What's your unpopular football opinion?

Arghus

spiralism wrote: »

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

And as we all know, he was right about everything!

Capajoma

I'm honestly shocked that there are people against video technology.

blinding

digzy wrote: »

James Mc carthy is completely overrated

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

A poor man's Toni Kroos would still be a very good player........

Omackeral

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I like Brian Kerr

The man should be Taoiseach.

lawred2

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.

It could be said that there is nothing to differentiate any football fan from anther regardless of who they support.. Not sure why you focus on those two clubs.

lawred2

UnleashTheBeast wrote: »

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

Good time Charlies looking for the next piss up

BBDBB

Sky have ruined football, they've over paid for it, so have funded the overpaid prima donnas who spoil the game with their diving, histrionics and fake injuries, whilst having to sensationalise every little detail of even the most mundane of fixtures

AndyBoBandy

Not so much an opinion, but rather an idea for pre tournament frendlies.

And I guess it's unpopular as it's not happened yet.

There's a decent chance of being involved in a penalty shootout in any tournament (in 6 tournaments, Ireland have been involved in 2 shootouts, 1990 was great but the less said about 2002 the better).

You can practice penalties til the cow comes home but no practice will prepare you for that moment when it really matters.

How about when playing a pre tournament frendly (or any friendly game for that matter), regardless of the final score, have a penalty shootout at full time? (Obviously both teams would have to agree to it)

Your taking penalties with the stadium most likely full, with a little more pressure on the takers/keepers etc... due to fans/cheers/whistles

Your also guaranteeing the stadium will most likely still be full at full time for the shootout.

If the game ends up being shîte, there's still something to look forward to at the end.

If, like our recent defeat to Iceland, the game is quite boring/less interesting for home fans, they get to look forward to the shootout at the end.

Great experience for the players taking penalties in a bit of atmosphere, with everyone watching them.

Omackeral

lawred2 wrote: »

It could be said that there is nothing to differentiate any football fan from anther regardless of who they support.. Not sure why you focus on those two clubs.

Because they're the biggest supported clubs in this country and go on as if they're total opposites. They're not.


For reference, plenty of differences between fans of clubs. Celtic vs Rangers (Religious divide), Athletico Madrid vs Real Madrid (Class divide), Cardiff vs Brighton (Wales vs England), Newcastle vs Southampton (Northerners vs Southerners) or here at home any Dublin Club vs any provincial club you have Jackeen vs Culchie. Even within cities you'll have local divides such as Northside vs Southside.

Chancer3001

Mine is that clubs really don't care at all about women's football and only have times to say , oh look at how pc we are. It's almost a points scoring thing.

My other controversial view is that if I got 11 lads who play soccer from around where I live, we'd beat the best women's team of all time. (I'm not gonna get into an argument, just sharing my opinion )

Omackeral

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Mine is that clubs really don't care at all about women's football and only have times to say , oh look at how pc we are. It's almost a points scoring thing.

My other controversial view is that if I got 11 lads who play soccer from around where I live, we'd beat the best women's team of all time. (I'm not gonna get into an argument, just sharing my opinion )

EEEEEK! Although didn't an Under 16's National boys team beat a Women's National team somewhere in an experimental game?

EDIT: It was the US Under 17's vs US Women. Boys won 8-2!

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/uswnt-vs-u-17-usmnt.1939180/

lawred2

Omackeral wrote: »

Because they're the biggest supported clubs in this country and go on as if they're total opposites. They're not.


For reference, plenty of differences between fans of clubs. Celtic vs Rangers (Religious divide), Athletico Madrid vs Real Madrid (Class divide), Cardiff vs Brighton (Wales vs England), Newcastle vs Southampton (Northerners vs Southerners) or here at home any Dublin Club vs any provincial club you have Jackeen vs Culchie. Even within cities you'll have local divides such as Northside vs Southside.

Was being specific about Irish football fans who support English clubs.

NIMAN

blinding wrote: »

A poor man's Toni Kroos would still be a very good player........

You watch El Clasico last night?;)

Turned his back on 2 goals like an Under 8 player afraid to get hit with the ball.

Oat23

Omackeral wrote: »

EEEEEK! Although didn't an Under 16's National boys team beat a Women's National team somewhere in an experimental game?

EDIT: It was the US Under 17's vs US Women. Boys won 8-2!

http://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/uswnt-vs-u-17-usmnt.1939180/

The FC Dallas U15 side beat the USWNT 5-2 the other week also.

http://usatodayhss.com/2017/the-fc-dallas-u-15-academy-team-beat-the-u-s-women-s-national-team-5-2

Omackeral

lawred2 wrote: »

Was being specific about Irish football fans who support English clubs.

Look at the very first reply in the thread.

galwaylad14

Anyone that thinks Irish Liverpool fans or Irish arsenal fans or Irish united fans are any different to each other would genuinely want to be sectioned. Of course they're not any different, for the simple reason that every Irish fan of these clubs has CHOSEN to follow the club, and usually it's for a fairly random reason or because their friend supports them or something. So of course they aren't any different to each other.

An Irish United fan could easily be a Liverpool fan if Liverpool had been top of the league at the time they started supporting United or if fowler and not cantona had scored a hat trick that week etc.

The reason local Liverpool and United fans might be different (and they probably aren't very different really) is because they're raised in different cities and they've been born into the support of that club, it wouldn't just be a random choice to them.

eagle eye

I've no interest in watching El Classico anymore, it just seems like a farce to me. It's almost always going to be one or other of them winning the league anyways so why does it even matter to the average fan that much? It's like Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, yes I know the standard of football is higher but it's the same thing in that it's either one or the other will be Champion and what does it really matter to anybody which one wins it. They are both going to be seeded in the Champion's league the next season anyways and it's going to be another boring season again with one or other winning the league again.

I'm going the same way with the Champion's league too. Every year you see Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in contention for the title. Those three teams have won the last four finals between them and at least one of them has contested the last eight finals.

The other teams left in it this year are Juventus who lost in the final the year before last and Atletico have lost it either side of Juventus. So it's another two perennial contenders there and then Monaco who are a breath of fresh air this year. I'd love to see Monaco win it just for a change. I don't think Juve or Atletico winning it is much of a change really.

blinding

Football matches are too long....

Two 40 minute halves with injury time is plenty to see who is the best team....

Dirty Dingus McGee

eagle eye wrote: »

I've no interest in watching El Classico anymore, it just seems like a farce to me. It's almost always going to be one or other of them winning the league anyways so why does it even matter to the average fan that much? It's like Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, yes I know the standard of football is higher but it's the same thing in that it's either one or the other will be Champion and what does it really matter to anybody which one wins it. They are both going to be seeded in the Champion's league the next season anyways and it's going to be another boring season again with one or other winning the league again.

I'm going the same way with the Champion's league too. Every year you see Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in contention for the title. Those three teams have won the last four finals between them and at least one of them has contested the last eight finals.

The other teams left in it this year are Juventus who lost in the final the year before last and Atletico have lost it either side of Juventus. So it's another two perennial contenders there and then Monaco who are a breath of fresh air this year. I'd love to see Monaco win it just for a change. I don't think Juve or Atletico winning it is much of a change really.

Maybe these teams shouldn't try so hard and let weaker teams win.

lawred2

eagle eye wrote: »

I've no interest in watching El Classico anymore, it just seems like a farce to me. It's almost always going to be one or other of them winning the league anyways so why does it even matter to the average fan that much? It's like Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, yes I know the standard of football is higher but it's the same thing in that it's either one or the other will be Champion and what does it really matter to anybody which one wins it. They are both going to be seeded in the Champion's league the next season anyways and it's going to be another boring season again with one or other winning the league again.

I'm going the same way with the Champion's league too. Every year you see Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in contention for the title. Those three teams have won the last four finals between them and at least one of them has contested the last eight finals.

The other teams left in it this year are Juventus who lost in the final the year before last and Atletico have lost it either side of Juventus. So it's another two perennial contenders there and then Monaco who are a breath of fresh air this year. I'd love to see Monaco win it just for a change. I don't think Juve or Atletico winning it is much of a change really.

I seem to remember pretty much all the same clubs being at top of the game 30/40 years ago.

So what's new? Why develop a dislike for it now?

enda1

Performance enhancing drug use is absolutely rife in soccer.

Referee corruption is also off the charts.

circadian

Sky ruined football.

Sappy404

Players should dive if they've been fouled. Staying on your feet can cost you as referees don't give the decisions unless you're on the ground. See Sterling vs Spurs, Coutinho vs Palace as examples.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I admire to complete and utter ruthlessness of Real Madrids fans and in how the club is run.

The fans pay big money to watch them so why shouldn't they get pissed off when the star players don't produce and why shouldn't the leadership expect instant results when they have so many top class players for the management to work with.it's the reason the have been constantly successful with no extended fallow periods as opposed to most other European clubs.

They constantly get accused of lacking class but they are the biggest and most successful club so what they do is clearly working well.I'd rather be ruthless and win than show class and lose.

Libadour

If you don't follow your local team you don't really like football.
The Premiership is overrated.
I blame Jack Charlton for introducing the GAA/long ball/bandwagon population to football.
JC's era stunted the development of Irish football.

Domestic cup compentitions are just as exciting as they ever were
And teams do care about winning them
Being a winning team is about winning trophies, you don't get a trophy for top 4

mirwillbeback

That boycotting the Sun is a pointless exercise, considering that Sky is owned by same owner and most fans have no problem paying subscription to watch it.

I also think that the Heysel tragedy is to a degree airbrushed from history, deserves to be remembered as much as Hillsborough, both were truly tragic events, no life should be lost at a football match.

digzy

NIMAN wrote: »

You watch El Clasico last night?;)

Turned his back on 2 goals like an Under 8 player afraid to get hit with the ball.

I still don't know what kroos does. He's neither a defensive midfielder like Casemiro-who's a foul machine, nor is he a modric who can pick a pass.
He's James Mc carthy!

Skylinehead

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I like Brian Kerr

This is unpopular?

Royale with Cheese

Skylinehead wrote: »

This is unpopular?

Maybe less so now, have heard people moaning about him in the past, possibly just because of his accent. I find him very knowledgeable and speaks with a genuine enthusiasm for the game.

Skylinehead

He's a lovely man.

ERG89

There should be no more than 20 minutes played for extra time if it's required at all.
Saying "he's not that type of player" is a bullsh!t excuse I hate to hear.
The Euros were 10x worse with the extra 8 teams, it just exposed how few quality international sides there are left.

Libadour wrote:

JC's era stunted the development of Irish football.

When you look at the players he had compared to our squad now it's embarrassing the way we played. Worked against sides not used to it but when it failed it died slowly on its arse.

eagle eye

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

eagle eye wrote: »

I've no interest in watching El Classico anymore, it just seems like a farce to me. It's almost always going to be one or other of them winning the league anyways so why does it even matter to the average fan that much? It's like Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, yes I know the standard of football is higher but it's the same thing in that it's either one or the other will be Champion and what does it really matter to anybody which one wins it. They are both going to be seeded in the Champion's league the next season anyways and it's going to be another boring season again with one or other winning the league again.

I'm going the same way with the Champion's league too. Every year you see Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in contention for the title. Those three teams have won the last four finals between them and at least one of them has contested the last eight finals.

The other teams left in it this year are Juventus who lost in the final the year before last and Atletico have lost it either side of Juventus. So it's another two perennial contenders there and then Monaco who are a breath of fresh air this year. I'd love to see Monaco win it just for a change. I don't think Juve or Atletico winning it is much of a change really.

Maybe these teams shouldn't try so hard and let weaker teams win.

A better solution would be a salary cap so they can't hoover up all the best players and have to rely more on developing their youth players.

I think the whole game would improve if that happened.

astrofool

eagle eye wrote: »

I've no interest in watching El Classico anymore, it just seems like a farce to me. It's almost always going to be one or other of them winning the league anyways so why does it even matter to the average fan that much? It's like Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, yes I know the standard of football is higher but it's the same thing in that it's either one or the other will be Champion and what does it really matter to anybody which one wins it. They are both going to be seeded in the Champion's league the next season anyways and it's going to be another boring season again with one or other winning the league again.

I'm going the same way with the Champion's league too. Every year you see Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona in contention for the title. Those three teams have won the last four finals between them and at least one of them has contested the last eight finals.

The other teams left in it this year are Juventus who lost in the final the year before last and Atletico have lost it either side of Juventus. So it's another two perennial contenders there and then Monaco who are a breath of fresh air this year. I'd love to see Monaco win it just for a change. I don't think Juve or Atletico winning it is much of a change really.

The extra money in the English league is the main reason English teams have been less successful in Europe, mostly as the overall standard in the league is higher, leaving less time to recuperate for the European games.

Man U have a massive squad this season and will barely limp over the line with a fit first 11 due to 3 cup competitions and a 20 team league.

lawred2

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Maybe less so now, have heard people moaning about him in the past, possibly just because of his accent. I find him very knowledgeable and speaks with a genuine enthusiasm for the game.

I've genuinely never head anyone speak ill of Brian Kerr.

Kylo Ren

I hate Brian Kerr.

Royale with Cheese

I'm off to start the Brian Kerr appreciation thread

Mokuba

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

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

Firstly - Do people not understand that this is a cycle that needs to be broken somewhere - and seeing as John d*ckhead Delaney has no interest in breaking it, that people need to step up?

LOI is "****e" -> People don't go because they think standard is poor -> Attendances and thus gate is low -> Club doesn't have money to grow, invest and improve -> Standard cannot improve -> LOI is "sh*te".

Secondly - The Irish national team is made up of many players who have played in the League of Ireland - Hoolahan, Coleman, Meyler, McClean, Long, Murphy, Ward, Horgan, Quinn, Boyle.

This list is only going to grow as the years go on. Irish youngsters now have to compete with talent from all over the globe at underage level at English clubs. It's not like the 80's/90's when we were mainly just competing with the English/Scottish/Welsh. As a result of this we will see fewer Irish players successfully come through the ranks to first team level. The League of Ireland is now our best hope of developing Irish players. The likes of Seani Maguire are playing every Friday on our shores for €10-15, it'll cost you 20/30 times that to see him when he is in the Premier League.

Thirdly - Is the standard really as bad as people make out when Dundalk are so competitive in Europe? Cork City were knocked out of the Europa League by eventual Quarter Finalists. There seems to be a stigma/mentality which still exists but is no longer really true anymore.

- I understand that people enjoy the Premier League. It's only natural. Bigger, better, more coverage, more money, novelty of the day out, atmosphere, stadium etc. I have a Season Ticket for a Premier League club. I also have a ST to a LOI club. I think I speak with experience when I say that you could have a ST to a LOI club for the price of 1 PL game, when transport/ticket/food/drink/internal transport/hotel potentially? is factored in. Don't even get me started on the Euros and the amount we had over there.

It's on your doorstep. People are crying out for new fans. The next Irish superstar is out there every Friday night to half empty stadiums. If one person reads this and gives it a shot it was worth the 10-15 minutes it took to write.

Dirty Dingus McGee

eagle eye wrote: »

A better solution would be a salary cap so they can't hoover up all the best players and have to rely more on developing their youth players.

I think the whole game would improve if that happened.

It would.Unfortunately it probably can't happen as no country will introduce a salary cap as it would disadvantage them in Europe and if UEFA proposed a pan European salary cap and denied entry to their competitions if you didn't comply the bigger clubs would kick up and the whole European super league talk would start again.

Long term I'd say we might eventually end up with a European super league with a salary cap which in some ways would be great for the game but in a lot of ways would be absolutely terrible for the game.

Dirty Dingus McGee

astrofool wrote: »

The extra money in the English league is the main reason English teams have been less successful in Europe, mostly as the overall standard in the league is higher, leaving less time to recuperate for the European games.

Man U have a massive squad this season and will barely limp over the line with a fit first 11 due to 3 cup competitions and a 20 team league.

The reason the teams aren't successful is because they just aren't close to being as good as they were in the 2005-2010/11 period.No other reason for it other than that.The league was equally competitive back then and it didn't hold back the English teams.

bucketybuck

N'Golo Kante is a very good and effective player, but the gushing praise he receives from every quarter far outweighs his actual performances.

Player of the year? He isn't even his clubs most important player.

MarkY91

I agree about people posting on boards during the game. I mentioned it on the Liverpool thread about 2 years ago and I got bombarded with said non match watching people with sarcastic replies saying I an the best fan etc.

Watch the game ffs!!

Andersonisgod

Mine is that people care too much about winning and about trophies. You draw a game? Trouble. You lose a game? Crisis. You're out of a competition? Armageddon. For the top clubs of course it's important to win but having a joy in seeong your team play should always be the most important thing, otherwise what's the point?

The Talking Bread

Alex Ferguson is part blame for United suffering post his departure.

I don't think this is thatmuch of an unpopular anymore though , albeit. In fact Moyes had an alright season that year, taking everything into account, the pressure, players at his disposal etc, but still needed to go.

Yes, Ferguson won the league that year but the squad that David Moyes inherited was nowhere near good enough going forward. They were champions by 11 points in the previous season, sure, but against one of the weakest field of competitors in the past, and a field that was only going to improve in the next season, everyone knew.
The squad was ageing and a lot of them also rather average players who only a manager like Ferguson could get the best out of, but more importantly there wasn't a batch of players coming through strong enough to be serious competition, whether through youth development or through previous seasons' investment.

Like Milan in late 2000s, United seemed to assume that certain players would simply keep going forever, and never bothered to move them on before it was too late, nor sign replacements to eventually take their places. They also had great luck, generally speaking, with injuries in 2012/2013.

Ferguson's fault, along with the Board of course and whilst Moyes simply wasn't good enough, remember it was Ferguson that picked him and decided against Mourinho.

He also let some players depart, one of whom we had to pay a pretty penny for in the Summer, and of course there were underlying issues regarding Raiola's manipulation of Pogba to make him decide to move, Ferguson didn't do aanywhere near enough to convince him to stay it seems.

AdamD

I love Messi but if Ronaldo held his jersey out to the Barcelona crowd like Messi did last night people would be calling for his head.

JamboMac

I suppose my one is, Kante ain't that great and after him winning award yesterday i'm sure everybody will wonder why i say such a thing. But it's very easy to take him out of the game if you play smart, just look what united did.

Mr.Nice Guy

Trap gets a raw deal. He came in at a time when Ireland had been in the international wilderness, then turned us into a difficult side to beat that reached our first international tournament since '02 (and it might have been our first World Cup too had it not been for the Henry handball incident).

Yes, the Euros were a massive disappointment, but that was a bloody tough group that contained the two eventual finalists, and a very good Croatia side.

I think he did well for us.

Guy:Incognito

blinding wrote: »

A poor man's Toni Kroos would still be a very good player........

Depends on how poor this poor man is

Mokuba

JamboMac wrote: »

I suppose my one is, Kante ain't that great and after him winning award yesterday i'm sure everybody will wonder why i say such a thing. But it's very easy to take him out of the game if you play smart, just look what united did.

I mean, Fellaini was fairly key to that - not every team has a tree that can take a ball out of the sky comfortably in midfield and lay it off.

JamboMac

Mokuba wrote: »

I mean, Fellaini was fairly key to that - not every team has a tree that can take a ball out of the sky comfortably in midfield and lay it off.

If you look back to when we played France during the summer, we took him out of the game for most it aswell. He needs people to create space for him to operate and I think more people will make that happen.