Is anybody else diillustioned with this game?

[robsonhasscored 0]

Am I on my own on this or is football becoming boring, not the game- the actual 90 minutes just seem bit piece nowadays - but all the off field trial and tribulations.

During the 70s & 80s a lot of teams had chances of winning the FA Cup and even the league, just look at the past winners and you''ll see the likes of Villa, Forest, Leeds, Derby and the list goes on all winning things. Now adays its just "the top 4"

I desperately don''t want to be promoted to the premiership as havin spoken with fans from Fulham, Middlesbro'' and other such teams they really don''t feel there is much point in them playing just to avoid relegation. The Fulham fan admits he''s gutted they didn''t get relegated last year so they could stand a chance of success in a "competitive" league.

No for me it''s all Money, money, money. This will probably be my last season as a season ticket holder. next year I shall watch the City youth and hope we find some of our lads to cheer in a few years when I can then renew.

 

[AP16 0]

To be honest with you, the only time I''ve ever felt ''bored'' of the game is when I was out for 12 months with an injury that kept recurring. I really lost all interest other than attending City games, which still didn''t really do it for me because I wasn''t playing myself.

 

I''m now back to full fitness and playing regularly and as anyone that knows me will tell you I can''t get enough of it. Football 24/7.....

 

Coupling that with being in such an exciting league, the Championship, which in my opinion is more exciting than the Prem because you just never know quite what''s going to happen whereas in the prem you can always pretty much predict the top 4 in some way shape or form.

[Chrisr 0]

I can see where you''re coming from here. I had an away season ticket in the premiership and it was miserable. It cost a fortune to traipse up and down the country just to get patronised and thoroughly beaten regularly. Then again football is different now. Maybe i''ll support Man City and have Norwich as my "second team".....

Yeh right...

 

[pennywise 0]

i often wonder whats the point of promotion to the prem . you go up buy a bunch of mercenarys  to try and keep you up get thrashed every week by teams owned by billionaires..  get relegated end up having a fire sail to staive off administration cos all those lazy mercenary players have bled you dry.. eventually call in the administrators  get a 15 point deduction get relegated again then start all over again, is it really all worth it ? [:''(]

[AndyJR 0]

[quote user="ched seven"]i often wonder whats the point of promotion to the prem . you go up buy a bunch of mercenarys  to try and keep you up get thrashed every week by teams owned by billionaires..  get relegated end up having a fire sail to staive off administration cos all those lazy mercenary players have bled you dry.. eventually call in the administrators  get a 15 point deduction get relegated again then start all over again, is it really all worth it ? [:''(][/quote]The ''getting there'' is the enjoyable part, sadly on arrival we all realize it''s a bit pointless as it''s impossible to compete, so get relegated and do it all over again.

[Pinks 0]

[quote user="robsonhasscored"]

Am I on my own on this or is football becoming boring, not the game- the actual 90 minutes just seem bit piece nowadays - but all the off field trial and tribulations.

During the 70s & 80s a lot of teams had chances of winning the FA Cup and even the league, just look at the past winners and you''ll see the likes of Villa, Forest, Leeds, Derby and the list goes on all winning things. Now adays its just "the top 4"

I desperately don''t want to be promoted to the premiership as havin spoken with fans from Fulham, Middlesbro'' and other such teams they really don''t feel there is much point in them playing just to avoid relegation. The Fulham fan admits he''s gutted they didn''t get relegated last year so they could stand a chance of success in a "competitive" league.

No for me it''s all Money, money, money. This will probably be my last season as a season ticket holder. next year I shall watch the City youth and hope we find some of our lads to cheer in a few years when I can then renew.

 

[/quote]

I''m with you on this.

It shows the difference between the haves and have nots when we are struggling with a potential £2m defficit and Man City are talking of a £135m bid for Ronaldo.

Everytime I turn on the TV its Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal. They all feed like pigs at a trough.

