[Archived] A Question For Football's Fat Cats

[rover6]

I have had this post boiling inside of me for a long time and I just can't ignore it anymore. Football fans are a captured market because of the affinity that they develop with their teams. They'll put up with all kinds of crap because they absorb the team into their life. This fact is being exploited by the football fat cats. The media moguls behind the sensationalist media, the owners of the sports channels that ramp up the game beyond reality and, of course, the football clubs owners, staff and footballers - they are all taking the pee out of the football fan. Big time.

Why should anyone follow football anymore, bearing in mind the following points?

1) Professional football, at the elite end, anyway, is uninterestingly uncompetitive. Everyone knows this but nothing, it seems, can or will be done. The Champions League teams, with their tidy annual pay packet, are drawing further and further away from the rest. They have the best resources in virtually all departments. But for the English game's recent injection of foreign capital (which is unsustainable) the Premier League would already be a glorified version of the SPL. It basically is. The aristocrats of the Premiership are busy hoovering up any player that shows a bit of promise, leaving any attempts by the underclass to bridge the gap futile. Meanwhile, the bumbling managers of the rest go and repeatedly punch themselves in the face by, for example, signing goalphobic forwards (Heskey and Elmander).

There isn't just one fault line in English football. The gap between the Premier League and the football league seems to be growing too, making promotion to the top an increasingly unappealling tryst with long ball football and scrapping for survival - for a year or two.

2) The professional game, generally, is becoming less skill-focussed and more physical strength focussed. The lesser, non-Champions League sides are resorting to a brawny game of physical strength to cling onto the coat-tails of the leaders. David Moyes and Martin O'Neill are demonstrating that the only way to even try to compete, it seems, is to build your game around brutish forwards and accurate set-plays. Skilful play is, it seems, in serious decline. Wingers aren't very popular these days. Alex Ferguson has almost converted one of the world's most exciting wingers into a prosaic goal-machine - whilst Ronaldo's dancing feet do still sparkle from time to time - how often? You're more likely to see him converting a point-blank range header these days.

What has the Premier League come to when Gary Megson and Tony Pulis, members of the anti-skill society, are now celebrated British managers? (Kevin Blackwell may soon join them). We are at an unprecedented low, in terms of skiful play. Whilst there are idealistic sides that still play skilfully, notably Arsenal and the leading Spanish clubs, they are increasingly in the minority as Mourinhoism surges on. Boro and West Brom, two sides that try to play football, are leaving the Premier League, so the skill levels are only going to go down.

3) The modern player is outrageously overhyped - they aren't actually that good. Carlos Tevez was player of the season in Brazil a couple of times, he comes here to much fanfare and is rumoured to be valued at £25 million. Is he THAT good? Not really. He's a workaholic with a good all-round game for a forward but I would not call him a genius. But, maybe you think I'm being harsh - in that case, let's reluctantly turn our eyes to the other, lesser Premier League clubs. Amongst the more eulogised Premier League footballers is Tim Cahill. Effective but what is he but a tough, brave, strong competitor. He's not what I would call an exciting talent that I would like to watch as a neutral. You look through the Premier League, objectively, and you see scores of average, mediocre or worse players who are primarily playing because of their physical strengths.

It's not just England or the lesser sides. I had heard great things about Barcelona this season before the Chelsea tie. Even though Barcelona didn't exactly overly impress - I admired their style and the trio of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi are genuine geniuses. But, I was horribly disappointed by some others, especially Dani Alves. Whenever he plays, all I hear is what a superstar he is and how attacking blah blah blah. I do not follow the Primera Liga but I can say with near certainty that the guy is simply a decent all-round player with excellent fitness and admirable eagnerness to go forward. Anything more is hype. Most of these footballers are efficient but very rarely are they the geniuses that they are portrayed as. Many of them may be talented but ferociously complacent. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Dimitar Berbatov patronise the fans as they bestride football pitches as if they are God's gift to humanity, rarely deigning to break into a sweat. They do a few flicks and backhills, address their headband and then expect to receive unconditional adulation.

When the world's best footballers assemble for an international tournament, do we get a sumptuous feast of the brilliance of football? No. Judging by the last however number of tournaments, the players flag under the pressure of the tornado of hype that precedes these tournaments. But for a few teams that do play well (Argies, Spain) the majority wander around like lemons. The international tournaments are tedious and talentless, generally. Any interest retained is soley on the psychological level of partisan nationalism. If they weren't representing your country, you'd feel sorry for them and then switch off. I do that now regardless of my nationalist instinct.

