Falling out of love with football.

[trugerkem]

There is so much to dislike about football…. If I started making a list I would be here all day….. I have given up watching any other games… apart from Leicester City I have no interest whatsoever 

[Woollett's Wellies]

9 minutes ago, Saxondale said:

Also, we need to be protesting and lobbying for league reform to level the financial playing field.

I’d love that to have some effect but I’m afraid the views of ‘legacy fans’ don’t count for anything against the financial clout of TV and international ‘fans’ who choose who they watch entirely on success and ability to pay the most in transfer fees and wages. 

[SpacedX]

40 minutes ago, Adrian said:

I'm a fan of the NFL which like it or loathe it is a very successful entitiy. 32 teams and all of them have a genuine chance at glory. If only 2 or 3 teams could purchase all the elite players the model would not work

Although not perfect and subject to some legitimate criticism, the draft system has had a lot to do with this. 

 

I don't think it's even a worthwhile comparison though. NFL is a closed sport. A similar system or wage capping would benefit other domestic leagues that are in competition with the EPL whilst conferring  inherent advantages to clubs in European qualification.

[sdb]

1 hour ago, weller54 said:

Anyone else feeling the same? It's not because we are where we are either! This feeling has been sneaking up on me for the past few years.

Watching players being paid obscene amounts of money during a time when so many people are struggling to heat their homes/feed their kids.

Watching the corrupt ffp 'system' protect the elite 6 to the detriment of all the other PL teams.

Watching blatant, corrupt refereeing/VAR decisions always benefitting the 'top' sides.

Football as I knew and loved is vanishing before my eyes.

Perhaps I'd be more interested if Leicester were playing back in the championship or even league 1, away from what has become a crooked and boring PL.

I very nearly gave up on it around Feb 2015. We were losing 1-0 every week to these big bastard clubs and it felt like the English game was stale and predictable. 15 months later we were champions of England.

 

I totally agree with you but it's partly because we're terribly bad at present. Hopefully a bubble will burst soon and the sport can become the fun, exciting thing it seemed to be 20-30 years ago.

[StonyFox]

Still in love with the game of football itself, but it's everything around it that is getting too much. Mainly because it's about the money, which seems to be far worse in the premier League where more spent on transfers than Spain, Italy and Germany combined, which is just insane! It will kill the game, especially when the European super League comes in. It'll just about getting millions of viewers in America and Asia, they won't care about fans at the game. 

[Vazman]

My son 17 said Dad its embarrassing having my LCFC Flag proudly blowing in the wind, knowing the neighbours are quietly laughing at our current position and results, after a short discussion about not caring what others think, i told him its about following your team of choice through thick and thin, no matter where  you end up, the fun or sad times, are part of the following, for all the points raised in the OP message, I agree and sympathise and understand how some may lose the passion, but every now and again, a suprise happens, it's a great team we all follow come on the Foxes!

[marcymarc666]

I have to say it was so refreshing watching the Women in the Euros , no diving, no play acting ,it drives me nuts and it's ruining football. Throw in the ludicrous amounts of money being thrown around for bang on average players, the game has seriously gone downhill in the last twenty years.

[Bordersfox]

27 minutes ago, Line-X said:

Oh complete balls Let's be honest, it's pretty much everything to do with that. 

 

I suggest you look away then. This is nothing new. Wages in modern day football are determined by the spending power of clubs. With richer, more ambitious owners, teams are desperate to achieve levels of success that previously would have seemed unheard of.  Because of that, insane sums of money are now circulating around the sport, and wages have gone up pretty much universally. And with the sport becoming increasingly popular on a global scale, they aren't about to come down any time soon. It's true, several decades ago, professional footballers weren’t getting paid much more than their average countrymen. Today, they are paid by their extremely wealthy owners, and in an era of oil money and private equity firms (in addition to deriving revenue from the team’s sponsorship and TV deals, merchandise sales and to a lesser extent, ticket sales) the rich are simply going to get richer. It’s the owners’ money and therefore, their prerogative to spend it however they wish. Furthermore, sports franchises drive economies like few others do.

 

The players are not to blame for this, what are they supposed to do? I guess during hard times like these, avoid the token gratuitous and frequently crass and insensitive flouting of their wealth  I do think for some it has engendered a very contemptuous attitude, that player power is a very tricky thing to manage and certainly since the introduction of the agent into the game in the early nineties, has engendered the belief that a player is bigger that the club and the badge that they play for. 