The football league should whip the rug on the Premiership and refuse Prem teams entry. Let''s see if they like it cut loose. Four teams going for promotion and no one getting relegated. It would soon lose its flavour then. With this the Football league could demand a greater share of tv rights to get things back to normal, which would then allow more clubs to compete. I don''t mind leaving the greedy pigs to it. The whole essence of football is competition and at the moment it isn''t there.

[Badger 0]

Interesting post. I sympathise with your view but there is still little that can replace the excitement of a good game with great atmoshere!

Like you though, I hate the fact that it is all so predictable nowadays in the premier league - we know (with a high degree of probability) who the top 4 will be; have a pretty good shout at the bottom 3 etc etc. There is the odd surprise each year but nothing like when Forest won Div.s 2 and 1 in successive year.

Next year, there will be a new challenger Man City because they have a new multi-billionaire backer but the changes are brought about by finance more than anything. If anything, Leagues 1, 2 and the Championship are more interesting but mustn''t say too  much about this all will be accused of "lacking ambition."

[pennywise 0]

i honestly think the sooner the big 4 or 5  clear off to a world league the better..in the end football at the top will eat itself  .. i can see a time when man u play some russian team in front of 70,000 corperate guests cos true fans have been driven out and alienated..

[Yellowbeagle 0]

I think alot can be summed up by the national team, when I watch England play they are currently one of the most boring sides I have ever seen. I desperately want to feel the same excitment for the national team i did during the 1990 world cup, or even 1996. I''ve thought about why I feel differently about them and I think it''s because of the superstar status and wages, i feel if they are worth that much per week then they owe the fans a performance every time they pull on that shirt. Whereas when they were paid less it felt more like a team effort between the fans and the players, we all recognised during the 1990 world cup that we werent the best team in the world, but we were all in it together.

When you hear of premier league players and managers complaining about the amount of games they have to play, it makes me laugh why dont they try and play a 46 league game season in the championship against players who will just run hard and scrap for results. I think football has forgoten who it is for, the fans, if no one turned up to the matches or watched it on television, sky would pull the plug and the premier league teams would be up sh^t creek without a paddle. I actually was a little annoyed at the lack of matches when we were in the premier league, it seemed every week there was a break or no midweek matches which I have always loved for atmosphere.

[Garfunkel 0]

I have to say that I am becoming more and more disillusioned with the game too. What was worse for me was watching the Olympics and how our men and women tried their guts out. Ok they are more professional today but they are by no means the prima donnas that abound in the premier league. God knows where our game is going...........and the justification of £100k per week is what??

At least we have a team that tries its heart out most of the time. We can relate to them most of the time. They do not live in a different world in the main. And yes, getting thumped every week in the PL was not good....................mind you, getting thunped every weel last season was crap too!!!!

Think I will take up archery........................

[Camuldonum 0]

[quote user="Garfunkel"]

I have to say that I am becoming more and more disillusioned with the game too. What was worse for me was watching the Olympics and how our men and women tried their guts out. Ok they are more professional today but they are by no means the prima donnas that abound in the premier league. God knows where our game is going...........and the justification of £100k per week is what??

At least we have a team that tries its heart out most of the time. We can relate to them most of the time. They do not live in a different world in the main. And yes, getting thumped every week in the PL was not good....................mind you, getting thunped every weel last season was crap too!!!!

Think I will take up archery........................

[/quote]

I just ask that my team (s) tries.  I''m sad if they lose but I don''t lose any sleep over it.  As The Girl Upstairs says:  "Dad. you ALWAYS think your team will win."

Of course I do - I''m too old to be beating myself up from August to May and also I have played the game at various levels and know you can play well and lose or play badly and win (or that''s what I think anyway).

I think the Premier League quite beyond the reach of Colchester or Lincoln and so I don''t bother with it.  I am not envious of it in any way.  I still enjoy my football but on my own level and it''s still of interest to me.

Some seasons ago I saw a thrilling game in the Chelmsford and Mid Essex League: Southminster 3 Stock United 3.   (HT: 1-2).

