Forum | General Discussion

reading ANTKB post about the women's football and also the general comments made about football these days, its pretty obvious that money has destroyed the game. i think because its 'crept' in we've digested it and somehow accepted it. however i think we (fans of all teams) have realised that the game we used to love to watch is dead and in its place is some Khardasian reality show. we've been fed all this nonsense about players 'playing too much football', needing to be rested for 60 mins of a game, being taken off 15 mins early to 'rest them'. i remember (showing my age) looking back on the cup final of 1980, i was very young then so it became more relevant when i watched it over later. but we had one substitute. players went out on the pitch with no desire whatsoever to not play 90 mins in those days. in fact injuries and all, they carried on. if you were still breathing then there was football to be played. i know the argument is that the game has improved, that the pace is much faster, that the players are fine tuned in fitness etc. but theres a fundamental lack of desire, courage and work ethic that has been lost along the way. its all down to the money. its crept its way into the game like a cancer and now the game is rotten to the core even at international level. we see players demanding a new contract, being given one and then demanding to leave the club a few months later. we see players refusing to play in certain positions or to a certain style. is it modern mentality or simply because their lives are so cushy that theres no need for them to be loyal and work hard? look at ravel morrison, a player with great potential. given chance after chance and squandered. would he have squandered those chances if he wasnt a millionaire? a millionaire for what has amounted to a pretty average at best career too. people argue but it cuts both ways, the clubs show no loyalty to players so why should they? but how can clubs show loyalty when the players are the ones with all the power to do as they please? back in years gone by the atmosphere between players and clubs was that the player was grateful for the opportunity, was rewarded for good performance with his pay packet and if told he wasnt moving clubs, then he wasnt moving clubs end of. if the club sold him, then so be it. its amazing how the game has changed. big clubs like arsenal and barcelona now being ruled by player power. you can argue but its fairer, the player gets to decide on his future just as an employee at a company would do. yes, true. but the game is in ruins. clubs are simply vessels for players to move to and from in search of the best pay packet and highest profile for themselves. thats the nature of the modern game. add to this the ticket prices we now pay and we see its us who's funding the lavish lifestyles of the greedy players. its us that watch it on t.v and pay sky or whoever for the privilege who in turn plough money into the players pockets. football is a business yes, but its not like the everyday high street business. its also a sport. personally the biggest mistake made imo is that no one decided that a wage cap, transfer cap etc should be enforced years back. we're now at 220 mill or so for a player…instead of players being worth a new car or house, they are now worth the cost of building a new stadium. huh? instead of buying Neymar, PSG could buy a new stadium….thats where we've got to.