Remember when football used to be about sport?

[t8yman]

Now lets get one thing straight straight off the bat. I used to love football. Used to go in my early years every home game, played it in the street, watched it on the telly, and in my adult years I used to follow England, would go to Anfield and many other grounds - just for the crack, as well as holding a season pass for Hull City for the last 7 years (unused in the last 1.5 seasons)

And then the money arrived.

Football has become seedy, clubs finances and business practices are ludicrous (and exploitative), the players have become caricatures of themselves, and every single marketing man on the planet spends billions convincing the public that "we love football" in a pathetic attempt to get you to buy their product. We sit and watch pundits who say before every single important tournament "its englands best chance to win in years" and "this is our strongest squad for years" whilst pushing up expectations with rousing music and images of 1966, completely ignoring the fact that the premier league is not "the best league in the world" and the national side are suffering as a result.

And every single football fan in the country appears to think the state of football in 2010 is alright, and the above are acceptable.

Well not this one- f**king sheep.

If LFC were a normal struggling business - the administrators would have been in already, the staff would be on the redundancy trail. Why can football teams be allowed to run businesses with wage bills in excess of 80% of turnover when I have sleepless nights about my business?

I use liverpool as my example, because I have a fondness for them - supported them in my childhood, so I am familiar with the "anfield mindset" a set of fans that dont boo ex players, understand the beautiful game, and appreciate the finer points of good match - even if they lose. Fans I have stood with, cheered with, bitten my nails with.

And to my main point. Many Liverpool fans (and fans of other clubs) derided Chelsea when the russian one arrived, "chequebook football" and "I hope they win f**k all", and here we are a few years down the line and it looks like just about any fan in the country would whore themselves out for a billionaire. Even though most of the Man Utd fans hate the Glazers, and most LFC fans hate Gillette and co.

Where does it end? When does the bubble burst?

It ends for me here. I will still go every week, twice a week in fact - and stand in the pissing rain watching my lads under 7's team fumbling around with a ball on a sodden pitch in strips that are far too big for them. I watch them scuff the clearances, make foul throws, completely flout the offside rule, and roll around crying sometimes when someone clips their ankle, and on Sunday I enjoyed 2 games of football more than I have enjoyed football for years, they were 0-0 and 1-0, and it didnt matter who won or lost, because they all came off the pitch smiling, and they all shook hands at the end, and they even had a girl playing for the other side (shock horror).

Professional football ends for me here. Not one more penny from me.

/end rant

[ampersand]

and every time someone says this, i'll tell them 'lower league football'.

football in proffesional terms (sometimes semi-pro) goes beyond that of people earning 5, even 4 figures a week.

[t8yman]

and every time someone says this, i'll tell them 'lower league football'.

football in proffesional terms (sometimes semi-pro) goes beyond that of people earning 5, even 4 figures a week.

[ampersand]

totally agree ampers, its such a shame that the big game dominates so much.

[t8yman]

I still see scotland as a microcosm of the english game. with the added bonus (sarcasm) of religious bigotry thrown in. The old firm still pwn the game up there.

[t8yman]

I quite enjoyed David Mitchell's observer column this week. He made some good points.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/10/liverpool-football-hicks-gillett

[t8yman]

I honestly think it was a short time after euro96. Euro 96 changed the game in this country forever.

[RABun]

Football was great until Arsenal lost its great back four. Then i lost interest. Not enough english players in the premier league to create a training ground for national players, too much money involved and i can't afford the sky/espn subscription or the tickets to see the games.

[TheGayTent]

And every single football fan in the country appears to think the state of football in 2010 is alright, and the above are acceptable.

[TheGayTent]

I don't see how..

A combination of the formation of the Premier League and Thatchers attack on old school football (the Taylor Report) changed the game. Now not all that change was bad, I don't miss the fighting, but it radically changed the game.

Euro 96 was just another product of these changes... It is one of the positive things you can get by becoming "business focused". And the potential of the World Cup coming here is for the same reasoning.

[eFestivals]

I don't think they do.

In fact I wonder why it's taken you so long to figure it out and join the majority.

When I say the majority, I mean the majority that go to matches and pay for tickets. Not ones that have come along post Hillsborough, post Taylor Report, post Sky TV, post Premier League, and certainly not the corporate whores.

