What's Wrong With Football?

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I mean it seems to me that majority of football supporters are constantly moaning about the "state of the game" whatever that means. There constant outrages over whatever and people are going on and on and on about what rule changes should be made.

Well I feel exact opposite. I love football. It's great game and there's fuck all wrong about it, other than some people constantly trying to change the rules. I had no problem with the game when backpasses were allowed, there was 2 points for win, you could tackle from behind as long as you hit ball first, most people understood offside rule and there was no academical arguments over implementation of whatever "daylight between players" bollocks it is this season and so on and so on. I didn't need Diana Ross taking penalties, English first division called Premier League and even less 2nd division called Championship (why? you don't win any sort of Championship by winning that league right?). Being able to see more games has been GIANTMEGASUPER improvement for me personally but if I were local season ticket holder, I'm sure I'd hate that as well.

So basically, what is wrong with football and why do people think that the game needs new set of rules??

[Mike J]

the game is certainly becoming softer. thats the change that i really hate. strong tackling is a dying art. its so frustrating to see refs blowing up for next to nothing. even at the level i play at.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

the game is certainly becoming softer. thats the change that i really hate. strong tackling is a dying art. its so frustrating to see refs blowing up for next to nothing. even at the level i play at.

Exactly the same mate. I'm tough tackling player even in whatever low level I play in and I also enjoy watching bone crunching (but fair according to old rules) tackles in professional games almost as much as goals. Especially when I'm watching game as a neutral.

[Mike J]

you dont really have players like stuart pearce these days (bloody hard but fair). i like going in for tackles at my level but you cant get away with anything. my old man is the same (still playing at 51), he's been a defensive midfielder his whole life and still goes in harder than anyone ive ever seen. but he gets frustrated when ref's blow up for 50/50's.

[ross.mcfc]

Football fans in general annoy me.

I can state several examples that I have seen on this site in the last few weeks that Im sure would have been replicated on any football fans message board around the country.

I hate how if Ade had done that in a Arsenal shirt last season to a City player, we would have been calling for a life long ban. Football fans will defend the un defendable. Ade and Eduardos actions showed that. Im sure if Hitler was a City fan we'd all be arguing the merits him not being such a bad lad after all.

I dont like how any action taken against any club correctly or not is greeted with 'everyone hates us' and conspiracy theories a plenty

I hate how almost every small incident is highlighted to try and back up these conspiracy theories and then ensues letter writing campaigns to the FA. Grow up and get a life!

Football has ceased to be a mans sport and one of those reasons is because if someone lays a finger on a player there fans are chanting OFF OFF OFF for the slightest little thing.

I hate how when an opposition player is lying on the floor the crowd are willing there side on (which is perfectly within the rules) yet when its one of there players lying there when the whole world knows nothings up with him the crowd arrupts in boo's and cheat cheat cheat.

Away from fans. I hate the disrupted fixtures lists, Especially to allow for sides to play in Europe. If you want to participate in a mickey mouse tournament like the europa league, fine be it but I dont see why anyone else should be bending backwards to help you out. I mean we changed games to a Sunday to allow us extra time to recoup after playing footballing giants from the Faroes and Cyprus. There's something slightly down heartening as a football fan and the looking at the 3pm kick offs on a Saturday and only seeing Hull vrs Bolton, Sunderland v Birmingham and Pompy vrs Burnley.

[Midnight Blue]

There is no sports that are run perfectly and Football has its fair share of problems along with it's many positive points. My main personal gripes are:

- The lack of transparency at the top level of the game in England - For me their isn't enough transparency within the FA and Premier League about the future of the game and some of the decisions they make, I'm not even certain on which of the two control the different aspects of the game. From mysterious 39th game proposals to rules and punishments which seem to change week to week. Some times it seems that they are just making it up as they go along, and buggered if I know who is making the decisions at the top. Who is coming up with the punishments for players and clubs when they do wrong and why does there appear to be very little consistency from week to week and season to season.

- Politics among the game's elite - More relevant too FIFA, UEFA and top level football in general than specifically to the premier league. A lot of people at the top level with a lot of power are far from neutral in their opinions and actions. Way too much politics, hidden agendas and 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' going on.

- Price of football - The price of football, specifically attending premier league games is very high. Forces a lot of the lower income earners away from the game which is never a good thing.

- Evenness of competition - The fact that it is impossible for a club to win the premier league without spending a shedload of money is never good. Too much predictability in who will finish where at the end of the season. At the moment there is still that slight bit of variation and upset results, but if say in a few seasons the 3 teams coming up for the championship are always being relegated the following season, which is not inconceivable, then fans are going to turn away pretty quickly.

