What's your unpopular football opinion?

Omackeral

What's an opinion you hold that somewhat goes against the grain? It can be on anything from players, to rules of the game to media coverage. Maybe you'll find your stance isn't as controversial as you thought. Have at it.

Some of mine would be;

- Sometimes I don't mind if the odd offside goal goes unnoticed, I think it kind of adds to the drama and incorporates the human side of the game into things.

- People who post non stop while their team are playing mustn't be all that gripped or invested in the action.

mosstin

Omackeral wrote: »

What's an opinion you hold that somewhat goes against the grain? It can be on anything from players, to rules of the game to media coverage. Maybe you'll find your stance isn't as controversial as you thought. Have at it.

Some of mine would be;

- Sometimes I don't mind if the odd offside goal goes unnoticed, I think it kind of adds to the drama and incorporates the human side of the game into things.

- People who post non stop while their team are playing mustn't be all that gripped or invested in the action.

This is just going to turn into a Liverpool/United points scoring thing isn't it?

Omackeral

mosstin wrote: »

This is just going to turn into a Liverpool/United points scoring thing isn't it?

Seen as you brought it up in the very first reply, quite possibly.

Relevant unpopular opinion here though, there is no difference between Liverpool and United fans in this country. Fans of them are cut from the same cloth mostly. Even among your own friends and acquaintances. Think about it, they socialise together, come from the same streets and towns and work together in the same office/site/whatever. You even find bothers and sons/fathers who support the other side. There's nothing really that differentiates a Pool fan from a United one.

niallo27

Omackeral wrote: »

Seen as you brought it up in the very first reply, quite possibly.

Relevant unpopular opinion here though, there is no difference between Liverpool and United fans in this country. Fans of them are cut from the same cloth mostly. Even among your own friends and acquaintances. Think about it, they socialise together, come from the same streets and towns and work together in the same office/site/whatever. You even find bothers and sons/fathers who support the other side. There's nothing really that differentiates a Pool fan from a United one.

Of course this isn't we all love football. Has anyone claimed there is a difference.

martingriff

Tony Pulis does a good job

Omackeral

niallo27 wrote: »

Has anyone claimed there is a difference.

Well yes plenty. You'll hear people say ''ah typical United fan'' or ''what else would you expect from a Liverpool fan''. So yeah, plenty of people seem to think there's a difference. I don't subscribe to that, hence I reckon it's an unpopular opinion. Feel free to add your own ones!

Here's another of mine. I dislike the idea that penalty shoot outs are a lottery. Takes a skill to score a penalty. Takes effort to beat a keeper and takes effort for a keeper to make a save. It's pitting skill vs skill.

Benimar

1. I like International football.

2. I don't like the Champions League. It should either be Champions (and holders) only OR a straight knockout with an open draw.

It would be that there is no attraction to watch LOI football

DeanAustin

Omackeral wrote: »

Seen as you brought it up in the very first reply, quite possibly.

Relevant unpopular opinion here though, there is no difference between Liverpool and United fans in this country. Fans of them are cut from the same cloth mostly. Even among your own friends and acquaintances. Think about it, they socialise together, come from the same streets and towns and work together in the same office/site/whatever. You even find bothers and sons/fathers who support the other side. There's nothing really that differentiates a Pool fan from a United one.

Makes me laugh a bit when I see Irish Spurs/Arsenal fans, Liverpool/Everton fans, United/City fans talking about those rivalries like they live in England. The rivalries in those cities is intense because the fans live and work together. You'd be hard pressed to find large numbers of Spurs, City or Everton fans in any town or city in Ireland.

Here, it shouldn't really register so much. As a Spurs fan, I never minded Arsenal because I didn't know many Arsenal fans growing up. I hated (and still hate) Liverpool because all my mates were Liverpool fans and they won everything when I was growing up.

It's just people buying into the marketing in the same cringey way as when I hear Liverpool and United fans refer to each other as Mancs and Scousers.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I don't really care about referee's making mistakes.

It would be preferable they didn't happen and particularly prefer if there isn't blatant bias towards one team but it's a tough job and nobody is perfect.

No mistake is bigger than another as once one mistake happens due to the butterfly affect everything that happens from there on in in a game has been forever altered therefore the mis-awarding of a thrown in or free kick in the first minute of the game can be just as vital as a bad offside decision that cancels out a goal later as without the initial mistake early in the game the situation that arose for the goal to be incorrectly disallowed may not have ever happened.

