Thinking the unthinkable - not interested in football any more...

[Fluctuation0161]

I never, ever thought a time would come where my interest for football would wane to the point of being almost completely apathetic. But the previously unthinkable is now on the verge of becoming a reality. Like most of you, I grew up football mad. My dad was a huge United fan, and my brother played professionally for both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. I would watch every game I possibly could, and football represented something almost magical in my life.

I understand that as a function of age, and increased responsibility, priorities change, and fantasy fades - but something has irrevocably changed for me; and my passion, love and interest for the modern game has all but evaporated. I used to be able to get excited about things like transfer season, but now I find that I just don’t give a shit any more. The only form of football that I find even remotely engaging now is international football; because players are actually playing for pride.

For the first time in my life, I am seriously considering not watching any club football at all next season. Below I’ve listed a few of my reasons why. How does The Caf feel about this? Any reasons to add or discredit? Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just being a miserable cnut?

- Money has completely destroyed the game. Everything is about promotion, sponsorships, and revenue. The integrity and morals of the game are completely subverted by corporate interests.

- The fan experience is shite. Most stadiums have terrible atmospheres now, with all the investment and pandering going to VIP and corporate hospitality.

- The top level of the game has just become an arms race between the super wealthy, stock piling all the best talent.

- Financial doping of state sponsored clubs like City and PSG have made a mockery of generations of historical evolution, and supporter driven development.

- Regulation of the sport at almost every level is compromised by both corporate interests, as well as the afore mentioned state backed entities. There are no effective measures against the breaking of FFP rules.

- Players are unrelatable and unlikable. Player power is now out of control. Players who have accomplished nothing in the game are rewarded with huge contracts, killing the motivation to kick on to the next level. The vast majority are more concerned with their social media presence, personal branding, and questionable fashion choices.

- A game that used to foster artistry is now all about pace, power and stamina. Endless pressing to force mistakes, rather than magicians to pick a lock.

- State sponsored or multi billionaire takeovers - sugar daddy clubs - are becoming the only way to compete, and it seems inevitable that more and more will enter the market and change the football landscape for the worse.

- The gap between the players and the fans is widening by the year. People can say that football is just a job, but for so many of us, our clubs are something we pour our heart and souls into. Paying increasingly exorbitant prices to go to games, watch matches on TV, or buy official merchandise. Yet most of the players on the field couldn’t give two shits about the clubs they play for, or the fans they represent.

- Every year I look at the premier league, and it more and more represents the soulless, soul crushing experiences that are American Sports. Clubs are becoming franchises, rather than community hubs and lifelong relationships with their fans.

I just pretty much despise everything about modern football. Right down to the endless analysis of club operations. Watching City build a huge plastic empire. An entire empire built around a brand, rather than a club, and an endless pot of money. Dare I say it, as much as I hate Liverpool, I’d rather a real club won the premier league through their guile, wit and brilliant man management, than another title bought and paid for from the oil fields of Dubai.

FIFA and UEFA are run by utter cretins, who are corrupt to the core. No-one cares about the average fan, who are being priced out of the game. And all the while we are treated like idiots, endlessly saturated with wall to wall coverage and drowned in hyperbole over the most mundane of experiences or mediocrity of a player. The entire system panders more and more to the global fan base, primarily made up of half witted fan boys in far flung foreign markets who have no emotional connection to the clubs they “support”, and little to no understanding of the sport they follow.

If football is this joyless, soulless and rotten today; how bad is it going to look in 5, 10 or 20 years? Fans will continue to pay more, and get less. And spend more time watching sponsor messages and buying content, than actually watching the games.

Occasionally you get a bright spark of hope. A lone wolf that rises from the ashes of a romantic past to defy the odds - See Leicester in 2016, or Ajax this year - only to see them ripped to shreds by bigger fish with deeper pockets in the close season.

Is there any hope? Is there anything to look forward to? United might be shite right now, but even if they get good again (which surely they will eventually), is there any way to realistically and sustainably do it without doubling down on a megabucks approach to the game. Be it through bigger tv and sponsorship revenue, or a massive Saudi or Chinese takeover? What is there to look forward to about any of that?