[kinkylola]

There is no sports that are run perfectly and Football has its fair share of problems along with it's many positive points. My main personal gripes are:

- The lack of transparency at the top level of the game in England - For me their isn't enough transparency within the FA and Premier League about the future of the game and some of the decisions they make, I'm not even certain on which of the two control the different aspects of the game. From mysterious 39th game proposals to rules and punishments which seem to change week to week. Some times it seems that they are just making it up as they go along, and buggered if I know who is making the decisions at the top. Who is coming up with the punishments for players and clubs when they do wrong and why does there appear to be very little consistency from week to week and season to season.

- Politics among the game's elite - More relevant too FIFA, UEFA and top level football in general than specifically to the premier league. A lot of people at the top level with a lot of power are far from neutral in their opinions and actions. Way too much politics, hidden agendas and 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' going on.

- Price of football - The price of football, specifically attending premier league games is very high. Forces a lot of the lower income earners away from the game which is never a good thing.

- Evenness of competition - The fact that it is impossible for a club to win the premier league without spending a shedload of money is never good. Too much predictability in who will finish where at the end of the season. At the moment there is still that slight bit of variation and upset results, but if say in a few seasons the 3 teams coming up for the championship are always being relegated the following season, which is not inconceivable, then fans are going to turn away pretty quickly.

this.

[pepsi_dave]

My issue with football at the moment is the fact there are far too many cheats in the game, that try and "con" the referee. And it does sound petty, but the officials are far to lenient on certain aspects of cheating, for instance players taking a throw in who insist on edging down the line bit by bit, or the walls for free kicks moving closer to the ball etc. Why do a lot of keepers when the recieve the ball for a goal kick immediately go to the opposite side of the 6 yard box? All of these things annoy me!

Someone else said it earlier, the fact that there is far too much inconsistency within punishments of the game. If a player was to wrestle with another player to the point where they both fall over, a foul is given, yet when this occurrs in the box for corners it is perfectly accetpable? How can a foul be a foul only in certain areas of the pitch?

It also annoys me that sometimes very very different incidents can be punished with the same punishment. For example, a player may get a yellow card, which may be his second and therefore result in a red card and a ban, for going in too hard or recklessly on another player, yet another player may recieve the same punishment for taking his shirt off when he scores? Hardly right is it?

There are other issues, like cost but i really can't be arsed typing anymore, I'm sure you get my drift!

[ronk]

People just like complaining, they fucling love it.

You're having a chat with a mate and you can always turn the conversation for an hour or three towards football. Complaining is great because you don't need to be that well informed about it, it's not the point half the time.

It was better in the old days etc. The back-pass rule was a necessary counter to tactical innovations that made the game almost unwatcheable if teams insisted on playing that way. The quality of football and standard of play has increased beyond recognition. It's much harder to kick a skilful player off the park (and into early retirement) but people still hanker for the old days.

[The Man In Blue]

the acceptance of obstruction fouls.

"he's sheparding the ball out for a goal kick there"

no he's fucking not it's obstruction, free kick. selective appliance of rules, does my head in.

[Beefymcfc]

Football hasn't changed and supporters haven't changed, we'll always be whinging b'stards! I think the only thing that has changed is the cynicism regarding the Top 4 and the custodians who uphold their honoury status!

Oh, and those cheating fucking scum twats down the road.........................oh wait, maybe not!

[Original Dub]

There is no sports that are run perfectly and Football has its fair share of problems along with it's many positive points. My main personal gripes are:

- The lack of transparency at the top level of the game in England - For me their isn't enough transparency within the FA and Premier League about the future of the game and some of the decisions they make, I'm not even certain on which of the two control the different aspects of the game. From mysterious 39th game proposals to rules and punishments which seem to change week to week. Some times it seems that they are just making it up as they go along, and buggered if I know who is making the decisions at the top. Who is coming up with the punishments for players and clubs when they do wrong and why does there appear to be very little consistency from week to week and season to season.

- Politics among the game's elite - More relevant too FIFA, UEFA and top level football in general than specifically to the premier league. A lot of people at the top level with a lot of power are far from neutral in their opinions and actions. Way too much politics, hidden agendas and 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' going on.

- Price of football - The price of football, specifically attending premier league games is very high. Forces a lot of the lower income earners away from the game which is never a good thing.

- Evenness of competition - The fact that it is impossible for a club to win the premier league without spending a shedload of money is never good. Too much predictability in who will finish where at the end of the season. At the moment there is still that slight bit of variation and upset results, but if say in a few seasons the 3 teams coming up for the championship are always being relegated the following season, which is not inconceivable, then fans are going to turn away pretty quickly.

this.

this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Seriously though, The only thing wrong with the game is the ever increasing protection of players, be it through tackles, slow mo replays, giving out about chants.

