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Real Football R.I.P.

Discussion in 'Norwich City' started by KIO, Sep 13, 2011.

  1. KIO

    KIO Well-Known Member

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    Following on from Super's thread 'Fed Up':


    I have to admit that as much as I desperately want City to survive long term in the EPL,
    I too am falling out of love with this league. Let's face it, Premier League football is not REAL football and generally is not followed by REAL football fans.

    When SKY first came onto the scene and started to plough millions into the PL, I would suggest that everyone bar none thought that this was the best thing to happen to football in this country for many a year. After all, we had a top division with few 'top-class' and I would suggest no 'world-class' players. Antiquated stadia with dreadfull amenities (anyone remember those outdoor 'toilets', pissing up against those slimey green brick walls in the 'Gents' ?), and pitches that resembled muddy fields come November.

    So, the good things about the EPL are excellent stadia (with the exception of Goodison Park which is like going through a time warp back to the sixties !), excellent facilities, pitches like bowling greens throughout the season and wall to wall TV and Radio coverage. And the overiding best thing, we STILL have Promotion AND relegation.

    However, there are far and away, in my opinion, many more bad things about the game today in our top division. Overpaid players that have no idea what it's like to do a real day's work, who do not appreciate the real 'value' of money, are exempt from the current world recession and who really don't give a stuff about those that pay their wages. Sterile atmospheres at many top club's grounds ( i.e. Chelsea, Arsenal) due to 'plastic' fans and top clubs that are getting richer every year creating a league where only 3 possibly 4 of them can actually win it. Extortionate admission / season ticket prices taking the game away from the working man for whom it was invented and the demise of the greatest knock-out cup competition in the world, The F.A. Cup, due to the need to survive in the top flight at all costs. Not to mention the cheating and feigning of injury.

    So, in a nutshell I would suggest that 'the best league in the world' is NOT the EPL but the N Power Championship where nearly every club starts the season with a realistic chance of finishing in the top six. However, I STILL want my club to play at the highest level and I WILL be distraught if we fail to survive this season and I NEVER want us to plunge to the depths of the third division again.

    I fear that one day The EPL will follow the American 'Football' blueprint of NO promotion and NO relegation it really is only a matter of time and as much as I dread this eventuality, I just selfishly hope that when it does happen, Norwich City F.C. are a part of this evil cartel.

    http://theseventytwo.com/football-l...gue-really-thinks-of-qpr-norwich-and-swansea/

    R.I.P. Real Football <ghost>

    OTBC
     
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  2. SUPERNORWICH 23

    SUPERNORWICH 23 SUPERNORWICH

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    I agree with 99% of that KO, if the door does slam shut on promotion i would be desperate to be at the top table with Norwich....Its a tad doomy and gloomy on here of late and i hope a win against the Trotters will give us a bit of ooomph, that is badly needed.......
    Whatever happens i will not be getting on the boys backs or slating Lambo or our board.... Unity in success unity in adversity i say..OTBC:emoticon-0165-muscl
     
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  3. ncfcwonky

    ncfcwonky New Member

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    I think the issue, or at least part of the issue is interdependence.

    Before the Premier League and before Sky it was more of a level playing field. No super rich clubs. The interdependence was with the FA. Now we have advertising and Sky. Top leagues mean better football and more fans. There is interdependence between the Premier League and Sky - the clubs get the money and Sky get the ratings. Sky know they won't get ratings as high if they look at the Football League in equal measure to the Premier League. There is also interdependence between companies and football clubs. The club gets the money and the company gets exposure. Companies are not interested in the Football League. An example being that in Norwich's deal with Aviva, Norwich got £2mill. Barcelona will get £25mill a year for their deal with Qatar Foundation. When we signed the deal we were a small League 1 club while Barcelona are the best team in the world. The Barcelona fanbase is far bigger than Norwich's so the name will get more exposure.