4) The modern game is riven with cheats and egomaniacs. Everyone knows this, so I need not expound too much. Diving, feigning injury, petty gamesmanship of walking off with the ball etc, petty squabbling, thuggish aggression, self-obsessed celebration and so on. Why do they carry on like this? Because the fans continue to cheer them. Sadly. What they need is a good slapping. There is very little honour, dignity or respect in the game.

So, Skysports, Kelvin McKenzie, the FA, the Premier League, FIFA, the footballers, the newspapers and the rest, how do you justify taking money from fans when your product is sub-standard? You may build it to be the height of drama, the very epitome of the divine union of bullish strength, balletic skill and erudition but that is a load of old egotistical, manipulative doodah and if you had more shame, you'd stop the pretence. You are exploiting the fans' blind loyalty. Correct football's sharp decline. If not, I hope the day comes when you are left without an audience and fans clock onto your complacent, avaricious exploitation.

(Thanks for reading this btw).

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

''because of the affinity that they develop with their **teams**(replace with clubs)''

You answered your own question pretty well there rover6.The football club you choose usually from an early age becomes a lifes habit and a hard one to break.Some football clubs will unashamedly exploit this loyalty(see the 'BIG CLUBS'- their ticket prices in comparison to their gates = greed).

I believe we are very lucky at Rovers.

P.S.

Are you trying to convince yourself out of football altogether?

[Mr. E]

I posted a thread that touched on similar points a few months ago, and it got ripped to shreds but I still stand by it. Thought it focused more on the gap between the top clubs and the rest and how we shouldn't accept it.

The fact is the situation will never change unless we take a stand. Not just Rovers, but all clubs who are tired of the crap that goes on. The FA and the top four think themselves as untouchable but they are not.

It starts with organized demonstrations.

[JAL]

I think you'll find rover6 that clubs are heavily in debt and the fans too are equally short of cash so the two definitely make a minus that makes the current premiership highly unsustainable.

Throw your non competitiveness of the game in and just wait and see the wheels come off our national game.

Did you notice the many empty seats in the Chelsea end at todays game just wait till we see empty seats at ManU and Arsenal next season then we might begin to see some corrective action taken by the appropriate authorities.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I could have written that myself Rover 6, if only I was smart enough. Why do I keep going ? I don't know, I'm like one of Pavlov's dogs.

[Gus Gus]

4) The modern game is riven with cheats and egomaniacs. Everyone knows this, so I need not expound too much. Diving, feigning injury, petty gamesmanship of walking off with the ball etc, petty squabbling, thuggish aggression, self-obsessed celebration and so on. Why do they carry on like this? Because the fans continue to cheer them. Sadly. What they need is a good slapping. There is very little honour, dignity or respect in the game.

To finish your answer to the bold part, the players act like t***s because the referees, the coaches, the fans, i.e. every person involved with football has deemed it acceptable behaviour. Until players get punished for the actions you named they will continue to behave in that manner.

I haven't had the money to pay for tv in a while and I can't say I really miss watching football.

Good post, rover6.

[beerwins]

Nice refreshing read and i agree pretty much with everything you wrote, i follow rovers because its been in my family and in my heart for years, but thats not to say i enjoy everything about the modern game.

Will anything be done about it , NO CHANCE, i heard a commentator asking what more could liverpool do next season to ensure a better shot at the title, the answer came well in order to compete with man utd they must really get a bigger and better squad, more or less be winning all their games and conceding less goals, if thats what an already big team has to do to compete what the hell do we do.

The only thing we and a lot of others can do until some kind of order is installed is fight for scraps and hope to achieve 1 place higher next year, i cant help but feel more must be done to cap player purchase prices , the amount of foreigners in 1 squad and we need a massive boost in recognising home grown talent. To me its ironic how an manager from italy who when hired couldnt speak english is the one who is getting the best out of the england team.

[DE.]

Agree with most of the post, nothing that can be done about it, though. It's as much a reflection of society than simply football itself.

Was watching old football clips earlier, from when Sky Sports first came into existence... back when watching a football match live actually seemed special. Every match in the Premier League was built up to be epic, and as we only had one match Sunday and one match live every so often monday, it felt a lot more special. Of course, then, the gap was far more narrow, and any team could potentially beat another.

