Things Wrong with the Modern Game

[warnie_666 1,081]

Did the Gooners report us over the Cole affair?

The Man you/Berbatov thing really does stink. Man you broke the rules by discussing terms and even having a medical before being given permission to do so. Just because they later got that permission doesn't make it right.

Hell YEAH!!! They DID...Wenger was pissed after which Media blew the issue and Jose was fined.

[manpe 10,857]

Jose fined ? I find it hard to believe he had something more to do with it than Kenyon

[Fulham Broadway 16,423]

Well it'd be up to Spurs to report them for it, but as they eventually gave permission anyway, it seems that they won't.

Regardless of whether the Yids want to report him or not , the FA should intervene.

By not doing so they are endorsing a crime, Its like a rape or assault committed, the police know all the details but the CPS dont prosecute because the perpetrator has paid the victim off.

Just because the surly Jock is a Knight of the Realm, shouldnt mean hes treated any differently from when the book was thrown at CFC for the Cole affair.

[Fulham Broadway 16,423]

Good article in the Times today -

They'll only miss us once we've gone

What is it that Guinness advert proclaims? "All good things come to those who wait". Well the Footballing Authorities may not have to wait too much longer until their transition of the game is complete. To rid the game of the bad and populate it only with the good. No more rowdy behaviour, no more rebels of society daring to stand up and make their feelings known, no more problems.

Their ideals consist of fans turning up every week, queuing to gain entry in an orderly fashion, having booked their tickets 3 months in advance. Entering the stadium and taking their seats, rising only to applaud goals where they dance along to carefully selected music over the PA, before clearing up their litter and disappearing into the countryside until the following weekend. No hassle, no passion, no noise.

"They'll only miss us once we've gone"

As the game I know and love becomes more diluted by the passing year, I often wonder just when the breaking point will come. When will those authorised with sanitising our game realise the error of their ways? Or can they not actually see that they are breaking the very foundations of what has made this sport a success? Pound signs blur their vision, seen all too often in every walk of life. Greed takes over, people want more. They've exhausted the Premier League "brand" and now have visions of taking it further afield; the infamous "Game 39". Translated to you and me, meaning they have milked pretty much every penny they can from the "consumers" in this country, and now want to tap into the pockets of those football hungry consumers overseas. All in the name of expanding the pockets of the shareholders, players and governing bodies of our sport. Our sport, not theirs.

If I rewind 7 or 8 years; I'm leaving the house on a matchday and making my way to Anfield. There was no need to ring around in the morning; I'd just turn up and walk into one of two or three pubs around the ground, and would bump into people I knew. You knew where everyone would drink, and had done for years. The same faces, the people that made this club what it is. I can pop my head into those same pubs now, and I wouldn't recognise a soul. Those long standing supporters have now all but disappeared, replaced by families from all over, decked out in official replica sportswear and taking pictures of anything that moves. There's a smaller crowd of us left and tend to keep out of the way. We don't conform. Those areas around the ground have now been taken over by the new brigade, while the old guard retreat to pastures further afield.

Year after year, more and more people are dropping away. There's still a hardcore of a few hundred that travel everywhere. There's still thousands that go to every home game just like they always have. But it's becoming harder and harder for these people to carry on. Supporters being replaced by consumers. Participants being replaced by spectators. Just how much higher can the bar be raised by the controlling bodies before they've pushed away everyone that gave the game it's appeal in the first place? What happens when the passion disappears for good? You can't manufacture passion, no matter how hard some clubs try.

They have mascots running up and down the touchline trying to encourage the fans. At Bolton they play "I feel good" when they score, with two young lads running the length of the pitch with big flags. Music played after goals is now commonplace, as if fans don't know how to celebrate a goal by themselves. Is it because they realise the passion is dead and are trying to hang onto a small semblence of it? Or is it aimed at manufacturing a friendly atmosphere to suit their agenda?

