Tarts

[bwfcbob123]

They should do what they do in Aussie Rules. If a fight breaks out the refs just grab the ball, move 10 yards away and restart the game. It's amazing how quickly the fighting stops.

Every weekend they have a panel which reviews every game and dishes out fines and bans etc. based on the match video.

That's exactly the sort of thing we need over here!

[hjd]

Slightly off topic but about 15 years ago when my son was at Secondary school it was normal to take the football team abroad at Easter and play and train with teams from Europe.

Some of my lads mates who were at a different school went to Holland, along with a few parents. When they got back they were saying they had watched the Italian lads training one day, they would be between 10 and 13 years old, and the coaches were teaching them how to dive and fall over at the slightest contact, how to con penalties  by leaving their foot in and then falling over as though fouled. They said they stood there gobsmacked at what they were watching.

So it's really no surprise it's widespread in the game now.

[H. Pedersen]

I look at videos of McGinlay and Todd throwing punches, or of Lofthouse scoring while simultaneously knocking Harry Gregg unconscious, and I love it.  Realistically if that was allowed to go on in the English league then all of the players with any talent would go to Spain or Italy.  Some people think Eagles and Petrov suck but we wouldn’t get anyone near even that caliber if they were getting hacked down like Pele in the 1966 World Cup.

The amount of money in the game, the freedom of movement within the EU, and the Bosman ruling have ensured we’re not going to see a return to the football depicted so lovingly in The Damned United.  Clubs invest a ton of money in players and they want to keep them healthy as long as possible.  If players can stay fit for 10 years or so they can make enough to retire.  And any league that doesn’t coddle the players is going to see the talent exit en masse to safer climes.

I dislike the diving and I do think the governing bodies need to find a way to clamp down on it.  But I can’t fault players for wanting a greater level of protection.  I might complain when I get called for an innocuous foul in recreational soccer but I’d rather it go too far in that direction than have morons flying at my shins constantly.  If that makes me a “tart,” so be it.

[DaveBWFC]

I look at videos of McGinlay and Todd throwing punches, or of Lofthouse scoring while simultaneously knocking Harry Gregg unconscious, and I love it.  Realistically if that was allowed to go on in the English league then all of the players with any talent would go to Spain or Italy.  Some people think Eagles and Petrov suck but we wouldn’t get anyone near even that caliber if they were getting hacked down like Pele in the 1966 World Cup.

The amount of money in the game, the freedom of movement within the EU, and the Bosman ruling have ensured we’re not going to see a return to the football depicted so lovingly in The Damned United.  Clubs invest a ton of money in players and they want to keep them healthy as long as possible.  If players can stay fit for 10 years or so they can make enough to retire.  And any league that doesn’t coddle the players is going to see the talent exit en masse to safer climes.

I dislike the diving and I do think the governing bodies need to find a way to clamp down on it.  But I can’t fault players for wanting a greater level of protection.  I might complain when I get called for an innocuous foul in recreational soccer but I’d rather it go too far in that direction than have morons flying at my shins constantly.  If that makes me a “tart,” so be it.

Tart. You're foreign though and don't understand the English game.

[Natasha Whittam]

The amount of money in the game, the freedom of movement within the EU, and the Bosman ruling have ensured we’re not going to see a return to the football depicted so lovingly in The Damned United.  Clubs invest a ton of money in players and they want to keep them healthy as long as possible.  If players can stay fit for 10 years or so they can make enough to retire.  And any league that doesn’t coddle the players is going to see the talent exit en masse to safer climes.

Are you a man or a mouse?

Football used to be a proper contact sport where there was always the risk of injury. So what gives you and your kind the right to change football into a game for tarts and cheats?

Shame on you.

[Outpost]

Maybe someone needs to invent a new game for the so-called 'purists' .............. how about 'Football Light'.

[Dunkels King]

Me and my better half watch Ice Hockey over here. To be honest, if there isn't a mass brawl in the game you feel cheated. Culprit normally gets 2 minutes in the bin and then is back on. If it is really bad like hitting them with the stick they can get 4 or 10 minutes. If they kill them they can be sent off. I fully agree about football being soft now. When you look at muppets like Nani rolling around it makes you want to go out there and stand on their throats and put them out of their "agony".

[Weststander]

The gams has gone downhill for the reasons above with a good tackle more often deemed a yellow card. But yet there are more injuries or it seems that way. Did the older guys just run off a broken leg or will these softies not play unless 100% fit?

[H. Pedersen]

The gams has gone downhill for the reasons above with a good tackle more often deemed a yellow card. But yet there are more injuries or it seems that way. Did the older guys just run off a broken leg or will these softies not play unless 100% fit?

I'm assuming it's down to football boots being lighter and offering less protection (the dreaded metatarsal injury) and the players being much faster, increasing the damage done at impact.

[ReebokTrotter]

Are you a man or a mouse?

Squeak up and pass the cheese.

[Weststander]

I really dont get these refs today. Rodwell's been sent off for a tackle that was not reckless or careless, possibly mistimed. Nobody was hurt, it was a reasonable challenge for a loose ball.

So why ruin the entertainment for everyone by making it a 10 V 11?

Our refs are a pathetic bunch.

[DaveBWFC]

I've got a bet on that there will be more than 9 points for cards in this game. You get 2 points for a booking and 5 for a red. It's looking like a good bet at the moment.

Martin Atkinson is doing a cracking job imo.

[LightningBolton]

Rodwell's sending off was a disgrace. It was a great tackle. Half the problem is most referees now haven't even played football at junior level so they can't tell if a player's intending to break someone's leg or is genuinely trying to get the ball.
They should also be made to watch replays of their decisions straight after the match & explain them in an interview. Then at least some of them might at least admit to getting the odd one wrong instead of trying to pretend their infallible.
Referees are too harsh & players are too soft. Most of them get more injured by leaping up & rolling round the floor than from the actual challenge itself.

[ReebokTrotter]

Rodwell should never have been sent off. Suarez is a cheat. Hopefully the other refs will take note for future games.