Money has always been a huge part of any walk of life, but football also gave us passion - an escape - and love for the game. But is it even possible not to despise almost everything about the modern footballer and all the people involved in the game? Don’t even get me started on the influence of agents and “journalists”. Where are the redeeming qualities. I’m sorry but I just don’t see any.

I’ll still play football. I’ll still watch the international matches; even though they are run by cretins. But club football? Nah. It’s dead to me now. I just can’t invest any more energy into something that makes a mockery of the sport I grew up loving.

You need to follow a small, local, lower league club. Grass roots. National league level.

I tend to agree with your analysis of the top level.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Agree with most of the points. Nice to see though that their is passion and drama in the championship still.

 

[kouroux]

@Fortitude I agree, big clubs swooping promising talents is a pain to see. Dembelé left Rennes too early and left Dortmund too early too. It's always nice to see them florish and then leave

 

[macheda14]

How do you think the unthinkable?

Hit it with an itheberg

 

[simonhch]

Aye, coming into threads like this to tell people they're wrong seems pointless. All we can do is discuss our differing perspectives on United and football honestly. To paraphrase that great 'United, Kids, Wife, in that order' banner I'd say for me it's more 'Being 30, United being wank and unlikable, Football shafting fans, in that order' in terms of why football means less to me than it did in my teens.

I like this guy.

 

[We need an rvn]

I completely see where the OP is coming from and agree with a lot of it. But I've got this little devil on my right shoulder shouting in my ear...."he wouldn't be saying this if we were playing football like Liverpool/city and winning things"

 

[SER19]

You sound like my therapist, when he advised me to help out at a homeless shelter to become less of an asshole.
Might work, but is also time consuming.

 

[simonhch]

I completely see where the OP is coming from and agree with a lot of it. But I've got this little devil on my right shoulder shouting in my ear...."he wouldn't be saying this if we were playing football like Liverpool/city and winning things"

Thing is, I think I touched on that in later posts. I respect what Liverpool have done. Admire it in fact. Although I feel ultimately they are swimming against th tide. But there’s nothing to admire about City. Being like them would just deepen my apathy.

 

[Raees]

@simonhch we tend to see most things on the same wavelength when it comes to United and I think this depression - no offence - has probably been brought about predominantly because of United failure to keep with the times and the bitterness ends up poisoning your perspective on all things club football related.

I too agree that honestly speaking Liverpool winning EPL or Spurs winning CL are better for the game of football than a money bags club winning it as it shows that even in the modern game if you coach well, train well and spend correctly and sensibly - this will lead to success.

Tbh I think the fact that the oil rich clubs only have 1 CL to show for it since 2003 (Roman arriving) is proof that football hasn’t gone to the dogs just yet and it’s still very hard to just buy your way to success at the very highest level. League football is a different kettle of fish but there is always a bigger dog coming round the corner to put the current leader of the pack in its place. That’s the beauty of the game and it’s still there IMO.

For me if you look at young players and the role of money outside of the United bubble - it’s not all that bad. You complain about pressing and lack of artistry but we are seeing more goals than ever, there are technical players across the pitch even goalkeepers pass it out and we have someone like Messi who even way past his physical prime still proves that class trumps fitness.

When I think about United - they kind of disgust me and remind me of all the bad things about football right now but when I look outside what is happening to us - game is still alive at the moment though I do worry about the increasing influence of oil money in relation to say UEFA or FIFA. I don’t mind them buying clubs but I don’t want them having a say in regulatory stuff.

 

[Fener1907]

I stopped watching football for a good while. During that period, things happened that gave me some perspective on what football should be. Instead of stopping watching altogether, it's now just a bit of entertainment. No obsessing about results beyond your control, no getting apoplectic at the sight of rivals winning, no paying attention to transfer talk, no fixating about how it isn't what it used to be. It's all noise that serves ultimately serves to only stress you out.

The same can be said of something like the news. You're inundated with too much crap to process and it's just not healthy. Football has become like that and I find it's best to cut it out or brush it off.

 

[Rooney24]

Whos your brother?

