Is football better now than in yesteryear?

[Andy @ Allerton]

Increasingly over the last 4 or 5 seasons (In the league) I'm getting pretty f***ing fed up with football. I keep getting the BBC, the papers, ITV and Sky telling me how great it is now - how it's better than it's ever been.

 

Then now and then you watch a programme (Like I did today) showing games from the 60s and 70s and 80s and you really, really have to wonder.

 

The games they had and the skill they played with - with THOSE boots - on THOSE pitches - with THOSE Tackles - and THAT Nouse and that ability to just get on with it - where you hardly ever noticed the referee - those really were the days.

 

Now we have cheating, whining, playacting, referee premadonnas, no tackling of any worth, no real play - just fast running (usually with diving shortly afterwards) and rolling around on the floor.

 

Is the modern game anywhere near as good a spectacle as it was?

 

I really don't think it is - with all this TV Coverage, with all the opinionated s**** you get nowdays on the media and in the papers - where every f***ing hack thinks he's better than a top class manager - with all the replays and fans saying they could do better - the critism - the banality.

 

Not a f***ing chance.

 

The game is a pale shadow of what it once was.

 

There are hardly any real characters and hardly any real passion. It's money, money, money f***ing money IMO.

 

And talking to the lads who used to go in yesteryear - they had a real connection with the players - most of who drank in their locals - spoke to them as equals and most earned roughly the same wages.

 

They were your bunch of lads representing your club and usually were down to earth, level headed decent fellas - some of which got the same bus or train to the ground that the same fans would then watch them at.

Edited March 29, 2008 by Andy @ Allerton

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

you've taken the best parts of several different eras, and lumped them together as a mythical 'yesteryear' when everything was great.

 

that said, I probably don't enjoy the game quite as much as I used to, and I think some of the points you make about the modern game are correct.

[Billy Dane]

Better athletes today, but I think there were more characters around in the good old days. Also get the feeling there were more players around then who played cos they loved just playing rather than doing it just for the money (Winston Bogarde, Cudicini to name but two).

[Jim D]

They are athletes today rather than footballers. Half of these players in the Premier League wouldn't be playing in the Old Division One from 20 yrs ago because they lack the basic ball skills. Its all about getting fit as you can rather than concentrating on passing the ball properly.

 

I am sure if the 78-79 team played the current League Champions, they would out football them no problem at all however physical fitness would tell as the game wore on.

Edited March 29, 2008 by Jim D

[Coyler]

If you had have run this poll this day last week on the back of five or six wins you'd have gotten a fair few "It's fecking deadly now" answers.

[Cobs]

s'funny

 

i watched the classic Everton 0 v 5 Liverpool (Rush scored 4 ) game from 1982 on ESPN this morning

 

things i noticed

 

1) we could have won 9-0 (two disallowed goals and hit the woodwork twice)

2) Bailey then Dalglish confronting the linesman and referee over Kenny's disallowed goal - thank feck it wasn't Steve Bennett reffing

3) Johnston clearly punched McMahon in the face, McMahon cleary caught Johnston in the face in retaliation. Neither were booked

 

 

The game is as it ever was, the difference is we have ffffffffaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr more coverage and analysis and hype about the game than there ever was.

 

That McMahon/Johnston incident would have resulted in an FA charge for both and a 3 match ban if it happened today. Whether it's a good thing or not that they got away with it is a matter for debate.

[Sion]

I think the overall quality of football is better in the top leagues, but for most aspects of the game, it's a lot lot worse .

[John am Rhein]

It's worse now because too much 'protection' is given to step-over merchants who should by rights be kicked off the field. Hard tackling players like Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith, Graeme Souness, etc. wouldn't be able to play in the modern game.

[John am Rhein]

I am sure if the 78-79 team played the current League Champions, they would out football them no problem at all however physical fitness would tell as the game wore on.

 

I think that's the best team in the history of British football, but I don't think they'd actually be able to pass the ball like that with the faster closing down they'd be up against with a top modern opponent.

[Cobs]

It's worse now because too much 'protection' is given to step-over merchants who should by rights be kicked off the field. Hard tackling players like Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith, Graeme Souness, etc. wouldn't be able to play in the modern game.

those guys could play too though - they just would have to curb their 'styles' from those days

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

so many different facets to this.

 

You're never going to get a Norwich, QPR, Forest finishing in the top 4 again, so it's less competative.

The hype is a turn-off. It's not the best league in the world.

 

Acting the a*** is a major bad too

[Cobs]

I think that's the best team in the history of British football, but I don't think they'd actually be able to pass the ball like that with the faster closing down they'd be up against with a top modern opponent.

 

the back pass rule would have to make them change they way they played too

[Redkop]

s'funny

 

i watched the classic Everton 0 v 5 Liverpool (Rush scored 4 ) game from 1982 on ESPN this morning

 

things i noticed

 

1) we could have won 9-0 (two disallowed goals and hit the woodwork twice)

2) Bailey then Dalglish confronting the linesman and referee over Kenny's disallowed goal - thank feck it wasn't Steve Bennett reffing

3) Johnston clearly punched McMahon in the face, McMahon cleary caught Johnston in the face in retaliation. Neither were booked

 

 

The game is as it ever was, the difference is we have ffffffffaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr more coverage and analysis and hype about the game than there ever was.

 

That McMahon/Johnston incident would have resulted in an FA charge for both and a 3 match ban if it happened today. Whether it's a good thing or not that they got away with it is a matter for debate.

 

 

I watched this also... and it was refreshing to see how quickly we broke away and went on the attack, instead of the slow, sideways passing we play now. There was hardly any of the 10 odd passes we now make in front of goal trying to walk the ball in.

[Woodsyla]

I think that's the best team in the history of British football, but I don't think they'd actually be able to pass the ball like that with the faster closing down they'd be up against with a top modern opponent.

 

That's the key, they all had great touch etc but would they have been able to do it in the nano second they would get now. Watching a game from the 70's in the second half players were running into 40yd gaps in the midfield, they would skip past a challenge and then there was nobody. So little space in the modern game, maybe we need larger pitches ?

[Duncan Disorderly]

No more characters (Cantona was the last one),

too much coverage,

more close-control skill with less tackling,

less up-and-unders (take that '57 v '07 FA Cup Final programme),

keepers too protected even though they have the advantage of being able to use their hands,

too political,

too many divers like Ronaldo (ever notice how Torres always tries to stay on his feet, should've had a good few penalties by now)

 

But then; like everything; football has evolved and nostalgia counts for nothing, especially these days when so much money is at stake. It's nice to see the old games but you know rightly it's a different era.

[Guest Kaizer]

It depends how you look at it I guess, Englands World Cup squad from 66 would probably struggle in the lower divisions if they had taken a time travel from 1966 to 2007.

[Murphman]

It depends how you look at it I guess, Englands World Cup squad from 66 would probably struggle in the lower divisions if they had taken a time travel from 1966 to 2007.

 

 

Oh f*ck off you knob.