The English Premier League bores me.

AdamD

There's nothing wrong with asking the referee to yellow card a player. I don't get why people think its a million times worse than asking for a throw in or a peno.

RobbingBandit

Manchester is the land of chocolate, Jebus save me I'll never live that one down.

Jeff Stelling is almost as odious as Merse/Thompson etc. He pushed the buttons with the lads that will yield the nonsensical opinions, and he is also not above using his role to call for someone to lose their job.

blinding

There is not enough scores in football and its boring that their is only one way to score...only goal scoring...no points , conversions , other type of penalty ....

Not much physical confrontation in football anymore.....

Back in the 70s you would get the occasional decent actual fight which was entertaining.....is mankinds onward civilisation all that entertaining from a football point of view.......

Omackeral

AdamD wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with asking the referee to yellow card a player. I don't get why people think its a million times worse than asking for a throw in or a peno.

This is a great example of an unpopular opinion! I'm angered by it but you explained why you feel the way you do so I can kinda see where you're coming from.

Osmosis Jones

Don't know if this is necessarily unpopular but the away goals rule should be done away with. All it does is encourage defensive play from the home team because they're afraid of conceding an away goal.

The Golden Miller

That Ronaldo is over rated

Messi is a criminal.

pablomakaveli

The Premiership is boring and overrated.

The third or fourth placed teams from England, Spain, Germany and Italy should not be playing in the Champions League. After all its not called the Champions and Runners Up League.

Omackeral

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Don't know if this is necessarily unpopular but the away goals rule should be done away with. All it does is encourage defensive play from the home team because they're afraid of conceding an away goal.

What's everyone's opinion on extra time in the 2nd leg? Is 30 more minutes of 'home advantage' really equal to 30 more minutes to score an away goal?

HalloweenJack

blinding wrote: »

There is not enough scores in football and its boring that their is only one way to score...only goal scoring...no points , conversions , other type of penalty ....

Personally, that's one of football's strong points. It is quite possible to go an entire match without conceding. That takes talent, discipline and organisation. I like goals as much as the next football fan but they shouldn't be encouraged at the loss of the less-glamourous part of the game, which isn't valued as much.

Not much physical confrontation in football anymore.....

Back in the 70s you would get the occasional decent actual fight which was entertaining.....is mankinds onward civilisation all that entertaining from a football point of view.......

I'm perfectly happy that there are less physical confrontations than previously. People knocking the snot out of each other belongs in a boxing ring, it's nothing to do with football.

What's everyone's opinion on extra time in the 2nd leg? Is 30 more minutes of 'home advantage' really equal to 30 more minutes to score an away goal?

I used to be in the "extra advantage for home team" camp but thinking about more, I reckon they're both advantageous positions to be in.

Burial.

Pirlo is one of the most overrated players of the last twenty years.

Tom Mann Centuria

Football hooliganism used to liven up otherwise dull games.

callaway92

Burial. wrote: »

Pirlo is one of the most overrated players of the last twenty years.

100% agree with this.

dfx-

There a lot of easy games in the Premier League, just as many as other leagues.

And I'm a firm no on video technology.

doncarlos

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

It would be that there is no attraction to watch LOI football

Unfortunately, that is the popular opinion.

doncarlos

doncarlos wrote: »

Unfortunately, that is the popular opinion.

Probably true.
It should be unpopular though.

Richard Hillman

Society would be much better off without a very large band of football clubs.

alchemist33

There's nothing wrong with playing long balls and any talk about "playing the right way" is bullsh1t. Tactics should be judged on how effective they are. Sometimes direct football will be successful and sometimes good teams will defend it easily, but effectiveness is more important than ideology.

The Golden Miller

Burial. wrote: »

Pirlo is one of the most overrated players of the last twenty years.

He was no Totti

PhlegmyMoses

Earlier on, people were calling Barton naive for not bringing down Martial when United had a clear 3 V 2 counter attack. Those same people will cry blue murder if a player dives.

Unpopular opinion: Diving is on par with taking one for the team as a defender. Both are equal levels of cheating, one just prevents a goal, the other creates one. The people who think that one is worse than the other are not thinking logically.

