Football in General

[Hannibal 0]

I guess to some this might appear like a moan but its really a commentary on my opinion of football at the moment. Growing up and getting old as a football fan its all to often easy to say "It wasn''t like that when i was young" but in truth, Is football better or worse these days? . As i sat watching the game on Monday, in a semi comatose state, it occurred to me is this better than the football in the 80''s or 90''s? and the answer was no there is no soul in football in general anymore.

 

There are things i hate about the game at the moment. I mean its no longer a mans games is it? If anyone jumps with the keeper its a foul, if someone sneezes on a player you get a reaction more a kin to Tom Daley than a grown 13 stone man. Its borderline embarrassing at times watching someone roll around 19 times before a quick bit of spray and he''s right as rain!

 

Only 4 players on Monday had Black boots on, call me old fashioned but what''s wrong with the humble black boot?

 

I hate the nanny state, health and safety, Risk assessments and the "sue me sue you" culture of everything. When i was young if you tripped on a bottle in the path it was your own fault for stepping on the damn thing not the persons who''s land it was.

 

I get that people bring kids with them to football but don''t sit in the Barclay then complain about swearing. I''m not saying kids should sit there just be realistic.

 

I hate the fact our Disabled section is called the ability counts gallery. I find it incredibly patronising.

 

I hate the stewards who shout "Sit down please" Every ten seconds. No one wants another Hillsborough but surely thats why we don''t have a massive fences around the pitches anymore? I could stand at an Oasis Gig with 80''000 people yet if it was a football game its suddenly a health and safety issue! 

 

Why does everything have to be sponsored these days? The shirts ok good money but i mean every player, the match ball, the stands, programmes, the ball boys! We will probably end up playing in the Aviva Arena when then naming rights go up!

 

I loath executive boxes, its segregation for people who think they are upper class and too rich to sit with the common folk. Its a fashion statement saying look at me i am better than you. Football should not need come as a side dish to a meal it should be the main course!

 

I hate that the parking goes up to £5 just because the football is on when its £4.20 all day every other day. Its a rip off!

 

I despise the fact that the pundits on TV about the football league have never done anything in football. Steve Claridge and Leroy Rosenoir you might as well have Zippy, George and Bungle they make about as much sense as those two moronic window lickers!

 

I cant stand the fact that Liverpool and Man Utd are the two most supported teams in Norfolk. I can think of nothing worse than supporting a team owned by some American business men who don''t care about fans just money. Our club might not be able to spend millions on a player anymore but at least i get to see my team in the flesh every other week.

 

Finally I love being a Norwich city fan. I always have i always will. Its the lows the you get supporting a smaller local club that make the highs that much sweeter.

[Jack Barak 46]

[quote user="The Duke"] 

There are things i hate about the game at the moment. I mean its no longer a mans games is it? If anyone jumps with the keeper its a foul, if someone sneezes on a player you get a reaction more a kin to Tom Daley than a grown 13 stone man. Its borderline embarrassing at times watching someone roll around 19 times before a quick bit of spray and he''s right as rain! I agree completely, there should be panel who sit on Monday and look at all of these ''incidents'', if a player behaves like a wally he should be 1) fined, 2) fined again, 3) banned for one match.

 

Only 4 players on Monday had Black boots on, call me old fashioned but what''s wrong with the humble black boot?Again I agree, I don''t know why coloured boots annoy me but they do, especially Beckford''s purple boots.

 

I get that people bring kids with them to football but don''t sit in the Barclay then complain about swearing. I''m not saying kids should sit there just be realistic.

I hate the stewards who shout "Sit down please" Every ten seconds. No one wants another Hillsborough but surely thats why we don''t have a massive fences around the pitches anymore? I could stand at an Oasis Gig with 80''000 people yet if it was a football game its suddenly a health and safety issue! I think properly controlled terraces can work, they do in Germany so whay not here, increased capacity with no extra costs. However, since all seaters came in I think the game in general has improved, some people bemoan family attendance but I think it is a great indictment on the English game, Football is a family event and a family day out. But a choice would be nice.

 

I loath executive boxes, its segregation for people who think they are upper class and too rich to sit with the common folk. Its a fashion statement saying look at me i am better than you. Football should not need come as a side dish to a meal it should be the main course! I don''t agree with you here, why not let companies pay loads of money to bring their punters to the game, it takes up minimal space and allows the club to make some much needed additional revenue. A corporate day is actually really good fun, starts early with a meal and beers and finishes with a Norwich game, what more could you want?

 

I despise the fact that the pundits on TV about the football league have never done anything in football. Steve Claridge and Leroy Rosenoir you might as well have Zippy, George and Bungle they make about as much sense as those two moronic window lickers! COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!!!! The lower leagues get a porr service all round from all of the TV companies, putting Steve Claridge near anything important is just the final insult! The man is a pillock and deserves to be exiled to Channel Five (with Colin Bloody Murray) immediatley!

 

I cant stand the fact that Liverpool and Man Utd are the two most supported teams in Norfolk. I can think of nothing worse than supporting a team owned by some American business men who don''t care about fans just money. Our club might not be able to spend millions on a player anymore but at least i get to see my team in the flesh every other week.I agree, support your local team/the team from your local area during your youth, don''t just pick the popular teams because they get shown a lot. The number of these ''fans'' who give me crap about supporting a third tier team whilst they never ever see ''their team play'' (other than on Sky) just drives me insane! (I''ve been an exile for a while now, but spend a good £700-1,000 a year seeing the city play and I think every penny is well spent!

