Football is currently gripped in dark, dark times. The very nature of the game looked as though it would be stripped away in a dozen boardrooms worldwide. Over the last few days, fears mounted that the memories held by every supporter, and the underdog stories that capture our imagination, would be wiped out forever.
Unfortunately, there is no escaping the fact that the foundation of the sport, the everlasting love for it and each tumultuous high and low, is still at risk.
This is a sentiment James Ward-Prowse agrees with. It was far from the easiest subject matter to discuss, especially with Premier League footballers left in the dark, but the captain of Southampton, one of the 14 clubs who furiously rebelled against the bombshell proposals, was certainly concerned.