Football in it's current version

[MattFox]

5 hours ago, Stadt said:

Watch a game, there's lots of aimless hoofing (AKA losing the ball time and time again) - even in the Champions League. There's very little pressure on the ball which is jarring as a modern viewer.

 

It's romanticism, look I'm not a fan particularly of slow build up football, especially for the below average teams in the league. But football is better now, the quality is higher, the likes of Savage wouldn't have a top flight career.

 

It's a totally valid thing to say the quality then is shit compared to now.

There was a video going round a few months back of Arsenal’s invincible’s v Mourinho’s Chelsea and both teams spent half the game hoofing it up the pitch 

[Matt]

It’s shit.

 

I don’t know if it me growing up, caring less, nostalgia, or simply realising as a match going fan were being shafted - but last point aside, regarding the game, on the pitch, for all the skill, talent and fitness in the game, football at the top level is stagnant, boring and quite simply, shite.

 

It’s quite clear I lost a lot of interest during the Puel and then Rodgers era, I’m struggling to get that passion and drive I had before that back.

 

I was thinking/discussing the nostalgia point only the other week in fact and I’m glad I grew up with the football I seen in the 90’s and early 2000’s, if I were a kid now growing up, I don’t think I’d have an interest in or even like football.

 

Its one size fits all, whether it be playing style, identity of teams (hate that phrase or “playing the [insert club name] way” but it’s the only way to describe how it was), similar flat pack stadiums, chants, old style music before kick off, it all just seems generic and Americanized.

 

I’ve said for many years the Premier League is bang average - and we’re part of the problem (and have been for a while).

 

I prefer the lower leagues to be quite honest. I was listening to some people talk about non league the other day and the snobbery astounded me.

 

All that said, see you all down there Saturday…. 

[mancunianfox]

7 minutes ago, Matt said:

I prefer the lower leagues to be quite honest. I was listening to some people talk about non league the other day and the snobbery astounded me.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head here for me, the snobbery in football now is 100% one of the worst things that have crept into the game. Apparently everything outside the top six is crap even though most of those players are desperate to play and are trying their absolute best. We moan about all the bad things that come along with the premier league but then also look down on the have not's as well. I found our support very off putting last season because of this attitude towards the rest of the championship, despite the fact that we have been a second tier side for a lot of our existence. 

[Corky]

We are very good at nostalgia, though. If this place was around during the O'Neill years you would get seething post match threads after losing 3-0 at Derby, 3-0 at home to Coventry in the FA Cup, listless defeats to Wimbledon, Sheffield Wednesday etc.

[Sunbury Fox]

7 hours ago, worth_the_wait said:

 

In terms of competitive football, the best time was probably the 1960's and most of the 1970's.

 

This was a time when clubs still shared their home gate receipts, so even though Man Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal were richer than others ... not by that much.    It genuinely felt like anyone could win anything.

 

In the 20 seasons from 1959-1978, there were:

 13 different Champions
 15 different FA Cup winners
 14 different League winners (in 18 seasons)
 

Just think about those stats for a minute.

 

In addition to that, all the clubs' grounds were utterly unique, with their own historical make-up of terracing and seats.   You could never mistake any 2 grounds.     Now with all seater stands, quite a few feel "same-ish"  eg. us and Southampton, Bolton and Huddersfield, MIddlesbrough and Derby, etc.

 

Those stats are fascinating. By contrast in the last 20 seasons from 04/05 onwards,, there were:

 

5 different league champions (1 winner from outside the big 6 - guess who?!)

8 different FA Cup winners (3 winners from outside the big 6 - including us again!)

7 different League Cup winners (2 winners from outside the big 6)

 

So, that is 60 trophies, with 53 of them won by 5 clubs (Tottenham having only won 1 in this time, the LC in 2008). And it gets worse if you look at the last 10 seasons - in that time, the big 5 have won 28 of the 30 trophies (93%), with only 1 non-big 6 club winning anything - guess who?!