 

Finally I love being a Norwich city fan. I always have i always will. Its the lows the you get supporting a smaller local club that make the highs that much sweeter.[Y]

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[Canary Jay 0]

Ok, I''ll bite. This post has had a number of views without reply, probably because it''s a just a good ol'' British moan.

Whereas I agree with some of your points, I think you *must* see why football is like it is now and why it *has* to be like this?

Firstly, football IS better to watch nowadays. 100%. You only have to look at an on-form Arsenal to see that the English game has improved tremendously since the injection of overseas players. It is a much more refined spectacle that it was in the 70s and 80s.

Players have technicolour boots because of a) they want to stand out from the other players on the pitch b) they believe that the features of their boots enhances their game (remember when Craig Johnston "introduced" the original Predator and all the fuss that caused?) and c) endorsements from boot suppliers i.e. money.

The rules of the game have changed, yes, it is still a contact sport but the idea is to stop deliberate infringement. You must see the difference between a referee spotting a player deliberating obstructing i.e. "cheating" and a genuine situation between two players going for the same ball? Yes, the keeper does have an invisible shield around him at times from the officials, but that''s their call on if a challenging player has illegally tried to prevent the keeper from doing his job for the sake of it ("was never going to get to the ball") rather than actually attempting to get to the ball first.

As for the idea of parents moaning about their children being subjected to foul language from other supporters, that''s a tricky one. Foul and abusive language is kind of frowned upon in any situation - why should it be dealt with any differently at a football ground? Is there something magical that allows grown men (or women!) to shout curses in ear shot of a youngster, only because they cannot articulate their frustration/vocalise their support withount the use of a swear word? Yes, both the family and football fan''s money are as good as the other''s, but honestly, no-one should have to listen to someone shouting curses at a player who probably couldn''t even hear it - it''s noise pollution for those around them. Barclays or not the Barclays, swearing isn''t pleasant for those not participating in the one-way verball slanging match.

I do agree with you on the naming of the disabled section. That is just the PC police doing their job though. Whereas you find it patronising, I am sure there are others who do find it unpleasant to be referred to as "disabled". There was probably some market research done on this with the aid of the PC police and it probably considered "the right thing to do" to re-brand. Don''t forget, other areas of the ground have been renamed, albeit for marketting reasons.

I think you use the word "hate" too strongly when referring to the stewards who are doing their job. We are instructed to sit not only for safety reasons but one of courtesy. If you have someone that is standing up, it forces the people around to stand so that they can watch the game they paid to watch. You cannot allow people to stand for those reasons. We observe those rules in cinemas, so why is football any different. We''ll probably never return to the days of the terraces. We all have seats for safety reasons and comfort - some fans cannot stand for 90 minutes and would not attend a match if expected to have deal with the swaying that occurs with standing room only events.

Sponsorship = Money. Money not only makes the world go round - but it also funds football. It''s not JUST a sport - it''s a business.

Executive boxes. Ok, I''ll agree to some extent, but if they want to pay the money for a warm box and a meal before the game, let them. It''s their money, that beomes are clubs''. It''s good business, good business equal more money for the club.

Parking = rip off no matter what/where/when. Don''t get me started on that!

I agree with the "pundits" comment to an extent. Anything ITV does with football is generall abysmal. I expected more from BBC but to be fair, Claridge is there because he''s "salt of the earth journey man type chap" but in all honesty, any ex football is going to come on with the same repetitive cliches. I think the Football League show gets a bad rep on the Pink''Un because they generally gloss over us a team, our success and the amount of air-time we get.

Try and look for the positives. Football is still an enjoyable spectacle despite rule changes, multi-coloured boots, our team is doing well, we are almost certainly going up as champions.

Most of the things you identify is related to money, greed and all things nanny state. Unfortunately, this is the way the world is and football is just a tiny part in the grand scheme of things but inherits these things as a necessity.

[Hannibal 0]

I do see where your coming from CJ. Firstly my point with regards to swearing it not that its acceptable near youngers, just a fact of life that certain areas it will occure more than others. I mean after all this is why the club has family areas. I get that football is also a business these days but for me thats one of the reasons its lost its soul. If players were paid a resonable wage most clubs would easily be able to get by on gate recipts and sponcership rather than taking out these massive loans they all have these days. One of the reasons this is dangerous is clubs use loans that are sucured to future season ticket sales meaning if the club dont sell the tickets they can''t pay the loan. If it was looked at as just a sport then clubs would live with in there means. I do agree the facilities these days a much much better, as much as i loved sitting in the old south stand as a boy i much preffer it now. The pitches our groundsmen produce now are right up there with the best, the surface is truely great.I am glad you picked out Arsenal, out of all the teams in the country to look up to i think they are the gold standard. The way they play football is indeed breath taking at times although i think they will get beat by quiet a few tonight. There squad has cost a fraction of the Chelseas and Man Utd''s yet they compete with them due to a good philosophy of the way the game should be played, a good eye for talent and amazing coaches.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Never mind, there''s always the Daily Mail.

[canary cherub 1]

In the past 15 years or so since the advent of the Premier League and Sky, football has become less like a sport than a branch of the entertainment industry.  That''s how the players justify their huge wages - they regard themselves as entertainers in the same way as film stars and pop icons. 

As a sports fans it''s not something I''m particularly keen on, and I don''t feel the same enthusiasm for the game as I used to.  I know a number of people who are similarly disenchanted, who have stopped watching professional football and go to non-league games instead because it''s more like a real sporting experience.