Manufactured support; I can't think of anything worse. Handing out those clappers seems to be the next step this season, with the whole of St.Andrews clapping along with them before their opening game. This in a ground that used to be known as one of the most passionate and hostile in football; now transformed into a childrens play ground with everybody doing as they are told. Sat down and singing what the club want them to sing, and clapping when they want them to clap. So sad. Ticket prices on the increase there every season, and a ground I now refuse to visit. £40 for an away ticket some 4 years ago. No thanks. It doesn't take a genius to work out why they barely fill half of that ground any more.

Newcastle had their lowest league attendance for nearly a decade at the weekend, with cash turnstiles in operation, entry for £10 if you bought a replica shirt and other such promotions, but still had thousands of empty seats. Manchester United have been contacting everybody on their mailing lists trying to push season ticket sales again this summer. Whereas Old Trafford used to be like Fort Knox when it came to getting in, they're now closer to resembling one of the happy hour bars in Benidorm, with teenagers stood outside handing out cards with promotional offers to encourage trade. What was once a closed shop, is now opening it's doors and trying to drag people in off the streets.

Is the football bubble about to burst? I hope so.

On Monday night, Portsmouth's most famous fan, the bell ringer with the blue hair, or less commonly known as "John", was approached by the ground staff at Fratton Park and asked to keep the noise down. I'm sure it's not only me that's absolutely staggered by that. Asked to stop ringing his bell and keep the noise down, in a football ground! The mind boggles. But it's another notch on the many that have been made previously, in slowly sanitising the way we support our teams.

We are told we're not allowed to stand up as it's unsafe; yet rugby sides play in exactly the same stadia and those rules don't apply. Apparently it's safe for rugby fans to stand in those same seated areas, but not football fans (the reasons for that I could write a book on, and will address again). It's madness. They're also allowed to drink in their seats while watching the game. I know of a fan that was facing a 3 year football banning after peering over the exits at White Hart Lane to catch a goal he'd missed when coming down early at half time. He'd walked down the steps, was handed a pint by a friend, and heard the roar from the stands. He went halfway back up the steps to see what had happened, when two officers arrested him for consuming alcohol in view of the playing surface. It defies belief. But I'm told we're different. As our friend from Portsmouth has pointed out this week; would this sort of discrimination be accepted anywhere else, or by anyone else, but football fans?

I was on a final warning in my old season ticket seat for foul and abusive language. I was reported by fellow fans for swearing, and risked losing my season ticket. Now in that seat, I was reserved, very reserved. It was on the halfway line and not a noise was made all season by anyone. They were spectators, I'm a participant, or like to be. I want to go to the game and let off some steam. I go to work to pay the bills, put a roof over the family heads, and to enjoy myself during my time off. I choose to do that at the football, something I've grown up with. It's always been a part of who I am. But in that seat, I had to control myself and just sit and watch the game, conforming to those around me for over 7 years. I must have sworn a handful of times in that entire period, when telling the referee where to go or some other trivial slip of the tongue. Yet I faced losing my season ticket and not being able to support my side over it. I was one swear word away from walking away from the game for good. If this was in a family enclosure I'd understand. I know when swearing is unacceptable, and in my view, a football ground is one of those places where it fits.

When I go to the match, I want to stand with fellow fans, my friends. I want to participate in the game, I want to support the side. I want to shout and I want to sing. I want to do the things that made me fall in love with the game and going to the match. But one by one, the authorities are trying to take all those things out of our game. To have us sat in silence, only singing when they want us to sing, and singing the songs they want us to sing. Blaring music over the PA system we are supposed to dance along to. We're unable to create an atmosphere ourselves it seems. For the future, see American sports for how it will go. Club issue foam hands can already be seen, dancing girls have been tried, the list goes on.

Keep sanitising; you'll soon be wondering where it all went wrong, when the very people that made this game what it is, have all long since disappeared. There's not many of us left. Soon there will be none.

Enjoy modern football. Enjoy scratching your heads in some plush office arguing with each other about who's to blame when the crowds start to stay away. I'll be long past the caring stage. You'll have brought it upon yourselves and destroyed a game loved by millions in the process. I hope it's worth it.

