[Archived] Football

[beerwins]

Well when you start to grace the mid 30s in age you can safely say that you have seen football in all its forms and the latter day of football is really starting to wear thin on me, watching MGP dive like a sniper had him today was exactly the kind of example that should be stamped out, i have never seen him do this and im under no illusion that sam is the influence on this as bolton had many tactics like this to drag down the clock, win free kicks, do anything to get that 1 nil win.

In no way am i critical of big sam and before the wally with a brolly got england job i was hoping sam got it simply because he knows how to win matches in modern day football, he does what needs to be done with the given budget, given he had a bigger budget and time im sure he could be up there with the likes of ol rudolph (ferguson) but im sure he will keep us up.

My gripe is the football of today, now i havent checked stats over recent years, but if someone wanted to look at the decline of goals scored from corners over the past few years i bet it would be huge, you cant move in the box without the ref reacing for old shiny to give a free out, and if the keeper comes out to claim the ball he may aswell have a forcefield around him, its becoming a non contact sport more and more every week and it bothers me.

I listened to simon garner (who i always admired ) midweek on radio lancs comenting on how he finds it amazing how players have to be motivated to play well nowadays, the money they are on for playing the game they love and they cant find it in their heart to give 110 % for their club. Players are so far from the real world these days that its become acceptable for players to become tired on a saturday if they have a game midweek, or like bentley recently blaming his lack of form on family problems, try giving that excuse to your boss next time you have a bad day see how far you get.

sneaky edit : just as a side note myself and many others are ripping players like keith andrews apart, well i have to say that i agree he isnt prem quality or championship standard either but his work ethic and attitude is keeping him in the team if only he had the skill at this lvl and the rest of the team had is attitude we would be fine.

The game is becoming namby pamby, teams that have been promoted stand very little chance of staying up and teams that have money (the big four) are the only ones who are going to be competing for any silverware, if you are a physical team like rovers are and have always been the only chance you have against teams like arsenal is to ruffle feathers and outbattle them but in todays game its impossible to do this. Hull city early on this season gave us a refreshing change, how did they do this ? well it was team spirit, good work ethic and keeping a good shape and discipline, what happend to them? well all it takes is one individual to upset the team spirit and all is lost.

May well seem like a pointless rant and probably is but i feel myself losing interest in football more and more , i take my son to rovers as my dad did with me and his dad did with him but now i feel football is a business not a game, im pretty sure that if rovers went down we would struggle like hell to get promoted again, but at least i would feel like there was a point to the game again and the players playing for my team had passion again.

[Hughesy]

So sam made MGP dive?? Is that because MGP has never diver before??

Seriously - GET A GRIP!

[Tango]

I could perhaps agree with you if Tottenham and Portsmouth hadn't won the two domestic cups last season... which rather discredits the whole "big four competing for silverware argument".

The Pedersen dive was as complete disgrace but, when you see Gerrard - one of the best midfielders, and English into the bargain - doing it week-in, week-out, along with a succession of midfielders in European competitions, it's hardly surprising.

The trouble with Garner's argument about "being tired on a Saturday" or "family problems" is that they simply weren't reported in his day-and-age. I'm not saying that what he's arguing is wrong, because fundamentally I agree with him, but, in the current media climate, we know the ins-and-outs of most footballers' family lives, extra-marital relationships, hobbies, favourite colours and last time they took a bath. 90% of what most footballers say gets printed in one form or another so not much should be read into it.

The bigger problem remains the growing divide between the "rich" clubs and the "poor" ones, and, as you've alluded to, the only way "poor" clubs can compete is to adopt negative tactics, including "ruffling feathers" as you put it. It's certainly cheaper than investing £15m in a single midfielder.

I completely understand where you're coming from in all your points, but realistically, there are a number of counterpoints to each of your arguments that apply to clubs like Blackburn Rovers. We're punching above our weight and will just have to accept that some of your gripes may well get us the points we need to stay up.

[beerwins]

So sam made MGP dive?? Is that because MGP has never diver before??

Seriously - GET A GRIP!

My point wasnt that sam made him do it it was that players nowadays including gerrard and ronaldo are so desperate to win its just becoming normal behavior and managers dont exactly tell them not to do it, my gripe is with the game not the player or manager, you missed the whole point.

[Hughesy]

watching MGP dive like a sniper had him today was exactly the kind of example that should be stamped out, i have never seen him do this and im under no illusion that sam is the influence on this

Sounds to me like you put the blame at his door on this one!

[beerwins]

Sounds to me like you put the blame at his door on this one!

Nah im under no illusion he wasnt made to do this, but i bet he isnt punished for trying it, and make no mistake im certainly no facebook subscriber i was hoping for sam the minute he didnt get the england job, he is a world class manager that studies tactics and formations well and having worked well at bolton i knew he would do well here at rovers, the point im trying to make is that its sad that players will resort to tactics like this to win matches and in todays environment it works , unless your rovers of course. we seem to be a team that gives penalties and not recieves them.

