I don’t know about you, but for me, football is still wrapped up in the magic of childhood.

I went to my first game aged six, and fell in love immediately - not just with my club, but in particular, our best, and most famous player, Colin Bell.

Bell was my hero. I idolised him, covered my bedroom walls with his image, and devoured every scrap of information I could find, which wasn’t much. Bell was, as the title of his later autobiography suggested, a “reluctant hero,” who wasn’t comfortable in the limelight.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because the current grizzling by fans, and increasingly, coaches, regarding the arrival of Tim Cahill (with FFA help), is forgetting one very important truth.

He is an idol to many Australian kids, in the same way Colin Bell was to me, forty years ago.

Yet some are so wrapped up in their parochial conspiracy theories, they can’t see the bigger picture.

Can anyone stop City?

1:32

Perhaps it’s an unavoidable consequence of FFA’s financial assistance to Melbourne City in bringing Cahill home. The governing body was always going to open itself up to allegations of “bias” (the football fan’s most overused word) towards their investment.

But strip away the white noise of club allegiance, and what real evidence is there? That FFA opted to take their Cup Final to Melbourne?

Okay, let’s imagine they had opted for Sydney instead. Given the Lowy family’s stake in Sydney FC, and the fact FFA is based in the harbour city, wouldn’t they then have been accused of similar partiality on behalf of Graham Arnold’s team?

Are referees favouring City because of Cahill? For example, why wasn’t he booked for the elbow on Alan Baro in the early stages of the Melbourne derby?

Fair point, but by the same token, why wasn’t Brett Holman booked for an elbow that knocked out Rostyn Griffiths tooth in the Brisbane-Perth clash on Sunday?

The answer - and it’s the same answer as to why Shaun Evans allowed Luke Brattan’s goal to stand in the Cup semi - is that refs, like coaches, fans (and commentators), can only call incidents as they see them at the time. Sometimes they get it wrong no doubt - but isn’t that true of all of us?

MVC v WEL: Match Highlights

4:20

I’ve been accused of “bias” a hundred times down the years as a match caller. Normally, the accuser is wearing their favourite club shirt while doing it, without ever seeing the hypocrisy of their argument. It’s the same with refs - and now, FFA.

FFA isn’t perfect. As a journalist, I’ve written several critical articles down the years. But to accuse them of deliberate preferential treatment of one club over another, is wide of the mark.

If people believe otherwise, fine - but then let’s also ask why Sydney FC weren’t stripped of their title in year one, after breaching the salary cap, shall we? Or, why the rules were rubbery enough to allow Melbourne Victory to sign both James Troisi and Tom Rogic on loan back in 2014? Or why Western Sydney Wanderers received special dispensation to sign six foreigners in their debut season?

Football in Australia is evolving at a frantic pace, and FFA is juggling not only the exponential growth at grass roots, but also the very real need to improve commercial returns to beef up the next TV deal, and ensure clubs can reach their potential.

No doubt some of the clubs complaining about the “Cahill” rule are the very ones demanding “double the money” from the networks at this very moment. Is it not just possible, that at least one of the contributing factors to the increased crowds, ratings and hype around the league this season, is the arrival of Australia’s biggest-ever star?

Yet people remain obsessed with financial equality across the league, despite very real evidence there’s been very little of it, going all the way back to year one.

Bigger clubs are always going to try and grow - and eventually, football, the sport that reflects the world around us more accurately than any other (some richer, some poorer, some successful, some not), is going to have to get with the programme of a global game, here in Australia.

Long-term, salary caps only work in provincial sports, where the talent pool has nowhere else to take their employment skills. In football, if you want star quality, you have to pay according to the global market.

Make no mistake, Melbourne Victory - to name just one club - will not allow City to race too far ahead. Their pride and professionalism won’t allow it - hence the league improves in a positive way.

But won’t smaller clubs struggle? You mean like the Mariners who finished bottom by twelve points last season, before the Cahill rule existed? Or the Mariners who won the title in 2012/13, the same season Sydney spent millions on Alessandro del Piero?

Let’s go back to the beginning of the story.

At every game I’ve attended (featuring Cahill) over the last few years, there has been one constant. The high-pitched cries of “Tim! Tim!” wherever he goes.

Whether you like him or not, you can’t deny that Tim Cahill means just as much to many of today’s Aussie kids, as Colin Bell did to me in the 1970’s. Those are the same kids we are trying to convert into lifelong fans of the game.

It’s why FFA were happy to chip in - as they have promised to do for any other club willing to bring in a star of a similar ilk. In the ‘70’s, the English FA had no need to help, because they were different times, and Bell played in a more established football landscape.

Melbourne City had to play a smart game - with Cahill being almost 37, they knew there was (and is) the possibility of only a short-term football return. The big gain was commercially, not just for City, but the league as a whole - much like the del Piero situation. Should FFA have helped Sydney FC? Certainly - but that was then, and this is now.

The A-League has lacked star power for too long, and so far, just what has Tim Cahill done wrong? He scored a fantastic goal that garnered worldwide attention, and has signed so many autographs I’m surprised his biggest fitness concern isn’t RSI.

If other clubs don’t like the current situation, there’s a straightforward answer - go and get your own star. FFA will help, because they at least have remembered what it’s like for kids to discover the magic of football through their heroes.

Some other adults sadly, have forgotten.