This goes to show how the power and wealth has been increasingly concentrated into 5 or 6 big clubs, to the detriment of the competitive element of the game. Whilst I still remain a total football obsessive/addict (I love watching games on any night of the week, listening to podcasts about LCFC and football in general), the lack of real competition in the EPL does make it less interesting as a spectacle. I heard a pundit saying the other day how open the league was this season before adding (with no sense of irony) that Man City,  Arsenal and Liverpool were certain to be the top 3, but there were 3 or 4 clubs who might sneak into 4th, like that was something thrilling. I think many of us like The Championship because it is genuinely unpredictable and even the 'big' teams lose 9 or 10 games in a season. Compare that to the EPL where Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool are racking up 90 points in only 38 games, losing only a handful of matches. And even in the Championship, parachute payments are starting to take away some of the unpredictability. Not sure what the answer is, though, as money has got such a grip on the game, it is hard to see us going back to a time when competitions were genuinely open. 

 

Edited 30 September 2024 by Sunbury Fox

[Royston.]

The sport has changed into a business at the higher levels where coincidentally all the money is.

 

The premier League is everywhere and thanks to the internet you really can get football 24/7.

 

It has become tiresome for me but if we had this level of coverage back when i was a kid I'd loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Stadt]

2 hours ago, MattFox said:

There was a video going round a few months back of Arsenal’s invincible’s v Mourinho’s Chelsea and both teams spent half the game hoofing it up the pitch 

That’s the one I was thinking of, those are two of the best domestic sides ever as well.

[whoareyaaa]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

It’s shit.

 

I don’t know if it me growing up, caring less, nostalgia, or simply realising as a match going fan were being shafted - but last point aside, regarding the game, on the pitch, for all the skill, talent and fitness in the game, football at the top level is stagnant, boring and quite simply, shite.

 

It’s quite clear I lost a lot of interest during the Puel and then Rodgers era, I’m struggling to get that passion and drive I had before that back.

 

I was thinking/discussing the nostalgia point only the other week in fact and I’m glad I grew up with the football I seen in the 90’s and early 2000’s, if I were a kid now growing up, I don’t think I’d have an interest in or even like football.

 

Its one size fits all, whether it be playing style, identity of teams (hate that phrase or “playing the [insert club name] way” but it’s the only way to describe how it was), similar flat pack stadiums, chants, old style music before kick off, it all just seems generic and Americanized.

 

I’ve said for many years the Premier League is bang average - and we’re part of the problem (and have been for a while).

 

I prefer the lower leagues to be quite honest. I was listening to some people talk about non league the other day and the snobbery astounded me.

 

All that said, see you all down there Saturday…. 

This is the problem without PSR teams where becoming a lot more competitive and a few more have broke through like Newcastle and Villa and Us. (Even Brighton and West Ham)

 

But the corruption at the top along with VAR has taken the gloss off it.

 

 

Edited 30 September 2024 by whoareyaaa

[Fish]

Overhyped , overanalysed , managers obsessed with their own importance (players and clubs in general also) . Fans screaming for more investment if a m@tch is lost . Games been ruined by money .

[Daggers]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

I was listening to some people talk about non league the other day and the snobbery astounded me.

 

It's like quitting smoking. It's hard. I've stopped doing something that was bad for me and feel compelled to proselytise the benefits of the new life. If it helps, I'm fully aware how much of a cvnt it makes me sound - I just don't care 

[Ian Nacho]

The last 2 years for me especially have been the least passionate I have been about football in a long time. The game has completely lost its soul; boring possession based football, PSR, billionaire owners (including ours) who use the clubs as engines to butter up potential customers, VAR, changing tournament formats to suit the big clubs, a piss poor match-day experience to cater to the tourist, digital season tickets and so much more, the list could go on. 

 

The highest division in England where there is some sort of soul is League 1; even in the Championship there is a mad scramble to get into the promise land of the Premier League (which isn't all what it's cracked up to be). I went to Walsall last week and I was half envious thinking that these have it better off than us. 

 

I've had a season ticket for 21 years and have been going to pretty much all aways (cups, pre-season etc) for the last 11 so it's just something that I do now and I can't stop. 

[grobyfox1990]

4 hours ago, mancunianfox said:

I think you might have hit the nail on the head here for me, the snobbery in football now is 100% one of the worst things that have crept into the game. Apparently everything outside the top six is crap even though most of those players are desperate to play and are trying their absolute best. We moan about all the bad things that come along with the premier league but then also look down on the have not's as well. I found our support very off putting last season because of this attitude towards the rest of the championship, despite the fact that we have been a second tier side for a lot of our existence. 