    Football clubs and Premier League are all businesses. They want to be making as much money as possible and need more money to sign players or get better facilities to make more money. I fear that football may turn the same way as some American sports where the commentator will have to say 'so and so sponsers this game *read out the sponser's slogon*'
     
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  4. SUPERNORWICH 23

    SUPERNORWICH 23 SUPERNORWICH

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    You mean, in todays fixture in the Carling cup we are live at the Emirates stadium:eek:
     
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  5. Liz Baggie

    Liz Baggie Member

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    In that case, don't have anything to do with Sky. Don't feed the monster with your money. Don't go to Norwich games for they have surely compromised all things moral by being a part of it. Turn your back on them and don't love them again until they are out of the Premiership.

    You can't can you.
     
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  6. Liz Baggie

    Liz Baggie Member

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    We, West Bromwich Albion, are the best run club in the country. We have two of the best strikers outside the top six. You don't have any strikers that are fit for this division. Now then, the reason for all this nonsense is because you lost. Boo Hoo get over it or go and watch netball or something.

    You are not real men.
     
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  7. KIO

    KIO Well-Known Member

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    If you read my post again Lizzie, that's exactly what I am saying. I can't 'turn my back' on them. As much as I loathe The EPL, I also love it ! Mind you , I no longer subscribe to Sky my conscience won't let me put another penny in Murdoch's pocket !
     
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  8. KIO

    KIO Well-Known Member

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    Liz, FYI - REAL men used to play REAL football, which was watched by REAL men. Go away and play with your Barbie doll ;)
     
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  9. ncfcwonky

    ncfcwonky New Member

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    That's not so bad. I'm just worried when the commentator will say. 'Welcome to this Carling Cup semi-final at the Emirates stadium, sponsored by Tescos, 'cos every little helps.'

    Done already!

    Bit extreme. It isn't any individual clubs fault. That's what interdependence is, one business has to rely on another business to survive and do well. Norwich and West Brom rely on the money provided by the shirt sponsers to get the players that will get them promoted.
     
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  10. SUPERNORWICH 23

    SUPERNORWICH 23 SUPERNORWICH

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    Liz go and ask your GP if he can arrange a strapadicktamy for you:emoticon-0119-puke:
     
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  11. johnnywarksmoustache

    johnnywarksmoustache Well-Known Member

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    <laugh><laugh>

    You Budgies!

    You lot gave it the big'un when you got promoted to the Premiership and now you're in it most of you now want to be back in the Championship!! Never mind guys your wishes will come true sure enough by the end of the season! <ok>
     
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  12. Resurgam

    Resurgam Top Analyst
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    Morning JWM
     
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  13. ThaiCanary

    ThaiCanary Well-Known Member

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    Let's hope our other wish comes true too eh JWM <ok>
     
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  14. johnnywarksmoustache

    johnnywarksmoustache Well-Known Member

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    Afternoon Maestro <ok>
     
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  15. 1950canary

    1950canary Well-Known Member

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    As with everything else in life you have to take things as a package and on the whole I think that Sky and it's money has been good for the game. I have Sky and to be honest I would hate to lose it especially Sky Sports News and the Football coverage of all Divisions - not just the Premiership. It's like being married - you have to take the rough with the smooth!!!
     
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  16. goldeneadie

    goldeneadie Well-Known Member

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    what's a baggies fan doing on our board? just been on their board and it's like the Marie Celeste, no-one their and no action at all. one fan here, zreo there.
     
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  17. sensiblegreeny

    sensiblegreeny Well-Known Member
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    Well now isn't it interesting that every supporter in the land whose club is not in the premiership strives and prays for it until it happens. Question is that is it better to be a big fish in a smaller pond or a very small fish in an ocean? As my user name indicates I am a supporter of the club currently 92nd in the football league which is totally broke with a squad full of kids and at the moment only looks like going out of the league altogether. Would I support anyone else? Not on your life and being born and bred in Plymouth why would I. Would I swap places with you, well of course I would having supported a team for 50 years and dreamed of playing at least one season in the top league.