Stock''s equalising goal came from a penalty for which Southminster''s Gordon (not related to Good News) was also given a yellow card for saying: "FFS ref. That is not a penalty."

"Ref: I''m booking you No 1 - foul and abusive language."

Gordon: "What do you want me to say?  Thanks very much ref?"

So, yes, I am still in it for the moment but I may have to drop down a bit to actually enjoy it.

Or the allowed goal at Wivenhoe Town (officials unsighted, apparently) when the ball went through the hole in the side netting[:$]  They said it was a goal so who knows?

Little boy playing in goal for Birch against Stanway in an U11 game, years ago. Injured when his team were 15-0 down not long after half time in attempting a very brave save.  His nose bled copiously on to his jersey (in the days when this was allowed).

Trainer: "Ian, would you like a new jersey?"

Ian: "No, this is my lucky jersey."

(Story told at Stanway Rovers FC annual dinner).

Millwall 0, Colchester 1 ( Perkins (8), Johnstone''s Paint Trophy).

A sort of valediction for me having spent nearly £40 on three small tins of Johnstone''s paints last week. No wonder they can afford a trophy.

I may have to keep dropping down but I''m okay at the moment.[:|]

 

[One Flew Over... 33]

The whole world of football seems to be heading towards tulipmania..[W]Wages and prices of footballers are totally out of proportion to the real world. I also know a couple of people who have cancelled, or are about to cancel subscriptions to Sky Sports. Partly because of less spare cash, and partly as the games are now split over several channels. At the peak of tulip mania in February 1637 tulip contracts sold for more than 20 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble. The term "tulip mania" is often used metaphorically to refer to any large economic bubble.If you''ve paid 135 million for a player then the market collapses, and he is worth half of what the club paid then that is a lot of money to make up. Gate receipts, selling land, and players won''t return this money. Maybe we are best sticking to bricks and mortar, and loan players for the next year or so..

[Jerzy Krukowski 5]

Yup, it all seems a bit pointless at the moment. I''m glad to have experienced football in the 70-90s whilst it was still meaningful to every club in of the 92 and ambition meant more than survival or hoping that a rich benefactor arrives so we can try and avoid relegation from the premiership each year, whoo. I can''t wait for the bubble to burst and we can have our football back. It''s really hard not to want promotion but I still enjoyed the play-off season most out of any of the last 10 years, and weirdly the season in the premier league was possibly the least enjoyable. Saw fewest games (no season ticket) and never saw us win. Even if we could compete with the big boys, that would probably mean we''d been bought by some dictator''s son from El Shaabar with blood money and every player would have Damien Francis'' attitude. The community, friendly club attitude that so many despise on here would be a distant memory, but one we might wish hadn''t disappeared along with any connection to Norfolk. Perhaps PC is the answer?

[whoareyou? 0]

Totally agree. It''s not a game anymore at the top. It''s all about how many cars they own, how many roastings they''ve partaken in, can they sell their wedding to Hello magazine. Most of today''s prima donna would have been laughed off the pitch even 15 years ago. Players wearing gloves and tights when it''s not even winter? WTF is that all about?

I''m about to close my Sky Sports subscription too, i never watch the Premier league games anyway...dull, duller and dullest!

[still holding out for new heroes 0]

Watching city no, but football in general yes, tranditional fan bases are being disregarded for the far east market etc etc.

I got rid of sky last season after much soul searching and changing of mind....I haven''t missed it once

[Lincs CR 0]

The joys of the Championship - unless a team like Birmingham who have recent premiership experience are present, anyone, yes ANYONE can win this league.

Man Utd, Chelsea... that''s it at the moment, can win the Premiership. Given 2 years time Man City will be winning everything and top flight football will officially be the most dull league in the world... all this talk of the Premiership being "the best" league in the world... if you are a banker then yes it''s the best league in the world, if you are a TRUE fan of football as a sport in general then it''s a bloody disgrace.

