Do you love football a little less?

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

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.

Not exactly true when demand for tickets are high you'll find a straight coloration for people watching on tv ,
Basically its a huge indicator on how much interest the public have on viewing something ,

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Not exactly true when demand for tickets are high you'll find a straight coloration for people watching on tv ,
Basically its a huge indicator on how much interest the public have on viewing something ,

And yet

According to figures released by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, an organisation that compiles audience measurement and TV ratings in the UK, average viewing figures have fallen by 11% compared to last season.

In fact, Sky’s viewing figures have fallen by a staggering 25% since 2010, and this couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rupert Murdoch

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Not exactly true when demand for tickets are high you'll find a straight coloration for people watching on tv ,
Basically its a huge indicator on how much interest the public have on viewing something ,

And yet

According to figures released by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, an organisation that compiles audience measurement and TV ratings in the UK, average viewing figures have fallen by 11% compared to last season.

In fact, Sky’s viewing figures have fallen by a staggering 25% since 2010, and this couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rupert Murdoch

Yes from streaming everyone and there cat does it now, In the summer you'll have the world cup on free to air TV ( so no need to stream )  I
I bet you it'll out do the last world cup in viewing figures, I think it done 3.2 billion ,

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

weldoninhio wrote: »

In fact, Sky’s viewing figures have fallen by a staggering 25% since 2010, and this couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rupert Murdoch

Out of interest, why do you think this?

Declining newspaper sales? Declining viewership with tv ratings overall? People migrating to online viewing more and more? Sports viewing being less lucrative than before? Giant companies like BT and Amazon taking them on directly?

BeepBeep67

I still love seeing someone rattle a 30 yd screamer into the top corner, someone breaking from the back and dancing around 6 players before sliding it under the keeper, the perfectly timed overhead kick, diving header or finger tip save.

Am I as passionate about seeing my team(s) win, yes.
Am I as devastated about seeing my team(s) lose, no.

Maybe I'm just getting old sensible.

yourdeadwright

The game is bigger than ever, just happens that more companines are trying to cash in on it so SKY (who are not the gauge or owners of the game ) are going to struggle more as they have competition ,
Shows how well Sky have done at making people believe football is Sky and Sky is football , You went straight to Sky have less figures so people must not love football anymore,

Cantona's Collars

yourdeadwright wrote: »

The game is bigger than ever, just happens that more companines are trying to cash in on it so SKY (who are not the gauge or owners of the game ) are going to struggle more as they have competition ,
Shows how well Sky have done at making people believe football is Sky and Sky is football , You went straight to Sky have less figures so people must not love football anymore,

People look at me as if I have two heads when I tell them I watch games on US/Canadian/Thai TV. They still think Sky is football.
Even so,I find myself watching a bit less football.MOTD is gone by the wayside,I can watch any highlights I want on demand.
I'll try to watch as many United games as I can but other commitments mean I watch less games involving other teams.

bucketybuck

If people cannot see that football has changed in fundamental ways over the past 10 and 20 years then I don't know what to say to them

It cannot be glibly dismissed as young fans getting old and grumpy, that would imply that the game is still the same but that the perspective of fans themselves had changed. And that simply isn't true.

There have been huge changes in football as both a sport and a product, there are fundamental differences between now and then that are driving changed attitudes both in the clubs and among the fan base. Ignore that if you want but it just displays ignorance.

Iang87

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

I still love seeing someone rattle a 30 yd screamer into the top corner, someone breaking from the back and dancing around 6 players before sliding it under the keeper, the perfectly timed overhead kick, diving header or finger tip save.

Am I as passionate about seeing my team(s) win, yes.
Am I as devastated about seeing my team(s) lose, no.

Maybe I'm just getting old sensible.

Yep i'm similar to this. I watched Limerick get relegated a few years ago and since then no matter what happens with Limerick/Liverpool I still had to get up and go to work the next day.

I don't think it means I love football a little less I've just accepted that its not the end/greatest thing in the world when it doesn't/does go your way.

Iang87

bucketybuck wrote: »

If people cannot see that football has changed in fundamental ways over the past 10 and 20 years then I don't know what to say to them

It cannot be glibly dismissed as young fans getting old and grumpy, that would imply that the game is still the same but that the perspective of fans themselves had changed. And that simply isn't true.