 

[JPRouve]

@Fortitude I agree, big clubs swooping promising talents is a pain to see. Dembelé left Rennes too early and left Dortmund too early too. It's always nice to see them florish and then leave

That's probably my biggest issue with football these days, I get that young players and their agents want to get big checks early but too many are putting themselves in terrible long term situations. It's also terrible for clubs because they in constant flux, I'm under the impression that in the past selling clubs had reasonable cycles of 3-4 years, now when a player has 5 good games he is on his way out.

 

[andyox]

Barca and Real have been so dominant because of their individual bargaining agreements in Spain. Though that has now gone collective finally, their share remains protected. That means that last season the team that finished 19th in the PL received more TV money that the team that finished 3rd in Spain.

You also need to put City in that category with PSG. CL revenue has been irrelevant to city’s on field success. All it’s done is slightly alter the amount they’ve had to cook off the books.

Domestic TV rights do more damage to the teams in these leagues than the CL does, no? These teams get a slice of pie that is so unfair that the competition is nulified right there and then, the CL money may compound it, but it's not the origin of the true, underlying problem.

The monoply put in place is an established one, too; we all know the drill for leagues around Europe: Bayern will cherry-pick from their entire league, likewise City, whilst Barcelona do it on a European scale and so too do PSG try to. It's not even that bad if all clubs were reset to zero per campaign, but the fact is, these sides simply stack on top of stack, so the gap between them and the rest widens and is impossible to bridge unless another sugar team comes in and meets them head to head in an arms race.

It's all very formulaic, systematic and proven, unfortunately, which is why all these leagues are settled before a ball has even been kicked for the new season.

Yes you're both right on Spain. That's one league where the domestic TV rights are a huge distorter, although they have been re-jigged a little lately. Not sure that's domestic TV revenue is to blame for the non-competitiveness of any other leagues across Europe though. My point wasn't just about the "big" European leagues, but also the smaller leagues where you have monotonous domination. Totally agree with the "stack on top of stack" part that I bolded above, that's exactly what the CL has done in most European leagues, particularly in the leagues that only get one CL entrant/qualifier -- the same club qualifies each year, reinforces its domination, qualifies the next year, and round in circles.

I excluded City (and the PL by extension) because the PL is not a non-competitive league. Yes, City have just retained it (by a point), but that's the first time in 10 years that it's been retained. Of course, the big non-English European sides would argue that PL money is a huge distorter vs. other European leagues (I have no sympathy for them).

 

[Bocca9978]

I worry that the game will become a competition of who’s sugar daddy spends the most.
Or mine has more money than yours.

It’s already ridiculous the money involved and that’s before outside help.

 

[UpWithRivers]

Totally agree. Was pointing to similar thing in my thread - 7 stages of grief. Maybe its our age - Im similar to the op. Ill add one to the reasons - Its not just we are sht. We have no soul. No system. Nothing that defines us. When Sir Alex was here we had 'The Utd Way'. We all formed a family of beliefs. We knew what we were all about. Yes the winning was great but the unified belief in our methodologies is what bound us. The players fought and breathed Utd. They lived Utd. every single one of them. Nevilles, Beckham, Cantona, Keane, Robson etc Now we have a bunch of mercenaries that don't give a monkies. even home grown players - Rashford, Lingard. They care more. Im not saying they dont. But they dont seem to be the same breed of passion and love that the old generation had. You always feel they would jump ship for a big pay rise and they care more about their own image.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I loved football unconditionally when I was younger, and I never questioned those aspects of it that have soured the relationship in later years. But those aspects were present back then too, I can see that now. Nowhere near as bad, of course, because the effects of money, hype and - well, the whole pile of shite that is the Sky era (and beyond) - have gotten increasingly harder to ignore. But the tendencies were there even when I more or less innocently enjoyed football 100%.

So, I try not to romanticize too much. The fact that I no longer enjoy the game as I used to is mostly down to growing older - and not because the thing itself has changed fundamentally. It has grown worse, yes, but there isn't anything new under the sun - not really.

Well, going to live top level matches is fundamentally different, but as I've touched on before, that's not exclusively a bad thing. There were things taking place on the terraces back in the day that we're clearly better off without - and I think there's been an inevitable tradeoff there. Proper, old school atmosphere came at a price, you could say.

