Football without fans is nothing

Muahahaha

Well maybe not completely nothing but I cant be the only one who is getting a little bit tired of watching games with no fans and no atmosphere in the stadium. It was grand when the PL returned because you were just happy to have football back in any form. But now months on having no fans really detracts from the game in different ways.

You see a team playing at home and they go 2-0 down. Because there is no fans there to motivate them and demand a response the team just seems to give up. Its like fans make the players accountable and without them they can just give up whereas if fans were there they would at least put up a fight.

Another thing Im missing is now without fans goal celebrations have been all but discarded. When a goal is scored now its like we are back in the 70s and the scoring player just shakes the hand of a couple of his team mates and thats it. Without fans players arent really celebrating goals, I miss that.

Zebra3

Miss going to games.

And the day/night out.

Depends.

Football on TV with no fans is a very far cry from being at games. So relative to that it's no substitute.

I think football on TV with no fans isn't such a big difference from football on TV with fans there. Other people being there isn't a make or break issue for me.

~Rebel~

There’s a strata where football without fans is nothing, the local club level that doesn’t get tv coverage and is built and maintained by local fans.

Most football played is at an even more grassroots level with no fans anyway.

And then there’s the top level football where 95% of the people watching aren’t there. The televisual experience is less pleasing, but ultimately the thing you’re watching is largely the same.

So it all depends on what kind of football you’re talking about.

Leroy42

Tbh, they shouldn't need fans to motivate them to win. Every player on that pitch has come from the grass roots, had to struggle and fight to make it.

Motivation didn't come from fans, it came from themselves, team mates, coaches.

The vast majority of football is played without fans, yet those players motivate themselves.

I think the lack of fans is simply showing up that many teams have been relying on home advantage, be that refs feeling extra pressure or away team feeling pressure, so cover their own lack of commitment.

Harry Palmr

Its fecked up the dynamics we've grown up with.

No one to yell "man on!", no one to transmit urgency to the centre backs to get the ball forward, or to attacking players to get a foot in. The ref feels no pressure to get the away side a card for a foul. On the other hand no home crowd to give off waves of fear uncertainty and doubt. Or boo the home side at HT.

I imagine it is harder to find the extra 5 or 10% when behind and misfiring if a wall of near silence is the atmosphere.

Leroy42

Leroy42 wrote: »

Tbh, they shouldn't need fans to motivate them to win. Every player on that pitch has come from the grass roots, had to struggle and fight to make it.

Most of the home-grown players at least have been in academies since before puberty. It's not the 80s any more.

Agent Coulson

Well we now know football without fans is £15 a watch.

noodler

It's actually been quite an entertaining start to the season.

The fake crowd noise is helping me forget about the lack of fans on TV.

Fromvert

Football fans are the issue with football, making teams play cagey football with all their gasps, nervous energy and shouting '****ing clear it'. Look at the games, goals galore and no draws

I'm joking but there is probably some truth to fans causing teams to play more defensive/nervous

Fr Tod Umptious

Professional sports at the moment are being played purely to satisfy contractual obligations.

Not just soccer but also rugby, golf, tennis, motor sports etc.

All are taking place without, or with very limited fans because contractually to they have to take place.

And while it was refreshing at the start to have sports back that interest will ware off bit by bit.

When Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 2020 last week I was somewhat disappointed.
If right was right and COVID never happened I'd be totally gutted that Ireland would not be playing at a Euros in Dublin.
But now it's "so what, Euro 2021 is not going to be the deal it would have been anyway so I'm not that pushed about it"

That's the kind of general indifference that will become more prevalent the longer it goes on.

garrettod

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Well we now know football without fans is £15 a watch.

Yup, as if the sports channels weren't already ripping people off.

We probably won't see financial results for Sky TV anymore, now that they've been bought over, but let's not forget that they were making about GBP £2 Billion in profits, a year, when previously reported.

Then you've got the players, getting paid more per week, then the large majority of fans get paid, per year.

Sod that, its long past time that football fans fought back. Everyone should cancel their various TV subscriptions and boycott the PPV games, until the prices are reduced.

ozzy jr

For most people football is just a television programme anyway, so nothing has really changed.

If you're a regular match goer (and I don't mean 1 or 2 trips to England a season and a big Ireland game), the current situation is ****e. My team is having a great season, but not being part of it, I'm really not that bothered with it.

j8wk2feszrnpao

I go to my local teams games, and there might be 20-30 there. Just because there isn't 20-30k fans doesn't mean it's nothing.
I agree football on TV is better with a full house, but not much can be done about it at the moment.

Zebra3

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I go to my local teams games, and there might be 20-30 there. Just because there isn't 20-30k fans doesn't mean it's nothing.
I agree football on TV is better with a full house, but not much can be done about it at the moment.

I thought all amateur games were currently suspended.

dundalkfc10

ozzy jr wrote: »

For most people football is just a television programme anyway, so nothing has really changed.

If you're a regular match goer (and I don't mean 1 or 2 trips to England a season and a big Ireland game), the current situation is ****e. My team is having a great season, but not being part of it, I'm really not that bothered with it.

True nothing will beat Friday nights for me, finish work home for dinner out for few pints upto Oriel and back for pints with same friends every home game.

Away games to Dublin bus departs at 5.30 few cans on bus and back to pub after get back to Dundalk, and if games in Cork/Derry etc would usually have a mini bus of lads who took the half day.

Would also do 1 trip a season where we would stay over.

Please god 2021 we will get it all back.

LuasSimon

I don’t miss seeing grown men giving the two fingers or one finger to opposing teams players or fans in front of children . The hatred and aggression of fans at English soccer matchs is sad . I ended up at a couple of premier league matchs in the past 5 years and many supporters were toxic in their carry on .

To be fair supporters at rugby or gaa matchs are a big loss .

DM_7

LuasSimon wrote: »

I don’t miss seeing grown men giving the two fingers or one finger to opposing teams players or fans in front of children . The hatred and aggression of fans at English soccer matchs is sad . I ended up at a couple of premier league matchs in the past 5 years and many supporters were toxic in their carry on .

To be fair supporters at rugby or gaa matchs are a big loss .

Mod: Thanks for that very 'helpful' input. Please don't post in this thread again. I hope you enjoy your trips to the UK when you get to make them again. Please don't respond to mod notes on thread.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058112382