IT is a sign of the times that, on the eve of the new football season, the BBC carries a report about the increase in spending in the Championship.

Apparently, it is up this year by an average of 12 per cent as clubs chase the golden ticket.

The latest astronomical TV deal agreed by the Premier League comes into force at the start of next season, meaning even the teams that get relegated in 2016-17 are guaranteed £100 million.

I don’t know exactly when the narrative in football moved from achieving glory to boosting bank balances.

It is naive to suggest this is a direct result of the Premier League, as football chairman have been worrying about money for as long as I can remember.

The game was in a perilous state in the 1980s – falling gates, crumbling stadia and cash-strapped clubs were the norm.

Without the injection of interest provided by the revamp of the leagues who knows where the national obsession would be now, maybe on a par with county cricket?

But all the enjoyment and excitement I used to get from the game has been soured by the money-driven machine.

Stories about clubs chasing the dream in a bid take their share of the riches at the top table just leave me cold. I want to read about the desire to win trophies, not finish in a Champions League spot.

When I read stories about the money Derby or Middlesbrough are spending in a bid to win promotion, the main emotion I pick up on is the stress and anxiety about what will happen if the spending doesn’t pay off.

The funny thing is, it seems to me the stress only intensifies when a club wins promotion – now they have got the golden ticket, what will happen if they lose it?

To stay in the Premier League, clubs have to spend all the money that comes their way, and more besides.

Promoted clubs don’t get rich, the players they sign do.

Bolton Wanderers ended a decade in the Premier League with fantastic facilities and a crippling debt.

For a while, fans like me were told it would be okay because Eddie Davies would look after us.

Who knows, that may still prove to be the case, but my question is was it all worth it?

The glory days were at the start of Sam Allardyce’s reign, when we were struggling to keep our place in the Premier but loving the ride.

When we actually started to get comfortable in the top half and even forced our way into Europe, fans were already starting to grumble.

The reality is, we were spoiled.

The feeling crept in that, if you start every season with no prospect of winning anything then what is the point?

That was the general state of mind a few years ago, but things change.

Winning something this year will probably be secondary in most Wanderers fans' minds. Having a club to support at the end of it, with any kind of secure future, should be the main aim.

And while we see how things pan out, maybe it is about time we all just start to enjoy football for what it is – a game, a hobby, a place to go with our mates and our families, let our hair down and have fun, not a get-rich-quick scheme.