I still enjoy simply watching football (a brilliant pass finding its target, an exceptional defensive intervention...a cleverly executed piece of shithousery) - my overall take on the game hasn't made this impossible, happily. But I can easily see myself getting even more alienated from top level club football, specifically, if nothing changes. I certainly won't be paying top coin to watch it - those days are over for me.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

I loved football unconditionally when I was younger, and I never questioned those aspects of it that have soured the relationship in later years. But those aspects were present back then too, I can see that now. Nowhere near as bad, of course, because the effects of money, hype and - well, the whole pile of shite that is the Sky era (and beyond) - have gotten increasingly harder to ignore. But the tendencies were there even when I more or less innocently enjoyed football 100%.

So, I try not to romanticize too much. The fact that I no longer enjoy the game as I used to is mostly down to growing older - and not because the thing itself has changed fundamentally. It has grown worse, yes, but there isn't anything new under the sun - not really.

Well, going to live top level matches is fundamentally different, but as I've touched on before, that's not exclusively a bad thing. There were things taking place on the terraces back in the day that we're clearly better off without - and I think there's been an inevitable tradeoff there. Proper, old school atmosphere came at a price, you could say.

I still enjoy simply watching football (a brilliant pass finding its target, an exceptional defensive intervention...a cleverly executed piece of shithousery) - my overall take on the game hasn't made this impossible, happily. But I can easily see myself getting even more alienated from top level club football, specifically, if nothing changes. I certainly won't be paying top coin to watch it - those days are over for me.

So long Ander...

 

[DickDastardly]

Tend to agree with you, and the ANSWER is obvious.

SOCIAL MEDIA. AVAILABILITY.

End of.

It fecks with all aspects of life, football included.

Everything we used to enjoy growing up is now gone, obsolete, or transformed into a money making machine.
If you wanted to watch the game - you went to it. Didn't watch it on telly. Why? Because it wasn't televised.
Afterwards, you went to have a pint. Why? Because you couldn't comment the game anywhere else.

We were living IN the moment, not FOR the moment.

Taking selfies for social media, filming on your cell phone something you'll never EVER fecking watch again instead of watching it with your eyes.

The technology is rapidly taking over what we used to know, looking at kids today, it's painfully obvious that what we had, the emotions your talking about,
the realness of life, the lets call it 2D life is over.

It's all about 4G, 5G, 3D, Insta, Snap, FB, virtual reality....

Why is it bothering you? Because you know what it used to be like. And you can't grasp this NEW AGE of everything, including football.

I know. I feel the same.

 

[Brian McNair]

I'm also 39 and I whole heartedly agree. It's not about rosey nostalgia, I genuinely find modern football to have sacrificed a connection with fans to provide more money into better television viewing and to push it commercially.

I think the telling thing now is from talking about football, be it in the pub or on a forum all the way to modern media punditry that the main point of discussion is money now. Wages and transfer fees and on and on.

When I was watching the United teams of the 90s it definitely wasn't much of a talking point. I personally don't care how much they are getting paid. It's sport, it's football, it's supposed to be entertaining and engaging.
Fans refer to the clubs money as if it were their own, the revenue never comes back down to fans, to reduce the price of a season ticket, overpriced replica shirt for your kids or television subscription.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Think one of the most important parts of the OP that is flying under the radar is the vast increase in player fitness killing the excitement in many ways.

 

[Swearing Budgie]

I never, ever thought a time would come where my interest for football would wane to the point of being almost completely apathetic. But the previously unthinkable is now on the verge of becoming a reality. Like most of you, I grew up football mad. My dad was a huge United fan, and my brother played professionally for both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. I would watch every game I possibly could, and football represented something almost magical in my life.

I understand that as a function of age, and increased responsibility, priorities change, and fantasy fades - but something has irrevocably changed for me; and my passion, love and interest for the modern game has all but evaporated. I used to be able to get excited about things like transfer season, but now I find that I just don’t give a shit any more. The only form of football that I find even remotely engaging now is international football; because players are actually playing for pride.

For the first time in my life, I am seriously considering not watching any club football at all next season. Below I’ve listed a few of my reasons why. How does The Caf feel about this? Any reasons to add or discredit? Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just being a miserable cnut?

