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Canary02 III

The downfall of our game - a rant

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Apologies for the length of this but it''s been half-swirling in my mind all weekend and it got cathartic to slap it down on a page and vent my spleen!

 

 

The FA and the Premier League need to take a lot of criticism for the part they have played in creating situations like Saturday, where you have a team in dire need of points to fight relegation, and the majority couldn''t summon up the fire and the fight to take the game to the opposition when the game was there for the taking. Obviously Norwich''s woes aren''t solely due to the players who couldn''t produce on Saturday, but I''m talking in a wider context, as the same lack of fight can be seen at so many clubs up and down the country and even with the national team, and it''s a growing problem that undermines football in this country.

One problem is that players no longer think of their being part of a club or area because their careers are so transitory. Even if you sign for a club permanently (e.g. Jason Jarrett for us), if you don''t gel into the side immediately chances are you''ll be lobbed out on loan to get gametime within six to eighteen months, at which point you''ll have to move into a hotel for probably three to six months, leaving whatever family you have behind in a place they haven''t lived for very long. Then when you do return, is it for first team football, or another loan spell away, in a hotel, while your Missus and kids cry on the phone about you never being there again? Eventually, you''ll grow to resent the club that''s loaning you out, and the clubs you''re being loaned to.

Or if you are lucky enough to get into the team as a regular (e.g. Sammy Clingan) you''re then at the mercy of the teams fortunes. If you find yourself doing well (and if you''re a regular pick you can''t be doing too bad with the size of most squads these days) then a bigger, richer team will be looking to sign you in which case you''re moving again. Or at best, your team may be in line for promotion, in which case your stay is likely to be extended, but then you have the worry of whether the club will try and buy someone with experience of the league above who plays in your position. If your team does badly and gets relegated then you''ll be looking to move to stay in the league and salary bracket you fought to get to in the first place. And if you do get to said new, bigger club, see paragraph above. And worst of all is when you''re playing for a club who should be doing better but continually find themselves at the wrong end of the table, whose fans moan and are constantly negative, and who apparantly have no money and a paper-thin squad of loanees...

Players however have themselves to blame for this state of affairs by appointing agents who have routinely created monsters from young talented boys who go on to holding clubs to ransom, threatening Bosman escapes, sulky strikes or whatever it takes to get what they want. The more arseholes clubs see, the less they fancy committing to a contract for another potential nightmare ego, and they take the soft option, as City tend to do, of trying before you buy. Nine times out of ten it doesn''t pan out because either the player is every bit as much of an arsehole as the rest, or is disillusioned even before he walks in the door, hating the lifestyle of a short-term traveller, and will probably consider he''s doing the club a favour by being there and will only put in the effort he deems neccesary, which won''t usually tally with the supporters, and the loan fails.

Add in the factor that thanks to the travelling rule for youth academies, small clubs who made the most of their youth systems like Norwich and Crewe have been completely shafted at the expense of Premiership clubs who now swallow up all the promising youth in the country (and in increasing numbers) and most youngsters are drawn into the role of traveller at young ages anyway. Live in Cambridge? Don''t worry, that''s only a short flight to Manchester airport. Based in Macclesfield? Don''t worry, you won''t have to play for Macc, because you''re in range of Manchester and Birmingham and Villa and Man U are both taking on 100 youngsters this year. And whereas a few years ago it would have been ridiculous to travel these distances twice a week for training and then again for the game at the weekend, don''t worry, because the potential pay rewards are so great that Dad''s willing to risk his job and take time off to drive you. Or if you''re really talented, the big clubs might even send a car for you.

Because of the vast numbers that now go through the big clubs nets, most of the players at Championship level and even a large proportion of those at L1 and 2 will have learnt their trade in a big clubs academy. This means that they will have been brought up to see how to carry themselves as a pro and as a man, by the current crop of Premiership footballers. So what we all end up with are over-privilaged young men who look upon their livelihood as more of a lifestyle choice than a profession. The look is as important as the job itself. Making friends with celebrities, appearing on Footballers Cribs and queing up for your crack at Danielle Lloyd is the day job, and in between that you try and fit in training and the odd game. And when the fans criticise your lack of effort, you sulk and move to another club, and another location where there are a whole new bunch of nightclubs and wannabe Danielle Lloyds desperate to look at the ceiling of a footballers crib for a night. Repeat ad nauseum.

