Ennui is The Thing: welcome to the death-football of late-stage capitalism | Barney Ronay

Manchester United and Chelsea demonstrate that boredom is a key part of the sport and an element of its beauty

Well, something definitely happened there. But what exactly? There is an affectionate joke about good, punchy Australian sports writing, which basically involves saying Here’s The Thing, right, then spelling out exactly what The Thing is in 800 brutally frank words, pounding The Thing into submission, shaking hands with The Thing, then, ideally, going off for a quick drink with The Thing.

What was the thing here? Trapped energy. Drift. Ennui. A good goal by Moisés Caicedo. The death-football of late-stage capitalism. Casemiro lying down a lot, often to surprisingly good defensive effect.

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Ennui is The Thing: welcome to the death-football of late-stage capitalism | Barney Ronay

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