Is football now treated as Opium for the masses?

[AndrewT]

Tiger is truly asthonishing at the moment...it's unreal how good he runs.

Tiger Woods = runhotgolftard.

[TightEnd]

also, and I speak as someone who's club has benefitted from them and then badly used them. Neverends.

I hate parachute payments from the Premier League c£30m over two seasons

its a small step from there to cancelling relegation all together

makes a mockery of relegation, and guarantees that most will be fighting to get back up eg Watford and WBA in the two seasons after

Derby have already spent, in advance, their parachute payment on new players in the Jan transfer window


 

[Graham C]

I see Frank Lampard agrees that football is on the decline, can't even get a youth player to clean his boots these days and no one swoons when they walk past him in the corridors. 

Man it must suck, just him, his £120k per week and a jar of dubbin

There's far too much money in top flight football.  Sky have created a monster.

[AndrewT]

I'd been noticing that my heart wasn't really in football, but it all became clear to me watching the England v Croatia game a few months ago. As Croatia went into the lead, it suddenly struck me that I couldn't care less whether England qualified or not - I'd totally lost interest. It was the culmination of too many crap England performances, too many uber-boring Chelsea v Liverpool v Man Utd v Arsenal GrandSlamSundayRichardKeyssaysthisismoreimporantthanthemoonlanding shitfests and too many wanker players behaving like wankers.

Rugby and cricket are where it's at now for me - over the last few years the Six Nations has just become the best thing ever, and a day at a Test Match will always transcend mere sport for me.

[Bongo]

Derby have already spent, in advance, their parachute payment on new players in the Jan transfer window

And the manager wants to make wholesale changes in the off season because they are even worse than before 

[dan]

Premiership football can be overhyped but to say it is at it lowest ebb is just at the other end of the spectrum. AndrewT said that people who pay £40 per week to watch it are idiot, well I must be a complete tool to pay nearly £900 for my season ticket.

I love premiership football, I am rocking off it this season. Being top of the league 3 points clear with 11 games left after nobody gave us a chance at the start is great. I hate it if I have to miss games. We have got arguably the best league in the world with some of the best players why not enjoy it.

I know there is probably not as much coverage as their should be of the lower leagues, or even other sports but that should not devalue the Premiership.

Tiger Woods as somebody mentioned earlier is possibly the greatest sportsman ever, and is dominating the sport. If a football team dominated a league the way he dominates golf everybody would say its boring that only 1 team ever wins anything.

[kinboshi]

Tiger Woods as somebody mentioned earlier is possibly the greatest sportsman ever, and is dominating the sport.

Mmmm, an interesting point.  I think a separate thread is required.

[boldie]

Premiership football can be overhyped but to say it is at it lowest ebb is just at the other end of the spectrum. AndrewT said that people who pay £40 per week to watch it are idiot, well I must be a complete tool to pay nearly £900 for my season ticket.

I love premiership football, I am rocking off it this season. Being top of the league 3 points clear with 11 games left after nobody gave us a chance at the start is great. I hate it if I have to miss games. We have got arguably the best league in the world with some of the best players why not enjoy it.

I know there is probably not as much coverage as their should be of the lower leagues, or even other sports but that should not devalue the Premiership.

Tiger Woods as somebody mentioned earlier is possibly the greatest sportsman ever, and is dominating the sport. If a football team dominated a league the way he dominates golf everybody would say its boring that only 1 team ever wins anything.

Ah but you are a lucky sod because you support Arsenal. Arsenal and ManU are the only two teams consistently playing footie you wouldn't mind watching. they, when on form, are playing the beautiful game..most other teams don't...and that's why the Premiership sucks these days.

[steeveg]

i think the cost of buying all the football shirts started to make people think about how clubs try to get every penny they can from there supporters, yeah its a business, but i think its become a vicious circle for premier league clubs, you have to pay top wages to get the best players so you have to increase revenue, more revenue ,then the bigger clubs can afford to pay more for top players, so the transfer market prices go up, same thing happened in american football so they introduced the salary cap, it would be very hard to make it work in football as it is global, but its an idea which should be looked at, footballers today look at themselves as entertainers, sky has made them look like pop stars nowadays, no player is worth the money they earn but if the clubs dont pay it they dont get success, till they work out a way to stop the crazy wages and transfer market the prices will just go up and up till the bubble bursts,

[AndrewT]

Premiership football can be overhyped but to say it is at it lowest ebb is just at the other end of the spectrum. AndrewT said that people who pay £40 per week to watch it are idiot, well I must be a complete tool to pay nearly £900 for my season ticket.