Look back 20 years at someone like Gary Mabbutt, a one-club man, model professional and someone who had to cope with regularly injecting himself with Insulin before matches and training just to get onto the pitch. Could the modern footballer summon up the willpower to conquer such a problem? An everyday life situation for the hundreds of thousands of diabetics out there, but what would happen to Ashley Cole tomorrow if it happened to him? I imagine a barrage of "coping seminars" and three months off on full pay (funded by the fans) to get his head around it followed by a heartwarming hour-long special on Sky where he weeps comforted by Cheryl whilst we all discuss how brave the little soldier is to be even thinking of playing football again. Frank Lampard''s mum dies (not pleasant, but not a totally unusual occurrence for a man in his thirties to have to live through) and shirts with "Pat Lampard RIP" are paraded around Stamford Bridge by his teammates on the day he missed the game due to her death. Admirable team spirit, and I have no complaint about his missing the match but for Gods sake!!! Would it have happened twenty years ago? An outpouring of emotion in a football ground for the passing of someone''s mum who contributed nothing to the game of football except for the fact that thirty years ago she pushed out a boy who is now on the fringes of the England team and who can''t take a penalty in a pressure situation? Of course not. Unthinkable.

Unfortunately, the players, the agents and the clubs have created the modern footballer and we, the fans, have to suffer through him. We have treated our young like little boys and we can''t then expect them to become men. All the young talent is chauffeured into the big clubs, pampered and promised the world, the majority then get kicked out or sent on loan to places that don''t pamper as well, and they look on it as an unwanted setback, an ordeal to get through rather than relish. Bitter and resentful, the lower clubs sieve through them by virtue of loans, prospecting for the odd nugget that contains both a measure of talent and residual integrity from before they got involved with the professional game.

Where have all the good men gone? We''ve let the growing wealth of the game, and in particular the big clubs, emasculate a generation. In the words of the England vice-captain and leader of the Champions of England and Europe, "You''ve been Merked".

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Excellent post Canary 02 III. Very well summarised and required reading for those who manage our game.

When I started following football, youngsters started at the bottom and worked their way up through the system, from smaller club to bigger club if they were good enough. And the smaller clubs were compensated for losing a promising youngster in the form of a transfer fee.

Nowadays, the system is reversed. The big clubs hoover up all the young players and the smaller clubs now have to beg on their knees to loan a kid. And usually have to pay for the privilege. So there is no trickle down of funds from the top to the bottom. In fact the reverse is true.

There are hundreds of examples to choose from, but take a Jimmy Smith from Chelsea who will never break into their first team but will spend his formative years in Chelsea reserves and then be released at some point in the future.

How much better it would be if Smith was actually playing week in and week out for a lower league club, who was interested in nuturing his talents and developing him into not just a good player, but a well-rounded human being as well.

For Jimmy Smith read a thousand of other kids whose talents will be lost due to the system that you describe so well.

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Quality post, The sort that brings me back to this MB; in footballing terms, it''s a Darren Huckerby compared to the usual Andy Hughes!I agree entirely with the sentiments therein. Unfortunately, the situation is only a reflection of society.It will change.

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That is a fantastic post! Well argued, well thought out and punctuated throughout by the sound of nails being firmly hit on the head!

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Excellent post.

Do you feel better now it''s off your chest?

Nothing will alter until Sky stop pouring the indecent amount of money into the pockets of the already rich.

Put them all back onto todays equivalent of £20.00 a week.

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Excellent post.

Do you feel better now it''s off your chest?

Nothing will alter until Sky stop pouring the indecent amount of money into the pockets of the already rich.

Put them all back onto todays equivalent of £20.00 a week.

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Absolutely superb post, couldn''t agree more, but I don''t know how things will change now, unless the money bubble bursts and footballers pay decreases to decent levels. The FA/ Premier League are too spineless/ greedy to do anything in my opinion.

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It''s nothing like a rant - it''s a really interesting and well argued post. Great reading. The terrible thing is, though, that we keep funding it, by paying ridiculous ticket prices (even the season tickets at Carrow Road work out at almost £15 a game, which is an absurd amount to pay to watch a football match), subscribing to Sky, etc. Those who run the game (currently the players, as you say), can keep asking for more and more money, and we keep paying it.

I wish I could say that it will change, but I don''t think it will, even in recession. Really, no one should be renewing their season tickets to watch the shower in front of them, but I already have, and I bet thousands of others have done so too. And so Jamie continues to drive his Bentley and the game continues to spiral into meaninglessness.