 

In spite of the above, fifty per cent of clubs are hemorrhaging  money and this is an increasing trend. It becomes a downward spiral, spending more than they have earned in the past in an attempt to remain competitive without paying their debts. Living within your means is the essence of accounting but it hasn't been the basis of football for years now. This is essential to the long-term sustainability of the club as the owner of our own stressed this week. Naturally, the major criticism of FFP regulations is that the bigger clubs are able to solidify their positions and competition is discouraged. A consequence of this GDP level spending and resulting large player amortisation and wage bill expenses, accounting records frequently show that the big clubs have made huge losses, yet these perpetual losses have been historically soundly underwritten or offset by their super rich owners. Jose Mourinho was absolutely right when he observed that FFP is a big protection to the historical, old, big clubs, which have a financial structure, a commercial structure, everything in place based on historical success for years and years and years. Look at it this way though, there is the fact that were it not for FFP, there would be nothing to constrain Newcastle United from buying the league right now unlike the way that Man City and Chelsea had carte-blanche to spend when Sheik Mansour and Abramovich first came into the English game.  

 

 

Nah...it's more incompetence. But I do think that match day officials can be intimidated and steered in their rulings by the larger crowds and more aggressive managers.

 

Then there's always Star Soccer or vintage MOTD on You Tube. 

 

Face it, the world has changed, the game has changed and the model will become increasingly more Americanised. And actually,in many ways, the 70s and 80s weren't as great as you or I recall them. 

 

Don't be ridiculous. The entire rationale would be to secure promotion not to vegetate there. And do you really think that the football league is immune from the injustice, inequality and supposed 'corruption' you allude to? It has a huge knock on effect. Also, I think you've forgotten just how ****ing inglorious, dour and miserable League 1 was. Perfectly happy to allow Pompey to take me back in time when I occasionally go to matches with a relative, City? no thanks. 

 

Newcastle have majority owners in Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) who are rich beyond comprehension worth in excess of a purported £300 billion, and who, theoretically, could outspend any club in the world. That, and the evil spectre of the Super League (which will continue to haunt the game), should be reason enough for you to 'fall out of love with football'. 

 

I absolutely guarantee you wouldn't have started this thread five games in two seasons ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Harsh but fair.  

 

Particularly the old rose tinted specs.  

 

The idea of monopoly, sexopoly or whatever else you want to call the big teams has existed for decades.  I just had a glance at the English Champions from the 1980s onwards. 

 

You've got about 7 different teams winning the league from 1980 to 2003/4 (when Chelsea come onto the scene).  

 

Of those teams Leeds, Villa and Blackburn each won it once and Arsenal and Everton a handful of times.  Liverpool and then totally Man U dominated as well we all know. Duopoly. 

 

I do think football is horribly skewed towards a small number of teams but it has been for a long time.  Nothing new to complain about here particularly and I won't let it overly inhibit my enjoyment of my team of the game in general.  In fact I like having the pantomime villains I can shout at. 

 

Fact is some of the football we get to watch is extremely good and far better than what I was watching in the late 80s and 90s.  One game that comes to mind is that Man City semi final against Madrid in 2021/2 season.  Absolutely pulsating, one of the best neutral football matches I've seen.  If you can't love that then definitely head to the non leagues for some nice homemade pies, friendly service from dozy Doris the burger van lady and a meat raffle.   Absolutely nothing wrong with that.  It's just a different thing.  

 

[Brizzle Fox]

Still love football in general and despite our (relative) travails City, however the pomp and circumstance around the Premier League, the big 6 obsession of the media and the total uncompetitivemess of the league overall is nauseating and frankly boring. 

 

(Partially) ashamed to say that from taking a  season ticket out for Bristol City 3 seasons ago, purely from a social perspective and feeling totally univested in the outcomes on the pitch, I'm actually this season more bothered about how they do.

 

Maybe it's the Pearson affect, but it's more watching a young team playing their hearts out, looking like they're enjoying their football and playing for the manager and above anythjng else actually providing entertainment. 

 

I'll always be City through and through, but after following them home and away  for over 40 years (diminishing amounts over the last decade or so), that I know we've reached the highest point we'll ever reach already. 

 

Call me entitled, call me disloyal. Probably fair tbh. 