I love premiership football, I am rocking off it this season. Being top of the league 3 points clear with 11 games left after nobody gave us a chance at the start is great. I hate it if I have to miss games. We have got arguably the best league in the world with some of the best players why not enjoy it.

Yeah but, as Boldie said, if you're supporting one of the big boys, you would say that.

At the risk of playing a broken record, compare it to the Six Nations. I remember back in the Five Nations days when this was a snoozefest - whoever won the game between England and France would win the whole thing, and the other games were just fat men running into each other. Now, two thirds of the teams have a genuine chance of winning it at the start of every championship. There's no nastiness, the games are exciting, the players aren't all hateful twats and it's all free to view on the telly.

[boldie]

Premiership football can be overhyped but to say it is at it lowest ebb is just at the other end of the spectrum. AndrewT said that people who pay £40 per week to watch it are idiot, well I must be a complete tool to pay nearly £900 for my season ticket.

I love premiership football, I am rocking off it this season. Being top of the league 3 points clear with 11 games left after nobody gave us a chance at the start is great. I hate it if I have to miss games. We have got arguably the best league in the world with some of the best players why not enjoy it.

Yeah but, as Boldie said, if you're supporting one of the big boys, you would say that.

At the risk of playing a broken record, compare it to the Six Nations. I remember back in the Five Nations days when this was a snoozefest - whoever won the game between England and France would win the whole thing, and the other games were just fat men running into each other. Now, two thirds of the teams have a genuine chance of winning it at the start of every championship. There's no nastiness, the games are exciting, the players aren't all hateful twats and it's all free to view on the telly.

I remember some rugby player (Think it was Dalallio (sp?)) saying the rugby player refer to the Premierleague as the "Andrex Premier league"..when asked why he said it was cus "All the players are soft and over paid"..I reckon he's not far off.

[kinboshi]

Premiership football can be overhyped but to say it is at it lowest ebb is just at the other end of the spectrum. AndrewT said that people who pay £40 per week to watch it are idiot, well I must be a complete tool to pay nearly £900 for my season ticket.

I love premiership football, I am rocking off it this season. Being top of the league 3 points clear with 11 games left after nobody gave us a chance at the start is great. I hate it if I have to miss games. We have got arguably the best league in the world with some of the best players why not enjoy it.

Yeah but, as Boldie said, if you're supporting one of the big boys, you would say that.

At the risk of playing a broken record, compare it to the Six Nations. I remember back in the Five Nations days when this was a snoozefest - whoever won the game between England and France would win the whole thing, and the other games were just fat men running into each other. Now, two thirds of the teams have a genuine chance of winning it at the start of every championship. There's no nastiness, the games are exciting, the players aren't all hateful twats and it's all free to view on the telly.

I remember some rugby player (Think it was Dalallio (sp?)) saying the rugby player refer to the Premierleague as the "Andrex Premier league"..when asked why he said it was cus "All the players are soft and over paid"..I reckon he's not far off.

'Twas him.  I heard him say it on Top Gear. 

He's a big girl anyway.  I saw him crying when the national anthem was being played.  I know it's a bad song, but come on man - pull yourself together!

[Jedwick]

I dont understand why people always think that Rugby is a gentlemans game, they kick, spit, punch, stamp, rake... but because they call the ref "sir" that makes them gentlemen! I play rugby for my local team and love playing the game but cant usually bring myself to watching it as its becoming a kick and run game.

I think i understand where some of the comments regarding premiership football is coming from, I used to be able to watch any team play any team but bar the top 7 or 8 the other teams are quite shocking, I have turned to supporting my local team and for the past few years have been to pretty much every game, home and away, Rugby Town are in the southern premier but i enjoy the games and know quite a lot of the first team aswel, I do my part and work the bar or food bar on match days and feel like im helping the club in every way. it used to be i would miss a game if their was a big match on tele but i wouldnt miss a game for anything now!

[kinboshi]

I dont understand why people always think that Rugby is a gentlemans game, they kick, spit, punch, stamp, rake... but because they call the ref "sir" that makes them gentlemen! I play rugby for my local team and love playing the game but cant usually bring myself to watching it as its becoming a kick and run game.

That's why I prefer rugby league as a spectator sport.

[Pelham Boy]

Fantastic thread.

I've saying most of everyone comments for a number of years now,and things have got much worse.The premier league have got everything they deserve (a league of predictable,uncompetitive and largely boring crap football) where the majority are too scared to lose rather than trying to win.It's only a matter of time before a team gets promotion and doesn't win a single game.

The championship is also suffering IMO,most teams have a number of sixth rate foreigners,but at least it's competitive,it's impossible to pick who will finish top 3 even now.