I’ve been a child for most of my existence. Doesn’t mean I should act like a child now (no jokes pls). Calling a spade a spade shouldn’t be frowned upon. The quality of football and the athletic ability of the players in the championship last season was utterly hideously appalling. 
That being said I saw chesterfield v Grimsby a few weekends ago which was great. Both teams attacking and kept it on the floor. 

[DennisNedry]

I just sort of assumed my waning interest in City and football in general was due to me getting older (focusing on family, my son, career etc).

 

But lately I have been coming to the same kind of realisations as many here. It's just not as good anymore for dozens of reasons.

 

Despite winning a hell of a lot last season I found myself unable to enjoy it, the style of football is just so dull to watch these days. Granted they'll always be a mad game every so often but a lot are just formulaic.

 

VAR is one of the most jarring for me though. I genuinely hate it.

[foxer]

I've found I'm more interested in sticking the Leicester women's games on the TV than I am in our games this season. Far less predictable, they have a tactical plan which they stick to and they all seem up for it. 

[Guest Dirkster the Fox]

I believe the Roman elites quickly realised they needed to create a distraction for the working class masses.

 

So the Coliseum was built and the masses chose their gladiator of choice to support.

 

Meanwhile the elites........

[Guest Dirkster the Fox]

Just now, Dirkster the Fox said:

I believe the Roman elites quickly realised they needed to create a distraction for the working class masses.

 

So the Coliseum was built and the masses chose their gladiator of choice to support.

 

Meanwhile the elites........

FWIW I long gave up wanting to actually go and watch LCFC in person.  Long ago.

 

Much prefer a good local non-league game nowadays.  More real, easier to speak to people, can have a pint or a coffee without issue.

 

Premier League fans are just there to fill the theatre.  

[FoxesFan#1]

58 minutes ago, Dirkster the Fox said:

I believe the Roman elites quickly realised they needed to create a distraction for the working class masses.

 

So the Coliseum was built and the masses chose their gladiator of choice to support.

 

Meanwhile the elites........

This is so true and explains the real reason for why we have sport especially football, as it’s designed to distract us and to separate us.

 

I understand that the Rugby head master in the 1800s (Thomas Arnold) help designed modern day sport for this reason.   

 

I still love the actual game but could care less about the rivalries now.  I appreciate the skills and efforts players put in but now prefer non-league football.

 

I used to love LCFC but the last few years have been dire as a supporter.  I think I stopped loving it when they did that first light show and Liverpool beat us 4-0 on Boxing Day 2019.

 

I too wondered if it is an age thing but it’s not at all as I’m now a born-again football fan loving watching my local non league side.  Football is good fun again except for the odd visit to Leicester.  If my new team loses it isn’t a problem, in fact I don’t want them to get promoted!

 

It makes me sad to say these words after going to 500+ LCFC matches but I just think top flight/big club football has no soul now.

[J. James]

21 hours ago, adam said:

It's the players wages that are the main reason why the game is in tatters. All these clubs making massively loses is madness and mainly its all down to the wages. There should be a salary cap. No one needs to be paid 200k a week to play football.  Fans getting ripped off week in week out with shirts, tickets, food and the players getting richer each season. Don't see how it will ever change now unless TV companies get bored of it.

Money is in my view the root of the problem, costs have to be passed on and fleecing the supporters is it seems the only way.

 

However, with the unchecked rise of AI (## it's good news week) the traditional but inconvenient attendees at a game will sooner or later be replaced with AI crowds indistinguishable from us, stadiums as we know them will disappear and games will be played in basically blue screen studios.

 

Much cheaper and controllable.

 

There will be no decline in support, it just wont be us, it will be subscribers.

 

And dont confuse this with the atmosphere free Covid games, this will be programmed, directed and edited? by professionals.

 

This is the way the world is heading- or rather the way mega rich are directing it- in order to maximise their returns.

 

Driverless cars - supporterless grounds, all to control and take out the inconvenient glitches that devalue the product (in their view) - otherwise known as people and surprises.

