Why Do Fans Care So Much About Football Finances?

Walter Sabatini has thrown an awful lot of money around over the past year--by some estimates as much as €100 million--on players ranging from Iago Falque to his most recent capture, Edin Dzeko. While this has no doubt been an exciting time for Roma fans, it's also stirred up quite a bit of controversy, with Sabatini earning plaudits from factions claiming he's cured all of Roma's ills while his critics claim he's only managed to dig his own grave, Dzeko or not.

Which got me to thinking, why do fans care so much about how clubs spend their millions? It's not our money yet we're so emotionally invested in every line item on the club's budget. Does Edin Dzeko's €4.5 million salary have any bearing on your ability to keep food on the table? Does Daniele De Rossi inexplicably being the highest paid player in the league somehow hurt your investment portfolio?

Of course not, so what is it? Why do we stress so much about what Roma, or any team for that matter, spends on salaries or transfers? Has Football Manager become so ubiquitous that the secret to running a football franchise has become public knowledge? Is Sabatini so blinded by his position that all rational thought has left his brain?

If he didn't waste €22 million on Juan Iturbe we could've had Antoine Griezmann for a fraction of the price! Why spend upwards of €40 million on Dzeko and Mohamed Salah when you could've just spent that on Alexandre Lacazette...Nevermind the fact that they never expressed interest in Roma or that it takes more than mere numbers to complete a transfer, Sabatini's a financial philistine!

Could any outsider possibly do a better job? Is there a rhyme and reason to building a football team, or is it, because you're dealing with human beings, necessarily a gamble no matter how well you prepare? Should we cut them some slack, or does the lack of a real world consequence of their job necessitate a shorter leash? Honestly, its a plum gig in which candidates are recycled constantly, how many chances do they deserve?

As you can probably tell by the ratio of question marks to actual words, this is the latest edition of our CDT think tank.

So, tell me, why do fans become so agitated when clubs spend money in ways they perceive to be foolish? Why has this trend become so pervasive and so pernicious in the 21^st century?

Is logic or emotion ruling the roost? Did I just write this as an excuse to embed Pink Floyd? Is The Wall really better than The Dark Side of The Moon?