Paul Jones

[Factoryworker 0]

In Germany the fans are showing banners with the text "Gegen den Modernen Fussball"("Against the Modern Football") more and more often - especially at matches against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, who were promoted from 2nd Division in May. In 1990, TSG Hoffenheim (WITHOUT the "1899" in their name!) were playing in the 8. League in the german League system... But thanks to the millions of Euros from the founding father of SAP (a giant software company, who delivers software to almost every business in the West), Dietmar Hopp, they kept getting promoted until they finally reached the Bundesliga this season. Last season, as they were promoted from the 3. to the 2. Division, they spended approx. 7 Million Euros on Carlos Eduardo, a young Brazilian. Also, former Schalke-coach Mirko Slomka has stated that he was interested in Chinedu Obasi(who also went to Hoffenheim a year ago) as well, but Schalke - who are sponsored by Russian giant Gazprom and playing in the CL! - didn't have the money to buy him.

This season Hoffenheim bought yet another young Brazilian, Wellington. Price: 4,5 Million Euros. I know that, thanks to the money from Sky etc., this isn't that much money in the EPL, but in Germany all the top players are sold around 10 million euros (Klose from Bremen to Bayern, for example) - therefore 4,5 would be a record for many clubs!

Just for your information: Hoffenheim is a village with a population of about 3500. 'Nuff said.

Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSG_1899_Hoffenheim

Edited September 3, 2008 by Factoryworker

[Fulham Broadway 16,423]

Remember reading an article about this awhile back. The owner had long been a Hoffenheim fan ? , and ploughed millions of Euros into the club, and that one of the biggest obstacles he couldnt overcome was the lack of fans and atmosphere, something you just cant manufacture no matter how rich the clubs are....

[Factoryworker 0]

Excactly. I was in Hoffenheim last fall, cos they were playing Kaiserslautern(my Number-1-club). The ground has room for about 6000 people, but is only full when big clubs(like Kaiserslautern, Cologne, Nuremberg, Munich etc.) are visiting - and that's because they bring all the fans and the athmosphere!

We only heard the Hoffenheim-fans when their team scored the winning 1:0-goal - and after that we all yelled "Not so loud, not so loud, not so loud!" The rest of the match we were singing different chants, including "Dietmar Hopp, the son of w-h-o-r-e"

Some might find that disturbing and provocative, but the dumbass still doesn't get that he's bringing millions of football fans up against him. Needless to tell that the stadium in Hoffenheim is named after him...

I prefer the likes of Abramovich, who "just" support an established club, with loads of myths, legends, fans and athmosphere - though I must admit that I'm a little scared of this Arab group, who bought ManCity a few days ago.

[Elliott 7]

So basically you prefer that an establishment is kept established, than a new one is brought to the fore. I think that's an interesting story myself, if it's done right.

[Laylabelle 9,305]

Well it'd be up to Spurs to report them for it, but as they eventually gave permission anyway, it seems that they won't.

I read Spurs dropped the complaint :S

[.Cee 50]

Penalty shoot-outs (wouldn't say this if our penalties are great tho'.)

[Drogba11CFC 108]

Rob Styles

The Penalty spot in the Luzniki Stadium

The people who want to make swearing, farting, standing, breathing out of turn etc punishable by a mandatory life ban.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Manchester City

Steven Gerrard

Andy Gray

Manchester United

Dimitar Berbatov

Andy Gray

Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez' beard

Andy Gray

Cristiano Ronaldo

Andy Gray

Wayne Rooney

Andy Gray

Luis Boa Morte

Andy Gray

West Ham

Andy Gray

Andy Gray

Andy Gray

Arsenal

Paul Scholes

Avram Grant

Andy Gray

[Laylabelle 9,305]

The fact you know most of the refs so well and when you know their refeering one of our games,you know they're gana make a big cock up at some stage

[Kez 2,727]

BL you forgot to mention Andy Gray

[Laylabelle 9,305]

Gerrard and the fact if he does something that Lampard did agges ago (100 goals) we have to read about it over and over and over

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

Townsend. Grade-A twat.

[Fulham Broadway 16,423]

Some classic here ! Especially football message boards and tatoos

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle5589815.ece

[diskoviolente 425]

having to watch tons of ads when watching pay tv.

pay tv.

setantas ad´s for "big games", looks like a war broke off.

Edited January 28, 2009 by diskoviolente