ERG89

There has never been so few genuine good defenders than there is now.
No league should have more than 18 teams, less games so more rest and less rubbish.
Just cause a player wins a trophy doesn't mean he's great. Plenty of trash won world cups and champions leagues carried by teammates or sitting on their hole.
No league should have 2 domestic cups either.

eh i dunno

Benzema is ordinary and always has been.

Lyle Lanley

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Probably true.
It should be unpopular though.

Absolutely, you couldn't be more wrong. Supporting local is the only way to support football.

Following a team from another country is completely mental.
Video technology will kill the sport.
Club always comes before country.

Anyone who likes Soccer AM and says things like "tekkers" is a moron who should be congratulated for managing to breathe.

Burial.

eh i dunno wrote: »

Benzema is ordinary and always has been.

A goal every two games for Madrid, and 5th highest CL scorer of all time, more than the likes of Henry, Zlatan, Shevchenko, Drogba etc. Can be hot and cold at times but he's undoubtedly one of the most clinical finishers and world class.

The sub bench should be no more than three players.

pablomakaveli

alchemist33 wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with playing long balls and any talk about "playing the right way" is bullsh1t. Tactics should be judged on how effective they are. Sometimes direct football will be successful and sometimes good teams will defend it easily, but effectiveness is more important than ideology.

I completely agree with this one. I remember after the Euro 2004 final, Eamon Dunphy complaining that it was terrible for football that Greece had won playing the way they did etc. The tactics they used had won them the bloody European Championships when no one would have given them a chance in hell of winning it at the beginning.

People go on that its terrible for neutrals to watch but who cares what a neutral thinks. If Ireland won a European Championship playing long ball tactics and parking the bus, not a single Irish person would be complaining (well except Dunphy probably).

764dak

Omackeral wrote: »

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Don't know if this is necessarily unpopular but the away goals rule should be done away with. All it does is encourage defensive play from the home team because they're afraid of conceding an away goal.

What's everyone's opinion on extra time in the 2nd leg? Is 30 more minutes of 'home advantage' really equal to 30 more minutes to score an away goal?

It's easier to score 1 away goal than 2 home goals.  It's also easier to score 2 away goals than 3 home goals.  The away team has the advantage in extra time.

ElTel

Managers should have "Challenges"

It's a concession to goal-line tech which I'll concede.
Tech allowed but it costs the coach.
I think one challenge a half and a third if you get two wins.

ongarite

Big Sam is a great manager for the big games and would be have the perfect fit for English national team.
Pity he f*cked it up and FA had no choice but to give him the boot.

ElTel

ongarite wrote: »

Big Sam is a great manager for the big games and would be have the perfect fit for English national team.
Pity he f*cked it up and FA had no choice but to give him the boot.

Arghus

Sometimes I envy people who don't feel compelled to stay up to date with football. It never stops and what does it all mean anyway!

digzy

James Mc carthy is completely overrated

I don't know what he does....he's a poor mans Toni kroos

Arghus

Kenny Cunningham is a good pundit.

I don't really mind people being casual fans and sometimes wonder about the mental health of hardcore supporters.

Obvious time wasting bothers me more than incorrect referee mistakes.

Cake Man

I'm a Newcastle fan but have absolutely nothing against Sunderland. In fact, I would probably go as far as to say I actually like them in a way and keep an eye out for their results, mainly due to the fact that they always had a few Irish players on their books down the years. They aren't much different to Newcastle - years of disappointment, underachievement and let-downs so we've plenty in common!
I guess it's because I wasn't brought up in the area so don't really "get" the rivalry if that makes sense.


On the point above of not being from the area, I'm a country over club man in that if I was given a choice between seeing Ireland qualify for a World Cup or Newcastle to win a league or FA Cup, I would pick Ireland all day long. It would just mean more to me as I wouldn't get the same rush or heart-in-the-mouth feelings watching Newcastle in a league game than Ireland in a game (friendlies aside of course as they're not worth a sh!te).

Royale with Cheese

I like Brian Kerr

derfderf

If Jonathan Woodgate could have stayed injury free he'd be the highest rated English defender of the Premier League era.

UnleashTheBeast

Irish football fans are heralded by many as great supporters, I don't think they are.

spiralism

Arghus wrote: »

Sometimes I envy people who don't feel compelled to stay up to date with football. It never stops and what does it all mean anyway!

"Of all the unimportant things in the world, football is the most important" - Pope John Paul II