What I Find Quite Funny On Here.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Referees are pretty ordinary these says even at the top of the game and at least the guy on Saturday drew pretty half circles around the ball at free kicks and it takes a lot of careful training and skill to get them to do that.....

Hmmm I see, is that what he was doing, and I thought it was graffiti.

[Logicalman]

Mince, agreed mate, with the first paragraph at least.

Football has changed somewhat from three decades ago, though any side that maintains a physical side to their game paired with the finess of today's game will always do well.

I recall a comment my wife said when we got close to many players during the Jacksonville weekend, that being how small and almost slight so many looked. I agreed, I guess it never really hit me so much before.

I hate overly dirty teams but I also dislike players in the form of Sterling, who are so dainty I wonder if he is in the wrong sport sometimes.

[RaySmith]

Being lightweight can help a player to  evade tackles, and with the pace to get away from a lumbering defender.

How  big was George Best?

Modern  refereeing that penalises tackling also favours light, fast, skilful players.
though maybe the Championship is more physical than the Prem, but our manager has experience at this level.

[Woolly Mammoth]

You need upper body strength at any level to survive and be successful in football. Too many lightweight players will never compete at their best until they learn to ride a tackle and not fall over when you brush past the TV, too many looking to fall over at any opportunity and dive and cheat these days.
George Best knew how to ride a tackle and take a tackle and he could also tackle, like many other light weight players in his day.
Players were mentally far tougher as well as physically tougher, many players these days are wimps and fragile and will push the barriers of cheating. A lot of players these days wouldn't last 5 minutes 30 years ago, absolute cry babies, and it's ruining the game.
Can you imagine them playing on the pitches of yesteryear, with the heavy balls and rugby type boots. These days the players priorities are their head phones and their mobile phones and their agents.   
I feel that players are too overcoached these days and cannot always think for themselves. They perform like robots, hence the reason why there are few characters left, and few leaders, and that is also damaging the game at spectator level.
Some players do not even know how to tackle any more, which ends up with red and yellow cards.
But the standard of refereeing has also diminished in conjunction with the attempts of players to con the referee.

[Bill2]

Sorry but every player is allowed to play the game to be just inside the rules. Most do. Taking the ball to the corner flag and holding it there is time wasting but it is legal. Walking across slowly to take a corner is also legal. You will never eliminate time wasting from the game however players feigning injury is doing a diservice to a fellow professional as a physio may not be allowed on to the field of play if the ref sees it as a time wasting

Wasting time in the latter stages of  game is just football and happens at every level, however, to start it in the first half as soon as you get a lead is not right and refs need to wise up.

[MJG]

Sorry but every player is allowed to play the game to be just inside the rules. Most do. Taking the ball to the corner flag and holding it there is time wasting but it is legal. Walking across slowly to take a corner is also legal. You will never eliminate time wasting from the game however players feigning injury is doing a diservice to a fellow professional as a physio may not be allowed on to the field of play if the ref sees it as a time wasting

This is all true, but there is a limit to where i think players/teams/managers cross the line into basically cheating everyone.
The corner where it was clear it should be at the cottage side was a clear example. The players all lineup up facing that way, yet the 11 started going towards the river and then plays dumb and takes forever to get over to the cottage.
He also did the trick of standing in front of every free kick. I know its all legal and part of the game, but iots the not the way I want us to play or watch it every week. No matter what the results it gets.

[toshes mate]

I think, MJG, you make a very important point about the entertainment value of a game and why the referee needs to consider playing time as a valuable asset to all those at a match rather than just the bloke on the touchline shouting and hollering about too much time being added on because their side are winning etc.  There was a time when referees would be so obvious about exerting and keeping control but that era has sadly gone.   I'd like to see encroachment and unsporting behaviour reinstated as bookable offences.

[colinwhite]

The irony is that if they hadnt wasted so much time we wouldnt have got the 5 minutes added on and we  probably wouldnt have equalised.

[MJG]

The irony is that if they hadnt wasted so much time we wouldnt have got the 5 minutes added on and we  probably wouldnt have equalised.

there is that way to look at it, but if they were not waisting time then more game play was available earlier.

[colinwhite]

Yes but the goal came after the 95th minute Which is why Alex Neil was going bannanas! That was a result of the ref aknowledging their gamesmanship.To be fair against QPR I was begging our players to waste time after the 90 !