THE sofa in the hotel lobby might have been comfortable, however I was anything but.

Even waiting in Nanjing, deep in eastern China, isn’t easy when, despite our lack of a common culture, alphabet, or language, the locals seem determined to talk.

However, there was one connection...

‘Liverpool?’ a man asked. It wasn’t a question - it was just something to break the mutual incomprehension.

My talk of Swindon Town seemed to confuse him. ‘Liverpool,’ I relented and accepted his full-beam smile.

Okay, so regardless of football’s global reach, Swindon’s name hasn’t followed.

But now it seems likely that my conversation could soon be the other way around as now football, and football’s money, is reaching beyond its traditional strongholds.

Currently, China going fully Paolo Di Canio in the transfer market doesn’t seem likely to affect us at Town, but it will.

Eventually, some of the effects will trickle down.

Primarily, because if another overly-rich, stupidly-brash league with little regard for history appears, the Premier League will no longer be unique.

With China and the US hoovering up mid-market Brazilians, perhaps the Premier League will finally look at developing their own talents instead of releasing so many, such as Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill.

They might even again buy players from England, such as Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill.

Finally, some money might trickle down.

Hopefully, it will also help them to see that one day, the Saudi, Chinese and Russian money might go elsewhere too.

Then, perhaps the current fan protests about ticket prices will see some results rather that just publicity.

That might trickle down too.

They could even start to care about supporters, particularly the next generation who are currently priced out and absorbing football via TV or Vine.

After all, with Chinese games in the morning and MLS matches in the late evenings, when will the highlights of Town versus another generic northern club be on?

Swindon Town isn’t just obscure in China, it is also in much of Swindon.

And while the world may change, Swindon Town can still be a useful connection, regardless of culture, alphabet, or language.

We just can’t rely only the good things trickling down.