There have been huge changes in football as both a sport and a product, there are fundamental differences between now and then that are driving changed attitudes both in the clubs and among the fan base. Ignore that if you want but it just displays ignorance.

Yes it has changed. The commercial side is gone through the roof but the standard is at an unbelievably high level also

yourdeadwright

bucketybuck wrote: »

If people cannot see that football has changed in fundamental ways over the past 10 and 20 years then I don't know what to say to them

It cannot be glibly dismissed as young fans getting old and grumpy, that would imply that the game is still the same but that the perspective of fans themselves had changed. And that simply isn't true.

There have been huge changes in football as both a sport and a product, there are fundamental differences between now and then that are driving changed attitudes both in the clubs and among the fan base. Ignore that if you want but it just displays ignorance.

No none said it hasn't changed everyone can agree on that, It's been changing every 10/15 year true its history ,Most highly watched sports have its life,
The question is do you love football less ? From a personal stand point i love it as much as ever which doesn't make me right or wrong its a personal question ,
I was just making the point that if you look at it world wide it looks like its loved as much if not more than ever ,
To answer the OP's question is personal to each of us and there is no right or wrong answer only how you feel about the game,

yourdeadwright

There was a fantastic story recently about a bloke from China who trawled  12000miles to visit Runcorn Fc because he managed them to champions league glory on Football Manger ,( would take some serious time ) Anyway the Sun heard about this and asked him could they get a picture to use for the story and he out right refused said he couldn't as he was a life long Liverpool fan and would feel ashamed,
I think these kind of stories show how much football means to people all over the world, Personal i find it even more amazing 11 lads from all over the globe put on the same jersey on a Saturday and have million's of people from all over the wolrd all cheering for which ever team it is to win,

weldoninhio

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

Out of interest, why do you think this?

Declining newspaper sales? Declining viewership with tv ratings overall? People migrating to online viewing more and more? Sports viewing being less lucrative than before? Giant companies like BT and Amazon taking them on directly?

It was just from a business article i pulled the quote from.

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

The game is bigger than ever, just happens that more companines are trying to cash in on it so SKY (who are not the gauge or owners of the game ) are going to struggle more as they have competition ,
Shows how well Sky have done at making people believe football is Sky and Sky is football , You went straight to Sky have less figures so people must not love football anymore,

The game is definetly more lucrative now.

And I didn't go to Sky, and think people love football less. I quoted actual, real life figures, to disprove your opinion that "its at it's peak of people watching weekly".

You can't move the goalposts because your opinion has been disproven with facts.

GLaDOS

Last Friday I sat in the pissing rain to watch Bohs v Dundalk in a complete dead rubber.

If that's not love, I don't know what is.

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

The game is bigger than ever, just happens that more companines are trying to cash in on it so SKY (who are not the gauge or owners of the game ) are going to struggle more as they have competition ,
Shows how well Sky have done at making people believe football is Sky and Sky is football , You went straight to Sky have less figures so people must not love football anymore,

The game is definetly more lucrative now.

And I didn't go to Sky, and think people love football less. I quoted actual, real life figures, to disprove your opinion that "its at it's peak of people watching weekly".

You can't move the goalposts because your opinion has been disproven with facts.

Your whole post quoted figures for Sky and you even mention Murdoch    ? again Sky isn't the only place to watch football ,
You said yourself about streaming , that one of the place's viewers are going,
so your FACTS are facts about Sky not about football as a whole

~Rebel~

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

People look at me as if I have two heads when I tell them I watch games on US/Canadian/Thai TV. They still think Sky is football.
Even so,I find myself watching a bit less football.MOTD is gone by the wayside,I can watch any highlights I want on demand.
I'll try to watch as many United games as I can but other commitments mean I watch less games involving other teams.

This is an interesting one for me - i've gone full circle on it. From watching MOTD on TV, to just watching highlights individually for the anytime anywhere convenience, and then back to watching MOTD for the convenience of all the games in one place with decent coverage. But now watching it any time, and skipping some analysis and watching other bits etc.

I could see a sort of reversal like this happening elsewhere too - like the convenience of Netflix over programmed TV. The upside of streaming is obvious - why would you watch this thing they're giving you, when you can choose anything you want. Except sometimes you don't want have to choose all the time, every time.

I'd actually love a Netflix playlist option where you could effectively program your own nights viewing. Could have a playlist of shows for just background viewing (instead of just letting one show play for four hours), and a playlist of fairly light things for two hours for the night you're getting home from football after work. Or a heavier night of more dramatic things on a day you're usually quieter.. etc etc...

