Slinging things at Craig Bellamy's head

The state of football at the moment is pretty depressing, and I feel increasingly distanced from the game with every news headline I read.

I've been doing my best to avoid the whole John Terry circus, but I find it amazing, considering how many negative stories he has been at the centre of over the years, that it has taken people until 2010 to question his character. I understand the argument that a player's personal life and their career should be allowed to remain separate, but I wholeheartedly agree with the decision to strip the England captaincy from him. While he didn't break any laws with his infidelity, captaining a nation should be held in reverence by somebody prepared to be a role model and ambassador. I'm not sure whether Rio Ferdinand quite suits that description but, if England win the World Cup this year and Terry still had the armband, it would have left a seriously bad taste in my mouth. I only mentioned a couple of months ago how I wasn't sure I even wanted England to win it, as the thought of Ashley Cole becoming an MBE makes me want to vomit, and this latest Terry incident has only further fuelled my negativity.

It's not just players that have been failing to shroud themselves in glory either. Certain supporters have been doing their bit to drag the game down too of late by throwing objects from the stands. There can't be many people who haven't wanted to sling something at Craig Bellamy's head at some stage or other, but, even in an emotionally charged situation, very few of us would ever actually do it.

Elsewhere, governing bodies and clubs are adding to the miserable climate. In international football, the decision to ban Togo from the next two African Cups of Nations was mind-blowingly heartless and ill-judged, while, back home, Pompey are in all kinds of trouble and even the mighty Manchester United are in a mess and are the subject of protests from their usually subservient fans. If the biggest club in the world can't get its finances right, what hope is there for anyone else?

It's almost enough to make a person want to give up on football altogether, but then something happens that reminds you why you fell in love with the game in the first place. For me, it was seeing the greatest assist of all time by Real Madrid's Guti recently. It was a magnificent piece of artistry and, with the simple act of backheeling a football, this player made me realise why I bother with the sport. Because, at its purest, it is still the beautiful game, even if it is rife with idiots.