 

 

[copunk]

I love Leicester dearly, I allow them to control my emotions every matchday, rightly or wrongly, and I always will until my last breath 

But what kills me regarding football wise worldwide is the corruption that is so blatant yet gets brushed over, you only have to look at what's happening with Barcelona to know that no matter what the big clubs will always find loopholes to wriggle their way out of trouble 

The last straw for me was how Man City managed to get away with a fine/fines a couple of years ago after their embargo, it really was the nail in the coffin that no matter what, the "big 6" of the premier League is very much a closed shop, and the funny thing is Man City are a team that I really enjoy watching, and of all the "big 6" teams in the premier league, are the ones who I route for 

As much as I want us to be in the premier league for the rest of my lifetime, I miss the purity and somewhat honesty of the championship 

 

[fox in the sox]

1 hour ago, Claudio Fannieri said:

Not at all, I do get fed up at times of the media overkill and the big 6 bias etc. I am

actually enjoying footy more now than ever as I feel the product is so good at the moment across all divisions. 
 

as for my beloved Leicester City, love this club more than ever, even after the recent results my passion for the club, owners and players is as strong as ever.
 

However with Brendan I feel a real disconnect very similar to how I felt about Pleat and Taylor, I never felt they had the clubs interests at heart it was always about them and self promotion and ego. It feels much the same way now, I support and love my club but struggle to support the manager. 

I don’t think it’s really relevant whether the manager has the club’s interest at heart. Pleat didn’t get the results and Taylor only for a short while, that’s why people don’t remember them fondly. I doubt you would have made the same comment about Rodgers when he was doing well in his first few seasons.

[jerry]

1 hour ago, Foxdiamond said:

Also a fan since 63. This sums up how I feel too. Took my grandson to a league two game recently as near our homes. Refreshing and friendly atmosphere. Of course I want Leicester to be in top division but watching Championship highlights the other night struck me how evenly matched most of the teams are 

Looking forward to taking my latest Grandson to a match soon too. Just want some entertainment and a shared experience so yes the Championship will do .

[Heskey2011]

57 minutes ago, weller54 said:

I'm cancelling Sky and BT Sports as soon as my contract is up!

You can get really good coverage via streams this season. Or just have a quid in bet 365 and you can watch all the big European games.

 

[FoxCal]

Honestly only sticking it out at this point because the claws are in too deep.

 

Remember when I was a kid asking my dad who he wanted to win in so many throwaway games and couldn’t wrap my head around him literally not caring. How could he not have a preference? I get it now.

 

Us winning the league felt like a watershed moment where clubs might start feeling like they’d be able to achieve more than they thought, but actually, it just spurred on the cartel and the governing bodies have rallied around them. Any Super League sanctions were just for show and when it comes back around with UEFA support (and it will). I’ll be done. Game will be gone, if it isn’t already.  

[STUHILL]

Weirdly, it was not long after our FA Cup win that I started to feel that way. Still obsessed with everything Leicester, but in terms of football in general, especially the Premier League, it's not an easy product to love. Billionaire owners, Millionaire players, Agents, Sponsors, VAR, FFP, 400k p/w wages, FIFA, UEFA, Super League...  All feels very yucky! 

Leicester have achieved in these last 10 years, more than I ever thought was possible. I almost feel content! Will still support them and obsess over them, but as for football as a whole, I care a little less for sure. 

[MalletFox]

2 hours ago, weller54 said:

Anyone else feeling the same? It's not because we are where we are either! This feeling has been sneaking up on me for the past few years.

Watching players being paid obscene amounts of money during a time when so many people are struggling to heat their homes/feed their kids.

Watching the corrupt ffp 'system' protect the elite 6 to the detriment of all the other PL teams.

Watching blatant, corrupt refereeing/VAR decisions always benefitting the 'top' sides.

Football as I knew and loved is vanishing before my eyes.

Perhaps I'd be more interested if Leicester were playing back in the championship or even league 1, away from what has become a crooked and boring PL.

I guarantee if we were top of table and flying, these feelings would be suppressed or even non-existent.

 

Like everything, football changes, it’s unjust and not fair, but that’s life isn’t it.

 

If this was our first season in the Prem after promotion then the mindset would be wanting to get amongst the Premier League teams and compete. Perspective, we’ve been doing that brilliantly for the last 5 seasons. Keep ur chin up, better times are coming and your love for football shall return to the dizzy heights I’m sure it was back in 15/16!

