The soul of modern football

[Chrono]

I wrote in an earlier thread that I thought it a positive thing Real Madrid purchasing this huge string of stars which gives someone the opportunity to humiliate them by knocking them out of the CL but my thoughts have started turning.

I’m getting seriously depressed by the summer transfers and we haven’t even properly got in to this mad circus yet. The game is getting ruined and quickly too. Before there were the odd elite here and there that could buy their way to success (Chelsea) but it has now got completely out of hand. Real Madrid have a reported transfer budget of £300m to spend, Man City and Chelsea will no doubt go shopping big time, Man U will without doubt spend a huge amount as will a host of other teams sitting on play money.

It always seemed that the best thing for us would be to get some heavy investment in so that we could compete within all of this and I know that we did bloody well last year but inevitably we will get financially bullied out of this. What is the point in that though, we end up with our own Middle Eastern money bags that use the profits of slavery and corruption to help us out bid one of his mates to buy a player who couldn’t give two ****s about our club! I argued the toss that Benitez always had enough money to compete but I no longer believe that is the case.

The CL is already a completely unbalanced competition and from a non-person point of view the further these teams pull away the more damaging it will be to all the lower placed/lower league teams who are already fighting to stay alive.

What is it going to take before we have a wage/purchase cap? I really hope that something gets put in place but it’s about as likely as the “fit and proper” persons test stopping the likes of Kim Jong-il buying Crystal Palace. Money talks.

Does football still have a soul?

[dww]

Football still has a soul because sometimes nights like Istanbul happen and teams that are carefully assembled or bought up in the club culture like the one at Barcelona win things with style.

It will be interesting to see how much of the rumoured high valued transfer shenanigans come off. If I'm honest I don't think it will be as much as people say. A couple of teams will make like Chelsea's first Abramovich season but I have a feeling many of the big players like United will have a summer much like any other (there may be one big trnasfer in to replace anyone who leaves I admit).

I think that Benitez has now more or less go to the position where he can grow a legacy properly from the ground up. He is more pragmatic than Wenger and I think it will serve him well. This summer is important in that we are still not a complete squad but I think we have an excellent platform for growth and a manager who now has the spine of a team he can rely on. I've been of the opinion for a while that we don't need more than one top draw signing for him to be able to compete with the best next season. My only worry is that we may need to sell to buy and changing any of the core of our team represents a huge gamble.

[BobTheCharmer]

Does football still have a soul?

Burnley reaching the Premier League and Stoke City surviving against the odds shows it still does.

Man City fans will be enjoying themselves right now, they've been in the shadows of utd so long, they'll feel they're owed some glory. Who are we to deny them their day? All this money has upset the apple cart and it means the likes of Chelsea and City have/will buy their way to the top. But eventually it'll even out, afterall there are only a handful of top top players like the Kaka's, Gerrards & Ribery's of this world to go around.

We need to produce some more Gerrard, Fowler types and hang onto them.

I'm writing this and trying to convince myself but honestly the game has been ****ed for years and will only get worse before it gets better.

[Parm]

football sold its soul a long time ago and got into bed with the devil.
Blame Jimmy Hill for breaking the initial wage cap Max, we had it once and it didnt work then. Will it work now? who knows, teams will want the best and will not stand for anything which prohibits this. Perhaps transfer fees could be scrapped and we could have a draft system like the NBA, with the bottom teams getting the pick of the best players first?

[Tee]

Lost it when Sky came on the scene IMO.

[DannyMan2006]

Makes me laugh this talk. Football lost its soul as soon as people realised they could make money out of it, because that's when it moved into the entertainment business.

I remember people moaning about Chelsea splurging the cash when Roman came on the scene, did they forget about Jack Walker at Blackburn? He did exactly the same thing.

The only difference that these billionaires have made is that a club previously seen as small time can make massive strides towards the top of the football ladder.

You can moan about teams buying the title, but that has been the case for a long time. Remember that when we used to win on a yearly basis it was us who were breaking the transfer record. In fact, I still remember when we smashed it by buying Stan Collymore for £8.5m.

I can bet you now, that the only people who complain about the soul of football are the ones whose clubs have suffered the most. Such as liverpool who are being left behind and teh likes of Everton who whilst once could be considered title challengers are now only ever able to dream of scraping 4th if they're lucky.

Long gone are the days of a second division team winning the league after a couple of seasons in the top flight. But it still remains the same, the teams who blow the most cash, are the ones likely to challenge for honours.

[ukfootballfan101]

Its not just about cash though, look at Leeds and Newcastle, how much did they both spend before getting relegated??

I think all teams and leagues go through cycles, the prem is the best team in europe at the moment, will it still be the case in 10 years time?

Over time, players get old, managers retire, clubs are bought and sold, new players and managers rise up...Thats why people like us can enjoy it more, we have (will) stick with our team through the good and the bad (hopefully it never gets as bad as Newcastle!!)