Off topic all over the place here, but I think there's a happy medium between the old ways and the new, which might be an improvement on both.

As for the actual topic - just growing up is a big part of it. It's changed so much since i was a kid.. but then again the change from the 70's to the 90's was absolutely huge too. We all had more emotional attachment to these things when we were kids.... when you get older I think you just appreciate the authenticity of things a bit more. Lower quality game, but on a more local level. I still love CL and Premiership games, but I appreciate grassroots games an awful lot more than I did before.

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Your whole post quoted figures for Sky and you even mention Murdoch    ? again Sky isn't the only place to watch football ,
You said yourself about streaming , that one of the place's viewers are going,
so your FACTS are facts about Sky not about football as a whole

BT’s numbers are down too. They are the only places in U.K. and Ireland to watch football and collate viewing figures from, except for the odd LOI game on RTE. So to state it is at its peak viewership is nonsense.

Tom Mann Centuria

GLaDOS wrote: »

Last Friday I sat in the pissing rain to watch Bohs v Dundalk in a complete dead rubber.

If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Self abuse?

Ulysses Gaze

I'd prefer to watch LOI games now as the players are putting their hearts and souls into the game with passion for it rather than just pay cheques.

When I lived in the Merrion Road I used to go to UCD home games when I could.

I live in North County Dublin which makes it more difficult to get to their games.

But may start heading back to them.

~Rebel~

weldoninhio wrote: »

BT’s numbers are down too. They are the only places in U.K. and Ireland to watch football and collate viewing figures from, except for the odd LOI game on RTE. So to state it is at its peak viewership is nonsense.

I wonder are total collective figures for football down, or are individual match figures down?

For instance, if I've just watched an Eredivisie match on one channel, I'm probably less likely to watch the premier league match between Stoke and West Brom (example of non-star match) afterwards.

I would hazard a guess that more minutes of football in general are being watched, but right now there are so many options available between the various channels and mediums, that the numbers will be spread around more. La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Prem, Championship, Serie A, Ligue 1, MLS, Chinese Superleague... they're all pretty readily available now.

This, coupled with the ease at which you can stream, I think only add to the likelihood that more minutes of football in general are being watched. But I do think we're hitting a turning point as the younger generations coming through just can't be arsed actively watching almost anything for 90 minutes.

bucketybuck

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that more minutes of football in general are being watched, but right now there are so many options available between the various channels and mediums, that the numbers will be spread around more. La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Prem, Championship, Serie A, Ligue 1, MLS, Chinese Superleague... they're all pretty readily available now.

This, coupled with the ease at which you can stream, I think only add to the likelihood that more minutes of football in general are being watched. But I do think we're hitting a turning point as the younger generations coming through just can't be arsed actively watching almost anything for 90 minutes.

Exactly. I would not be surprised at all if the total viewing time of football had increased, how could it not when people have 24/7 access to live coverage?

But its surely quantity over quality. I regularly have whatever tonights match is playing on my laptop, but its extremely rare that I ever give two ****s who actually wins or loses the damn thing. In fact I'd barely say I am even watching it at all, its just there as background noise.

They can add me to their viewing numbers and say viewers are increasing if they want but its all meaningless, I'd be just as happy to have American football or formula one as my background match, the idea that football is more popular than ever is based on inflated numbers from disinterested viewers.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

NIMAN wrote: »

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

This was discussed recently on Football Weekly, Jonathan Wilson said that if you actually watch the game it doesn't like a fix. For instance, the Peru keeper pulled off an amazing save. They had already lost 3-0 to Brazil, so maybe they were just ****e.

JJJJNR

Totally out of the game now, can't even converse about it, and don't plan on a revival of the olde days of sitting in a boozer clapping at the TV anytime soon.

Fond memories though very much love and cherish them.

NIMAN

I think most are right here when they say its just an age thing.

I used to be mad about football, travelling all over Ireland following Derry City, then when I started working, travelling all over Europe watching top games.

However, once marriage, kids etc come along, and you have different priorities in life, football takes a back seat. Still enjoy watching DCFC play live, but its very rare now that I'd sit for 90mins and watch a full game on TV. Maybe the knockouts of the CL, or an El Clasico but thats about it.

I've sat through too many dull games to get excited about another live game on the box.