Good example of Jimmy Smith. I think Bertrand fits this case well, too. He was nicked by Chelsea from Gillingham. Twenty years ago he would have played for the Gills, then been transferred to a club like Norwich, then made his way to the top of the game, being a proper part of each club along the way. That was Steve Bruce''s career path, for instance. I don''t think it''s done Bertrand any favours to be constantly out on loan - he''s not improved in his time here, possibly because he has nothing invested in the club. If we stay up, if we go down, it doesn''t matter - he''s off back to Chelsea in the summer. And that''s not having a go at him, or even the loans. Many of our permanent players are in the same boat - they know they''ll be playing in the Champs next season, even if Norwich aren''t. Is it any surprise that they seem lacking in desire?

I''m really thankful that I saw a little bit of football before Hillsborough, the Premier League and Sky. It''s not just nostalgia (and City being better) - football was so much better then.

 

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A polished nugget of a post and a summary of exactly what is wrong with the world of football… but seems that much worse in this country than elsewhere!Should be posted on every football forum there is!

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[quote user="Canary02 III"]

In the words of the England vice-captain and leader of the Champions of England and Europe, "You''ve been Merked".

[/quote]Great post, made all the better by the fact that you made me laugh.  Here''s to more Rio''s World Cup Wind-Ups!

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Excellent post - agree with all of this as will most football supporters who can see the bigger picture.I get the feeling though there will be a significant number for whom football did not exist before Sky and the Premiership who have not got a clue what you''re on about.I fear that the end result will be a franchise-based European/World league financed by TV money etc where promotion & relegation have been abolished - i.e. like the American professional sports leagues.  Forget any concept of player loyalty.This is why I get most of my football fix now from watching Lowestoft Town (see other thread about standing at football matches).

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[quote user="Camuldonum"]

Meanwhile, a club Safety Officer has told fans to keep the noise down:

 

 

 

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2009/02/23/boro-fans-react-angrily-to-stay-quiet-order-84229-22989038/

 

[8-|]

[/quote]

 

Haha thats the most ridiculous thing Iv read!! haha most clubs are begging for this kind of support! They deserve an empty terrace for that!

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[quote user="Canary02 III"]Thanks all for some generous comments. I''m now about to watch Rio take on Inter Milan. I feel a Merkin coming on....[/quote]That post looks a bit long and the footy''s coming on... can you sum it up in a word? [:P]

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Spot on and totally agree.I think another example is Weymouth where most of their senior squad are walking off.The problem lies with the TV rights and how unfair they are. One company is allowed to blanket buy all the rights and dictated which games it is to show. You then end up with situations where a lot of games are not televised because they have not chosen to be.Why not make it far simpler - why not have three tiers of priority and have TV companies bid for them. So for example the first choice tier would mean that the winning company could have first choice on a 3rd of the Premiership matches, a 3rd of the championship matches and so on. The second tier would be to pick a further third (or half of the remaining fixtures) from the premiership down, and then the last tier would be for the remaining fixtures.This may sound silly but it would mean each company would have games to televise and that the rights to each league weren''t sold individually and so the money spread more equally.Teams in the premiership really don''t need all of the sky TV money and is one of the reasons they have gone money crazy. They have other revenues of money inflow such as sponsership and advertising which would only increase if they were televised more frequently. Not to mention you have the likes of the Champions League and the domestic cups for the rights to be contested as well.At the moment the money is going into one place and then being sent abroad on expencive players who cost tens of millions.

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A very good post Canary02 but at the risk of being a lone voice amongst

those who have praised you there are a few points I disagree with*

[quote user="Canary02 III"] 

The FA and the Premier League need to take a lot of criticism for the part they have played in creating situations like Saturday, where you have a team in dire need of points to fight relegation, and the majority couldn''t summon up the fire and the fight to take the game to the opposition when the game was there for the taking.