Like Bob said, you could argue Man City fans have earned some success, they've seen a whole series of bad players and managers, they were playing 2nd division football not long ago!

The day football loses its soul is the day we start stopping play for "TV breaks" like the NFL....

[Tee]

What is the 'soul' of football? For me it is the followers of the game, the fans, supporters call them what you like.

Therefore, IMO the soul of the game went the day that Sky introduced the PL and ensured no more live league footy on terrestrial tv, leaving the average fan to watch the odd live cup game and highlights show.

Money then became the major motive for football in this country, for wanting to watch it at 30-40 quid a month on Sky, to becoming a pro on massive wages, to running a club. Nothing has changed since IMO.

[ukfootballfan101]

What is the 'soul' of football? For me it is the followers of the game, the fans, supporters call them what you like.

Therefore, IMO the soul of the game went the day that Sky introduced the PL and ensured no more live league footy on terrestrial tv, leaving the average fan to watch the odd live cup game and highlights show.

Money then became the major motive for football in this country, for wanting to watch it at 30-40 quid a month on Sky, to becoming a pro on massive wages, to running a club. Nothing has changed since IMO.

I think you might be looking back with rose tinted glasses there mate. I'm not old enough to remember but I've read a bit about it and I understand there wasn't actually that much live football on TV before Sky. There was Match of the Day, FA cup etc, but it wasn't as if there was a live game at 3pm every saturday.

I'm willing to bet there is as much live football (if not more) on terrestrial TV now than ever before. We have FA cup games, at least one champions league game at least every other week from October to April, UEFA cup games, Match of the Day, International tournaments, theres even talk of putting a load of championship games on Terrestrial TV...

[dww]

If we are going to define football in those terms then surely the 'soul' went as soon as it was televised and people started not having to go the stadiums and could support non-local teams?

[Tee]

I think you might be looking back with rose tinted glasses there mate. I'm not old enough to remember but I've read a bit about it and I understand there wasn't actually that much live football on TV before Sky. There was Match of the Day, FA cup etc, but it wasn't as if there was a live game at 3pm every saturday.

I'm willing to bet there is as much live football (if not more) on terrestrial TV now than ever before. We have FA cup games, at least one champions league game at least every other week from October to April, UEFA cup games, Match of the Day, International tournaments, theres even talk of putting a load of championship games on Terrestrial TV...

You are right, but whatever there was on tv was at least free to view. Like the last game of the saeson in 1989 played on that Friday night. How many people would be able to watch that kind of game now if it is on Sky?

Maybe I am being over nostalgic but it just seem, unfortunately, everything about the game since the PL/Sky is about money.

[ukfootballfan101]

If we are going to define football in those terms then surely the 'soul' went as soon as it was televised and people started not having to go the stadiums and could support non-local teams?

That's an interesting point. I think the problem is people don't like change and as the game changes with the times (removal of the wage cap, ever increasing transfer records, sky, premiership, champions league etc) not everyone likes it, but nothing can stay the same forever.

To kill the "soul" of the game, I think several things would have to happen like the stoppage of play for TV breaks (outside of half time) and an end of promotion/relegation - It has to be possible for any team (AFC Liverpool) to in theory get into the premier league.

[dww]

That's an interesting point. I think the problem is people don't like change and as the game changes with the times (removal of the wage cap, ever increasing transfer records, sky, premiership, champions league etc) not everyone likes it, but nothing can stay the same forever.

To kill the "soul" of the game, I think several things would have to happen like the stoppage of play for TV breaks (outside of half time) and an end of promotion/relegation - It has to be possible for any team (AFC Liverpool) to in theory get into the premier league.

I have to say that a lot of people mistake the PL or at least top level football for all of what is important. If competition and people playing for the love of the game and not huge money then there are any number of clubs/teams you can follow/support watch throughout the country.

[SimonNo7]

Does football still have a soul?

Not a complete soul.

The completely out of proportion wages and the over the top commercialisation of Sky has put paid to the majority of it.

Things like Istanbul, Burnley & Hull reaching the Premiership and FA Cup upsets are just reminders of what football are what’s left of it.

[SimonNo7]

because that's when it moved into the entertainment business.

That’s a good point, 'when football moved into the entertainment business' and this is down to Sky making their pundits, ie ex professional footballers who were only bothered about winning, talk about the game being just entertainment.

Talking about how entertainers like Ronaldo should be allowed to get away with stamping on other players because he is an entertainer and gets fouled a lot because he is skillful (complete an utter tosh spouted by not an exactly soft git Charlie Nicholas).

Sometimes I think Sky are trying to turn football into the English version of the WWE and with some of the refereeing decisions in the Premiership it does make you wonder!!!!!!!

Football to me is and will always be about winning. First is everything, second is nothing and I don’t care how ugly we play if we achieve first.