- Money has completely destroyed the game. Everything is about promotion, sponsorships, and revenue. The integrity and morals of the game are completely subverted by corporate interests.

- The fan experience is shite. Most stadiums have terrible atmospheres now, with all the investment and pandering going to VIP and corporate hospitality.

- The top level of the game has just become an arms race between the super wealthy, stock piling all the best talent.

- Financial doping of state sponsored clubs like City and PSG have made a mockery of generations of historical evolution, and supporter driven development.

- Regulation of the sport at almost every level is compromised by both corporate interests, as well as the afore mentioned state backed entities. There are no effective measures against the breaking of FFP rules.

- Players are unrelatable and unlikable. Player power is now out of control. Players who have accomplished nothing in the game are rewarded with huge contracts, killing the motivation to kick on to the next level. The vast majority are more concerned with their social media presence, personal branding, and questionable fashion choices.

- A game that used to foster artistry is now all about pace, power and stamina. Endless pressing to force mistakes, rather than magicians to pick a lock.

- State sponsored or multi billionaire takeovers - sugar daddy clubs - are becoming the only way to compete, and it seems inevitable that more and more will enter the market and change the football landscape for the worse.

- The gap between the players and the fans is widening by the year. People can say that football is just a job, but for so many of us, our clubs are something we pour our heart and souls into. Paying increasingly exorbitant prices to go to games, watch matches on TV, or buy official merchandise. Yet most of the players on the field couldn’t give two shits about the clubs they play for, or the fans they represent.

- Every year I look at the premier league, and it more and more represents the soulless, soul crushing experiences that are American Sports. Clubs are becoming franchises, rather than community hubs and lifelong relationships with their fans.

I just pretty much despise everything about modern football. Right down to the endless analysis of club operations. Watching City build a huge plastic empire. An entire empire built around a brand, rather than a club, and an endless pot of money. Dare I say it, as much as I hate Liverpool, I’d rather a real club won the premier league through their guile, wit and brilliant man management, than another title bought and paid for from the oil fields of Dubai.

FIFA and UEFA are run by utter cretins, who are corrupt to the core. No-one cares about the average fan, who are being priced out of the game. And all the while we are treated like idiots, endlessly saturated with wall to wall coverage and drowned in hyperbole over the most mundane of experiences or mediocrity of a player. The entire system panders more and more to the global fan base, primarily made up of half witted fan boys in far flung foreign markets who have no emotional connection to the clubs they “support”, and little to no understanding of the sport they follow.

If football is this joyless, soulless and rotten today; how bad is it going to look in 5, 10 or 20 years? Fans will continue to pay more, and get less. And spend more time watching sponsor messages and buying content, than actually watching the games.

Occasionally you get a bright spark of hope. A lone wolf that rises from the ashes of a romantic past to defy the odds - See Leicester in 2016, or Ajax this year - only to see them ripped to shreds by bigger fish with deeper pockets in the close season.

Is there any hope? Is there anything to look forward to? United might be shite right now, but even if they get good again (which surely they will eventually), is there any way to realistically and sustainably do it without doubling down on a megabucks approach to the game. Be it through bigger tv and sponsorship revenue, or a massive Saudi or Chinese takeover? What is there to look forward to about any of that?

Money has always been a huge part of any walk of life, but football also gave us passion - an escape - and love for the game. But is it even possible not to despise almost everything about the modern footballer and all the people involved in the game? Don’t even get me started on the influence of agents and “journalists”. Where are the redeeming qualities. I’m sorry but I just don’t see any.

I’ll still play football. I’ll still watch the international matches; even though they are run by cretins. But club football? Nah. It’s dead to me now. I just can’t invest any more energy into something that makes a mockery of the sport I grew up loving.

You completely nailed what I have been feeling like for the past couple of years. I watch matches on telly out of a sense of duty rather than for pleasure. Not sure I can do much more of that. Life's too short.

 

[do.ob]

Have you tried football outside of the PL/CL?

 

[JustAGuest]

I think you raise many valid points. Although I still follow the sport, I'm much less invested in it these days.

 

[Schneckerl]

- Money has completely destroyed the game. Everything is about promotion, sponsorships, and revenue.