[/quote]I''m sorry but I just don''t think that the blame for Saturdays result can be placed with anyone other than the manager and the players. There are teams out there who can perform on a regular basis and who have a manager who can control the various egos within that team. Swansea are a perfect example. I read somewhere after the first FA Cup match with Fulham that their team for that match cost a fraction over £500,000. It''s possible to succeed in this division without spending billions provided you bring in the right manager and players. Blaming the system as a whole, although I''m not a huge fan of The Premiership and the ''Big Four'', is a cop out in my opinion. [quote user="Canary02 III"]

The more arseholes clubs see, the less they fancy committing to a contract for another potential nightmare ego, and they take the soft option, as City tend to do, of trying before you buy. Nine times out of ten it doesn''t pan out because either the player is every bit as much of an arsehole as the rest, or is disillusioned even before he walks in the door, hating the lifestyle of a short-term traveller, and will probably consider he''s doing the club a favour by being there and will only put in the effort he deems neccesary, which won''t usually tally with the supporters, and the loan fails.

[/quote]There are two things I disagree with here. Firstly, City have very rarely brought in players on loan who we have had any intention of trying to buy. Secondly, we''ve done the whole '' loan players don''t try as hard'' argument many times before. I''ve produced some fairly lengthy posts on this matter before, I can''t be bothered to go over it again in any great detail, and I still maintain that supporters use ''a lack of effort/commitment'' or ''not wanting it enough'' when they can''t understand the poor performance of a team/player[quote user="Canary02 III"]

Unfortunately, the players, the agents and the clubs have created the modern footballer and we, the fans, have to suffer through him.

[/quote]I find it interesting that you can blame the players, agents and clubs but seem to absolve the fans of any blame. Who signs up to the ''exclusive'' websites? Who buys the autobiographies of twenty year olds? Who buys all four replica shirts with the name of a disloyal millionaire on the back of them? Who buys The Sun/Mirror/Star/Sky Sports/Setanta? Who nod their collective heads when the media blow smoke up the arse of some twenty year old with only ten first team games?The fans could stop this if they wanted to but it seems that most are quite happy with things as they are.* Sorry but someone has to play devils avocado [;)]

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[quote user="Evil Monkey"][quote user="Canary02 III"]Thanks all for some generous comments. I''m now about to watch Rio take on Inter Milan. I feel a Merkin coming on....[/quote]
That post looks a bit long and the footy''s coming on... can you sum it up in a word? [:P]
[/quote]

We''ref*ckeduntilwegetabillionairesugardaddyormummyandhencechangesidesthroughbecomingarichclub.

OTBC

 

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No probs Shack, some good counterpoints.

As to the first one, I''m not blaming the FA or Premier League for our loss, but for their part in producing a generation of disinterested players. What was frustrating for me was for us to approach the last ten minutes of a "must-win" game and put absolutely no pressure on the opposition, and it wasn''t down to Burnley playing well and dominating possession, it was because we didn''t have it in us. And once I''d got home after the match and calmed down and the cat had recovered from its kicking, I reflected upon how many games seem to peter out that way these days, and not just Norwich''s. At the risk of sounding like an old fart at the age of 32, I remember a time when unless a team was at least two goals down, whatever the match, the last ten minutes would invariably be a ding-dong affair with both teams throwing the kitchen sink at each other. This still happens, but on far fewer occasions. This dull acceptance of potential defeat is a sea-change in attitude, and something I think is a generational trend. Swansea are a team doing extremely well, and I agree that it''s still possible for small teams to climb the mountain, but look at their team and tell me how many of the players suffered the experience of a Premiership Academy? Spanish players, Scotland who earned his career the hard way, players like Gower and Tate who came from the lower leagues and have developed. Only Brittain (West Ham academy reject), Monk (Southampton pro and serial loanee) and Dyer (bad lad trying to change) have come from the system I describe. Whilst the work of Martinez and Jackett before him can''t be underestimated in putting together such a squad, the fact that they have so few players to have come through the Premiership Academy graveyard illustrates my point well I think.

Your second point is more difficult. I agree with the first part, fair point. As to the second, I don''t decry all loans, and it does still depend on the individual and his attitude. However, whilst a mature professional might be a good loan signing, the ones that we tend to get (young, Premiership academy graduates struggling to break through massive squads), are of the generation I describe that are nurtured by the Rio''s and Cashley''s of the world, which I genuinely believe on the whole, have far less capability of taking a game by the scruff of the neck or forcing a result from a difficult position. Obviously the blame equally lies with the clubs and managers who fall over themselves to sign these players.

And as to the third, I have to concede that one whole-heartedly, and I am as guilty as anyone (with the exception of buying the autobiographies which would actually cause me physical pain to do!), but I have the shirt, I have the season ticket and I am a part of the whole shebang with no real intention of ever withholding my participation or funds.

 

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