You look at the Premiership, even BEFORE the season begins and transfers begin the newly promoted sides are always huge favorites to go straight back down, and more often than not do... in this league Nottingham Forest and tipped for a great season and will probably have one. This league is true football and true fan enjoyment for everybody involved, even those suffering at the bottom of the table, take Palace for example, they were doomed at one stage and went on an excellent run an ended up challenging for a play off spot... how often do you see a team in the bottom half of the Prem after 15 games push on for a title challenge.... very VERY rarely.

Top flight football in England is called "the best league in the world" - if there was a financial limit clubs could spend it certainly would stand a chance of being labelled this by the fans rather than the executives of the FA who thrive on so much financial attention...

[7rew 0]

[quote user="ched seven"]i often wonder whats the point of promotion to the prem . you go up buy a bunch of mercenarys  to try and keep you up get thrashed every week by teams owned by billionaires..  get relegated end up having a fire sail to staive off administration cos all those lazy mercenary players have bled you dry.. eventually call in the administrators  get a 15 point deduction get relegated again then start all over again, is it really all worth it ? [:''(][/quote]My attitude to this is at the minute - Why bother trying to survive?   Stoke have spent easily over 10 million trying to survive.  Will they?  Of course not.Just think how many seasons that kind of money could keep you at the top end of the championship for and ask yourself which you would rather have? 

[Barclay_Boy 0]

[quote user="7rew"][quote user="ched seven"]i often wonder whats the point of promotion to the prem . you go up buy a bunch of mercenarys  to try and keep you up get thrashed every week by teams owned by billionaires..  get relegated end up having a fire sail to staive off administration cos all those lazy mercenary players have bled you dry.. eventually call in the administrators  get a 15 point deduction get relegated again then start all over again, is it really all worth it ? [:''(][/quote]

My attitude to this is at the minute - Why bother trying to survive?  

Stoke have spent easily over 10 million trying to survive.  Will they?  Of course not.

Just think how many seasons that kind of money could keep you at the top end of the championship for and ask yourself which you would rather have? 
[/quote]

totally agree with most of the posts here, and think that the Prem will implode sooner or later. However I think the figure that Stoke have spent is 21 million according to Sky the other night, which would have been 27 if they had got the guy from Cardiff. Beginning to think that they will survive this year.

[Graham Humphrey 13]

[quote user="7rew"]Stoke have spent easily over 10 million trying to survive.  Will they?  Of course not.[/quote]Is there a new rule which I''m unaware of? They''ve been relegated after three matches?

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"][quote user="7rew"]Stoke have spent easily over 10 million trying to survive.  Will they?  Of course not.[/quote]
Is there a new rule which I''m unaware of? They''ve been relegated after three matches?
[/quote]

well Derby have.. Lol!

jas :)

[Taxing 0]

I''m deefinislty diillustioned with this game and this meshage board but then I''m alreadisty onto my seveneneth scotch !

[Tumbleweed 106]

Apparently the new MD at Man City wants to end relegation from the Prem. When that happens the excitement will go, it''ll be like the NFL with fat corporate guests paying top dollar to watch a game in silence while stuffing themselves with hotdogs, popcorn and coke. For the top clubs its about money, not the romance of football and that attitude will filter down as evermore clubs get snapped up as rich men''s playthings.

Bottom line, there has to be some hope of and some reason for winning: without that the game is dead.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]

Apparently the new MD at Man City wants to end relegation from the Prem. When that happens the excitement will go, it''ll be like the NFL with fat corporate guests paying top dollar to watch a game in silence while stuffing themselves with hotdogs, popcorn and coke. [/quote]

you have absolutley no idear how the NFL runs do you?

jas :)

[Michael Starr 527]

One thing will fix all this... one thing.. and it''s gotta come straight from Fifa direct... foreigner caps. Each time worldwide can only play up to 3 non-nationals at any time. Simple, so Chelsea for example... will HAVE to play 8 English players per game. Milan will  HAVE to play 8 Italians per game.