Think it'll be a while before that feeling returns.

[Shevchenko]

Football as a sport is dead. It is a business, and an ugly one at that. When some 17 year old can break through and gets paid more in a week than I would do in a lifetime, it doesn´t make me want to keep feeding the business really...or watch...or care anymore. It´s not right. It´s greed and it´s sickening. Not to mention what throwing all that money and fame at these people do to them. Do they have the proper grounding to handle it? The proper education to handle it? Doesn´t look like it much...

The amount of money in the "game" is off putting to say the least, but as R6 touched upon, the cheating and general unsportsmanlike behaviour we witness most every week (or every day - there is football on ALL the time...talk about saturation) is perhaps even MORE off putting. To see grown men, these "idols", act like children towards each other, towards the officials of the game and it´s customers (fans?) is disgusting. The diving, the feigning injuries, the mannerisms and language clearly used as every call is given against them - we see scenes of the most respected players in the game behaving like spoiled children. It is most unpleasing to watch and something I´d rather not be associated with or give my attention to anymore. To willingly cheer on behaviour like this should be beneath any person with even a residue of honour or humility in them.

And that´s the point really. There is no honour left in the game. The game itself can easily be argued is broken. The officiating doesn´t work, there is too much money, the play itself isn´t what it was etc. But even if the referee is completely useless and gets everything wrong, he is the man in charge on the pitch. He is the authority out there, and he should be treated as such. He should have the respect of the players and his decisions should be accepted, even when they are wrong. There should be enough honour in men that this could happen. And there should be enough honour in men that they compete with each other with a view to test their skill in fairness and humility and not with a view to deceive and make fools of opponents.

But players today are content to do whatever it takes to win. More wins means more money does it not? Fatter contracts and big bonuses. Win today and you can buy another car to put in your collection. They are happy to sell out, to care less about their reputation. After all, its OK to spite the referee, your opponents and everyone watching because you get "emotional". Players are selling out, are selling themselves for money and have been doing it for way too long. And are killing the sport in the process.

There is no respect, no honour and no humility anymore. Hey, you might even call it uncivilized.

But maybe I´m just being old fashioned now. It sure is boing as all hell at least.

[Rover Down Under]

I was lamenting the loss of the best years of the Premier in another post recently and agree totally with Rover6, couldn't have expressed it better. Nothing will be done, however, some clubs, notably the Big 4 are in a big a financial mess as the banks. If things go belly up the same will happen - they will be bailed out, by the FA or whoever, of course it's a different rule for the other clubs - points deductions, fines etc.

I think the best thing for the "little" clubs to do is boycott away games at the Big 4 from next season - why fill their coffers up even more? Something like that could really accelerate their downfall plus show the rest of the world in very visual terms that we are sick and tired of the current situation. Also the little clubs should charge Big 4 teams the same amount they do for home games. Big 4 fans will not want to pay 50-80 pounds for an away game. Concurrently home games against the Big 4 should be reduced for home fans to fill the stadium and give us a bigger "12th man" advantage.

What really angers me is that the FA have destroyed the English national game in favour of the "spectacle" we have now. I envisage an England team in ten years with the majority of players from the Championship if nothing is done to address the lack of English talent being developed and allowed to play in the Premier. I recall recent research which showed the number of English players to be now less than 50% of the Premier League, in the mid-90's it was nearly 90%. Like Rover6 I don't even follow England anymore, at the last World Cup I found myself cheering my adopted land louder than my homeland ( I admit it was also because Rovers, in Neill and Emerton, had a presence).

It is also a great concern that these superstars are worshipped like heroes and think a lot of the shocking behaviour of Gen Y can be ascribed to seeing their heroes (whether sportsstars or popstars) behave like spoiled brats. Ronaldo is an utterly despicable person in my eyes, he is worshipped by millions who see him cheat, dive and get away with it. What kind of message does that send to the youth of today? Let's not even mention their off-field behaviour, a big topic over here at the moment with two major scandals in the last week.

Things will only change if people stick together, stand up and make their voices heard. Yes we are fighting tough opposition - the Big 4 loving media, the football money barons - but who supplies them with their cash and passion? We do. And we can take it away, not as easily as we gave it - as Rover6 notes because we love our clubs - but we can still take it away with a little effort on our part.