Except you'll be very wrong about those types being the majority.

The fact is that on average 50% of the fans at any match down all four divisions won't have been at a match the previous season - the 'churn' rate of fans is much greater than those who believe themselves to be 'real fans' would like people to believe.

And while I don't doubt that the scenario with that has changed over that last 20 years or so, I'd be very surprised if that change is more than 20% or so (I've never actually seen figures for what it was pre-Prem).

[Steve P]

When I say the majority, I mean the majority that go to matches and pay for tickets. Not ones that have come along post Hillsborough, post Taylor Report, post Sky TV, post Premier League, and certainly not the corporate whores.

[TheGayTent]

WHat got football in England to it's current position can be directly traced back to Hillsborough for me, not the formation of the Premier League. When stadiums became all seater, the game changed.

[ampersand]

WHat got football in England to it's current position can be directly traced back to Hillsborough for me, not the formation of the Premier League. When stadiums became all seater, the game changed.

[TheGayTent]

Hooliganism will never go away... Only a puffa fish would not recognise the difference between now and the 80's...

[TheGayTent]

so it's the liverpools fans fault? i hope all goes wrong for them today

[TheGayTent]

Except you'll be very wrong about those types being the majority.

The fact is that on average 50% of the fans at any match down all four divisions won't have been at a match the previous season - the 'churn' rate of fans is much greater than those who believe themselves to be 'real fans' would like people to believe.

[sifi]

Both things changed English football. i don't think you can dismiss either of them.

Edited October 12, 2010 by sifimaster

[ampersand]

Poppycock.

The fact that STHs account for way over 50% of the attendance at many many football grounds demonstrates that.

[t8yman]

I don't think they do.

In fact I wonder why it's taken you so long to figure it out and join the majority.

When I say the majority, I mean the majority that go to matches and pay for tickets. Not ones that have come along post Hillsborough, post Taylor Report, post Sky TV, post Premier League, and certainly not the corporate whores.

[Steve P]

Both things changed English football. i don't think you can dismiss either of them.

[eFestivals]

Poppycock.

The fact that STHs account for way over 50% of the attendance at many many football grounds demonstrates that.

Not poppycock. There's the research to back it up - against your anecdotal.

It is an average tho, so there will of course be exceptions - but exceptions both ways.

[eFestivals]

sth?

for livingston, the faces look exactly the same as they did last season. apart from the stand behind the goal where the primary school initiave is happening.

can't imagine it's too dis-similar at many other english grounds.

I was talking English football (apols for not making that clear).

It probably is different in Scotland, as Scotland has (I think it's this, from memory) the 2nd best attendances against it's population in all of Europe (I think Norway beats it, if I'm remembering rightly).

[t8yman]

The main problem is, the clubs exploit the fans "loyalty". And one of the things I hate the most about modern football fans is this indoctrinated false "loyalty".

People spend thousands following their clubs, f**king thousands - and the clubs know this. thats why they release 870 different strips a year at £45 a pop, and the junior kits are vastly overpriced, and the season tickets are priced as absolutely high as they can possibly get, and clubs have their own paytv stations, as well as sky, espn, etc etc. All highly commendable business practices if your customer base arent brainwashed into buying everything you throw at them. I'm stunned by the number of blokes I know who refer to their new replica football shirts in the pub as "smart innit?" no mate, actually it isnt. its a polyester shirt, made in a sweatshop by children, stretched across your 40" stomach, and you look just as f**king juvenile as the other 100,000 people who bought one this week.

since when did "smart" or "nice" get associated with a football shirt?

People brag that they "havent missed a game in 22 years"? I'd be embarrased to admit that nothing has happened in my life in 22 years that warranted missing a f**king football game. not one wedding, not one christening, not one bereavement, not one hangover, not one holiday?

Forget about this indoctrinated "loyalty" and smell the f**king coffee. The club want your money, and the only reason they might put your name in the program once every 8 years, or shout happy birthday over the tannoy - is because they know you are a f**king sheep, and they can pick your pocket while you are stood at the bovril stand.

[eFestivals]

I grantee its mostly carp... Pull up any research you want, it is carp as well...

I see your years at Uni were well spent in informing you.