Make this rule global... and consistant... if we do this the national setups will stablise, and clubs will encourage youth development moreso, it''s absolutely simple.

[Camuldonum 0]

[quote user="Michael Starr"]

One thing will fix all this... one thing.. and it''s gotta come straight from Fifa direct... foreigner caps. Each time worldwide can only play up to 3 non-nationals at any time. Simple, so Chelsea for example... will HAVE to play 8 English players per game. Milan will  HAVE to play 8 Italians per game.

Make this rule global... and consistant... if we do this the national setups will stablise, and clubs will encourage youth development moreso, it''s absolutely simple.

[/quote]

Cannot happen.  Breaches every EU employment, discrimination law.

Won''t happen.  Ever.

Unless the EU is dissolved and countries go their own independent ways once again.

[Badger 0]

[quote user="Camuldonum"][quote user="Michael Starr"]

One thing will fix all this... one thing.. and it''s gotta come straight from Fifa direct... foreigner caps. Each time worldwide can only play up to 3 non-nationals at any time. Simple, so Chelsea for example... will HAVE to play 8 English players per game. Milan will  HAVE to play 8 Italians per game.

Make this rule global... and consistant... if we do this the national setups will stablise, and clubs will encourage youth development moreso, it''s absolutely simple.

[/quote]

Cannot happen.  Breaches every EU employment, discrimination law.

Won''t happen.  Ever.

Unless the EU is dissolved and countries go their own independent ways once again.

[/quote]

Even if it were legal, it wouldn''t make any difference to the concentration of power. The top clubs would buy up all the top English talent and stay in control that way.

[robsonhasscored 0]

[quote user="Michael Starr"]

One thing will fix all this... one thing.. and it''s gotta come straight from Fifa direct... foreigner caps. Each time worldwide can only play up to 3 non-nationals at any time. Simple, so Chelsea for example... will HAVE to play 8 English players per game. Milan will  HAVE to play 8 Italians per game.

Make this rule global... and consistant... if we do this the national setups will stablise, and clubs will encourage youth development moreso, it''s absolutely simple.

[/quote]

If you run a pub quiz surely you set the rules and teams either play by your rules or go else where.

 Could the FA not make it a rule? I know about the EU law etc but this isn''t stopping the player from joining a club just restricting how many can make the team. Very much like the loan rule? 

 

[Syteanric 1]

it doesnt break any eu employment laws whatsoever...  You can still sign (and there fore contract and pay) as many foreigners as you like.. you just couldnt play them in the squad...

if a manager today named a team without a single foreigner in it no one would give 2 s*its would they???? because he isnt breaking any laws.. just selecting the best personnel to get the job done...

its just the big teams whingeing thhat get people worried

jas :)

[Shack Attack 0]

Do you really think it''s that simple Jas? Surely nobody would sign ''as many foreign players as you like'' if they were restricted in the amount they could play at any one time. Therefore, there is some restraint of trade which breaks EU Employment Laws.

You''re the only person who I''ve ever heard come up with this argument so either you''re some crack lawyer who knows his way around the complex nature of EU Employment Law better than anybody else or you''re talking bullsh*t. Do I need to set up a poll for this [:^)]

[One Flew Over... 33]

[quote user="Shack Attack"]

Do you really think it''s that simple Jas? Surely nobody would sign ''as many foreign players as you like'' if they were restricted in the amount they could play at any one time. Therefore, there is some restraint of trade which breaks EU Employment Laws.[/quote]

Maybe not saying directly you can''t have more than 3 non-English players on the pitch, but making each player register with a single football association, and then limiting players from different associations in a team would work? If the EU employment laws are so powerful then I''m suprised there haven''t been cases of players arguing their right to "ply their trade" when they have a 3 match suspension, and as mentioned above the maximum number of loan players on the pitch at one time. Not sure if it is just me, but I have almost no interest in the Premiership. Championship to watch my own club, and Champions League to see world class players, the Premiership kind of falls down a hole somewhere inbetween.