Why I'm finding it harder to love football

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 14,589
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    I grew up with football- my dad ran a saturday team, and when I was old enough I stood on the terraces at my local club, West Ham. As meand my Dad grew older we bought season tickets and saw every game. We took every chance we could to watch football live or on TV, even through the depressing days of hooliganism and mud bath pitches.

    These days I find myself watching less and less, and more improtantly caring less and less. Probably middle age is part of the reason, but there are some key reasons that I think are part of it:

    - Rotation

    When I watched West Ham (or any other club), I could pretty much name the starting eleven every week (I'd like to get rid of squad numbers too!). When they came 3rd in the mid eighties, only 12 players were the core of the team. Players played every game, sometimes (if you played for Liverpool etc) as many as 70 games a season with Europe and Cup Replays. Yes the game was slower but players were also much less fit yet managed to last the course! The key point is that you built up that bond with the team - not the squad.

    - Loyalty

    Another side of the same coin. Players, Managers and Clubs were loyal. Yes players moved around (Bobby Gould for example) but many stayed the majority of their careers at one club, even if they were internatiionals. For example, at West Ham we had Phil Parkes, Alvin Martin, Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds and Frank Lampard Snr all stay for most of their careers, despite the fact thay could have won more elsewhere. Managers were allowed to fail andsurvivewiththe hope of getting it right. John Lyall got us relegated but is now seen as a great manager and coach. Again this continuity helped bond the team to the fans.

    - Over exposure

    I'd hate to go back to the only live game on TV being the FA Cup Final, with highlights of other games. But now football is so overexposed its just something in the background - sometimes less is more.

    Just a few thoughts, and there are other reasons why my love for the game has lessened. What do others think?

    I think one point you missed out on was that some players are vastly overpaid and admittance to grounds is vastly overpriced. They should live in the real world.
  • occasional postoccasional post Posts: 6,351
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    slyfox51 wrote: »
    I think one point you missed out on was that some players are vastly overpaid and admittance to grounds is vastly overpriced. They should live in the real world.

    I'd add to that "accessibility" - when I was younger I actually met some major footballers (Including Trevor Brooking and George Best) just out and about - can you imagine that happening now with Premier league players? Many footballers used to get to the game on the bus!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 9,517
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    I'd add to that "accessibility" - when I was younger I actually met some major footballers (Including Trevor Brooking and George Best) just out and about - can you imagine that happening now with Premier league players? Many footballers used to get to the game on the bus![/QUOTE]

    When I first started work, Tommy Lawton , then in his fifties, would get on the same bus. You could have a word with him about the latest results etc.

    I always liked the story about the England footballers after the 1990 World Cup. Gazza , Gary Linekar and a couple of others had been at a reception in central London and needed to get to some other party or whatever. They couldn't find a taxi, so Gazza decided that they should get on a bus.

    Needless to say Gazza acted the fool and pretended to be a bus inspector , checking everyones tickets, but it must have been quite a sight for the passengers.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,400
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    You can see that the EPL is driving people away, season tickets still for sale at Man Utd, tickets for the West Ham game are sill available, look at the stadia at Wigan , etc on MOTD , was there anybody there? Same at St Andrews , rows of empty seats , i used to travel down all the time when the train fare was afordable & you could afford to get in, i havent been in years , shame but it just a lot of money for not very much.

    The EPl is just over exposed, over priced & becoming just aloof to reality. Its just hyped up to levels that are unreal, the NFL isation of it has been derisory, the clubs just dont seem to care if the stadias are getting less people in them so long as the TV income is coming in.


    The more money thats coming in is , the worse the EPL seemingly gets. Its no better in the lower leagues.

    The transfer fees for players are getting more laughable every season. The wages have just become more akin to monopoly money. But while people keep going & renewing their Sky subscriptions then the longer this sharade will continue. Is it going to take Utd or Liverpool whose fiscal plights have been well documented to fold before somebody gets a grip?

    :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,916
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    I hope they don't start messing around with the FA cup. I like it being the last game of the season.

    However I don't like the semi finals being played in Wembley and should be played in Cardiff as suggested above. The whole point of the FA Cup is a progression, a journey to get to Wembley by beating the best. That is the reward.
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