Great post that one, especially the point about players becoming role models.
Falling out of love with football (warning - miserable moaning post)
- Thread starter noodlehair
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) are here to talk about United's dreadful home defeat at the hands of Big Ange's Tottenham Hotspur. Should this have been the end of Ten Hag? How long does he actually have left? And does Nik finally want ETH out?!
Great post that one, especially the point about players becoming role models.
What a bunch of whingeing gloryhunting wankers! 
( Only joking, I don’t think any of you are gloryhunters….. )
I think in this day and age there is a risk of saturation with wall to wall coverage everyday, which can get very boring.
I look for Utd news, I watch every United game I can, but beyond that I don’t pay too much attention because I’m not interested. I guess in that way I distance myself from it.
( Only joking, I don’t think any of you are gloryhunters….. )
I think in this day and age there is a risk of saturation with wall to wall coverage everyday, which can get very boring.
I look for Utd news, I watch every United game I can, but beyond that I don’t pay too much attention because I’m not interested. I guess in that way I distance myself from it.
Overmars killed it for me
You’re not alone pal, I feel pretty similar
Nothing against anyone that feels this way, but it seems like there's a thread expressing this feeling fairly often in recent years. I wonder if there was ever a thread like this made before 2013?
I've started to invest less emotional energy in United. Instead I try and appreciate football for what it is (on the pitch) - admiring the positives of the game and if there are none, I focus on matches that do, like Nottingham Forest's recent FA Cup victory.
Whilst I do get disappointed after we loose, it hurts a lot less.
Detachment (or measured attachment) is the only way to being a United fan these days.
Whilst I do get disappointed after we loose, it hurts a lot less.
Detachment (or measured attachment) is the only way to being a United fan these days.
I think fans will realize as time goes on that they were tunneling the financial aspect of the Super League too hard to realize the potential for change it brought with it.
This was a chance to remedy some of the devolving aspects of football. A breakaway from FIFA/UEFA needs to happen so we can fix both the rules and the officiating.
This was a chance to remedy some of the devolving aspects of football. A breakaway from FIFA/UEFA needs to happen so we can fix both the rules and the officiating.
Overmars and Zouma. This isn't getting any better.
I realised this when Ronaldo signed and I couldn't give a shit.
That Zouma video has me pretty close to the edge at this point.
On the larger discussion topic though, I saw a video about the brands people align themselves with & what they believe they say about them, I wear Nike recreationaly for example & they broke down why I likely do so. Now I’m sure that multiple posters have family ties or did just so happen coincidentally turn on their tv & happen upon a match where [at the time] serial winners Manchester United were playing & I don’t know anyone in here personally enough to comment on their reasons but I do believe a certain section of the fanbase have only really know United as winners & their identity as a fan was aligned with that, we all partake in football ‘banter’/discussion & for a time as a United fan that was a totally different experience so I think some of the love people have lost may be due to our success.
I personally, got a job in retail years ago which meant I often worked weekends & going out in the evenings meant I didn’t watch us like I used to. I also lost my link to OT tickets which didn’t help as they’re a ridiculous expense on my then retail wage. Latterly I’ve been to some games & found the experience a bit of a chore. I also joined this forum when lockdown kicked off thinking I’d find likeminded United supporters only to find how divisive things had gotten & how different my views on club matters [& cultural ones] are to fellow supporters. Supporting United was much more fun when I played Championship Manager & signed Kim Kallstrom.
Footballers being outed as overgrown children every week is also boiling my piss with it.
On the larger discussion topic though, I saw a video about the brands people align themselves with & what they believe they say about them, I wear Nike recreationaly for example & they broke down why I likely do so. Now I’m sure that multiple posters have family ties or did just so happen coincidentally turn on their tv & happen upon a match where [at the time] serial winners Manchester United were playing & I don’t know anyone in here personally enough to comment on their reasons but I do believe a certain section of the fanbase have only really know United as winners & their identity as a fan was aligned with that, we all partake in football ‘banter’/discussion & for a time as a United fan that was a totally different experience so I think some of the love people have lost may be due to our success.