One of the biggest myths in football has to be that this wasn't always the case.

 

[Adisa]

There's no doubt that I don't have that much passion for the club as I used to. Apart from the football being mostly unwatchable, I have other shit going on in my life. I'm 27, have a ton of work constantly and in my first very serious relationship. Being depressed over this club feels like a waste of time .

 

[Adisa]

Another thing, anytime I log on, my first instinct is now to check the cutrecu event forum and not the football forum. Been like that for close to two years now.
My biggest gripe remains the quality of the football. I really don't give a shit about trophies anymore. I just want to enjoy watching my team for 90 minutes on most weekends. The depressing nature of the football is only compounded by the negativity of the football forum. Of which I'm guilty of as well but I try to avoid it as much as possible.

 

[Siorac]

Yeah, I have a lot of sympathy for what you're saying - it's generally a lot harder to feel really enthusiastic about football now.

I do disagree about the lack of artistry: even if it seems pace and power dominate now, these things come and go in cycles.

Also, we're shite. That doesn't help one bit.

 

[Arruda]

I've had that happen to me some years ago.

Two seasons ago was probably the first time I didn't watch a single full game of my team. I did watch some WC games.

This year it was the same. I saw a couple of CL games - none of them involving my team - and that was it. I told myself I was going to start watching women's football but I never went.

Now that I moved home I'm thinking of following my local club next season. I used to like it 20 years ago, let's see if it happens now.

I think pretty soon I'll just have to assume I hate football.

Edit: And I have no doubt my club becoming weaker is a major part of this. Hard to acknowledge, but true. I just hope the desire neves come back - even if thry become good again. I'm through with the bitterness and non-sense that surrounds football - namely discussing it with other people - and I think that's a good thing.

 

[GM K]

I never, ever thought a time would come where my interest for football would wane to the point of being almost completely apathetic. But the previously unthinkable is now on the verge of becoming a reality. Like most of you, I grew up football mad. My dad was a huge United fan, and my brother played professionally for both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. I would watch every game I possibly could, and football represented something almost magical in my life.

I understand that as a function of age, and increased responsibility, priorities change, and fantasy fades - but something has irrevocably changed for me; and my passion, love and interest for the modern game has all but evaporated. I used to be able to get excited about things like transfer season, but now I find that I just don’t give a shit any more. The only form of football that I find even remotely engaging now is international football; because players are actually playing for pride.

For the first time in my life, I am seriously considering not watching any club football at all next season. Below I’ve listed a few of my reasons why. How does The Caf feel about this? Any reasons to add or discredit? Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just being a miserable cnut?

- Money has completely destroyed the game. Everything is about promotion, sponsorships, and revenue. The integrity and morals of the game are completely subverted by corporate interests.

- The fan experience is shite. Most stadiums have terrible atmospheres now, with all the investment and pandering going to VIP and corporate hospitality.

- The top level of the game has just become an arms race between the super wealthy, stock piling all the best talent.

- Financial doping of state sponsored clubs like City and PSG have made a mockery of generations of historical evolution, and supporter driven development.

- Regulation of the sport at almost every level is compromised by both corporate interests, as well as the afore mentioned state backed entities. There are no effective measures against the breaking of FFP rules.

- Players are unrelatable and unlikable. Player power is now out of control. Players who have accomplished nothing in the game are rewarded with huge contracts, killing the motivation to kick on to the next level. The vast majority are more concerned with their social media presence, personal branding, and questionable fashion choices.

- A game that used to foster artistry is now all about pace, power and stamina. Endless pressing to force mistakes, rather than magicians to pick a lock.

- State sponsored or multi billionaire takeovers - sugar daddy clubs - are becoming the only way to compete, and it seems inevitable that more and more will enter the market and change the football landscape for the worse.

- The gap between the players and the fans is widening by the year. People can say that football is just a job, but for so many of us, our clubs are something we pour our heart and souls into. Paying increasingly exorbitant prices to go to games, watch matches on TV, or buy official merchandise. Yet most of the players on the field couldn’t give two shits about the clubs they play for, or the fans they represent.

