"Their £8m team is the envy of every other club in their division, and a good many others besides, but Al Fayed is not the first of English football's new generation of mega-rich proprietors to discover that money does not buy you instant success."

I suspect that most fans are actually annoyed at the arrogance of the situation. Firstly Micky Adams is given a "golden handshake" to leave the team he successfully guided to promotion. Vast sums of money are then poured into the club to provide an all-star management team and some big name players. When Wilkins and co. took charge, Fulham were 16 points behind Watford. By the end the gap had hardly shifted. In fact, the only reason it was constant was the poor run of form that Watford had in mid season - not because Fulham played particularly well to keep pace.

The second statement about money buying success is indeed true, although long term it usually pays off as a strategy. But this is a shocking trend within football at the moment and the reason that our game sits on a very sharp knife edge. The continued perception that money buys success and that to win anything you must a) have a continental manager, b) sign lots of foreign playes and c) pay them stupid wages will ruin football in this country.

The reason Fulham failed was because lots of big money signings, whilst bringing in the crowds, failed to work effectively as a unit. Individual talent is not an issue, it is how the team plays. The failure of Newcastle, Spurs and Everton this season suggests something more is an issue - it is not just a question of players. Rather the passion and commitment shown by teams like Barnsley wins many more admirers than the big money clubs. Again the delight at seeing the big clubs struggle is because of the perceived arrogance of these clubs, who equate money with divine right for success.

Arsenal were popular this year because they played as team. Yes, Bergkamp stood out but he was not immortalised in the same way Beckham, Scholes, Cole and company were. He was just part of the team and his frequent absence through injury and suspension showed as Arsenal still got the results.

So the starting argument that money makes fans envious is flawed. A lot of clubs could do with money but for what purpose ? To buy players or to keep the club afloat ? I'm sure Doncaster would welcome a fraction of that money to buy "average" players to give them a fighting chance and not the humilation they suffered this season. There is a need for money in the game but transfer fees and players' wages are not where that money should be going. Clubs like Fulham are choosing the first option and must live with all the risks that brings. The price of failure suddenly becomes financial rather than emotional.

I would guess that a lot of Division 2 clubs, if anything, would be envious of financial security and a manager like GT that knows how to achieve success through a team of 11 players, not a few big names who are driven by their wallets and not by their hearts. Football today is as much a game of money as it is of 22 players on a Saturday afternoon and for too many clubs that is a game they cannot play.