British sporting success - will 'football' ever learn?

[drew]

I very much hope there is a bandwagon to jump on. Y'know, start debate, get enough of a consensus to challenge the status quo, keep up the momentum, influence policy and force change, etc, etc

Nowt wrong with that.

What do you suggest they do then! You're making a host of criticisms but not coming up with any suggestions to rectify the problem! What is the status quo? The Prem has been going for 20 years and at the time broke the status quo, whether you like it or not. A financial fair play scheme is being introduced for Europe to try and level the playing field.

How does success make it exciting? You haven't managed to answer his question.

If the product was boring people wouldn't subscribe and the tv companies wouldn't spend vast amounts buying the rights! It's a measure but at the end of the day it's whether the individual finds it exciting. I very much suspect there are many bemoaning the premier league but subscribe to Sky for their fix at the weekend and to be able to follow all the shenanigans at transfer time!!!!

But what does it mean to you and me? What are the benefits of England having "the most exciting football league in the world".

We already know it doesn't make our national team better.

So does it, for example, make Saturday afternoons better? (Or, ahem, Sundays). Does it make tickets cheaper? Does it bring fans closer to the players? Improve the community aspect of the sport?

Help me out here!

How does it affect me! Well, hopefully next year we will be competing in that league. If not next year, then maybe the year after. Not sure what your last point is all about. Do you want to be closer to the players? Do you think the players of the world champions are closer to their fans, or even the players of Real or Barca are not kept in a bubble away from the 'riff raff'?

 

[drew]

Not many people get kicked out of football for cheating, gamesmanship and not playing to win. This is down to referees not enforcing the rules that already exist in the game. If they did then maybe the attitude of players would improve.

I wouldn't necessarily blame the refs. More to do with the FA and the clubs not wanting a host of sending offs. However, refs do themselves no favours.

Also, if you inlcude drug taking as cheating, then athletics and cycling for example don't have a great recent record.

Having the ref's on the bottom wrung, does football no favours.
But sorting that out will take a whole cultural change, which as Pardew proved, isn't happening any time soon.

In which sports are refs held in very high esteem then? No doubt you will now cite Rugby as the best example. Well I would suggest the only reason for that is that they can dish out punishment for dissent in the form of moving a penalty 10 yrds further forward. Take that away and I suspect the refs would start getting ever increasing abuse.

 

[Wozza]

Not sure what your last point is all about. Do you want to be closer to the players?

It wasn't a point - it was an example. You still haven't given an example of how supposedly having the "most exciting league in the world" benefits the typical football fan in this country.

 

[niknokseagull]

In which sports are refs held in very high esteem then? No doubt you will now cite Rugby as the best example. Well I would suggest the only reason for that is that they can dish out punishment for dissent in the form of moving a penalty 10 yrds further forward. Take that away and I suspect the refs would start getting ever increasing abuse.

Yeah, rugby and pretty much any other sport you can think of, no? Name me another one where they are held in as low esteem as football, boxing aside. And you have clearly never played rugby at any serious level.

 

[drew]

Yeah, rugby and pretty much any other sport you can think of, no? Name me another one where they are held in as low esteem as football, boxing aside. And you have clearly never played rugby at any serious level.

You're right, I've never played rugby at any level. What is your point?

As for other major sports, in cricket, you lose your match fee and possibly other penalties if you abuse the umpires, in tennis, well there are many umpires that get abuse but they can also award point penalties for behaviour. In football a few years back refs had the power to move free kicks forward but despite the crap they took from players they very rarely did it. Had they done so more often, then I suspect begrudgingly the players would have been forced to show more respect. Same as players that dive. If they got substantial match bans then their clubs would not encourage them to go down so easily. You're not going to want to pay your staff hundreds of thousands a week to have them not play for 9 or 10 matches!!!!

 

[drew]

It wasn't a point - it was an example. You still haven't given an example of how supposedly having the "most exciting league in the world" benefits the typical football fan in this country.

I'm struggling to see exactly what it is you want! Seems football to you should be about cheap tickets and having a drink with players in the bar after the game. If that's the case, go and support Southwick or a club like that!!!!

 

[niknokseagull]

You're right, I've never played rugby at any level. What is your point?

Simply that your assertion is well wide of the mark.
That was my point.

 

[JBizzle]

You're not implying there's no drugs in football, are you?

Not many people get kicked out of football for cheating, gamesmanship and not playing to win. This is down to referees not enforcing the rules that already exist in the game. If they did then maybe the attitude of players would improve.

No absolutely not. Football definately has many faults to its but due to its place in the public eye they are hugely highlighted and scrutinised and held up as poor role models.

Didier Drogba for example, constantly vilified for "going down easy", rarely praised for his relentless charity work.

Anyway, my point is that football can learn lessons from athletics, yes, but no more than any sport can learn things from any other sport. The Olympics was a great event and a real festival of sport and, sure, praise should be due for it. I just think that there's a lot of knee-jerk responses to events like this.

Another example being The Sun's back page proclaiming that a 1-1 draw meant that, more or less, the summer of joy is over and its the England football team's fault. Did they do it when any of our Olympians didn't win their first race after the Olympics? No. Why? Because its not the populist opinion at the time.

And breathe...........