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Your whole post quoted figures for Sky and you even mention Murdoch    ? again Sky isn't the only place to watch football ,
You said yourself about streaming , that one of the place's viewers are going,
so your FACTS are facts about Sky not about football as a whole

BT’s numbers are down too. They are the only places in U.K. and Ireland to watch football and collate viewing figures from, except for the odd LOI game on RTE. So to state it is at its peak viewership is nonsense.

Wait for the world cup to roll around when people wont bother streaming games cause there on free to air tv and I bet you the previous records are broken,
Streaming is massive, its liking saying no ones listing to music anymore cause CD sales are down, Streaming is killing Sky and BT not that people aren't interested in football ,

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Wait for the world cup to roll around when people wont bother streaming games cause there on free to air tv and I bet you the previous records are broken,
Streaming is massive, its liking saying no ones listing to music anymore cause CD sales are down, Streaming is killing Sky and BT not that people aren't interested in football ,

Streaming music nowadays is legal and the numbers are easily gotten i.e. Spotify processes nearly 1bn streams a day. Could you find me an official figure on football streaming?? Or even sports streaming??

The World Cup is a red herring too, it attracts loads of casual observers and bandwagoners who wouldn't generally watch. Same as the Olympics.

Sky and BTs model is out of touch with what a lot of people want.

Start selling season passes for individual teams.

There's a sizeable chunk of people that haven't any interest in watching a lot of their games.

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Wait for the world cup to roll around when people wont bother streaming games cause there on free to air tv and I bet you the previous records are broken,
Streaming is massive, its liking saying no ones listing to music anymore cause CD sales are down, Streaming is killing Sky and BT not that people aren't interested in football ,

Streaming music nowadays is legal and the numbers are easily gotten i.e. Spotify processes nearly 1bn streams a day. Could you find me an official figure  on football streaming?? Or even sports streaming??

The World Cup is a red herring too, it attracts loads of casual observers and bandwagoners who wouldn't generally watch. Same as the Olympic

I don't no where to get the numbers idon't think you can,
If you think football is not watched as much because of sky's numbers then fine but I disagree with you, I'd say about 80% of people I know stream there games, instead of paying for Sky ,
You also say World cup a red herring,I say your sky number are a red herring ,
Anyway its cool to disagree , I love the game as much as ever even if I watch it less,

Fr Tod Umptious

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Sky and BTs model is out of touch with what a lot of people want.

Start selling season passes for individual teams.

There's a sizeable chunk of people that haven't any interest in watching a lot of their games.

You mean the premier league's model is out of touch.

Sky and BT, or anyone else, only bid on what is on offer.

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Wait for the world cup to roll around when people wont bother streaming games cause there on free to air tv and I bet you the previous records are broken,
Streaming is massive, its liking saying no ones listing to music anymore cause CD sales are down, Streaming is killing Sky and BT not that people aren't interested in football ,

Streaming music nowadays is legal and the numbers are easily gotten i.e. Spotify processes nearly 1bn streams a day. Could you find me an official figure  on football streaming?? Or even sports streaming??

The World Cup is a red herring too, it attracts loads of casual observers and bandwagoners who wouldn't generally watch. Same as the Olympics.

There is a write up in the independent this july that say's  " staggering 65 per cent of younger viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 admitted to illegally streaming matches at least once a month."
That's where your sky viewers are going

Fr Tod Umptious

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

You mean the premier league's model is out of touch.

Sky and BT, or anyone else, only bid on what is on offer.

Yeah true

weldoninhio

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I don't no where to get the numbers idon't think you can,
If you think football is not watched as much because of sky's numbers then fine but I disagree with you, I'd say about 80% of people I know stream there games, instead of paying for Sky ,
You also say World cup a red herring,I say your sky number are a red herring ,
Anyway its cool to disagree , I love the game as much as ever even if I watch it less,

So when you stated that it was at "it's peak of people watching weekly", you'd literally plucked this "fact" out of the air, with no basis in fact, no numbers to back it up and by using anecdotal evidence of the people you know as your proof??

Grand. :rolleyes:

upandcumming

I certainly have fallen out of love with football lately no doubt.

Mersey-Monday and all that would sicken you. I still love live football, always was the pinnacle of my football enjoyment. Following Longford Town around the country over the years and experiencing live football in Germany has certainly increased my interest.

deadybai

All the reasons why I no longer love Man Utd can be summed up by the antics of Pogba and Lingard.