I personally, got a job in retail years ago which meant I often worked weekends & going out in the evenings meant I didn’t watch us like I used to. I also lost my link to OT tickets which didn’t help as they’re a ridiculous expense on my then retail wage. Latterly I’ve been to some games & found the experience a bit of a chore. I also joined this forum when lockdown kicked off thinking I’d find likeminded United supporters only to find how divisive things had gotten & how different my views on club matters [& cultural ones] are to fellow supporters. Supporting United was much more fun when I played Championship Manager & signed Kim Kallstrom.
Footballers being outed as overgrown children every week is also boiling my piss with it.
There’s a lot of people who talk about United being shit prompting stuff like this but in reality surely there’s more to football than your own team and if you enjoyed the sport as a whole you would probably enjoy watching good teams play.
I love the NFL for example and even though my own NFL team is pretty bad but every weekend I manage to enjoy all the games & even consume other content during the week but with football I personally am struggling to do that. I can’t listen to podcasts or watch analysis shows when they are discussing non United stuff. Yeah if two big teams were playing I might have it on if I had nothing else to do but before the weekend starts I am not like looking forward to watch Liverpool play Chelsea. Maybe it’s just me but that just shows me that I have very little love for the sport in itself and the only attachment I have left is with United
I love the NFL for example and even though my own NFL team is pretty bad but every weekend I manage to enjoy all the games & even consume other content during the week but with football I personally am struggling to do that. I can’t listen to podcasts or watch analysis shows when they are discussing non United stuff. Yeah if two big teams were playing I might have it on if I had nothing else to do but before the weekend starts I am not like looking forward to watch Liverpool play Chelsea. Maybe it’s just me but that just shows me that I have very little love for the sport in itself and the only attachment I have left is with United
losing support when doing badly? Never heard of such a thing
I reckon a lot of the posters here would enjoy going to the lower leagues (League One and below) or Conference games based on their statements and experiences (or lack thereof)
They need your support and money as well. Worth a shot? The lower you go, the more pure it tends to be.
They need your support and money as well. Worth a shot? The lower you go, the more pure it tends to be.
TBH I hate this type of whine posts.
You don't like "modern football", stop watching it. Stop coming to forums like this to complain about it and stop supporting Manchester United - a club that plays in the richest, wealthiest, more prestigious and highest competent league in world football... Stop buying FIFA, stop buying football shirts, stop watching sports media that talk about football.
I don't see you nor any of the supposed lovers of old football supporting small teams from lower leagues. I don't see any of you planning a boycott into the next WC which is 100% corrupt. I don't see anybody making protest against the ticket prices or to request stringent laws into Financial Reports from Clubs. Much to the contrary, the fans of Newcastle were eager to let themselves be bought by a corrupt journalist killer country.
I understand that many things in football are not OK, and I concur, but being romantic about it and not moving a finger is absurd. I know somebody will read this and reply "we can't move a finger because clubs are not our property", well, then you're giving me the reason more than before, because if something's out of your control then what's the point of complaining in the first place? What are you doing whining on something you can't change? Football is a business, stop complicating it.
Even with all the BS surrounding football I still enjoy it and will keep enjoying it because I love it.
You don't like "modern football", stop watching it. Stop coming to forums like this to complain about it and stop supporting Manchester United - a club that plays in the richest, wealthiest, more prestigious and highest competent league in world football... Stop buying FIFA, stop buying football shirts, stop watching sports media that talk about football.
I don't see you nor any of the supposed lovers of old football supporting small teams from lower leagues. I don't see any of you planning a boycott into the next WC which is 100% corrupt. I don't see anybody making protest against the ticket prices or to request stringent laws into Financial Reports from Clubs. Much to the contrary, the fans of Newcastle were eager to let themselves be bought by a corrupt journalist killer country.
I understand that many things in football are not OK, and I concur, but being romantic about it and not moving a finger is absurd. I know somebody will read this and reply "we can't move a finger because clubs are not our property", well, then you're giving me the reason more than before, because if something's out of your control then what's the point of complaining in the first place? What are you doing whining on something you can't change? Football is a business, stop complicating it.
Even with all the BS surrounding football I still enjoy it and will keep enjoying it because I love it.