[Alan75]

Cant be arsed reading all that - Want a rope???

rover6 has spent the time to put down his thoughts for sharing and discussion If you cant be bothered to read, have the courtesy not to insult the author, or others who wish to discuss the topic in a sensible way.

Football is no longer a sport in the true sense, its a business, that is being fueled by the media. Its a fashion statement for wealth and is in danger of imploding on itself, similar to the fiancial institutions that we the tax payers have had to bail out.

The game has got to a state that due to the financial implications, playing the game as it should be played with style and skill has been thrown out the window.

The decline in attendances has already started, and I wonder if Rovers hadnt given the 3 games fo £20 incentive what their attenances would have been against Wigan & Portsmouth.

With the continued financial down turn, next season could be very interesting, not just for Rovers but for football in general.

[philipl]

The foreign owners have by and large not worked very well and have hampered the game with a few honourable exceptions.

Man U would have been in a galaxy on their own without the Glazers- Ferguson would have had £200m more to spend on the team!

Liverpool currently have a future as bright as General Motors.

West Ham and Pompey are totally dead under their current owners whose only contribution to the game has been to wreck the business paradigm for the 15 clubs outside big 4 and City.

As for English players, Rovers had 3 in their 18 yesterday to Chelsea's 4. Go to the shopping list thread and most posts don't suggest a single English born player.

[neekoy]

First thing to do is switch off the TV and stop watching it

Stop bashing the crap out of Platini because he is French and support his ideas

Go find a lower league team close to your area and pump your hard earned into it

I would also recommend watching La Liga, Ligue A or the Bundesliga. Whilst you still have a general monopoly at the moment on the titles the top 8 sides will generally change from year to year and the league is constantly moving.

Real Betis, Champions League one year, relegated the next. Bremen title contenders, mid table the next. Lens, winning the league to being relegated twice since.

Also Setanta costs me $14 a month and I get a shedload of football from Europe. PL pay TV costs me $90.

[SouthAussieRover]

Also Setanta costs me $14 a month and I get a shedload of football from Europe. PL pay TV costs me $90.

Geez you city folk get ripped off.

It's costs $6 for setanta if you have fox sports which costs $14.95

Mind you there is the cost of the basic package too.

[neekoy]

Geez you city folk get ripped off.

It's costs $6 for setanta if you have fox sports which costs $14.95

Mind you there is the cost of the basic package too.

And there in lies the rub. Standalone mate, $14.95 a month.

[DE.]

For what it's worth, the Championship in many ways represents proper football far more than the Premiership does right now. A genuinely competitive league that always has the same type of teams around the top (Wolves, Sheff Utd, Birmingham, WBA) but any of the teams in that division have the chance to clinch a playoff spot. Problem is, the "reward" is usually one-season of getting destroyed in a "better" league or being forced to alter playing style so that it's no longer enjoyable in order to survive.

[SouthAussieRover]

And there in lies the rub. Standalone mate, $14.95 a month.

Must have confused me mate. You can't get Setanta on Austar as a stand alone.

You said $90 for PL.

[joey_big_nose]

I think the best thing for the "little" clubs to do is boycott away games at the Big 4 from next season - why fill their coffers up even more? Something like that could really accelerate their downfall plus show the rest of the world in very visual terms that we are sick and tired of the current situation. Also the little clubs should charge Big 4 teams the same amount they do for home games. Big 4 fans will not want to pay 50-80 pounds for an away game. Concurrently home games against the Big 4 should be reduced for home fans to fill the stadium and give us a bigger "12th man" advantage.

THere is actually some milage in this. I could see such a boycott being quite successful with the "other 16" as it is. Everybody is getting hacked off with the top four being a procession.

It is utterly ludicrous that the Liverpool, Chelsea or Man Utd second eleven is about as good (if not better) than the next nearest challengers (Villa and Everton). An absolutely untenable position in a "competition".

[OscarRaven]

THere is actually some milage in this. I could see such a boycott being quite successful with the "other 16" as it is. Everybody is getting hacked off with the top four being a procession.

What worries me is the apparent harmony between all the premier league clubs, the minor 'bust-up' over the Carlos Tevez affair (which was one of the most disgraceful football cover-ups ever) is the only one I can recall incidentally when a letter was issued to all the clubs telling them 'not to rock the boat'.