I'd love to see Keane clatter them if he was still in a united jersey .

Passion is gone out of the game. Hardly any leaders left in the world of football

Nalz

deadybai wrote: »

All the reasons why I no longer love Man Utd can be summed up by the antics of Pogba and Lingard

The video of Pogba dancing with a football in a moving car without a seatbelt on really upset a few!

Stephen15

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Sky and BTs model is out of touch with what a lot of people want.

Start selling season passes for individual teams.

There's a sizeable chunk of people that haven't any interest in watching a lot of their games.

I agree. I don't bother with either mainly because of the price and I reckon if I got it wouldn't bother watching half the games that are on.

Thats what happens in Serie A or at least up until recently each team negiotiates their tv deals meaning Juventus, AC + Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli and Lazio have the majority of the tv to themselves while lesser teams get very little tv money.

I also think the whole 3pm in England rule is archaic and needs in fact kick off times in general are outdated for the Premiership. They should in the evening like La Liga or Serie A. I would have an EPL early kick off at 5pm, middle kick off at 7pm and a late kick off at 9pm on a Saturday night save Sunday afternoons for the games involving lesser teams until Sunday afternoon on top of Monday and Friday night football.

Football isin't what used to be the game people will still go to games even if its later in the evening. Having games on a Saturday night would most be fans entertainment for the week better than watching chat shows etc. 12.30pm on a Saturday or 12pm on a Sunday is not exactly prime time viewing people are doing other things like going out with their families at these times.

PhuckHugh

Less and less each year in some ways- ... Growing up as kids you know no different but when you hear Irish people following (the same 4/5 clubs) English teams and arguing about 'Us' and 'We' it's makes me laugh and sad at the same time... A lot of the same guys would turn their noses up at Irish sports in its various capacities.... Sport is about local pride/ connection/ shared experience /history / family etc. etc - Not which team were good on tv when you were a kid.... But each to their own and I do tune in for the entertainment factor.

I still watch Ireland passionately , and Limerick FC when I can, but the game as a spectacle at pro level is dying out ... the lack of physicality has killed it and UEFA/FIFA are doing their best to make sure the working man can't enjoy it at all...

Still a great game to play but to watch not so much

Nalz

People still get hung up on the "us" and "we" thing? Meh. They're just words.

Stephen15

Stephen15 wrote: »

I agree. I don't bother with either mainly because of the price and I reckon if I got it wouldn't bother watching half the games that are on.

Thats what happens in Serie A or at least up until recently each team negiotiates their tv deals meaning Juventus, AC + Inter Milan, Roma, Napoli and Lazio have the majority of the tv to themselves while lesser teams get very little tv money.

I also think the whole 3pm in England rule is archaic and needs in fact kick off times in general are outdated for the Premiership. They should in the evening like La Liga or Serie A. I would have an EPL early kick off at 5pm, middle kick off at 7pm and a late kick off at 9pm on a Saturday night save Sunday afternoons for the games involving lesser teams until Sunday afternoon on top of Monday and Friday night football.

Football isin't what used to be the game people will still go to games even if its later in the evening. Having games on a Saturday night would most be fans entertainment for the week better than watching chat shows etc. 12.30pm on a Saturday or 12pm on a Sunday is not exactly prime time viewing people are doing other things like going out with their families at these times.

A 9pm kick off is too late for match going fans, particularly away ones.

Stephen15

RoboKlopp wrote: »

A 9pm kick off is too late for match going fans, particularly away ones.

Its all about the money these days anyway tv deals are bigger revenue generators than away fans going games. In the eyes of tv companies they will say fcuk them.

Look at La Liga very few away fans even go to games.

PhuckHugh

Nalz wrote: »

People still get hung up on the "us" and "we" thing? Meh. They're just words.

I'm not hung up, I just find it funny to see Irish people calling each other mancs and scousers and getting worked up about English football teams and at the same time many would look down their nose at LOI and GAA - Which is bizarre in regards to the later especially given that it's uniquely Irish and encompasses what sport is about .... I can certainly understand the attraction of England as it's the nearest pro league where all out pros go --- But lad's having a minutes silence for the Munich disaster and getting tattoos of JFT96 when half of them were not even born for either is just mind blowing stuff and I don't think you'd see it in too many other countries ...