[TMELcfc]

I am actually finding this season even more intersting, due to 2 out of the 3 promoted clubs having a go, bringing lots of money to the table. 

And with what has happened at Newcastle, it is making the so called rich 6 sweat even more... 

 

However, there is one club I do not enjoy watching and have at times, for the first time in a long time, not bothered watching them at all, as I know it will just be groundhog day...

 

Looking forward to the championship though, will have no choice but to sack Brendan then 

Edited 3 September 2022 by TMELcfc

[coolhandfox]

I think successes take away some of the passion for the game, I've seen us lift the PL title, FA Cup and two League Cups. 

 

I feel like we have completed football, other then winning something in Europe.

 

 

Edited 3 September 2022 by coolhandfox

[Swalker]

Post the highs of the 15/16 season and 16/17 UCL run, there's definitely a spark lost for me. Football is never going to get any better than the 15/16 season! Even if we were to (somehow) ever win the league again it'd never match the surprise and madness of that season

[Aus Fox]

VAR has had a drastic impact on my love for the game. I used to go nuts every time we scored a goal! Even if I was just in the lounge room on my own. 
The first couple of times we scored what on the face of it looked like great goals only to see VAR check and goal ruled out really ruins the moment and has taken all of the enjoyment out of a goal. Now it’s we score, and I wait until the other side kick off again before I can fully celebrate by that time the moment has passed.

Id rather put up with the occasional bad call than what it’s become.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Only come because of UFS and it's been that way for a good few years. 

[Kegworthfox]

Took my grandson to watch mickleover v Coalville he loved today going Shepshed v Coalville fa cup, he is a season ticket holder 12 years old home and away inc Europe 45 league grounds and said he was fed up with time wasting, rolling on the ground and in the refs face, now he prefers non league football and he only wants to go to grounds he has not been to 

[Lcfc82]

2 hours ago, weller54 said:

Anyone else feeling the same? It's not because we are where we are either! This feeling has been sneaking up on me for the past few years.

Watching players being paid obscene amounts of money during a time when so many people are struggling to heat their homes/feed their kids.

Watching the corrupt ffp 'system' protect the elite 6 to the detriment of all the other PL teams.

Watching blatant, corrupt refereeing/VAR decisions always benefitting the 'top' sides.

Football as I knew and loved is vanishing before my eyes.

Perhaps I'd be more interested if Leicester were playing back in the championship or even league 1, away from what has become a crooked and boring PL.

Football at the highest level. The PL and international football - Yes

The football league and Non league - No

 

Non league is definitely the way forward for me, much prefer going to watch Coalville rather than Leicester 

[Merging Cultures]

I like the ups and downs of football. I like the mistakes made by refs but not so much by VAR as they shouldn't make mistakes. I like the drama and discussion. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do this season, and if it can be turned around. It makes it exciting. I wouldn't want to win all the time, or just be mid-table mediocrity.

 

This season should be interesting!

[jerry]

47 minutes ago, Brizzle Fox said:

Still love football in general and despite our (relative) travails City, however the pomp and circumstance around the Premier League, the big 6 obsession of the media and the total uncompetitivemess of the league overall is nauseating and frankly boring. 

 

(Partially) ashamed to say that from taking a  season ticket out for Bristol City 3 seasons ago, purely from a social perspective and feeling totally univested in the outcomes on the pitch, I'm actually this season more bothered about how they do.

 

Maybe it's the Pearson affect, but it's more watching a young team playing their hearts out, looking like they're enjoying their football and playing for the manager and above anythjng else actually providing entertainment. 

 

I'll always be City through and through, but after following them home and away  for over 40 years (diminishing amounts over the last decade or so), that I know we've reached the highest point we'll ever reach already. 

 

Call me entitled, call me disloyal. Probably fair tbh. 

 

 

Can empathise with your comments. My much missed Brother in law was a  Head Golf course keeper and moved around the country a lot with his family. When visiting we attended the local teams matches , Southampton the old dell, Swansea the even older Vetch Field with the other 3000 ! Portsmouth - great atmosphere ( 5- 3 ) versus Fulham.All lower leagues and great entertainment and fans involvement. So no disrespect to the lower leagues from me.