Sometimes it feels like football goes out of its way to get on my nerves.

Last week, during the game between Sunderland and Newcastle United, Jermaine Defoe scored arguably one of the goals of the season and possibly the best of his career.

It was a shot of pure beauty that left Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul with absolutely no chance as he watched the sweetly struck volley sail into the top corner.

Yet much of the debate during and after the game was not about the quality of the goal, but the fact that Dutch international Krul appeared to congratulate Defoe at half time by patting him on the back as they walked down the tunnel.

Television pundits Jamie Carragher and Danny Murphy were quick to declare their outrage at Krul’s actions, with the former declaring it a “mistake” and the latter saying it was “out of order”. And their misplaced moral outrage was soon echoed by a section of Newcastle fans who took to Twitter to suggest Krul should be kicked out of the club in the summer.

The mind boggles.

What we saw was – and I appreciate this is such a rare phenomenon that younger readers might not be familiar with it as a concept – a display of genuine sportsmanship.

This wasn’t Krul saying “well done, glad you scored, hopefully it will prove to be the winning goal”. It was Krul showing his appreciation of the skill that went into scoring a goal of such beauty.

I appreciate it was a derby match and that means passions would be running high. But have we really sunk so low that professional footballers are not allowed to publicly appreciate each other’s skills?

There was a time, in the not too distant past to be honest, when acts of sportsmanship in football were not just accepted but applauded. Remember Paolo Di Canio grabbing the ball instead of shooting so the injured keeper could get treatment?

However, considering the flawed attitudes of TV pundits and the growing intolerance of fans, we will probably reach a point where players are too afraid of a potential backlash to even think about sporting gestures.

How sad is that?

Meanwhile, after a wave of brilliant goals last weekend, the debate raged about which was the best of an admittedly great bunch. Ultimately I think you can boil it down to a choice between Defoe’s sublime volley and Charlie Adam’s 66-yard screamer for Stoke City against Chelsea.

A lot of people have suggested that, based on technique, Defoe’s was the better of the two, but I have to politely disagree. Yes, his strike was excellent, but the truth is you see goals like that several times every season.

On the other hand, shots from the inside your own half that end up beating one of the best goalkeepers in the world are very, very rare.

If Adam had just hit it and hoped, then I would say Defoe’s was the better goal. But he didn’t. He saw Thibaut Courtois off his line, spotted an opportunity and struck the ball sweetly and accurately.

The very fact that goals like that don’t come around very often (the last one I can remember is David Beckham nearly 20 years ago) shows just how hard a trick it is to pull off.

And that makes it the prime contender not just for goal of the weekend but also goal of the season.

Raheem has a point

I’m not one to stick up for footballers but I found myself sympathising with Raheem Sterling last week.

The young Liverpool forward was the centre of attention after reportedly turning down a new deal from the club worth £100,000 (€138,000) a week.

That led to the standard accusations that get wheeled out in situations like this, namely that Sterling is a greedy, selfish, money-grabber with delusions of grandeur.

This wasn’t Krul saying “well done, glad you scored, hopefully it will prove to be the winning goal”. It was Krul showing his appreciation of the skill that went into scoring a goal of such beauty

However, the player himself was quick to point out that his decision to delay contract talks until the end of the season was nothing to do with money, but everything to do with football.

And I think he might actually be telling the truth.

Look at it from his point of view. Last season the club looked like it might actually win the league. Although they didn’t, and despite the loss of Luis Suarez, hopes were still relatively high for this campaign.

However, this season Liverpool bowed out of the Champions League with a whimper, did the same from the Europa League and, despite a good run of form, have seen their top four hopes evaporate thanks to successive defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal. All they have left to play for is the FA Cup, and based on their performance against Blackburn Rovers, that is going to be a tough one to win.

In short, the promise of last season has not been matched by progress this time round. And, for a young, evidently ambitious player, that is a problem that deserves some serious contemplation.

In this particular case, I don’t think it is about Sterling necessarily wanting more money, although I am sure he won’t turn it down if it is offered. I think it is about him wanting to make sure Liverpool’s ambitions match his own.

And, after a season when his team have flattered to deceive, who can blame him for wanting to wait until the dust has settled before making up his mind?

Football’s brighter side

You often hear how English football clubs do a lot of work for the ‘community’, but for obvious reasons we Maltese rarely get to see this in practice.

Recently, however, a group of people with disability from Malta got some first-hand experience of just how willing clubs are to open their doors when they spent a morning at Sheffield Wednesday’s football ground.

The group, who were in Sheffield learning about how other countries create opportunities for disabled people to find employment, were taken on a tour round Hillsborough and even spent some time meeting and chatting to the players.

The group thoroughly enjoyed the football visit, which was organised by the marketing team of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.

Personally I would like to hear about more of this type of thing – it is a good reminder that, despite its failings, football can still make a positive contribution to society.

Aiming to be the worst

If there were an award for Worst Team of the Season – which I’m surprised there isn’t really – then this year’s trophy would undoubtedly go to Blackpool.

Run by clueless owners, it was evident this wasn’t going to be campaign of glory for the seaside team when they ended up with just eight contracted players a month before the big kick-off.

But while some teams may take adversity like that and turn it to their advantage, Blackpool instead decided to make that embarrassing episode look like a comparative high point.

Over the course of the following months the club turned into a laughing stock.

Not just in terms of performances but across the board. Managers were fired, players sold, the fans protested, tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch during games, the directors started suing each other.

It has been a shambolic season of epic proportion.

All their hard work at being the worst team in England finally paid off last weekend when they were relegated from the Championship with six games to spare.

Now they are trying to add icing to the cake by breaking the record for gaining the least amount of points at this level. Ever.

I find Blackpool’s demise particularly sad as I really enjoyed watching them during their one season in the top flight. I thought they epitomised all that was good about football with their entertaining style, traditional ground, enthusiastic fans, passionate manager and excellent team spirit.

Now they are clear proof that living the Premiership dream, even for a single season, can be merely opening the doors to football hell.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade