"Soccer" or "football" fans....I'd like to hear from you

[DazzaDownUnder]

Firstly, I call it soccer because I'm Australian and live in Melbourne, and we have our own version of football which requires both the use of hands and feet. So I refer to it as soccer.

 

Secondly, my parents are originally from England, having moved here in 1973. I actually follow English soccer (or football) and unfortunately, inherited my dads team who haven't been very successful since about 1960. They're called Wolverhampton Wanderers.

 

Now, I find a lot of sports frustrating to watch these days, especially our very own Aussie Rules, as the powers that be try to turn it into a non contact sport.

 

Now, not trying to be a smart fucker as I actually follow the English "soccer." However, what I find frustrating, and, at times, laughable, about watching soccer, and in particularly, the Premier League, is:

 

It seems to me that these "soccer" players like Suarez, Ronaldo, or any of them, seem to prefer to try and cheat every opportunity they get, rather than win the ball and beat their opponent on the strength of their own ability, which is obviously substantial, without a doubt.

 

I'm talking about diving for free kicks and penalties, feigning injury and claiming possession of the ball when it's gone out of play when they know damn well they touched it last.

 

The performance of some of em when they get a tap on the ankle is quite unbelievable. Rolling around on the ground, clutching their leg or their head or their arm, a look of contorted agony on their faces, Only to recover in record time when a free kick has been awarded. (I do understand this isn't only an issue in the Premier League.)

 

Now if this stuff happened on a Rugby field or an Aussie Rules field, the player would be roundly booed and jeered off the ground as a soft-cock.....by his own supporters!  It is just not accepted. A famous player for the Melbourne football club, Garry Lyon, is now a commentator and tv personality. He broke his leg back in the late 80's and was carted off the field on a stretcher. He held his head in his hands and obviously his facial expression was that of a man in serious pain. For years now, as a well known presenter on a footy show on tv, that footage has been shown time and time again and he is constantly made fun of and embarrassed by it, because it is just not the done thing to show pain...even with a broken leg. Another player from Richmond, Nathan Brown, broke his leg horribly a few years back. His leg was almost at right angles. But he refused to show pain. He sat up in the stretcher trying to look calm, and trying to grit his teeth.

 

So when I watch the ridiculous acting efforts of soccer players when they've hardly been contacted...or in some cases...haven't been touched at all...I can't help but laugh and shake my head. How do you guys that are passionate about the game view that? Do you just accept it as part of the game or see it as I do, as pathetic and cheating.

 

Another thing I cant understand is how supporters of clubs other than Man U, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal stay interested. As it seems, these clubs are the only ones that ever have the chance of winning the league. The rest are just making up the numbers and trying to avoid relegation. I know there's places in Europe to play for and all that, but surely winning your own championship is the main priority. But 15 of the 20 clubs in the league will never, ever win it....unless they get some billionaire Arab owner who basically buys them the title. And this seems to be the case with pretty much every league in Europe, be it Spain, Italy, Germany...whoever.

 

Not being a smartarse here, so no need for comments such as "If you don't like it, don't watch it"...

 

I'd really like to know what you Brits and blokes from Europe think about this and if you're ok with it or if you wish it were different.

[Mick Pattaya]

Football or soccer (as you call it) is the most popular game in the world, the world cup held every 4 years is called the greatest show on earth. Love for the game begins at an early stage in one's life, for me its more than passion, its now a part of me (& I'm not British). As far as simulation goes, its taken such proportions as the stakes have grown bigger, its substantially more than a game now, a lot of money riding on it & hence every trick employed to gain that minimal advantage. Its certainly not desirable & at times its just tomfoolery but it is what it is & now ingrained into the game.

[mousemat]

Diving or cheating as I call it really annoys me but I support a lower league team and when someone dives he is booed, generally by both sets of fans.

 

You could also ask cycling fans how they feel about the level of cheating that takes place via drug abuse or cricket corruption stories which are constantly in the news. Many people now question a fielder when he drops a simple catch or if a bowler bowls a wide.

 

When money is at stake people will generally do anything to gain a competitive advantage - just look at how corrupt the world is.

[DaveDV]

To be honest, football is getting as boring as can be.

It can be a fantastic game, but in Europe money has disrupted the balance in the leagues, national and international.
The European cups are gettng more predictable every year and the diving/cheating is just pathetic.

[Daddee]

love the game, but prefer watching the highlights these days...  don't have the patience to watch a full game usually...

 

way back when, saw Pele play with the New York Cosmos against the Seattle Sounders in a friendly game in Seattle, the first sporting event held in the "Kingdome", which has been blown up and replaced with two new stadiums... one for baseball and one for football.

 

played soccer growing up and through high school and on into city leagues till in my 30's...  got sidetracked in the 80's with dummy dust and never got back to the game after cleaning up... miss it still.

 

got to see a lot of other world class players who would finish up their careers in the NASL...  Georgio Chinaglia comes to mind, loved his playing style...

[mrcarl]

Firstly, I call it soccer because I'm Australian and live in Melbourne, and we have our own version of football which requires both the use of hands and feet. So I refer to it as soccer.

 

Secondly, my parents are originally from England, having moved here in 1973. I actually follow English soccer (or football) and unfortunately, inherited my dads team who haven't been very successful since about 1960. They're called Wolverhampton Wanderers.

 

Now, I find a lot of sports frustrating to watch these days, especially our very own Aussie Rules, as the powers that be try to turn it into a non contact sport.

 

Now, not trying to be a smart fucker as I actually follow the English "soccer." However, what I find frustrating, and, at times, laughable, about watching soccer, and in particularly, the Premier League, is:

 

It seems to me that these "soccer" players like Suarez, Ronaldo, or any of them, seem to prefer to try and cheat every opportunity they get, rather than win the ball and beat their opponent on the strength of their own ability, which is obviously substantial, without a doubt.

 

I'm talking about diving for free kicks and penalties, feigning injury and claiming possession of the ball when it's gone out of play when they know damn well they touched it last.

 

The performance of some of em when they get a tap on the ankle is quite unbelievable. Rolling around on the ground, clutching their leg or their head or their arm, a look of contorted agony on their faces, Only to recover in record time when a free kick has been awarded. (I do understand this isn't only an issue in the Premier League.)

 

Now if this stuff happened on a Rugby field or an Aussie Rules field, the player would be roundly booed and jeered off the ground as a soft-cock.....by his own supporters!  It is just not accepted. A famous player for the Melbourne football club, Garry Lyon, is now a commentator and tv personality. He broke his leg back in the late 80's and was carted off the field on a stretcher. He held his head in his hands and obviously his facial expression was that of a man in serious pain. For years now, as a well known presenter on a footy show on tv, that footage has been shown time and time again and he is constantly made fun of and embarrassed by it, because it is just not the done thing to show pain...even with a broken leg. Another player from Richmond, Nathan Brown, broke his leg horribly a few years back. His leg was almost at right angles. But he refused to show pain. He sat up in the stretcher trying to look calm, and trying to grit his teeth.

 

So when I watch the ridiculous acting efforts of soccer players when they've hardly been contacted...or in some cases...haven't been touched at all...I can't help but laugh and shake my head. How do you guys that are passionate about the game view that? Do you just accept it as part of the game or see it as I do, as pathetic and cheating.

 

Another thing I cant understand is how supporters of clubs other than Man U, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal stay interested. As it seems, these clubs are the only ones that ever have the chance of winning the league. The rest are just making up the numbers and trying to avoid relegation. I know there's places in Europe to play for and all that, but surely winning your own championship is the main priority. But 15 of the 20 clubs in the league will never, ever win it....unless they get some billionaire Arab owner who basically buys them the title. And this seems to be the case with pretty much every league in Europe, be it Spain, Italy, Germany...whoever.

 

Not being a smartarse here, so no need for comments such as "If you don't like it, don't watch it"...

 

I'd really like to know what you Brits and blokes from Europe think about this and if you're ok with it or if you wish it were different.

 

With you 100% on this one, watch the championship if you can, 24 teams in it and at the start of the season there's probably 20 of those teams fancy their chances of at least making the play-offs. If I remember correctly Burnly were one of the favouries for relegation, look what happened to them !

 

Premier league ? No thanks.

[DazzaDownUnder]

Some good responses, and none telling me to just turn off and not watch it....I wouldn't do that anyway cuz I quite enjoy it for the most part. At least the title race went down to the wire for a change with 3 teams in the running right to the end.

 

It also seems to me that it's a case of whoever has the most money wins, but I don't think everyone would agree with me on that.

 

Wolves are back in the championship, where they belong, next season and there is the a game on pay-tv here every now and then. Might get to see them on the odd occasion.

[gentleenforcer]

I agree with you Dazza...I cannot stand the overacting when they get kicked and it spoils a game of great skill.I cannot watch a full game..it is just too boring for me,but I will probably watch the some of the World Cup.I sometimes think to myself that these soccer guys would be in hospital for a few days if hit by an AFL player,and six months if hit by a Rugby League player.Cannot wait for the Origin on Wednesday night.

[Daddee]

I like it when the ref yellow cards the fakers... forgot to put that in...  

[mikeyboy]

I like it when the ref yellow cards the fakers... forgot to put that in...  

 

The pathetic cheating that is rife in football now makes it unwatchable for me .       

 

I'm sure a lot of this " simulation "  is well rehearsed on the training grounds .

 

Plenty of cameras at every top match ,  referee's can't spot everything in real time ,  nail the cheats through video evidence .

 

Mikeyboy

[mikeyboy]

Diving or cheating as I call it really annoys me but I support a lower league team and when someone dives he is booed, generally by both sets of fans.

 

You could also ask cycling fans how they feel about the level of cheating that takes place via drug abuse or cricket corruption stories which are constantly in the news. Many people now question a fielder when he drops a simple catch or if a bowler bowls a wide.

 

When money is at stake people will generally do anything to gain a competitive advantage - just look at how corrupt the world is.

 

Have to agree with you that almost all sports are corruptable ,  very sad .

 

Was it Jan Ulrich , the cyclist who said  " we were all on something , you had to be to compete " ? 

 

Mikeyboy

[sinbad5]

NRL players are also trained to "stay down" nowadays, to create a stoppage that would otherwise not have occurred, during which the video ref inevitably picks up some insignificant high contact.

[bryso]

totally agree daz with quite a lot of what you say about the feigning injury, im a massive football fan and this injury does my head in!!! hate it but its mostly done by foreigners, right onto the real topic 'football' v 'soccer' 

i live in australia now so can appreicate what afl {gayfl} has to offer- brillant athletes but im afraid thats were it ends

i piss myself when the commentators say'thats why its the greatest game in the world' yeah right played by one country in the world

things in afl that piss me off:

why get rewarded with a point when missing the goal? {you've missed the easiest of chances but whe'll give you a point anyway lol}

160+ subsitutions a game? your kidding me lol

tight shorts!!!!!

teams dont even play at the own grounds-i know that teams like carlton western bulldogs essendon have there own grounds but are such shit holes they have to 

play at mcg , ethihad etc, cant they re-develop these grounds??

so when st kilda play carlton at ethihad theres no such thing as 'home' ground advantage cos they both play there-utterly shanful!! only in afl does this happen

NO such thing as 'home' and 'away' rounds cos teams dont play each other 'home' and 'away' in one season..........again only in afl does this happen

its a totally unfair game-

lastly the one thing which is embarrssing is when all the players get in a huddle and sing a song lol  a song thats at least 50 years old-if your gonna sing a song please give an up to date one-proper cringeworthy!!!!!

enough of gayfl bashing

take last nights championship play off final-the richest game of any sport in the world, worth an estimated £130 million pound

derby v qpr................shit game and i'll admit that but derby were dominant all game, they were even up against 10 men when qpr had a player sent off 60mins

the corner count was 14-1 derby's way and tbh dont know how they did'nt score, anyway qpr score in the 90th minute{there only attack of the 2nd half} to steal

it, 130 million for a 90th min goal-thats why its the greatest game in the world-so unpredicable

thing that amused me was when you say about teams having nothing to play for other than the top 5 teams

u having a laugh??? top 4, europe, relegation ,theres everything to play for, do you understand what it means to be relegated????

take for example this season -cardiff v norwich {relegation 6 pointer } massive massive game, you go down you might never get back into the premier league

now we take  say for example gws v brisbane............no relegation now please tell me whats to play for in this game other than pride?

i couldnt imagine playing the same teams forever visiting the same stadiums-how boring

football is the world game and always will be the greatest game in the world

[DazzaDownUnder]

Thanks for the post bryso.

 

Obvously we'll have to agree to disagree with a lot of what you've said there. But each to their own.

[Perky]

Yep, diving and cheating considered as a skill These days sadly. It was once a hard mans Sport believe it or not!

[DazzaDownUnder]

Yep, diving and cheating considered as a skill These days sadly. It was once a hard mans Sport believe it or not!

 

Yeah I've got "Best of Match of the day" from the 60's 70's and 80's."

 

Great to see what it used to be like compared to the soft cock state of affairs now. Hard to imagine clubs like Derby, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Watford having realistic chances to win the title now like they did in the past. Now it's whoever has the most money wins.....pretty sad.

 

Hard to have respect for sportsmen that get paid as much as they do, and would rather cheat than win by using superior ability.

 

Clearly it's something that the world has accepted as nothing seems to be done about it.

 

I won't be watching the world cup at all.....for this very reason.

[DazzaDownUnder]

This is funny as. Pretty much sums it up. The Benny Hill music just makes it even funnier. 

 

 

[DazzaDownUnder]

Then you have an example of real men playing a real game.

 

1989 Grand Final. Dermot Brereton gets smashed in the opening minute, plays the rest of the game with broken ribs. Robert Dipierdomenico plays out the game with a punctured lung.

 

Yeah....pansy's....gay boys......unlike Ronaldo and co who fall over when someone breathes too heavily on em in a contest.

 

The world game?......the rest of the world's welcome to it.

 

 

 

[DazzaDownUnder]

totally agree daz with quite a lot of what you say about the feigning injury, im a massive football fan and this injury does my head in!!! hate it but its mostly done by foreigners, right onto the real topic 'football' v 'soccer' 

i live in australia now so can appreicate what afl {gayfl} has to offer- brillant athletes but im afraid thats were it ends

i piss myself when the commentators say'thats why its the greatest game in the world' yeah right played by one country in the world

things in afl that piss me off:

why get rewarded with a point when missing the goal? {you've missed the easiest of chances but whe'll give you a point anyway lol}

160+ subsitutions a game? your kidding me lol

tight shorts!!!!!

teams dont even play at the own grounds-i know that teams like carlton western bulldogs essendon have there own grounds but are such shit holes they have to 

play at mcg , ethihad etc, cant they re-develop these grounds??

so when st kilda play carlton at ethihad theres no such thing as 'home' ground advantage cos they both play there-utterly shanful!! only in afl does this happen

NO such thing as 'home' and 'away' rounds cos teams dont play each other 'home' and 'away' in one season..........again only in afl does this happen

its a totally unfair game-

lastly the one thing which is embarrssing is when all the players get in a huddle and sing a song lol  a song thats at least 50 years old-if your gonna sing a song please give an up to date one-proper cringeworthy!!!!!

enough of gayfl bashing

take last nights championship play off final-the richest game of any sport in the world, worth an estimated £130 million pound

derby v qpr................shit game and i'll admit that but derby were dominant all game, they were even up against 10 men when qpr had a player sent off 60mins

the corner count was 14-1 derby's way and tbh dont know how they did'nt score, anyway qpr score in the 90th minute{there only attack of the 2nd half} to steal

it, 130 million for a 90th min goal-thats why its the greatest game in the world-so unpredicable

thing that amused me was when you say about teams having nothing to play for other than the top 5 teams

u having a laugh??? top 4, europe, relegation ,theres everything to play for, do you understand what it means to be relegated????

take for example this season -cardiff v norwich {relegation 6 pointer } massive massive game, you go down you might never get back into the premier league

now we take  say for example gws v brisbane............no relegation now please tell me whats to play for in this game other than pride?

i couldnt imagine playing the same teams forever visiting the same stadiums-how boring

football is the world game and always will be the greatest game in the world

 

I suppose I should respond properly to Bryso.