[thenodrog]

Nah im under no illusion he wasnt made to do this, but i bet he isnt punished for trying it, and make no mistake im certainly no facebook subscriber i was hoping for sam the minute he didnt get the england job, he is a world class manager that studies tactics and formations well and having worked well at bolton i knew he would do well here at rovers, the point im trying to make is that its sad that players will resort to tactics like this to win matches and in todays environment it works , unless your rovers of course. we seem to be a team that gives penalties and not recieves them.

I'd say he was a Premier League class manager. 'World class' is well OTT.

[beerwins]

Well i dunno he can do well with a small budget, wasnt given the time at barcodes, he may well have done a good job, scholari is a world class manager but that didnt get him far at chelsea, would fergie be the manager he is at another club, lord knows.

Too much is made of the young english managers this year, regardless of age i think experience is key, like any job , better to start at the bottom and work up slowly.

[Alan75]

I have to agree with a lot of your post beerwins.

The biggest problem in my opinion is that football as we knew it (the older gereration over 40's) that the game is no longer a form of release or entertainment for the working class.

Football these days, especially the premiership, has become a business and a gravy train for mercenary players whilst generating a fear factor for the clubs outside the top 6. whose main ambition is avoiding relegation.

[rover6]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...well, would you have guessed it, with predictable timing, a "Disillusioned Football Fan" (DFF) thread leaps up. For the DFF Thread, crap results are what spring is to daffodils.

However, I cannot disagree with any of that stuff.

If I had another hobby (I've heard this thing called "life" which is meant to be a bit of fun, haven't tried it myself) I would ditch footy. However, haven't got this far with Rovers, it's like a relationship that will meander till death. It was all intense in the early days and things have cooled and disillusionment has set in - but the ties seem too strong to cut them now.

If you think of it rationally - Rovers are gonna lose more than they win forever more, if finances mean anything, we will eventually be sucked downwards. SO what's the point of getting worked up about defeats? Especially, when the team play crap, unattractive, uninspiring football and half of footballers seem like complacent alien life forms from the Planet Can't Be Arsed Cos I Got a Mansion and a Porsche and a Blonde.

[thenodrog]

My point wasnt that sam made him do it it was that players nowadays including gerrard and ronaldo are so desperate to win its just becoming normal behavior and managers dont exactly tell them not to do it, my gripe is with the game not the player or manager, you missed the whole point.

The blame lies with the football authorities not the managers. Imagine a manager telling his chairman that he was dropping an important player for diving if that team is fighting relegation or for the title. It won't happen. Only the authorities can influence this.

Similarly with that other popular form of cheating, time wasting. Any play deemed as time wasting should be punished by double the time wasted being added onto the end of the match. An ages old problem could be solved at a stroke. Easy peasy. Next.

[Nate]

I agree with a lot of what you say beerwins. But still, it is like a drug to me, especially here in Australia. I spend hundreds if not thousands to watch as much football as I can and that doesn't include travelling overseas to watch games. I just can't get that annoyed to give it up!

[HemelRover]

I have to agree with a lot of your post beerwins.

The biggest problem in my opinion is that football as we knew it (the older gereration over 40's) that the game is no longer a form of release or entertainment for the working class.

I get so bored of listening/reading this kind of gripe...."if footy went back to a flat caps and wooden rattles, working class heros on the pitch then everything would be fine"

If football stayed with its traditional roots it would be dying on its arse like domestic(and too a large extent international) cricket.

[Alan75]

I get so bored of listening/reading this kind of gripe...."if footy went back to a flat caps and wooden rattles, working class heros on the pitch then everything would be fine"

If football stayed with its traditional roots it would be dying on its arse like domestic(and too a large extent international) cricket.

Can you honestly say that the majority of games are entertaining .

Fear of dropping out of the premiership has made games sterile as each team sets out its stall to put 11 men behind the ball.

[AggyBlue]

I get so bored of listening/reading this kind of gripe...."if footy went back to a flat caps and wooden rattles, working class heros on the pitch then everything would be fine"

If football stayed with its traditional roots it would be dying on its arse like domestic(and too a large extent international) cricket.

I get so bored by people trying to justify all the changes to football over last two or three decades as being good for the game.

[HemelRover]

Can you honestly say that the majority of games are entertaining .

Fear of dropping out of the premiership has made games sterile as each team sets out its stall to put 11 men behind the ball.

I cant. I too was very upset with the 7 defenders that BFS picked against Arsenal yesterday.

However, can you say that the majority of the games of yesteryear were entertaing? Too many unfit, overweight, outmatched players and teams, not enough all around skill.

[chocky]

Having heard Fat Sam on goals on Sunday he stated that he never asks his player to Dive but to go down when they have even been touched as other wise the ref won't give the decision..Not sure i agree with it but understand the sentiment..