But that’s what most people are saying in this thread that they are watching much less football now and they are spending lesser on the stuff related to football. It’s a discussion about football so obviously they are going to do it on a football forum. Strange rant
That's fine but our opinion's do not match the reality of numbers. The people that write and post in this football forum is just a small percentage compared to the whole footballing world.
And yes, probably the majority of football fans feel this way, but they still go to matches and consume everything related to football. That's contradictive. When somebody says something and does otherwise, always bear more importance into actions.
Think you are comparing anecdotes with stats. I don't think many, if any, in this thread are saying their experiences are the objective truth.
It might just be the Premier League. I love United and watch every game and that hasn’t changed despite our hardships and disappointments. What has changed has been my interest in the league as a whole. I used to watch every game but I’m finding it less enjoyable to watch other teams. I find games to be cagey affairs and nearly every game we’re talking about the refs.
My love of football is still there. I watched a few Serie A games and the Barcelona vs Atletico games at the weekend and it was so much more enjoyable. I also loved the Euros last summer.
It’s ironic because this should be the premier leagues finest hour with so many competitive teams and most teams having quality players but it’s had the opposite effects. I just don’t see the end to end, intense premier league football I grew up on. It’s all about possession and sitting back and it’s not exciting at all.
My love of football is still there. I watched a few Serie A games and the Barcelona vs Atletico games at the weekend and it was so much more enjoyable. I also loved the Euros last summer.
It’s ironic because this should be the premier leagues finest hour with so many competitive teams and most teams having quality players but it’s had the opposite effects. I just don’t see the end to end, intense premier league football I grew up on. It’s all about possession and sitting back and it’s not exciting at all.
I think what is hurting supporters more is the fact that United either have no long term plan on how we intend to get back to winning ways, or that plan isn't being properly communicated. Bringing in an interim manager didn't help either. I still think there's a lot of room to get worse before things start getting better.
It’s strange but I enjoy football (particularly games featuring United) as much as I used to. There were games where we were beyond awful and some days have been pretty dull or difficult to watch, but on the whole the experience resembles a wave with high points and low. I can understand the Boro game being frustrating due to rubbish officiating, but I think we did play well and there are positive signs despite the result.
I agree about the games being less interesting from a neutral standpoint though- there were times I’d happily watch other teams but have no time for them now although I don’t think VAR or corruption have much to do with it.
My main problem is the lack of time due to other commitments and weekday games start too late for me where I’m from. I might just pass out before they start at 2 am or whatever even though I sit up to try and catch them.
I agree about the games being less interesting from a neutral standpoint though- there were times I’d happily watch other teams but have no time for them now although I don’t think VAR or corruption have much to do with it.
My main problem is the lack of time due to other commitments and weekday games start too late for me where I’m from. I might just pass out before they start at 2 am or whatever even though I sit up to try and catch them.
It comes and goes in waves for me. There's times when I'm really involved, loving every minute, but there are times when I just get burnt out or the issues at the club both internally and externally become too much so I zone out, catch games if I can, employ a more passive approach.
We have been shite for a while now and it seems some of the players at the club seem to be very hard to associate with - I think that's part of the problem too
We have been shite for a while now and it seems some of the players at the club seem to be very hard to associate with - I think that's part of the problem too
I have stopped watching. Didnt even know that we lost to Boro before my friends sent me memes. Hardly felt anything. I couldn't give a feck because it was hardly a surprise. Don't care what top reds on here say really. I watch it for entertainment and when the team I support serve in dreadful performances for 9 consecutive years then its time to move on. Nothing good is gonna happen with this club for a good while now given the incompetent owners and the board members.
I try to watch other teams play and all the time in my head I keep asking questions like "why tf can't utd play like this week in week out?" and that thought doesn't let me enjoy football at all.
I try to watch other teams play and all the time in my head I keep asking questions like "why tf can't utd play like this week in week out?" and that thought doesn't let me enjoy football at all.
It has been very well communicated through last 9 years that there is no plan. I will give that one to the board.
I think VAR has been very damaging for football. Definitely have found myself not liking the game as much since it was introduced.
