The new football season is set to kick off in a couple of weeks - some will think it has never been away.

There is the usual buzz of anticipation from the fans, as clubs recruit new players and let others go.

This will be a different season, starting earlier, then breaking for a month in November, while the World Cup is being played.

Whenever, the World Cup comes round, the old newsreels come out from when England last won it in 1966. The iconic moment when Geoff Hurst blasted home the fourth goal from 25 yards in injury time.

If the game were played today, Hurst would not have been in that position to fire home but down by the corner flag, holding the ball up, whilst running down the clock.

There were no substitutes in 1966, but teams will be able to use five (up from three) in the coming season, dare I say it, giving more opportunities for managers to run down the clock with needless substitutions in the final minutes.

Deliberate time wasting is becoming a real problem in the professional game.

Watching West Ham last year, it was incredible to see some teams starting to time waste, after just ten minutes. The goalkeepers regularly taking as long as they could with goal kicks. The only time things changed was when the away side went a goal behind, then there was a rapid reversal of tactics.

Another, discouraging development in the game is faking injury or maybe call it what it is - cheating. Players going down all over the place to try to gain an advantage by getting the game stopped. Fans pay in excess of £60 to watch a Premiership match. They pay to be entertained, not witness some sort of of attritional battle between teams using underhand tactics.

The cheating can be stopped. Referees need to be less easily taken in by the fake injuries. They need to book more players for such behaviour and the time wasting. The time wasted also has to be clearly added on.

The Premier League is probably the best competition in the world. Many of the finest players take part, the skill level is incredible, compared to past eras.

But the game has also become commodified, everything from the players to franchises.

The lifeblood of football is the fans and the bond they have with their clubs.

Football administrators need to remember that football, first and foremost, is an entertainment.

Paul Donovan is a Redbridge Labour councillor for Wanstead village and blogger. See paulfdonovan.blogspot.com