 

Well everyone has their opinion on what the greatest game in the world is. I don't agree with you, you don't agree with me and people from the US wouldn't agree with either of us.

 

Being rewarded for missing...yeah it's different....but I don't have an issue with it. Neither does half the population of Australia.

 

And I actually agree with some things you've said.

 

No more home grounds. I agree. I used to love going to the suburban grounds. It's a shame this has gone. But it's all about money.

 

And the song?....look, I could do without it too....but it's just a traditional thing, like the way the soccer players link arms and jump up and down when they win the league or the cup. I find that very annoying and think it looks stupid.

 

Championship game would've been great to watch. I enjoy watching lower division games.

 

But won't agree on the topic of playing for spots in Europe etc. Personally, I would lose interest if my team had absolutely no fucken hope whatsoever of ever winning the competition they are supposed to be competing in. That is a joke.

 

And I follow Wolves mate...I know exactly what relegation is about!!! And relegation battles are good games to watch!!!

 

So I actually agree with some things you're saying. But you seem to agree with me about the playing for free kicks and feigning injuries as being a blight on the game....which is what my post was about for the most part.

 

As I said, my parents moved here 40 years ago from good old England. My dad stopped following it over there and embraced AFL...or VFL as it was back then, and has never looked back. And most people that move here do the same....not you obviously.

 

So you think soccer is the greatest game in the world....that's cool and I know millions around the world will agree.

 

But it's your opinion and I don't agree. Each to their own.

 

I'll still watch it when I can, but I'll still cringe and shake my head in disbelief at the piss-weak players that fall down every chance they get and who are happy to cheat and think it's perfectly acceptable to do so.

[vimto66]

Football/soccer can learn a lot from rugby (both codes).Very little cheating,no feigning injury,good discipline (considering its very physical sport),and no giving it the big verbals to the ref,what the ref says goes,end of,any backchat and they get duly punished.

[Texas Skibum]

[Trevor69]

Regarding your second point DazzleDownUnder and following a side where you know deep down that you have no chance of competing with the "elite.

 

I do not go as much these days but times have very recently changed as my little club Luton Town could compete in the top flight spending 10 years in the old first division between 1982 and 1992 and beating Arsenal in the league cup final.

 

Now money dictates and there is no real chance of this happening again however there is no feeling like following your side up and down the country in any division and you certainly see some interesting places that you would never normally go to.It all makes for a great Saturday out and the last game this season 4000 of us travailed 200 miles up to Hyde to celebrate our return to the football league.All the pubs were jam packed making for a great atmosphere.

[DazzaDownUnder]

Gday Trev.

 

I fully understand what you're saying and agree you. The camaraderie you feel with other supporters and the thrill of seeing your team successful is fantastic.

 

But I'm talking about the game itself.

 

Yes it's the most popular sport in the world

Yes the world cup is the biggest sporting event in the world...although I won't be watching any of it.

Yes, I do follow English soccer or football.

 

But despite all of this, the fact remains that to those of us that aren't passionate followers of it, the game itself has become a bit of a joke for the reasons I mentioned.

 

And those of us that follow physical sports like Rugby and Aussie Rules, where you're expecting to act and play like a man, find it hard to believe or accept that the feigning injury and attempts at cheating are just accepted as part of the game.

[enterprise]

its FOOTBALL, no football fans would ever call it soccer, think that came from  America, where they play American football with a RUGBY shaped ball

 

Fan's are fanatical not logical, when your brought up kicking a  football, ball, tin can  and following a team from a boy its in your blood

 

Like many things its changed a bit for the worse, FIFA the corrupt governing body have not really clamped down hard on cheating or embraced technology to assist the referee's

 

In the past Bert Troutman ManCity's German goalkeeper famously played on with a broken neck, many players were given pain killer injections to get them through the 90 minutes. Now many complain if they have to play twice a week

 

Love Rugby League fast, hard, game and  Cricket in different forms, again played these sports has a boy.

 

Quite like Basketball and moto GP, the men driving them bikes are fearless 

[eddy72]

 

heres another one barlow actually gets up to try and play on