football - after all these are serious cases and should be treated as such - but we can at least hope for some rational debate, can't we?
Otherwise the current cloud hanging over football will only deepen the depression the game is being subjected to.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "When I was asked by FIFA to present the Ballon d'Or awards in January, it was like a dream come true. The most prestigious football awards ceremony in the world, with all the biggest names in the game sitting there ... what a thing to have on your CV. But — and it breaks my heart really — Sepp Blatter's comments on racism are so blatantly out of touch and simply wrong and that changes everything. For there is simply no way I feel I could stand on that stage in Zurich, in front of Lionel Messi, Pele, David Beckham, Ronaldo and Co, feeling like it was a token gesture. And believe me, that's how it would feel now." - Ian Wright reveals in The Sun that he will be taking a personal stand against Blatter's comments.
FOREIGN VIEW: "They took away his tube of wasabi at the airport and he didn't get it back. He always asks for wasabi and prefers the cheap tube to the expensive stuff. I apologised to him for there being no wasabi after the game." - Japan Football Association president Junji Ogura provides an explanation for the country's defeat to North Korea by explaining that coach Alberto Zaccheroni had his favourite condiment confiscated by customs.
COMING UP: We preview all the weekend's Premier League games as well as the big matches taking place across the continent. At 3pm, we will be holding our latest Fantasy Football chat so make sure you log on if you are planning to make any changes to your side.
Jim White and Paul Parker will both have their say on the hot football topics when delivering their latest blog and at 1pm we will publish the third and final part of our interview with Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez.