Do you love football a little less?

Nalz

The beautiful game, is it still beautiful?

Harry Palmr

It's beautiful at Academy level still because it's almost entirely free of cynicism and played with a jumpers for goal-posts freedom. The senior game is mired in money and agents almost to the level that actually winning stuff doesn't matter - any team in the top flight of the big 5 markets is now rich rich rich regardless of how well they do so long as they stay up.

Others stuff that offends are managers who play for a bore draw when they have the ability/firepower not to be so circumspect, officials who are standing jokes at this stage such is their lack of consistency applying the rules and obviously shoddy owners like Mike Ashley - so they'll be one less soon with any luck.

Oat23

I don't know if it's because the first teams have been sh*t but I have preferred following the Sligo Rovers u17s/u19s and the Hamburg u21 side for the past year or two.

Watching adults be paid to be awful at their jobs is getting harder.

secman

I go most Sat mornings to watch my 5 and 1/2 year old grandson in Lucan united's Acadamy and its really enjoyable, great to see the really young kids learn .... keep the faith.... back to basics.

Chancer3001

I love everything a little less these days

Zebra3

Defo watch less of it than I used to.

A mediocre player in England whinging about being on 180 grand a week.

Too many players need a good root up the hole, tbh.

There was definitely a bigger connection between players and fans in the days when all the players wanted was enough money to buy a pub when they retired, and it was fans coming through turnstiles that paid for that. Now there is a complete disconnect. So for my part prefer the League of Ireland. But the game itself is probably more beautiful in that skill is rewarded more these days. And still hard to beat the sheer thrill of seeing Ireland do well, and have seen more of that in recent years with wins v Germany, Italy, Austria, Wales etc. than we saw for a very long time.

Arghus

I don't love it as much as I once did, but I'd like to think I've gained some perspective instead.

Ferris_Bueller

Definitely feel a disconnect with elite level football now, the Premier League is a hype machine with a stupid amount of money involved, will still watch it for entertainment purposes but don't really have a connection with it. The national team and League of Ireland are what I would feel passionate about, although the quality is not great.

osarusan

If LOI could ever be described as beautiful, it is no less beautiful than before.

If anything, Limerick's games and results affect my emotions and mood more than ever.

TBH though, I find myself caring less and less about the fortunes of the national team.

Ol' Donie

The game itself is as good as ever. All the b*llocks that goes with it is tiresome and ultimately makes it harder to watch.

Playing a game of 5 a side is far more enjoyable than watching any match on tv.

CalamariFritti

The game is still as great a game as it ever was but everything around it has changed so much.

Of course there is the obvious attrition, like I'm older now, and naturally I wouldn't be as excited about it as I was when I was a boy. Some guy who might have been my hero when I was 10, today I might be thinking 'that stupid eejit'. But today's boys and girls will still be as excited about their heroes as we were when we were young. So thats still intact I guess.

But the game has been mega commercialised now. Money is totally mad in a way that you can't even relate to it anymore. And there is virtually zero local identification. Your team is now staffed with people from 13 different nations. And all they care about is money and how to get to a bigger club. At the highest level its more or less like the US style franchise type of business and no more. And there is every stupid game on television now. Over saturation I would call it. You just cant be bothered anymore watching all of it or most of it or even some of it. I can only get mildly excited about a few games every year these days.

I still like it but its not what it used to be for me. At all.

Richard Hillman

Made a conscious decision over the summer to reduce the amount of football I watch. It was a great move. In decades to come Marketing gurus will hold football up as the greatest example of marketing and FOMO of all time. Amazing how a sport where the majority of games are bad can become the most popular sport in the world.

Schwiiing

Too many young players too well paid these days.

Case in point: Adnan Januzaj dropping off a cliff after a whopper contract from Moyes owing to 'interest' from Juventus.

CalamariFritti

Schwiiing wrote: »

Too many young players too well paid these days.

Case in point: Adnan Januzaj dropping off a cliff after a whopper contract from Moyes owing to 'interest' from Juventus.

You'll always get these. Had to be loaned to Dortmund and wouldn't make the team for obvious attitude problems. I don't even blame the kid. Its hard at that age not to be blinded by it all.

bucketybuck

Live football is ubiquitous these days, there is no way I could feel the same way about it as I did 20 years ago. I used to adore getting to see the midweek champions league games or the big Sunday match, because they were all that I ever got to see and they were a treat no matter what the quality was like.

Now, I can watch a top level game every single night of the week, just fire up the laptop and start a stream. And I'm bored with it.

There are plenty of other problems and reasons, the tacky billionaire plaything clubs are one, the advantages given to the elite clubs resulting in a lot of the classic big clubs getting left behind is another, but more than anything else the over saturation has diminished my interest almost completely at this stage.

I also have little doubt that any European super league would exacerbate all those factors and finally kill my interest for good.

emo72

Almost wish it would implode and collapse. I can't see where the money is coming from to pay those fees. Watching Liverpool since the 70s and never thought I'd feel this way. It was bad enough when players were on phenomenal money in the 80s and beyond, but now? It's delusional, obscene, disgusting. Don't get me started, the only solution is another revolution. I'm going off on one again am'nt I?

Paz-CCFC

Oat23 wrote: »

I don't know if it's because the first teams have been sh*t but I have preferred following the Sligo Rovers u17s/u19s and the Hamburg u21 side for the past year or two.

Watching adults be paid to be awful at their jobs is getting harder.

Felt similar about City's U19s in 2012 and 2013. I went to much more senior matches, but the underage matches I saw were always enjoyable. It helped that the U19s were winning all around them at the time, winning pretty much all of the underage trophies the first few years that the U19 national league launched. There were always decent crowds as well.

There's a great buzz about seeing good players from early on, that will turn into vital first teamers down the line. Much like watching the likes of Coleman, McClean and Maguire before they broke into the national side.

Liam O

To be honest the reason I support United (bar being a big dirty glory hunter obvs) is because of going to Ireland games as a kid and seeing this absolute beast of a man put a team on his shoulders and lift them to a level above what they were. When Keane left United there was still Rooney and Ronaldo there, who despite obviously not being Irish, still had that ability and passion to always give their all. Since Ronaldo left and Rooney turned out in recent years to not be as good as I still thought him to be, it's just not the same.

I think it is because it is more of a profession now. The world has become more connected and this means that people have become more culturally vanilla and nobody really represents anything these days. Ireland are still a breath of fresh air even though the football can be turgid. Just the feeling that it means something. Finishing in the top 4 in the PL is now seen as an achievement. Games mean less and there is more of a multinational feel to the teams even with regards to the more homegrown players.

It may be more to do with the fact that now the dream of being good at football revolves around making loads of money rather than scoring the winner in a world cup final. Thus a bit of the soul has been ripped from it perhaps. There is a lack of passion and acceptance of level. It's a lot harder for that superhero player to 1. Be at a team that he has to lift to be exceptional and 2. To do it without having 6 or 7 other superhero level players.

Just word vomit towards the end but wasted time on this train journey

Mr.Nice Guy

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns wants to beat his billionaire rival in the company softball league and makes a bet of a million dollars? He then hires a bunch of elite baseball players to help him win the bet. At one point in the episode Smithers asks Burns what he will do with his winnings . His answer: "Oh I dunno, throw it on the pile I suppose."

That's basically the way football has gone. Super clubs owned by sleazy billionaires and oil barons using clubs as their own personal playthings. From this point of view it is difficult to warm to a sport that has become the equivalent of Hollywood, churning out Blockbusters each year, with recognisable stars for the masses to lap up.

If, however, you accept and come to terms with the fact that football at the elite level will never again be a true sport of the people, that you will never for example see a win like that achieved by Celtic in the European Cup of '67 with a team comprised of mainly local lads, and that it is now dominated by millionaires and billionaires - the majority of whom have no concept of how we live our lives, never mind have any interest in it...if you can deal with this, then there's tons of enjoyment and entertainment to be had. The quality of the football on the pitch has never been better, and there are jaw-dropping moments to be had every single week. The amount of money and exposure means it is technically feasible, providing you have the channels and stamina, to sit yourself down on a Saturday morning and watch nothing but football from morning to night. And the quality is exceptional.

Don't fall out of love with the sport because billionaires have it in their clutches. It would be a waste of time. You're living on a planet which is gradually being warmed to dangerous levels despite warnings by scientists that it will lead to disaster, and all because billionaires don't want their profits damaged. A world where a recent study revealed a dramatic loss of insects due to pesticide use - which those billionaires won't ease up on because there's money to be made - and which will likely lead to major damage to the eco system. A world where a recent study showed the levels of microplastics in our bodies are at frightening levels all across the globe, and all because those billionaires took to heed of the warning that reckless plastic pollution would do.

Future generations will curse us for our apathy and ignorance and for allowing all this to happen - and they will be right to do so. But f*ck it, you might as well enjoy a bit of sport before it all goes to hell.

bucketybuck

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

The amount of money and exposure means it is technically feasible, providing you have the channels and stamina, to sit yourself down on a Saturday morning and watch nothing but football from morning to night. And the quality is exceptional.

But to what end? You can easily do that now, but what would be the point?

It doesn't matter what the quality is, its all relative anyway and the act of a ball hitting a mans foot is only aesthetically pleasing to a point, there needs to be some reason beyond "this is a football match and I like football matches".

tastyt

I still love football, its still the beautiful game.

What I dont love is the soul being ripped out of it at the top level. Right now im watching spurs v west ham at Wembley.

Now it could be the etihad, the Emirates, old trafford, st marys, or spurs new ground. All the grounds are turning into the same vast open monsters with the same pitches and absolutely no atmosphere. Its all too sanitised and the pitches are so good now players jerseys and boots are clean after 90 mins.

I also feel too much physicality has been taken out of the game and that too takes away from the atmosphere and enjoyment.

The league of ireland and national team at least have meaning and reminds you od the grass roots and why you love the game in the first place

Oh, and also this bull**** of ruining the world cup by playing it in russia and qatar has also ruined that wonderful tournament for the next few years

The Backwards Man

And though I know all about those men
Still I don't remember
'Cause it was us baby, way before them
And we're still together

Gael85

I prefer to watch LOI or Championship games than Premier League. Great to see players playing and showing some heart for the jersey. Annoys me watching PL teams in the tunnel players hugging each before game and also players laughing/joking after game when there beaten.

Ol' Donie

Ol' Donie wrote: »

The game itself is as good as ever. All the b*llocks that goes with it is tiresome and ultimately makes it harder to watch.

Playing a game of 5 a side is far more enjoyable than watching any match on tv.

Except when you roll your stupid ankle and ate all the frozen peas a few days ago.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Being at a game at any level from schoolboy up is far better than watching any Premiership, International or Champions League game on TV. It's like a different sport altogether

NIMAN

Do I love football a little less?

I love football a lot less than I used to.
And its deteriorating every year.

Fr Tod Umptious

I think it's got everything to do with age.

People say it's not as good now as back in such and such a time.

But that's just because we are getting older and it becomes less important to us.

I see the kids now and they are mad for match atacx, FIFA 18 on PS4 etc, Barcelona jerseys, CR7 boots, etc.
Billionaire players and owners are the norm for them.

Give them 30 years and they will be complaining about the state of the game in 2047.

They will be pining for the days that a team like Lecister City could win the league, just like it was back in the old days.

Someone mentioned the World Cup going to Russia and Qatar, well Argentina was a military dictatorship when they hosted it in '78 so not much had changed in that regard.

NIMAN

Yeah thats true .... sure the Argies even paid off Peru to get themselves to the final.

dfx-

I'm definitely sick of the fantasy football aspect/FIFA computer game and the betting side of things.

I imagine if you were a fan of the usual clubs in Ireland with their recent dry spells in titles, you'd drift away as you get older naturally too. It's a lot harder to be as invested in West Brom away as you used to be if you're going to finish third at best.

johnnyryan89

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Being at a game at any level from schoolboy up is far better than watching any Premiership, International or Champions League game on TV. It's like a different sport altogether

I'd rather watch Limericks u15s than a game on telly and that even includes Ireland games. Any game that I'll watch at home is more or less only turned on as background noise.

riffmongous

I'm not interested in top level football at all anymore, especially premier league, but instead I'll go walk down 10 minutes to my local club every second Friday and have a few beers, sing a few songs and have a great old time.

Tom Mann Centuria

Going to games for me was always about going with my brothers and dad, so the love I had for the game was much, much stronger then. When I moved to Ireland that went, and I realised what I loved was the laugh, the build up, the rows and meeting up with my family, the football was a distant second.

So yeah I love football a bit less, or maybe just realise that I never loved it as much as I thought I did.


(works better if you play the Wonder Years soundtrack in the background)

MD1990

Don't enjoy waching football on tv as much anymore.

I have really enjoyed going to various LOI games this season. Plenty of quality players in the league.

weldoninhio

Football has definitely changed in my lifetime. I'm 35 now and a Celtic fan, but used to love the Prem too. The like of Asprilla, Juninhio, Ginola, Giggs etc. Now football at the highest level seems very formulaic with managers more worried about not losing than winning, with the exception of Man City this year.

But still, plenty of comic relief to be had, especially since Rangers were liquidated. The new iteration seems to be finding new and original ways to shoot itself in the foot on an almost weekly basis. Even taking last night as an example, 1-0 up against the bottom club, they got a 90th minute penalty, while waiting for the peno to be taken they had a man sent off. They then missed the peno, Kilmarnock went up the pitch and got an equaliser. If you saw a storyline like that on Dream Team you'd turn it off for being too silly and unrealistic. Absolutely hilarious. :D:D

patmac

dfx- wrote: »

I'm definitely sick of the fantasy football aspect/FIFA computer game and the betting side of things.

I imagine if you were a fan of the usual clubs in Ireland with their recent dry spells in titles, you'd drift away as you get older naturally too. It's a lot harder to be as invested in West Brom away as you used to be if you're going to finish third at best.

