Back in the day.............
It was about the football, not money, diving, celebrities, or politics. Sportsmanship was rife.
I miss those days. Good honest players (well maybe some dodgy ones) playing their hearts out for their team.
I haven't attended a game for a while. Football is somewhat inferior these days.
I remember football back to the early 60's well and my view is that it's just as good as it always was. Better given the much improved played surfaces for talent to shine on and the vastly improved athleticism of modern players. You can cite diving today but there was thuggery then. The dark arts have always existed in some shape or form.
What has declined in my opinion is the leadership of the game at home and internationally. FIFA are shocking, UEFA only slightly better and our Prem has bent over for years to lick the backsides of the top five or six clubs. Meanwhile insufficient of the Prem's bounty trickles down to grassroots football.
I agree with Twig. The problem with football these days is that is such big business. I try to ignore that, the financial aspects, the politics, the macro organisational structure and I focus on my 'tribe', watching 11 on the pitch playing sport against another tribe's 11. Small minded perhaps but it's what gives me enjoyment, even if games don't go our way.
Quote from: Barrett487 on October 03, 2026, 08:10:18 PMBack in the day.............
It was about the football, not money, diving, celebrities, or politics. Sportsmanship was rife.
I miss those days. Good honest players (well maybe some dodgy ones) playing their hearts out for their team.
I haven't attended a game for a while. Football is somewhat inferior these days.
I guess we have Johnny Haynes to thank for players getting paid well above the average weekly wage.
Don't get involved with football away from what happens off the pitch ,but purchased the Fulham away game and coach ticket to Coventry and am just as excited as when i was younger win lose or draw.
I think I'm somewhere in the middle with this.
Back then it was the excitement of cycling over to my nans, where all my uncles gathered. The noise walking up to CC, people selling programmes rosettes and monkey nuts. Clouds of cigarette smoking floating over the stands. Wall to wall sheepskin coats in the enclosure, in what's now the JH stand. It always seemed cold, wet or both back in the late sixites. Baggy black shorts and thick black and white socks. Heavy pitches and do or die defending meant for little opportunity for the skills you see nowadays. The Rosette and monkey nut sellers are now plying their trade in Heaven. Turnstiles seem to have shrunk our seats await us as do our fellow ST holders. We all know more about tactics, who gets paid what. Who's carrying a thigh strain, knock or grudge with the manager. They (managers) along with those who frequented the enclosure have ditched the sheepskins, are more mobile, wave their arms and now have their very own referee to shout at. Tea and a pie at half time has been dropped in favour of a pint (which might have a connection to the shrinking turnstiles).
The queue and ambience at the bogs under the Hammy is exactly the same though. As is, my view that we deserved to win, the other side were crap, lucky, cheated possibly all three and why does it take so long to get out of here?
Quote from: I Ronic on October 04, 2026, 07:17:11 AMI think I'm somewhere in the middle with this.
Back then it was the excitement of cycling over to my nans, where all my uncles gathered. The noise walking up to CC, people selling programmes rosettes and monkey nuts. Clouds of cigarette smoking floating over the stands. Wall to wall sheepskin coats in the enclosure, in what's now the JH stand. It always seemed cold, wet or both back in the late sixites. Baggy black shorts and thick black and white socks. Heavy pitches and do or die defending meant for little opportunity for the skills you see nowadays. The Rosette and monkey nut sellers are now plying their trade in Heaven. Turnstiles seem to have shrunk our seats await us as do our fellow ST holders. We all know more about tactics, who gets paid what. Who's carrying a thigh strain, knock or grudge with the manager. They (managers) along with those who frequented the enclosure have ditched the sheepskins, are more mobile, wave their arms and now have their very own referee to shout at. Tea and a pie at half time has been dropped in favour of a pint (which might have a connection to the shrinking turnstiles).
The queue and ambience at the bogs under the Hammy is exactly the same though. As is, my view that we deserved to win, the other side were crap, lucky, cheated possibly all three and why does it take so long to get out of here?
I shall drink to that.
Probably more chance of getting beaten up by skinheads in those days ;-)
Quote from: Twig on October 03, 2026, 10:13:49 PMI remember football back to the early 60's well and my view is that it's just as good as it always was. Better given the much improved played surfaces for talent to shine on and the vastly improved athleticism of modern players. You can cite diving today but there was thuggery then. The dark arts have always existed in some shape or form.
What has declined in my opinion is the leadership of the game at home and internationally. FIFA are shocking, UEFA only slightly better and our Prem has bent over for years to lick the backsides of the top five or six clubs. Meanwhile insufficient of the Prem's bounty trickles down to grassroots football.
And diving did exist too even at Fulham. Rodney Marsh, Alan Clarke to name but two - and Francis Lee would have won Oscars for his dramatic collapse as if shot from the grassy knoll
I agree with the OP comments.
IMO there are multiple issues but on the pitch and the managers who send their players out.... they cheat big time. Everything is about doing anything to get one over on the other team/ref. It is industrial scale cheating from diving to falling down holding their faces when they have been touched on the ankle to the keeper falling on the floor giving the manager a chance to have a team talk etc etc.
I take the view sport is a competition between two or more participants to see who are the best/most skilled/can score the most goals, runs, points. The rules are the framework in which the contest takes place, What it shouldn't be is test of who can cheat the best.
Football is dynamic physical game so there are always judgement calls and players that are super competitive but in the end a little hoinesty and integrity amongst the players and manager would improve the game massively. In the end the refs are as poor as they are because the players cheat so much.
Football is just a reflection of modern western society.