The game itself is beautiful and the fuckers that moan about it all the time should stop watching it.

[sky_blue_stew]

Something that could obviously come across as disloyalty given our recent turnaround in fortunes but I think the frequency of transfers in football is becoming a little ridiculous. Teams that are challenging for Champions League places are the most obvious examples - but look at Spurs buying and selling and rebuying Defoe, Keane and Chimbonda (who was then sold again) in a pitch to get the best squad. I'm not against transfers - everyone gets excited when some fresh blood brings a new dimension to the team but it's reached the stage where there are less and less loyal players out there. Heroes for teams are no longer guaranteed to stick around like they once did - even Dunne has been pushed out of here and Barry left Villa. Gerrard and Terry thought very hard about abandoning their clubs - and they're always highlighted as oldfashioned players. There was a time when you could get a shirt printed safe in the knowledge it wouldn't look ridiculous when the next kit came out. Not anymore.

[Hazy]

Players like Diouf, Fans of Hull City, FA are shit bags

Diouf is a Scumbag, brings the game into dispute by his presence.

Hull City Fans are short in memory and forget where they have come from.

FA Do nothing when a player dives like Eduardo, and no full well Goal line tech would clear up any doubts.

Other than the game is great.

[Kyle]

Too much racism/race related issues in football. It is far less prevelent in England then in Italy or Spain, but its still an issue. The do disgrace the games with racism a bit, its nearly impossible to have it out of the game completly cause history shows we will always have a fair amount of stupid people in society. And there are always people like Edge who just push the limit of free speech so far that it doesn't qualify as racism but any sane person knows he is a fool.

And I also agree with all the statements regarding the protecting of the players. I like a good physical game and all the diving nonsense is foolish.

Still the beautiful game though, and it will take a lot of the game to lose the title of the beautiful game to me...

[ronk]

Too much racism/race related issues in football. It is far less prevelent in England then in Italy or Spain, but its still an issue. The do disgrace the games with racism a bit, its nearly impossible to have it out of the game completly cause history shows we will always have a fair amount of stupid people in society. And there are always people like Edge who just push the limit of free speech so far that it doesn't qualify as racism but any sane person knows he is a fool.

And I also agree with all the statements regarding the protecting of the players. I like a good physical game and all the diving nonsense is foolish.

Still the beautiful game though, and it will take a lot of the game to lose the title of the beautiful game to me...

That's the problem with racists, they adapt their methods and use ambiguous statements to both make it harder to detect and to cause well meaning people to be accused of racism, thereby causing a backlash against anti-racism campaigns.

[carl_feedthegoat]

Football hasn't changed and supporters haven't changed, we'll always be whinging b'stards! I think the only thing that has changed is the cynicism regarding the Top 4 and the custodians who uphold their honoury status!

Oh, and those cheating fucking scum twats down the road.........................oh wait, maybe not!

THE ONLY THING THATS CHANGED IN FOOTBALL IS THE 100% COVERAGE YOU GET WITH SKY ECT.....ALL THIS SHIT HAS GONE ON FOR YEARS..ACTUALLY IT WAS WORSE BUT THERE WERE NO ZOOM IN CLOSE UPS SO IT WAS TOO DIFICULT TO SEE THE CHEATING BASTARDS OF YESTERYEAR.

WHATS WRONG IN THE GAME THESE DAYS IS THE ENGLISH F.A. MOB............99%OF THEM ARE NOT FOOTBALLING PEOPLE SO THEY TEND TO GET 99% OF EVERYTHING WRONG!!

[Rag_hater]

I dont think there is anything wrong with football today its better now than its ever been.
And I dont like crunching tackles that hurt people I'd much rather watch skill from a player.

[Redna]

the acceptance of obstruction fouls.

"he's sheparding the ball out for a goal kick there"

no he's fucking not it's obstruction, free kick. selective appliance of rules, does my head in.

You're spot on about sheparding. That's a thing I've been anoyed about for many good years.
CTID!!

[Dingus McDouchey]

the easiest change that would clear up the most controversy would be to stick a goaline camera above each goal.
the most fundamental rule/objective of football is that a ball crossing the goaline between the framework of the posts is a goal.
at the moment we are unable to get rulings on this most basic principle correct.
the 4th official takes 10 seconds to determine if it crossed the line or not, and we move on.
very little impact on the structure of the game, but considerable impact on the integrity.

for those familiar with the NHL, you know how well this works.