So now that Spain has won the world cup and the new season is around the corner..

LuckyLloyd

flahavaj wrote: »

Its too easy to say "everyone does it" about diving and play acting. Thats the kind of attitude that has let play acting seep into the culture of football to the extent that people rarley cry foul anymore. Kids are now doing it. Even some of the c*nts that play in my astroturf league are crying to the ref every time they're tackled for Christs' sake.

I don't care who does it - whether its Gerrard, Rooney, Busquets or John f*cking Mullane in the Munster Final - its wrong and it drives me mad and it tarnishes any great things these guys go on to do in the future.

I also object to this idea that just because a team doesn't play attractive football they must be cloggers who kick teams off the pitch. I see the OP mentioning Hull - are they really a dirty team? And Bolton under Coyle haven't been in any way dirty as far as i have seen. Blackburn had a bit of a reputation a while back but again I've seen nothing from them to suggest they're any worse than anyone else. Given that player are booked for pretty much any contact these days, it strikes me that a PL team that decides to kick teams off the pitch would fail pretty epically.

Playing direct or long ball football does not necessarily equate to dirty and cynical play. I'm beginning to get very amused by a certain sector of soccer fans who in their single minded belief in a particular style of football are actually showing themselves to be incredibly narrow minded to any other style and its effectiveness.

Solid.

eagle eye

This Arsenal snobbery thing really annoys me.

They are the biggest moaners on and off the pitch. Its all smiles and oohs and aahs when they are winning but as soon as things don't go their way they get cynical, malicious and above all they start moaning. Of course you can't blame the players as most of them have been there since they were kids and they have watched Arsene Wenger do this for years.

I am a Blackburn Rovers supporter. We have been hockeyed by Arsenal on many occasions. We beat them last season and Wenger goes nuts almost spitting blood and moaning about the referee. The real reason we beat them is because we identified that their goalkeeper is weak in the air and doesn't like players around him when he is facing a corner. We didn't kick lumps out of them either.

And when we were at Highbury we went at them but you won't hear them talking about that, nor will you hear them talk about the blatant trip on David Dunn in the penalty box at Highbury which went unpunished. That would have gotten the game to 3-3 with a converted penalty and who knows what would have happened from there, but the penalty wasn't given we continued to chase the game and got hammered 6-2. You don't hear the Arsenal fans moaning about that game though.

And just to add, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all play wonderful football too. You don't hear the moaning when they lose though, well apart from Chelsea in the CL but they had good reason on that occasion in fairness.

Ush1

This old chestnut.

If you think foreigners have this culture of diving, you're wrong, as it's everywhere.

And if you hate it and like to see players who do it fail, I'd assume you would think the same of Roy Keane, or any other of the "hard men" that simply don't follow the rules.

Which do you prefer, diving or a kicking contest? To me, both ****e.

tolosenc

Ush1 wrote: »

Which do you prefer, diving or a kicking contest? To me, both ****e.

Both undesirable, but a kicking contest would be better. It's blatant, not trying to deceive the ref, not cheating. A bad tackle and you're booked.

Pauleta

tolosenc wrote: »

Both undesirable, but a kicking contest would be better. It's blatant, not trying to deceive the ref, not cheating. A bad tackle and you're booked.

Thats a bizarre logic. Nobody gets hurt from diving etc whilst when teams go out to blatantly kick teams we end up with stuff like what Shawcross did to Ramsey. I would rather see a few dives during a games than a broken leg.

tolosenc

Pauleta wrote: »

Thats a bizarre logic. Nobody gets hurt from diving etc whilst when teams go out to blatantly kick teams we end up with stuff like what Shawcross did to Ramsey. I would rather see a few dives during a games than a broken leg.

Perfectly fair challenges result in injuries too. Football, for the time being, is a contact sport, tackles will go in. It's not about who gets hurt.

As it stands in football:
Bad takcle = card
Dive = World Cup winners medal.

That is wrong.

greendom

eagle eye wrote: »

And just to add, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all play wonderful football too. You don't hear the moaning when they lose though, well apart from Chelsea in the CL but they had good reason on that occasion in fairness.

Yeah right, Fergie's not one to have a moan at refs after a defeat is he?

OPENROAD

Think people are missing what the OP was getting at, it was more the media coverage and how a team like Arsenal who are accused of not liking it up them, yet the very same media went on about anti football during the world cup and in particular the final.

monkey9

What the Netherlands were at in the World Cup Final wasn't football, it was just blatent violence. It was exceptional.

There is a big difference between the Netherlands and teams in the Premiership getting stuck into Arsenal. I'm sick of all these Arsenal fans moaning about this like they have faced anything like the Dutch were dishing out against Spain.

LuckyLloyd is right. It's all about winning. Teams know that if you get stuck into Arsenal, they won't fight back. They'll just stand around moaning and whining etc. Arsenal and their fans really do have to man up.

Liverpool had it last season at home to Blackburn. Allardyce's tactics was just to kick Liverpool off the pitch, it was a joke and a disgrace of a performance from Rovers. But Liverpool stood up to them and won. That's what it's all about.

greendom

monkey9 wrote: »

What the Netherlands were at in the World Cup Final wasn't football, it was just blatent violence. It was exceptional.

There is a big difference between the Netherlands and teams in the Premiership getting stuck into Arsenal. I'm sick of all these Arsenal fans moaning about this like they have faced anything like the Dutch were dishing out against Spain.

LuckyLloyd is right. It's all about winning. Teams know that if you get stuck into Arsenal, they won't fight back. They'll just stand around moaning and whining etc. Arsenal and their fans really do have to man up.

Liverpool had it last season at home to Blackburn. Allardyce's tactics was just to kick Liverpool off the pitch, it was a joke and a disgrace of a performance from Rovers. But Liverpool stood up to them and won. That's what it's all about.

Have you got any evidence to support this "Stand about moaning and whining etc" or are you just stereo-typing ?

Pepe LeFrits

The results don't back him up nor do the number of injuries Arsenal suffer either.

missingtime

To be honest I haven't seen many EPL teams play the way Netherlands played at the world cup final.

greendom

missingtime wrote: »

To be honest I haven't seen many EPL teams play the way Netherlands played at the world cup final.

Let's hope they don't start now

Ush1

tolosenc wrote: »

Both undesirable, but a kicking contest would be better. It's blatant, not trying to deceive the ref, not cheating. A bad tackle and you're booked.

Well actually no it often isn't. Kicking isn't some noble art, it's as distastful as diving. Deliberately trying to injure someone on a football field isn't always blatant either, look at Van Bommel. It is cheating, it's breaking the rules and trying to not get punished.

If you wanna break someones leg, have a proper fight with them, not a cowardly challenge that is set out to injure them in the guise of a "hard tackle".