FOOTBALL!

I agree with you, PRINTMISS. I heard it mentioned that one player they bought recently cost £37.5 million! Well, he and Rooney aren't making any difference, so why not boot them out, too? And Moyes will be getting a multi-million pound severance pay off. No wonder the local fans can't afford the tickets and kit!

I totally agree the prices are ridiculious for youngsters to go with their mums or dads or in our case uncles,it would cost my DS2 £60.00 to go to a match with DGS for a home game how does anyone expect a normal everyday family to be able to afford this kind of money.

I agree with you glammanana, but the stands do still seem to be packed, it is almost like a religion with some people - without sounding 'religious' can you imagine any church packed to capacity as some football grounds are? Not only that but some of the high flying clubs are very much in debt, which is why they have to sell the kit, when no small business would be allowed to get into such a state.

I agree, it's too expensive, too commercialised - but I grew up in a football mad family. The love of footi continues through the generations. My daughters campaigned for, and achieved a girls football team at their primary school (truly, we didn't suggest it, it came from the then 6 and 7 year old girls). We live not far from the Theatre of Dreams, and the drama that is MUFC can't be beaten in our family. I know, it's sad, but it's gripping!

Even I was a bit surprised when David Moyes was the first item on the news, before events in Ukraine. I'm just sorry we didn't get the Special One when he was available……

SiL manages a Sunday League team and has now started a vets team so he can carry on playing. Yesterday, I arrived at their house to see a football net has been set up in the garden for two year old granddaughters. As we watched them kicking the football with proud daddy, my DD said 'if he thinks he's starting a junior girls team, he can take a running jump! There's no way three sets of kit are going in that washing machine every weekend' When they're not watching, they're playing. Football mad indeed.

Out if our family of 7, it was only DD1 and I who stood firm against 'wasting' Saturday afternoons!

But, I have stood, freezing, watching DS1 & 2 and DD3 and now sort of grandson2, on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I am shocked by the aggressive behaviour exhibited by some parents.

Iam64 Oh how I agree with you about the mistake they made when Maurhinio was available I would even go to watch MUFC if he was manager as he is very easy on eye isn't he ? Mind you it would not go down very well with my LFC mad family,I was once made a birthday cake with Jose embossed on the icing by a friend as she was so fed up with me singing his praises.

I'm not a football fan (to me, football is only slightly less boring than golf which everybody knows, is the most boring sport in the known universe), but I don't have any problem with the salaries being paid to players. It's just standard economics. Supply-and-demand. And if the fans object to the cost of tickets then vote with your feet. Don't pay it. Don't attend. Prices will soon fall if enough people stay away.

But what does annoy me is the way the media treat football stories. Yesterday I was surprised to hear a BBC newscaster say "And now a return to our top story of the day: The Sacking of David Moyes as manager of Manchester United".

What?

Is this really the most important news in the world today? Let's see. Flight MH370 is still missing. The deathtoll in the South Korean ferry disaster has reached 108. And closer to home - a 7-year-old child has died after being found with his clothes on fire in a Glasgow street. But apparently none of this matters. What matters is that DAVID MOYES HAS BEEN SACKED AS MANAGER OF MANCHESTER UNITED!

</RANT>

What I get annoyed about is the way on each Bank Holiday local radio gives over the whole of the afternoon to some football match. I always have the radio on and find myself searching to find a station that isn't covering some sporting event (usually football) - there are those of us who are not interested. I can accept every Saturday afternoon radio being full of sport but this past weekend, local radio had sport on Saturday afternoon and football Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon.

lefthanded many United fans do stay away in droves because they can't afford the tickets. They watch the match on a big pub screen instead. The ones who go obviously can afford the tickets and aren't bothered about the exorbitant prices.

I agree, it's too commercialised, too expensive…But it`s a great global game, and even more - it is almost like a religion with some people! When I can`t visit stadium, I simply watch it online. For example, my favourite website is www.footballstream.co/ - live football is here, Buddies)).

I am not a football fan, but all the males in our immediate family are season ticket holders for the two local championship clubs, and that, and junior league football, dominate weekends in the winter months. I abhor the obscene amounts of money that top players seem to think they are worth, but worse, I am appalled by the tiny amounts that trickle down from the FA into the amateur leagues. They could do much much more to fund the upgrade of pitches, and to support junior clubs, some of whom who really struggle to raise funds to keep going. Some have sponsors, but many do not, and the FA could do a lot more to help than just making encouraging noises about the grassroots game. It is time they put their money where their mouth is!

My DGS (7) is footie mad . When he's not playing or training for his teams he's watching his beloved Sunderland where he and his dad are season ticket holders (i know there's no accounting for taste but at least he's not a glory hunter) . This is all quite new for my son as he was never really been interested in football until my grandson came along . I must say I would rather he was playing football or training than sitting playing computer games all the time .
My dad is an avid Newcastle fan and it's comical to hear an almost 80 year old arguing football with a 7 year old !

Same here, gilly; GS can quote chapter and verse about both the English game and the Europa League and is never happier than when he has a ball at his feet. He and Grandad, and his uncle, have some very lively conversations!

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whenim64 That's such a truth! I couldn't always watch some of the football matches live because the tickets for them are so expensive! Especially for my budget.

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I don't actively go to any football games any more though I dated a fair few what are now called Premier League players in my salad days.
I'm still a full member of my hometown club (YNWA ) as are my sons, one of whom was scouted for MCFC...how dare they
The ticket prices are horrendous but I can make a bit by having first dibs when buying tickets in advance.
Rugby? crowds are much better behaved IMO but the Italian Serie A matches were an absolute eye opener years ago.
I've been to many of them and sometimes travelled on a coach for fans...total mayhem.
Very many fantastic memories.
The games seem much tamer over here.
?⚽️

We're seeing a renaissance of 70s Liverpool but fewer team players from the home town.
I well remember players mainly those in the Liverpool and Everton teams, coming into the Red Lion garage where I worked my second job in my mid to late teens on Liverpool Road, Maghull. I knew them all and the receptionist and I frequently dated most of them and some of the Manchester lads too.
Great times.
I'm glad to see the team getting into their stride and, although I don't get to see them very often, I am a full member which shows my support as do my children.
YNWA

I agree with many replies here. Football has always been one of my the most favourite sport games, my love for it started from childhood years, it was mostly because of my father's influence He teached me to play it and developed the love in me for watching the football matches.Later I played it with my friends and family for a long time and often watched matches translations or visited stadium. I still like to watch them and sometimes even make bets bet365-pt.com/ on my favourite teams, they're by the way Flamengo from Brazil en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clube_de_Regatas_do_Flamengo and FC Porto from Portugal.But it's really sad to see how commercialised this sport becomes (but to tell the truth it's fair for all other types of professional sports too). It's seen more and more that it's just a business now not really the play and it's awful to read how some sport teams try to win all the matches. Sometimes I think that because of all these things I might lose all my love for football someday.

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Soccer, or football as known to most of us is the most popular sport in the world. It is a simple game, but its hard to play simple. Although football seems to be like any other sport, but its not a mere game.