Robin Scott-Elliot: Football’s dark cloud on summer of sport

These last two summers have proved a reviver for a personal passion for sport; a timely antidote to the sometimes poisonous effect of football’s greed and angry existence.

Yes, dark clouds hovered above the Olympic Stadium this evening, as they do over cycling – doping will always be an issue – but watching extraordinary men and women run, jump, hit tennis balls and cycle offers a reminder of what it is all about.

Football is the greatest game but the circus that surrounds it, particularly the Premier League, and the slavish obsession with words – what Jose Mourinho says about this, that, whatever, how upset the “Rooney camp” are, “Sky Sports sources…” – ahead of deeds remains deeply dispiriting.

The darkest cloud on the horizon is the start of the new season.