"Thatcher killed football"

[sam86]

"Since Margaret Thatcher stopped teachers being paid extra money for coaching sports after school, all sporting activities have diminished on a competitive basis. Thatcher killed football, no doubt about it."

- Sam Allardyce

Thoughts?

 

[DT Withdean]

"Since Margaret Thatcher stopped teachers being paid extra money for coaching sports after school, all sporting activities have diminished on a competitive basis. Thatcher killed football, no doubt about it."

- Sam Allardyce

Thoughts?

More words from Einstein.
His thuggish contribution to the beautiful game, is the boring on eye, hoofing style, obsession with strength, organisation, set pieces, and territorial advantage. A turn-off for many fans & kids.
Thank Christ for Barca, ManU, Spain, Arsenal, any many others for keeping the dream alive.

What about us overly protective parents not letting kids play football on side streets, or out of sight, especially of Primary School age.

 

[Icy Gull]

Sports used to be part of the school curriculum, when did it become an after school activity?

The obsession with STILL blaming Maggie Thatcher for things going wrong in 2011 is laughable.

 

[Here's Johnny!]

Far too sweeping a statement for me. Don't like the Torys and don't like Big Sam, where to sit on this one.........

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Greed and self serving interests from the major clubs killed football.

 

[Muzzman]

I wonder who plays Fat Sam in this...

[yt]T_m-WoGk1EY[/yt]

 

[rcf0712]

Football hasn't been killed, it's just different. It's a mega business now and there little anyone can do about that. I wouldn't say it's progress 'cos I prefered it how it was in the 70's frankly, when there was minimal diving and hard tackling. Things change though, pretty much everything changes for better or worse but it ain't dead, how can anyone think that with the season ahead of us we have now?

I do fear for West Ham though, I've many Hammer mates and their beautiful academy inspired passing game is hardly going to have the renaissance they are all waiting for under hoofer Sam's stewardship.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Greed and self serving interests

I blame Thatcher for this.

 

[albionite]

Sam Allardyce probably thinks he can run the country....a bit like when he thought he could be the boss of Real Madrid etc.

 

[chez]

I think if kids want to play football they will, the talent will still come through. I'm not sure you can blame it on schools curriculams. Personally I think games consoles & computers are as much to blame as anything else.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

"Since Margaret Thatcher stopped teachers being paid extra money for coaching sports after school, all sporting activities have diminished on a competitive basis. Thatcher killed football, no doubt about it."

- Sam Allardyce

Thoughts?

Has Allardyce ever thought that it was Labour that sold off all the Sports fields/playing fields.What with that and that iniquitious Health and Safety........

 

[drew]

1. Football isn't dead. It is probably as popular now as it has ever been.
2. The fitness of kids, or lack of it, is more down to parents and games consoles.
3. Choice. When I was a kid, you played fooball at school in the winter and cricket in the summer. There are a whole host of different sports that kids turn to. West Indies Cricket has allegedly declined, in part, because the sporting kids turn to basketball in the states where fortune are made for being an average player and they have access to the sport on tv.

I am in no way a thatcher fan but Allardyce has lost the plot ever since he walked out of Bolton and thought he would automatically go on to bigger things. I wonder whether Real Madrid ever returned his CV!!!!

 

[8ace]

The Taylor Report is her fault as well.

 

[glasfryn]

Far too sweeping a statement for me. Don't like the Torys and don't like Big Sam, where to sit on this one.........

she also encouraged councils to sell off the school playing fields ..........but I will say the premier division has not helped or the computer games the bone idle little sods spend hours on rather than get out and play football I for one played in the street and still to this day have some of the scars to prove it.


cream will always rise to the top whatever you put in their way

 

[KZNSeagull]

When I was in school in the late 70's, early 80's, we only had 1, 80 minute Games session a week and 1 after school football session - hardly a huge amount of time to hone one's skills! The kids who wanted to play more played at breaktimes, lunch and after school in the parks. They also joined local clubs and played there. I do not remember Thatcher stopping anyone doing any of that.

But she did kill Bambi.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

She definitely killed the radio star.

 

[beorhthelm]

odd one, especailly since football isnt dead. if we want to find a political reason, the shift in many left wing areas to discourage competitve sport would have had far bigger impact im sure (as reems of research and investigation of the subject have concluded too). Spain and Germany dont produce excellent national teams due to after school sessions, they have kids put into acedemy programs from young age, focusing on the sport and playing on small pitches in 5,6,7 a side.

i also read an interesting opinion peice that suggested the reason we arent at the top in any major sports is because we try to be at the top of a dozen. the pool of atheltically talented individuals are spread thinly through football, rugby, cricket, motor racing, tennis, boxing, horse riding, swimming, athletics etc... then there are cultural and class divides that reduce the access or inclination of many to some sports. we are actually very good an many fringe sports, but they dont get mentioned. then theres motor sport, in which we host the majority of the F1 teams and British engineers are through out the teams of those not based here, and indeed other motoring codes. food for thought.

 

[Steveapps71]

She definitely killed the radio star.

add to the list shergar & JR!! she definately killed both of em
On a slightly serious note, whatever damage she did/didn't do all the governments have had plenty of chance to reverse the damage since she went in 1990!!

 

[1959]

Has Allardyce ever thought that it was Labour that sold off all the Sports fields/playing fields.What with that and that iniquitious Health and Safety........

Labour sold off the playing fields? Are you sure? I only say because I'm pretty sure I remember complaining to anyone who'd listen about where it would lead in the early 1980's when it first started happening. Maybe I'm old and my memory's failing me.

Also, the Health and Safety thing. Just to be clear....are you suggesting it did not exist before 1997 and that successive Conservative governments have tried and failed to repeal this supposed monster? I'm not sure that's the case. And is the Act really a bad thing?.....You know, the government trying to keep its people healthy and safe? Because I think if people were still dying in their thousands every year in preventable industrial accidents and the like, and the government was doing nothing about it, then I think people might have good cause to complain. And I think, although this is just a personal opinion, the people complaining the loudest, and demanding immediate government action, would be people like Richard Littlejohn.

 

[pasty]

"Since Margaret Thatcher stopped teachers being paid extra money for coaching sports after school, all sporting activities have diminished on a competitive basis. Thatcher killed football, no doubt about it."

- Sam Allardyce

Thoughts?

Just reinforces my opinion that the man is an idiot