This is Clarkeonenil’s regular comment column, cutting through the various passing issues of football and getting to the core principle in the shortest time.

Today we look at the latest set of idiocies to stalk the world of English football, we had so many to choose from just getting it down to 8 was an achievement in itself! Hope you like the new amalgamation approach.

We start where we always start, at Leeds United. When you’re the Monaco based chairman of the only club in the top 4 divisions where the beneficial owners are not known and you want to release a new profile photo do you a) pose with the manager who could be squeaking you out of the division your idiocy pushed us into in the first place, b) place yourself in the middle of a group of players wafting a contract around with figures that would look generous in the top half of the CCC or c) with the designs and drawings of a construction project that no-one believes will ever get built. The answer is: http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20100310/its-a-big-few-weeks-for-all-chairman_2247585_1989734, c). Well did you expect anything else? Meanwhile about 6 miles down the road.

I’m no financial expert but I’m pretty sure 0% is less than any number between 1 and 99%. So why has the administrator turned down the only offer on the table at Farsley Celtic and closed down the club Chester City style (but without the accompanying fanfare)? Apparently the offer fell “short of what was acceptable to creditors”, well clearly getting sweet nothing is more acceptable so that is ok then, Farsley can reform 3 divisions lower and the creditors can pride themselves on standing firm. Shame about the ground not being designated for housing isn’t it Mr Administrator. There is a similar ground/club disconnection down on the South Coast.

There was a lovely line from the Portsmouth administrator at the press conference yesterday that announced that 85 people, all on about 1% of what the players are on, were made redundant. He basically said that more would be forthcoming “should Portsmouth be relegated”, priceless. “Should”, my 2 year old can register they will be. So those who got off lightly yesterday know they have about 7 weeks before they are also jettisoned. Meanwhile Peter Storrie, the man most responsible for the mess is still at the club, but don’t worry he has kindly offered a 40% pay cut, unfortunately for the PR boys the fact remains if he’d been sacked his £1.2m salary would have covered all the 85 people now feeling betrayed. Betrayal of course comes in many forms as the manager of Liverpool knows only too well.

Poor Benetiz, if it’s not the owners only giving him £250m to spend, if it’s not the players and their damm silly “body language”, if it’s not Wigan Athletic chairmen poking his nose into Liverpool’s business then it must be the press’ turn to be responsible for the dismal results this season. The latest attempt to deprive Liverpool of their rightful place as PL winners was the outrageous question about Gerrard’s V sign. Clearly the ref saw it, clearly he decided that despite every other footballer on the planet would get a straight red, because of the “Gerrard Defence” (I can do what I like because I’m famous, precedent set in Chester Crown Court in September) it’s obviously acceptable for the England Vice-Captain to communicate with the referee like that! Abnormal behaviour is also acceptable at Cardiff City.

Did the QC for HMRC plan in advance the line “they are robbing Paul to pay Peter”, well obviously not or he would have put it that that around rather than using the traditional way. There was still enough to amuse in the Recorder’s words, she expressed disbelief in the miracle of a Malaysian businessman just popping up with £6m in the next few weeks. Its end-game time for Peter Ridsdale and company, administration is probably weeks away (I suspect Ridsdale is stupid enough to wait until the team look like they might sneak the last play-off place before cutting the legs from under them) and with it the end of a career in football for someone who should never been allowed near the sport in the first place. Equally how did Rupert Lowe get back into football so quickly?

Sorry my mistake that posh sounding shifty looking bloke outside the High Court was in fact Southend United’s chairman Ron Martin, although it took a couple of takes to be sure. This is the supreme idiocy, trying to raise less than £200k on the basis of a supermarket buying the ground you’re going to be playing on for decades to come. Still with only 35 days to go before winding-up we at least know Southend’s relegation will be confirmed by administration before then and season’s end. One hopes the demonstration on Saturday is well attended, after all if been told in court the club is insolvent isn’t enough to arouse the fans out of the fantasy of a new stadium and the PL soon then what is? Another place you can find a lack of reality is Hereford United.

The problem with having a mainstay who becomes an institution at the club is that it becomes too tempting to use them again. Similar to Crewe Alexandra and Dario Gradi, it seems Graham Turner has taken over the reins again at Hereford. Now I’m not sure about this but it seems to me that given relegation to their natural home of the conference isn’t happening this season the sacking of John Trewick is a touch harsh. Small squad, no money to spend, geographically off the main drag of football I don’t see what the locals expected, maybe there is a multi-millionaire cider maker out there, and maybe he can buy them Joe Cole.

Now although this is a “stupidity run riot” special we do have to acknowledge where the opposite accrues. Take Chelsea who seem to have finally woken up from the largesse days and are now offering much more realistic contracts. So Mr Cole J and Mr Ballack are been offered real cuts in the terms on offer whilst Mr Anelka is only been offered a one year contract extension. Factor in the lack of signings in January and you wonder if Peter Kenyon ran off with all the money. Maybe Manchester United and others will follow suit, maybe just maybe, Ferdinand, Terry, Gallas and Wright-Phillips are all about to find out just how overpaid everyone of them was when their next contract offer arrives. Truly that would be genius to balance the stupidity of the last 15 years!