It's only one reason really - As I said, sport for me is about getting out and watching and supporting local where you can -

The prima-donna nature of the modern player, lack of physicality and general greed is a bigger reason why I watch, or get emotionally involved, less.

Ugh

Stephen15

PhuckHugh wrote: »

I'm not hung up, I just find it funny to see Irish people calling each other mancs and scousers and getting worked up about English football teams and at the same time many would look down their nose at LOI and GAA - Which is bizarre in regards to the later especially given that it's uniquely Irish and encompasses what sport is about .... I can certainly understand the attraction of England as it's the nearest pro league where all out pros go --- But let's having a minutes silence for the Munich disaster and getting tattoos of JFT96 when half of them were not even born for either is just mind blowing stuff and I don't think you'd see it in too many other countries ...

It's only one reason really - As I said, sport for me is about getting out and watching and supporting local where you can -

The prima-donna nature of the modern player, lack of physicality and general greed is a bigger reason why I watch, or get emotionally involved, less.

People will always support teams in far away lands sure South East Asia has plenty Man United fans and fans of other top premier league for example should they be supporting local sides and sports? Thats far more extreme than people in Ireland which is relatively near the UK.

Even look at places like Italy plenty of Juventus in Southern Italy thousands of miles from Turin which are despite being the same country further from Turin than Dublin is to Manchester, Liverpool or even London.

LOI and GAA don't have the same glitz, glamour or star quality that EPL clubs have. GAA is not exactly the most skillfull game and isin't the best to watch while LOI is real hoof the ball up the field and lacks quality aswell as household names.

PhuckHugh

Stephen15 wrote: »

People will always support teams in far away lands sure South East Asia has plenty Man United fans and fans of other top premier league for example should they be supporting local sides and sports? Thats far more extreme than people in Ireland which is relatively near the UK.

Even look at places like Italy plenty of Juventus in Southern Italy thousands of miles from Turin which are despite being the same country further from Turin than Dublin is to Manchester, Liverpool or even London.

LOI and GAA don't have the same glitz, glamour or star quality that EPL clubs have. GAA is not exactly the most skillfull game and isin't the best to watch while LOI is real hoof the ball up the field and lacks quality aswell as household names.

By all means watch, even 'support' - but getting wound up about it, getting tattoos commemorating dead victims of the club and getting in to arguments with opposing irish fans of English clubs like it matters and forms some part of your identity is crazy stuff ... you even have lads going out of their way to watch the u23s and u18s of these clubs --- you couldn't make it up.

Agent Coulson

Watching Jose manage some of the most expensively put together major teams in the history of football across the best leagues in world play for draws really does make turn me off football at times.



I can understand Big Sam, Tony Pulis etc etc trying to do that a midsized clubs but a manager of the biggest clubs in the world tuning the beautiful game into parking the bus is just very sad to see.

PhuckHugh

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Watching Jose manage some of the most expensively put together major teams in the history of football across the best leagues in world play for draws really does make turn me off football at times.



I can understand Big Sam, Tony Pulis etc etc trying to do that a midsized clubs but a manager of the biggest clubs in the world tuning the beautiful game into parking the bus is just very sad to see.

Spot on. Half a billion spent and a page of excuses why they can't go out and play football.

Unearthly

I love football a lot more today

gormdubhgorm

Nalz wrote: »

The beautiful game, is it still beautiful?

Good proper tactical defending can be beautiful as well if you are into that type of thing.

Also a direct style of play can be very productive if the players are limed compared to thier opponents in a technical sense

There seems to be a heavily weighted bias towards the tippy tappy possession based style. Which can turn into possession for the sake of it with no end product


You have not really defined what beautiful is.
It is the same with women in some cultures a big rear end is 'rear-vered' but in others it is seen as something that should be fixed.

To me a beautiful game is a winning game which achieves the set objectives, gets a team playing above itself, no matter what the style.

gormdubhgorm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Watching Jose manage some of the most expensively put together major teams in the history of football across the best leagues in world play for draws really does make turn me off football at times.



I can understand Big Sam, Tony Pulis etc etc trying to do that a midsized clubs but a manager of the biggest clubs in the world tuning the beautiful game into parking the bus is just very sad to see.

But Jose has won things where he went in many leagues in many different cultures.
Defending is also an important part of football as well as attacking.
Remember his win inter got against Barcelona in 2010?
Who won the Champions league that year?
They beat a much fancied Bayern side after that.


You cannot play eleven 'Wes Hoolahan's'