Football has changed though, successful teams are mechanical now a days, it's a choreographed performance more than anything else, it has become about making fewer mistakes now more than ever, all well and good if you want to admire the tactical and technical aspect of the game, but very few players and teams make you sit at the edge of the seat now as an average viewer, the stories outside the pitch dominate the news more, who is approving transfers, who is the CEO and who is the technical director, who is the DoF.
Then after sitting through all of that, you don't even get to celebrate a goal ffs, I've stopped celebrating goals, I wait for the other team to KO before I do that, or sit through 6 mins of VAR trying to confirm if it's a goal or not. It really does kill the joy.
Add to that most of us are older now with different priorities, then there's the pandemic, even if the last two years have not been difficult for you personally, the entire thing has taken it's toll on most of us.
Then after sitting through all of that, you don't even get to celebrate a goal ffs, I've stopped celebrating goals, I wait for the other team to KO before I do that, or sit through 6 mins of VAR trying to confirm if it's a goal or not. It really does kill the joy.
Add to that most of us are older now with different priorities, then there's the pandemic, even if the last two years have not been difficult for you personally, the entire thing has taken it's toll on most of us.
This basically .... I understand all the gripes in the OP and agree with most, especially some of the decisions, the Qatar World Cup etc.
But and it's a big but, Brighton have never been better than they are now, so all that aside I am definitely enjoying my football, even if I disagree with much of what goes on.
Maybe try a spell of following a club in league one or two, things are very different down there and it's much easier to watch live.
I feel like this with regards to the entire world. The joy is being sucked out of everything. And I don't think there's any way back.
I don't think I can remember a time when I've cared less about football.
Putting things like VAR, money etc to one side, players nowadays seem far more dislikeable than they did 15 or 20 years ago. Maybe they've always been the same, but we're only now seeing it under the microscope of social media.
With both the Greenwood and Zouma incidents within the last few days, I can't bring myself to celebrate or cheer people who turn out to be the lowest of the low. And I know it's not everyone in football, but goodness knows just how many other cnuts there are out there.
Putting things like VAR, money etc to one side, players nowadays seem far more dislikeable than they did 15 or 20 years ago. Maybe they've always been the same, but we're only now seeing it under the microscope of social media.
With both the Greenwood and Zouma incidents within the last few days, I can't bring myself to celebrate or cheer people who turn out to be the lowest of the low. And I know it's not everyone in football, but goodness knows just how many other cnuts there are out there.
I feel having a temp manager sucks the life out of the season as its just short term
To be fair footballers as characters, in terms of what we know/see about them, and the narratives around football, have all become exponentially more nauseating in the last 6-7 years or so. Luke Shaw promoting NFT's of himself while playing like a secondary school level footballer would be annoying whether we won the league last season or came tenth. Same with the Greenwood stuff, Zouma kicking his cat, Overmars sending dick pics to his employees, etc. The internet, social media and in many cases the players themselves have pulled the curtain and revealed that there are a lot of detestable characters around the top level of football.
That isn't to say that people like that don't exist everywhere else in the world, but football is meant to be an escape from the perils of real life. When real life touches what is supposed to be your escape in ways like that, you can't help but feel distant from it all.
In the exact same boat!
Haven't watched a single game this season outside of the United ones, and they've been a hard watch in themselves. Maybe the champions league will tempt me or I'll come back around to it once the weather gets too rubbish to do anything else, but its become so uninteresting and almost artificial. A couple of things I think contribute.
There's no real flair players or teams anymore. Players like Okocha, Zola, Di Canio, etc. Now everyone's super fast and strong but how good a player is considered seems to be largely down to how functional they are. The closest you get to anything unique is Harry Maguire rugby tackling his own team mates, or Haaland scoring the same goals everyone else occasionally does, but all the time. A lot of games are almost clones of one another. Two teams deploying the same pressing tactics, then every 3 minutes someone pretends to be hurt so they can all have a break.
Also I used to dislike players and teams for being disgusting cheats. Arsenal and Chelsea used to evoke genuine hatred. The same with players like Vieira, Drogba etc. Now every team and every player cheats so its impossible to be anything other than numb to it. Instead my specific dislike of players seems to end up being based more on whether they abuse women, kick helpless animals, etc. Or get picked for England instead of people who are better than them. These aren't things that make me want to watch them more to enjoy them losing. They just make me not want to watch them at all. Where as my dislike of specific teams is based purely on whether they are Liverpool or not, which I can't pin on anything other than finding their fans and media coverage around them a bit much.
