Has the beautiful game lost its sheen

DH and DS have just gone off to watch their team. I would rather gouge out my eyes with a rusty spoon than watch football, and I hate all the doom and gloom and examining of entrails when they lose, but my son travels sixty miles to spend the afternoon with his dad every other week, and that is worth it's weight in gold for both of them, and for me, because otherwise we wouldn't see him that often. There are too many foreign players, and too much money in the professional game, and ticket prices are beyond a joke - don't know how families can afford to go. My grandson, at eight, is mad keen on the game. He can give you chapter and verse about league tables and players. He plays for an under tens league team, and, on a casual basis, for a dad's and lads team and both are well run and good natured. I do, however, think he is in danger of becoming a bit one dimensional. We have tried to interest him in other things - rugby, cricket, fishing (what a disaster that was!), badminton - but it always comes back to football. At least it's keeping him fit!

And by the way, it's Tottenham Hotspur, not Hotspurs...

I'm just off to Craven Cottage to watch Fulham play, or should I say lose! Any other FFC fans out there? Come on you whites!

Way back in the 70's, my husband who is a (was!) qualified referee gave up on the younger players, because he said the abuse from the parents on the side-line was offensive to say the least. He eventually gave up al-together because he felt all he was doing was trying to stop the players breaking each others legs! A bit of an exaggeration there, I think, but he did really get totally fed up with it all. I used to be one of the supporters of the youth club football team, and he was the goal-keeper even after we were married. I hated those thick woolly jumpers they used to wear, the mud stuck to them, and they weighed a ton when wet, drying them was a nightmare.

My son gave up managing his son's team (under 10s, I think) because he was getting so much aggro from parents if their son wasn't in the starting 11 even though he played everyone who turned up and, while he was coaching from the sidelines he was often drowned out by the parents yelling!

Best kind of football that.

My lot love football and with three local teams here on Merseyside it is no wonder,but mr.g. spends his most enjoyable times at the under 10s weekly matches where there are no prima dona's and no arguing the offside rule, he has been a regular at the local team matches since DS1 joined when he was 7 he is now 39,we are now watching DGS5 earning his trophies and still washing football kits !!

As I child I used to be taken to White Hart Lane... that was proper football, with a heavy leather ball that soaked up the rain and became a projectile, and dubbined boots that could weight a diver down... A goal? Back to the centre spot to get going again, without group petting sessions... Brylcreemed forwards and a goalkeeper in a tweed flat cap - those were the days! (Why? Don't ask me, I just type this stuff...)

That's right, kitty I am surrounded by football fans (although my grandson is not in the least interested, much to his dad's disgust!). It used to be so much BETTER than it is today, we did not have players running around with their shirts over their heads because they had scored a goal - after all, isn't that what they get paid the thousands of pounds for? I must admit, though that even now, if it is on the television, and I happen to be watching I get just as involved as I used to.

I don't really knock it Ann - my lot love it (apart from DD1 who claims to have been deprived as a child because she didn't enjoy it!!). . It isn't the same though as when I was a lass!

Honours were even on Saturday kitty to my DH's relief.Football is the only interest he has now sadly so please don't knock the national game or lots of people like him would be lost.

The beautiful game was very beautiful last night according to my kit . 'We' won 5 - 3 so 'We are top of the league, we are top of the league!!' Apparently!

When I was a teenager we lived near Derby and I used to babysit fir lots if the Derby County players who live in our area - in normal houses just like ours, Malcolm, lots of them were from that area and hadn't moved far at all!

I am not a football fan either Malcolm and agree with you that we no longer seem to have English players playing for English teams, which means that we really no longer have an England team which is prepared to play against other countries for the World cup (or what-ever). I think that all sport is good for the community, I am not mad on women playing football/rugby, but if that is their choice, then good for them. The women at the moment seem to be just getting on with the games they choose and happen to be doing very well, let's hope they continue the good work without becoming demi-gods.

Malcolm102

The womens teams in football and cricket are doing exceedingly well - they play every inch as well as the men (some, me included, would say better) and are now even getting paid for doing it!

But if rugby is your thing, I believe the women's team did rather well:

Last night, (17 August 2014) the unbreakable spirit of the England women's rugby team finally paid off – when they swooped to their first World Cup final glory in 20 years.

I am not a football fan.
In the beginning you had a team, let's take Tottenham Hotspurs. All the players lived in Tottenham. Same for Fulham, Leyton Orient, or the rest.
Now, how many reside in the named clubs area. Many of the teams players are not even English.
Yes it's been said, it's all about money.
Now Rugby. That is a different ball game. A game for men.

It was while we lived in Melton Mowbray Sue that my lot became infatuated with Nottingham Forest and, now their greatest player ever has come back as manager, expectations are sky high - heaven help me!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UkVZZnrC4E
..he's at the end of this [I think I'm being politically incorrect though ..but I love the clip]

...didn't think that link would work....

You mean there isn't a Melton Mowbray Wanderers [affectionately known as the porkie pies?].en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Foulke_(footballer) - Similar

Here in Melton Mowbray its all about the cricket at Trent Bridge and the Rugby at Leicester Tigers - never hear anyone talk about football.

Even my partner, who has been a football fan all of his life, is rapidly losing interest, and the World Cup was a total letdown. I was horrified when he first told me about the Rangers/Celtic problem as I had no idea that anything like that still existed. I think the turning point for me was when some of the Newcastle United players were involved in some kind of scandal. We had a season ticket for St James Park at the time but the price just went up year by year till we bowed out. I'd rather spend £15 and go racing for the day than spend £50 [or whatever it is now] to watch a game of football that could be a rubbish game anyway. I'm afraid I don't understand rugby or cricket [not that I understand football much].

I have never been a fan of football. As in my youth I was keen on cycling, but not competitive. Even at my age now I still occasionally get one of my bikes out for a ride, be it just up to the shops of on a nice day a ride around my area.
I wonder why these football clubs still use the names of the towns that they have their grounds. Tottenham Hotspurs is the nearest club to where I live.
How many of the players of that club reside in Tottenham? There used to be in time gone by. But now none.
I believe and tell me if I am wrong, that there are not many English players in the team.
Now rugby.. That is a game I can watch.

Oh I was hoping that the nation would suddenly become a little optimistic and put the flags out but there's still nothing. My now 31 year old sun holds such wonderful childhood memories of sharing the anticipation during the World Cup when he was little He talks of it often. I love it when the nation celebrates.

Just thinking,both of these teams can't have an open top bus parade,because of their hatred of each other,there would be riots on the streets of Glasgow.

Agus,I also live in the West Of Scotland and despair of the effect Celtic and Rangers have on our football and our communities.I support my home town team and watch bus loads of locals going to Glasgow whilst we struggle to improve our crowds.However when we won the Scottish Cup over 20 years ago they all joined in our party !!!!