Chairmen go to these meetings representing whom? Why do they not speak out more? Are they afraid of repercussions?

It does need fans to first stand up to their chairmen and insist they start representing their club, their fans and football as a whole and not pursuing the growth and greed of the premier league.

By boycotting and protesting if necessary. But it won't happen because we can't be arsed and most people who go don't really care that much.

(That's the problem, apathy, not the premier league monster).

We need an elected football parliament made up of all the games stakeholders, supporters, referees, chairmen, managers and players overseeing the game. Keeping it accountable. Open robust debate and discussion. With an elected executive committee (or cabinet) running the game on a day to day basis. Not the FA. The premier league could then be reigned in.

But it won't happen because we can't be arsed and most people who go don't really care that much.

[Sandiway Blue]

The problem will only come to a head when followers of the the `big` teams wake up and realise how much they are getting ripped off and start boycotting their respective clubs.It is already starting at old trafford of all places,there have been times this season when old trafford hasn`t been full by a couple of thousand,and they have increased their prices for next season.My mate is a manc who has been a member for years,this season he got offered a season ticket for the first time ever but he has actually stopped going to the games because of the rocketing prices.

Clubs need to wake up and learn that people are getting fed up with rising prices and in all fairness Rovers recognised this and acted on it.

Btw for the poster who said about supporting the local team,to support my local non-league team Bacup Borough (who are 3 divisions below the conference)would cost £6 pounds.Compare this to watching Rovers for £15 against far better quality opposition then really it`s a non-starter.

[Blue blood]

Agree with all that's been said on here, especially Shevchenko - the cheating, diving, complaining at the referees, and the off field antics are even more off putting then the lack of competition. And it seems it's the norm at local level as well now. As a teacher and coach I referee a fair few football games, and the amount of diving, complaining about every decision, and stupid appeals for imaginary handballs and the like is so prevailant.

Sadly I can't see the culture or the competitiveness changing. Not until the big 4 are seriously affected - and with their £20 million plus from the CL each year, that won't happen for quite a while. Empty seats - it's nothing compaired to the money they make from t.v.

If I was starting now I wouldn't support a team - would be put off by all of the reasons everyone has listed. That's not an option though now - rovers till I die, I'm hooked. Maybe that's when there'll be a change though; as it is football is hardly a fantastic advert for itself at the moment. But if more people are put off and there aren't the new fans coming through (children all seem to support one of the big 4 I find these days) maybe then with so many clubs on the brink may football do something about the dire situation.

[tashor]

Methinks the Laddie Doth Protest Too Much……

For someone – articulate and erudite as you are – to destroy the thing you love, smacks of unrequited passion.

After all what is football but a silly game. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players but to take so seriously the random hacking of a Mokoena and misplaced crossing of a Gamst is to lack the capacity for reasoned judgement.

In a world of starving children and massacred minorities, not to mentioned the privileged bleatings of the wealthy credit crunchees how does one elevate the pantomime that is our national game to such high levels of esteem?

To do so is akin to standing up in front of all the children at a Christmas performance of Aladdin and point out that the ugly dowager is merely an old man in drag.

It is, in short, missing the point entirely.

R6 – your post is, in its factual content, indisputable. Just as surely as the reality that Widow Twankey has hairy balls beneath that pretty garish floral frock – but of course you are missing the point completely.

Just as Deal or No Deal and the National Lottery allow us to dream beyond the mundane dross of our everyday lives so the Premiership allows the world and his/her wife to escape into an addictive obsession which transcends ordinary day to day reality.

The lucky deviants that strut on the stages of our screens and stadiums reap the rewards of our idolatry. But to envy them makes as much sense as taunting the freaks at a travelling circus – life is but a random travesty. Make your own journey and worry less about the travails of your fellow passengers.

At the end of the day maybe the The Co-operative Netball Superleague is more up your street. Chill………..

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Right on Groovy Wordbender.

[neekoy]

Must have confused me mate. You can't get Setanta on Austar as a stand alone.

You said $90 for PL.

I have my own satellite dish and set top box so I just get Setanta, if I wanted full PL football I would need to get Fox Sports which would cost me basic package plus fox sports, last time I checked around $90

[OscarRaven]

The lucky deviants that strut on the stages of our screens and stadiums reap the rewards of our idolatry. But to envy them makes as much sense as taunting the freaks at a travelling circus

cheered me up!