In fairness Fantasy Football is the only reason I watch the game. I fell out of love many years ago and I have been following Utd since 68. Having said that I genuinely thought Utd under Mourinho this year was going to be back to the good old days of exciting attacking football but no.
Watching one of the local sides 18 year olds getting nearly decapitated in a local hurling final, then kicked twice on the ground, get up and score the winning goal shows commitment on a different level.

yourdeadwright

I love the game, I love watching it all levels,
People these days tend to go on about money when there team losses about players not caring any more but Teams and players have always let fans down its part of the thrill of the game,
Put it this way I don't care what an actor get's paid in a movie that entertains me or falls short , So why should I care what a footballer is paid ?
 I do complain about it myself form time to time but that's football you'll always love it when your team win and then hate it when your team is beaten that's the beauty of it,

Nalz

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Put it this way I don't care what an actor get's paid in a movie that entertains me or falls short , So why should I care what a footballer is paid ?

You really don't see the difference here?

yourdeadwright

By the way how strange is it that nearly everyone on this Tread is saying how awful football is now and they hate the Prem  but yet its at it's peak of people watching weekly ?
Most of what people are saying here is the same things our father's said to us and there Fathers to them its nostalgia taking over, 
If your a grow man of course you don't look up to some 22 year old on 100 grand a week in wonder like you did when you where a kid ,  
The kids of today love the sport like we did in the past and todays players will be the guys in 20 30years they take about to there kids and say its not the same as when you had Neymar, Messi ,Ronaldo, Dejan Lovern   its just natural

yourdeadwright

Nalz wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Put it this way I don't care what an actor get's paid in a movie that entertains me or falls short , So why should I care what a footballer is paid ?

You really don't see the difference here?

There is a difference of course but I think every generation the older they get falls out of love a bit with the game, ITs apart of life as a kid you live and breath football and an adult you've a hold lot more in your life its natural not to feel the same, every generation is the same.,
I think blaming money is silly even back in the day there was rich clubs and players who got paid way more than you average man ,

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

By the way how strange is it that nearly everyone on this Tread is saying how awful football is now and they hate the Prem  but yet its at it's peak of people watching weekly ?
Most of what people are saying here is the same things our father's said to us and there Fathers to them its nostalgia taking over, 
If your a grow man of course you don't look up to some 22 year old on 100 grand a week in wonder like you did when you where a kid ,  
The kids of today love the sport like we did in the past and todays players will be the guys in 20 30years they take about to there kids and say its not the same as when you had Neymar, Messi ,Ronaldo, Dejan Lovern   its just natural

Aren't Sky Sports losing viewers in the tens of thousands over the last few years??

citytillidie

weldoninhio wrote: »

Aren't Sky Sports losing viewers in the tens of thousands over the last few years??

That is because of the rise of illegal streaming more than anything else

weldoninhio

citytillidie wrote: »

That is because of the rise of illegal streaming more than anything else

But streaming numbers aren't collated, so for someone to say it is at "it's peak of people watching weekly" I was wondering where he was getting this from

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

citytillidie wrote: »

That is because of the rise of illegal streaming more than anything else

But streaming numbers aren't collated, so for someone to say it is at "it's peak of people watching weekly" I was wondering where he was getting this from

Sky has gone down due to streaming and BT, The attendances are above 13 million a season since 2001/2002 season and still steady  ,Football in the last ten years is a far more watched sport world wide ,

yourdeadwright

1 billion people watched the last world cup final, think about that 1 billion watching one game ,
 Its hardly dieing now is it,

citytillidie

weldoninhio wrote: »

But streaming numbers aren't collated, so for someone to say it is at "it's peak of people watching weekly" I was wondering where he was getting this from

If you are going by viewing figures they are also skewed as both Sky and BT do longer shows per game now than they used to so people are not watching the full buildup and post game crap.

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Sky has gone down due to streaming and BT, The attendances are above 13 million a season since 2001/2002 season and still steady  ,Football in the last ten years is a far more watched sport world wide ,

Attendences have a tiny percent to do with people watching.

Cantona's Collars

weldoninhio wrote: »

Aren't Sky Sports losing viewers in the tens of thousands over the last few years??

Sky's problem is having to subscribe to a package of channels and then Sports on top which made it expensive, they've started to address this in the UK with the ability to pick and choose which sports channels you want but here in Ireland they might have rebranded the channels but still won't let you pick and choose like the UK.

Watch Liverpool games and go to a handful every season. Watch all Ireland games too. Outside of that don't watch too much other football. Real life stuff takes up a lot of time!

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I still love good or exciting football. The problem is that there is too much football around that is neither of those things.

The Backwards Man

I wonder what Jesus makes it of all.

Throwing all those moneylenders out of the temple only for them to take up residence in the premier league. Far cry from small boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts, three and in and showing their willies to each other.