Football, is it as enjoyable as it used to be?

Is Football as enjoyable as it used to be, I found myself pondering over this point before I went sleep last night and I came to the conclusion that it just isn't.

Is it the foreign influx of players, is it the money or is it just the fact that Football is forgetting about the most important people that keep the their clubs running... Its fans! We turn up every week, cheering on the team but we rarely get any recognition. 

I now by far prefer to watch Non-League you can stroll down have a great bit of banter with opposition fans who are not segregated! Most weeks I find myself chatting to opposition fans about why they prefer Non-League and it always comes down to the fact is is more friendly and the Managers/Players have more respect for the fans. They are often found in the bar after matches where you can chat to them for as long as you want, they sometimes even buy you a drink! Imagine that in the higher divisions where you are lucky to catch the players jumping off the coach or just before they reach there Lamborghini and speed off into the distance. 

I believe we should be allowed allowed to give our opinions on things, another good thing they should introduce are things like 'Fan Forums', my local club Harrogate Town has them regularly where the Chairman, the Manager and some of players come down to help reassure fans and answer any questions they may have. This is brilliant as it gives the fans a link into the club and a chance to get their point of views across in a more civilised manner than shouting from the terraces. 

I am a massive fan of new sites such as Twitter which can give people the chance to interact with the worlds best players. It also makes the players seem more human be it Rio Ferdinand doing the school run with his kids or Joey Barton watching your favourite TV show. It just gives you that link to the players and helps you understand their lifestyles a bit more. 

When at a match nowadays you look/listen to the crowds and you think 'Where is the love' in the past we used to support our team through thick and thin but now its always abuse. Fans are always on the look out for the next person they can shout abuse at, be it the referee for making a mistake, a striker missing a chance or a manager making a substitution they feel is wrong. What happened to supporting the team and getting behind the lads whatever is happening.

Where did all this aggression come from, what happened to the old calming slice of orange at half -time, nowadays we are booing the ref off the pitch or chanting for the manager to be sacked.

The players and manager don't want to lose, they are doing everything they can to win and the abuse fans give out doesn't help their cause one bit. 

Cant we just get back to the good old days of chanting support for 90 minutes instead instead of looking for the next person to shout abuse at! 

Come on people get it sorted!

Nice little Non-League Promo!!!

Lee Stacey

@lstacey1992

The Red Card Debate

So I've decided to make a return to my blog today, I haven't been able to post for ages due to University and work literally taking up all my time, so I apologise to any people who have checked the site recently.

This debate is something i feel very strongly about;

My opinion is Red Cards for many of the tackles recently has become a joke, its almost like we are trying to make football into a non-contact sport. In my opinion if the ball is won and the player clearly hasn't gone in with intent to injure a player it should just be a foul and lets get on with the game. A few years ago these sorts of tackles would be applauded, I found myself watching the Manchester United Vs Manchester City game, I saw the Vincent Kompany tackle and I was genuinely saying to my dad what a cracking tackle it was, only to mine and my dads disbelief when the referee awarded a free-kick and to see the Red Card produced just got me angry and I refused to watch the rest of the game.

I will now go through a few of the recent tackles and give my opinions on them;

Vincent Kompany

vs Manchester United



Well I spoke earlier about this tackle and I believe the fact he got sent off is a joke and the fact it didn't get rescinded on appeal sets a bad example to referees who now will have to send everyone off for that sort of tackle. I think the real thing that frustrates me is the fact that you look at the player been tackled, Nani makes no reaction at all he just goes to play on and win the ball back.

My verdict: No foul and no card!!!

Nedan Milijas

vs Arsenal

This decision in my eyes is absolutely atrocious, in this situation myself i would've simply played advantage as Arsenal would have been in the box and looked in a threatening position. It was a strong tackle but in my eyes that is what you want to see, a player giving 100% for his football club. His foot isn't really off the ground, he definitely doesn't go over the top of the ball and i don't believe he puts the player in any danger. Its just a fair tough tackle!

My Verdict: No foul and no card!!!

Glen Johnson

vs Man City

Now then, in my eyes I think this tackle is worse than Kompanys but I still don't see anything wrong with it, in fact I want to see more tackles like this, strong tackles that clearly have no intent other than to win the ball. The referee made the correct decision here in my opinion, so I'll credit the referee here, but when you put that and Kompanys tackle together i can see no difference whatsoever so the referees need to sort themselves out and be consistent in decision making!

My verdict : No foul and no card!!! 

As you can see i am a real stickler for players getting stuck in and giving 100% for the team and not backing out of anything. I just feel that decisions like this are making people scared to tackle and this just isn't right, tackling is a vital part of the game. Imagine how many times players like Martin Keown, David Batty and the likes would be sent off these days, i don't think they'd ever last the full 90 minutes!

These are tackles people should be sent off for!!! 

Not tackles that win the ball!!!

Goes over the top of the ball, not really much intent to play it!!

Disgraceful tackle, which ended Haalands playing career! High tackle with no intent at all to play the ball!

and a compilation of bad tackles!!!

Do you agree with me on this subject; Comment and let me know;

Great to be back! Hope you've enjoyed my first post in 4 months!