    The above is probably the answer any supporter would give whose team is either not in the premiership or has never been there. But, it masks an unfortunate state of affairs in the game which in my view you have already nailed which is it's involvement with Sky TV. Football has in essence sold it's very soul to the devil. If you are consistently successful then the money gets bigger and bigger. The English prem is however getting to be just like Scotland. There are only 2 teams in Scotland who can possibly win the league. This is stretched,and only recently to 4 possibly 5 in England and any side outside of those have no chance whatsoever despite everyone starting the season on nil points and having the same number of games to play. Money is the root of all evil in this. This has a knock on effect to the Championship where clubs outstretch themselves in the hope of reaching this land of gold. More clubs go for broke and more clubs end up broke with the pressure to go for it often coming from the supporters themselves. If 10 clubs outspend their income consistently and only 3 can go up then it is not rocket science to see what is likely to happen. The money thrown at the top league is outragious compared to what filters down. Another side is the need for instant success if you make it. Rather than have time to nurture young talent or buy talent from below the clubs go abroad to buy proven players. This means that even less money filters it's way down through the pyramid. Sky TV, because it can now dictate who plays and when, show wall to wall top flight football. This encourages people to buy into it and not bother actually attending. It also encourages people to support "plastically" a top flight club rather than their local one for which there is unlikely to be any bragging rites at the end of a season. Kids in plymouth wearing Man U shirts, Chelsea shirts and now even Man City shirts just to be able to say they follow one of the top teams. Attendances in plymouth down to 5000 out of a population of 250,000 and pretty much the whole of Cornwall. Further to all of this the wages are ratcheted up by the ridiculous amounts paid to top players. It gets less further down the leagues but is still higher than it should be. This puts up the cost of attending. So, £40 a month or whatever it is to watch loads of games compared to £40 per month to watch league 2 matches x 2 in a month. Once people get out of the habit of coming to the ground and invest in a Sky dish then it is only a matter of time before they would never return to live games.

    I have watched matches on Sky. These however have only ever been in the bar after watching my club when there is always a premiership match on. The antics of some of the players in that league is laughable and they fall down more often than Charlie Chaplin. It infuriates me to watch it and I find myself concentrating more on the acting than the actual play. Sadly this sort of behaviour also filters down the pyramid and out of the league and into schools. Kids now dive about on the park in a kick about all because it is learned behaviour. It is a fact that the game of football has become more ballet dancing than a proper contact man's game with a bit of rough and tumble thrown in. Watch some of the matches played in the 70's now and half of both sides would not see half time anymore. But, it was great spectator sport.

    Bit lengthy and appologise for that. Last thing is a comment about your club being better off in the Championship rather than the premiership. You do not seriously mean that. If you did then there would be nothing left to strive for and therefore the whole thing would be pointless. Despite the shortcomings of the premier league and the ridiculous money, it is why we follow our club and to say otherwise is just plain daft. I will always attend my home town matches for as long as I'm able in whatever league it is in. I will always continue to dream and hope for promotions to the promised land no matter how bad that might get. I have to.
     
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  18. johnnywarksmoustache

    johnnywarksmoustache Well-Known Member

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    Sensible <applause>

    May I congratulate you on a great thoughtful post, a great read sir and very true.

    I take it you are a pligrim and if so I really hope your club gets out of the mess you find yourselves in.
     
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  19. Superman wears Grant Holt pyjamas in bed

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    <applause> although i don't think anyone is saying we WANT to return to the championship - more that it won't be the end of the world if we return as its much more enjoyable. any 'problems' we believe we are suffering from at this time are chicken feed compared to what plymouth and others are going through and our spell in the premier league, so long as we carry on being prudent rather than blow the bank, shall ensure we have a club to support for many years to come, something sadly you are not able to have guaranteed.

    best of luck to the green army <ok>
     
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  20. KIO

    KIO Well-Known Member

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    A well thought out and sensible post 'sensible' ! However if you read my original post again you will see that I have said that I would be distraught if we were relegated from the Prem and that I never want us to plunge to the depths of lower league football again ! You say that I/we think that we would be better off in the Champ ? Not on your nelly mate, it's a question of 'if you can't beat 'em join 'em', that's the whole point of my post really. I was just pointing out that the Champ is a far more competitive and sometimes more exciting league to watch. Now that we have reached the 'promised land' I want us to cheat and dive like the rest of them in order to stay there. Sad but true.

    OTBC
     
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