 

Lots of us already feel that we are exploited and taken for fools, there is little or no chance of any team apart from the usual suspects winning anything now, VAR and the other 3 letter acronyms have stolen our excitement and it all feels set up and controlled just to make money, particularly for the greedy six.

 

Wonder why lots of us traditional football fans feel a disconnect?

[urban fox]

I get that improvements in technology with boots, balls and pitches have made a big difference, along with higher fitness levels etc and, whilst the "quality" and technique of players seems to be of a higher standard in the modern game some of that is down to the above

The issue I have is that a lot of the spontaneity has been coached out of players in favour of "systems".

but I suggest that players of yesteryear would Have shown similar levels if they were playing today. George Best for eg would have been unplayable on today's pitches. The mud paths of previous eras were a leveller and we got a more competitive games and "shock" results than we do nowadays

[The Hitman]

On 30/09/2024 at 10:19, Lako42 said:

I've said it a lot over the years but this is genuinely the last year for me as a ST holder. 

 

Having a baby has focussed me and i'm not willing to waste one of two days off worshipping multi millionaires and filling the pockets of billionaire man children. 

Sounds like I’m in the same boat and frame of mind as you. 
 

I have two concerns holding me back from giving my season ticket up, one is the lads we go and have a drink with before. We’re based all over Leicestershire and a couple even further adrift. We’ve all been going together for 20+ years and I’d be sad to stop seeing them regularly. 
 

The other reason is in the back of my mind in 3-4 years my lad will most likely want to start going and I’d then have to start again from scratch myself with regards to priority and getting a season ticket again. 

[Elsie Effcee]

I've actually been nodding off while watching on TV.   

But it's not just football, everything is becoming samey!   The cars, the clothes, the films, the decor, blah blah.... the only thing that has changed is food in that everyone wants to make it more and more exciting.

[grobyfox1990]

1 hour ago, urban fox said:

I get that improvements in technology with boots, balls and pitches have made a big difference, along with higher fitness levels etc and, whilst the "quality" and technique of players seems to be of a higher standard in the modern game some of that is down to the above

The issue I have is that a lot of the spontaneity has been coached out of players in favour of "systems".

but I suggest that players of yesteryear would Have shown similar levels if they were playing today. George Best for eg would have been unplayable on today's pitches. The mud paths of previous eras were a leveller and we got a more competitive games and "shock" results than we do nowadays

This 'spontaneity' point always comes up but then gets blown out by a weekend of bangers. What about Justin's second goal on Sat was down to a system. 

Do get the point about players from previous periods being amazing if they played in this day and age due to the huge professionalisation of the game and all parts of their lives, but impossible to prove.

[SystonFox]

On 30/09/2024 at 10:07, SemperEadem said:

Yeah it’s boring now.

No different songs, no different flags, same style of football.

no different songs

no different flllllaaaagggsssss

same style of football

you made us sing that

[CosbehFox]

On 30/09/2024 at 12:35, Chris_OGrady said:

Serie A is also great for similar reasons, but doesn't have a dominant side atm. 4 different winners in the last 5 years. 

Which is a great point but it's why I take issue with the point it's about the style of football. A lot of teams in Serie A play possession based football - Juventus have currently conceded zero goals. Motta is really pragmatic. Three of those seasons had league winning margins over 10 points. 

 

I think the difference with Serie A is that it's played in a setting which is far intertwined with emotion. Even when the stadiums are half full - there's all sorts of legacies to the events on the pitch which feeds off into emotion and performance. You can see how this occurs in the Bundesliga and that's a league which has been dominated by one club for a long time. 

 

English football is played largely in sterile atmospheres - that's the base background. It's very basic opinion but it makes me wonder whether that's why we see less individuality. The moment when the player forgets tactics or instructions and pleases the crowd by going for it. 

 

Personally I don't really take umbrage with a footballing style but I do think there is an issue that all coaches go through similar UEFA taught management courses. Therefore there is this desire for control. Control means taking away emotion. Defensive shape is the king. 

[sharpylcfc]

On 30/09/2024 at 10:30, Foxdiamond said:

I occasionally go with grandson to watch his local team Stevenage in League One. We sit in the family area. Tidy little ground and a friendly atmosphere and football OK. 

What's pricing like for games? I'm moving next year and Stevenage will be my local side so will look at going to a few games if I can make it.