Football "Boot Porn"

[barryhaylesgoalmachine]

Not Fulham related but i wrote a piece on Football "Boot porn" and how it only further separates the fans from the game. Please do have a read ...

https://www.the-newshub.com/football/football-boot-porn-is-everything-that-is-wrong-with-the-modern-game

[Berserker]

Oh yes I saw that on Twitter. Never read it as I thought it was advertising flashy football boots. I'll have a look at it now you've put it on here

[barryhaylesgoalmachine]

Much appreciated :)

[RaySmith]

Interesting piece -thanks barry.

My first boots were brown leather, with nailed in leather studs, with a steel toecap, and came  above the ankles , with laces that had to be wound the ankle and underneath. After a game you would Dubbin them to keep the leather soft.

They were only boots available to us.

And they reflected the game at the time - the main entertainment -playing and watching - of working-class, mostly, men, though my Mum used to go with us to watch  Palace, the local team, when I was a young kid, before I discovered Fulham.

There wasn't much money in football, not for the players anyway, and the now huge sporting apparel manufactures were only small scale, if they even existed.

But now the game has changed vastly, and so has society-for the worse in many ways.

[barryhaylesgoalmachine]

Sounds like the my first pair may have been slightly more evolved than your one's ! Yep it certainly is a different game these days, it's just a shame that they seemingly take every opportunity to make the professional game seemingly inaccessible ...

[FPT]

I was born in 95 - now 20, you could say that the flashy boot generation is mine. I'm an Adidas guy when it comes to football boots.

These were my ones 3-4 years ago, now too small, but they still have the old school style - just with a nice red colour (my team played in red and black, so they looked quality).

However, since moving into coaching - I've stuck with Adidas, but the true old school Copa Mundial's. They're comfortable and cushioned, as well as matching my black and white Adidas track suit.

[Berserker]

If I was s footballer I'd like a nice flashy pair of boots. Wouldn't want sparkly ones though.

[barryhaylesgoalmachine]

The Copa Mundial's are sexy piece of footwear... Original Puma Kings all the way for me...

[rubbernecca]

"It's not about the boots" -Lance Armstrong

Actually he said "the bike" and actually it was about the drugs.

[cmg]

As a confessed boot junkie I found that an interesting article. I'd say the reason why WCs and Kings remain iconic (and in production) today is that their design and comfort would be difficult to improve on, they are well manufactured and they use top-class materials. I noticed that Adidas, a couple of years ago, went away from kangaroo (on rather spurious-sounding 'green' grounds) but have now returned to this ideal material.
I've never worn plastic boots so can't comment, but I've no problem with fancy colours - especially if everyone else was wearing them. You'd have to be a VERY good player to get away with white boots in my day.
I had many, many pairs of boots, mostly Adidas, but my last pair were Coq Sportif Roma 8. Thirty years ago or thereabouts. I've still got them, perhaps sadly (although I don't think so!).



Zico wore them - although the studs are my own contribution to the Beautiful Game

[barryhaylesgoalmachine]

The Le Coq Sportif boots are classics.. Although they look like Rugby studs on those ones... I presume they were used for enforcing on the pitch ? haha

[ffc73]

Wore the Coq Sportif for a season purely because I liked the plain black design.

Reverted back to after that.  Black with a white stripe and as comfortable as a pair of slippers.

Personally don't get the neon coloured boots nowadays and prefer the plain black.  Probably a sign of my age

[Jem]

Interesting piece -thanks barry.

My first boots were brown leather, with nailed in leather studs, with a steel toecap, and came  above the ankles , with laces that had to be wound the ankle and underneath. After a game you would Dubbin them to keep the leather soft.

They were only boots available to us.

And they reflected the game at the time - the main entertainment -playing and watching - of working-class, mostly, men, though my Mum used to go with us to watch  Palace, the local team, when I was a young kid, before I discovered Fulham.

There wasn't much money in football, not for the players anyway, and the now huge sporting apparel manufactures were only small scale, if they even existed.

But now the game has changed vastly, and so has society-for the worse in many ways.

'Sounds like you and I had the same boots. Apparently when I first got them my mother looked in on me before she went to bed. She thought my feet looked somewhat larger than usual and on pulling back the bedsheets found I was wearing my new boots. I was so proud of them. We used to put dubbing on the footballs as well. God it hurt to head the ball in those days!

[gerrys]

Interesting piece -thanks barry.

My first boots were brown leather, with nailed in leather studs, with a steel toecap, and came  above the ankles , with laces that had to be wound the ankle and underneath. After a game you would Dubbin them to keep the leather soft.

They were only boots available to us.

They were great for toe-punting tho'...........and kicking the opposition with those round and hard toe-caps......

[Rupert]

Multi-coloured boots can help identify who has fouled whom, something some of the dimmer players don't seem to realise, especially if they are radically different colours to everyone elses'. Other than that, I honestly don't see the point of having them. My lad has succumbed to the trend (he's only 9 so there is hope yet), he has the same boots as some Barcelona player, but as I keep telling him, it is not the boots that make you a great player.

[cmg]

         


  German No7 (thinks): "Compared to trying to mark ziss slippery b*stard in his fancy Coq Sportif boots, managing Fulham should be an absolute doddle."

[snarks]

my favourites were either a pair of 1982 Copa Mondial boots, only the kangaroo leather split in under a season, or a pair of Puma Pele Rio's. My last pair that I still have, are a pair of Asics, which are still quite soft. Not sure they will ever see the light of day again though.

[ron]

Bobby Keetch's boots must still be knocking about under the seats in the home dressing room in the Cottage...

...from a time when boots were boots and centre halves were Men..........