The added time idea I think is a good one to combat the games being reduced to spending 90 minutes watching footballers do everything they can to get out of playing football, but then players are so dumb they still do this anyway. Then the managers complain about the added time even though its only added on due to players wasting too much time not playing football during the game. These people are completely lost on the concept of being paid loads because people pay to watch them play football, not sit on the floor holding a game of football hostage.
Anyway yeah. Mainly just wanted to gauge if it was just me that's had a marked drop in interest this season.
There's no real flair players or teams anymore. Players like Okocha, Zola, Di Canio, etc. Now everyone's super fast and strong but how good a player is considered seems to be largely down to how functional they are. The closest you get to anything unique is Harry Maguire rugby tackling his own team mates, or Haaland scoring the same goals everyone else occasionally does, but all the time. A lot of games are almost clones of one another. Two teams deploying the same pressing tactics, then every 3 minutes someone pretends to be hurt so they can all have a break.
Also I used to dislike players and teams for being disgusting cheats. Arsenal and Chelsea used to evoke genuine hatred. The same with players like Vieira, Drogba etc. Now every team and every player cheats so its impossible to be anything other than numb to it. Instead my specific dislike of players seems to end up being based more on whether they abuse women, kick helpless animals, etc. Or get picked for England instead of people who are better than them. These aren't things that make me want to watch them more to enjoy them losing. They just make me not want to watch them at all. Where as my dislike of specific teams is based purely on whether they are Liverpool or not, which I can't pin on anything other than finding their fans and media coverage around them a bit much.
The added time idea I think is a good one to combat the games being reduced to spending 90 minutes watching footballers do everything they can to get out of playing football, but then players are so dumb they still do this anyway. Then the managers complain about the added time even though its only added on due to players wasting too much time not playing football during the game. These people are completely lost on the concept of being paid loads because people pay to watch them play football, not sit on the floor holding a game of football hostage.
Anyway yeah. Mainly just wanted to gauge if it was just me that's had a marked drop in interest this season.
Of course there wasn't. I'd love to see some of these people forced to watch non-league clubs for a few years. It really gives some perspective.
It’s a watered down and robotic sport, in this country at least. It’s almost too professional and measured for its own good. Even the obsession with stats now leaves me very cold.
What makes me question it all is Marcus Rashford buying a third rolls royce for half a million. Thats where my sky sports fee is going.
Not just you, I used to watch so much football outside of United, barely do these days and I only pay half attention to United games any more either. Haven't watched any of our games in a pub for years, which I used to do quite regularly only 3–4 years ago, especially on evenings where we played CL. Even with my home town club that is back in the first league I can't really be bothered, maybe I'm just old and jaded, but football doesn't really manage to hold my interest for too long any more. I watch more TIFO InRealLife videos than actual football these days, that's about all the football I can stomach outside of Manchester United games.
I rewatched extended highlights of the Euro 04 the other day. Seeing Zidane, Henry and a teenage Rooney etc play again reminded me why I loved football and really illuminated just how boring and robotic the game has become today.
This bit by @noodlehair is absolutely spot on.
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I don't remember many Everton games of the last few seasons that I have enjoyed and it's one of the most unlikeable teams we have had but I don't mind that. I take Everton for what they are now. I get enjoyment from football in other ways now by watching live lower league games. Try to get to one every few weeks and it's much more fun when you either support as a neutral or start to get behind a teams journey to try and get to the top rather than a club in complete disarray.
I have a few Liverpool supporting friends. By 2015 they had lost the love of the game, detached from football, barely followed what was going on in the league.
Miraculously, their passion for the game returned once they became good again. Now they're the ones who are watching Forest v Burnley on Monday nights while I'm actively avoiding football for long periods as it's causing me nothing but pain and anger.
Miraculously, their passion for the game returned once they became good again. Now they're the ones who are watching Forest v Burnley on Monday nights while I'm actively avoiding football for long periods as it's causing me nothing but pain and anger.