- Every year I look at the premier league, and it more and more represents the soulless, soul crushing experiences that are American Sports. Clubs are becoming franchises, rather than community hubs and lifelong relationships with their fans.

I just pretty much despise everything about modern football. Right down to the endless analysis of club operations. Watching City build a huge plastic empire. An entire empire built around a brand, rather than a club, and an endless pot of money. Dare I say it, as much as I hate Liverpool, I’d rather a real club won the premier league through their guile, wit and brilliant man management, than another title bought and paid for from the oil fields of Dubai.

FIFA and UEFA are run by utter cretins, who are corrupt to the core. No-one cares about the average fan, who are being priced out of the game. And all the while we are treated like idiots, endlessly saturated with wall to wall coverage and drowned in hyperbole over the most mundane of experiences or mediocrity of a player. The entire system panders more and more to the global fan base, primarily made up of half witted fan boys in far flung foreign markets who have no emotional connection to the clubs they “support”, and little to no understanding of the sport they follow.

If football is this joyless, soulless and rotten today; how bad is it going to look in 5, 10 or 20 years? Fans will continue to pay more, and get less. And spend more time watching sponsor messages and buying content, than actually watching the games.

Occasionally you get a bright spark of hope. A lone wolf that rises from the ashes of a romantic past to defy the odds - See Leicester in 2016, or Ajax this year - only to see them ripped to shreds by bigger fish with deeper pockets in the close season.

Is there any hope? Is there anything to look forward to? United might be shite right now, but even if they get good again (which surely they will eventually), is there any way to realistically and sustainably do it without doubling down on a megabucks approach to the game. Be it through bigger tv and sponsorship revenue, or a massive Saudi or Chinese takeover? What is there to look forward to about any of that?

Money has always been a huge part of any walk of life, but football also gave us passion - an escape - and love for the game. But is it even possible not to despise almost everything about the modern footballer and all the people involved in the game? Don’t even get me started on the influence of agents and “journalists”. Where are the redeeming qualities. I’m sorry but I just don’t see any.

I’ll still play football. I’ll still watch the international matches; even though they are run by cretins. But club football? Nah. It’s dead to me now. I just can’t invest any more energy into something that makes a mockery of the sport I grew up loving.

I am old school. I feel you. Your points are spot on.

Only advice I have for you, if I may, is to try and not allow anything to stop you from enjoying the game. I enjoy football - whether United is having a great time or a low period. This is partly due to being able to adapt to new realities of the sport. From time immemorial, sports has always changed and each change brought the good, the bad and the ugly. We just have to adapt.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

I agree with you with your emotional points. I think it is the same with our cultures in general. It is too much driven by financial gains rather than creating love and passion. Tribal love obviously have violence related problems which are not great, but the solution is not to destroy the love in the game.
I think from a pure tactical view football can still be fun. Although I think it actually is evolving far too slowly with too little variation. Most teams seem to follow each other with few fresh ideas in managers.

I mainly watch the two teams I support now who both are doing very poorly. I think us doing so badly is a key reason why I am still invested. Can't stop supporting someone in trouble and it makes my love stay.
If we would have been City then I might not have been able to keep supporting us.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Think one of the most important parts of the OP that is flying under the radar is the vast increase in player fitness killing the excitement in many ways.

I think this is why watching us might be fun. Our fitness is probably among the worst in the game now given our status.

 

[shiranaiotoko]

CL games are fun, but other than that yes. I also lost interest in United games. I watch them because I kind of have to, but it's a chore I spent watching phone more and more often than the game. It changed for a while when OGS took over, but we're now in the even worse spot than ever. No hopes for improvements and another shitty season. Oil teams, millennial facebook-era players with over-payed wages and no spirit.

 

[Snowjoe]

I really enjoy watching lower league games where they aren’t as tactically good as the top teams, it’s much more fun.

 

[hungrywing]

I never, ever thought a time would come where my interest for football would wane to the point of being almost completely apathetic. But the previously unthinkable is now on the verge of becoming a reality. Like most of you, I grew up football mad. My dad was a huge United fan, and my brother played professionally for both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. I would watch every game I possibly could, and football represented something almost magical in my life.

I understand that as a function of age, and increased responsibility, priorities change, and fantasy fades - but something has irrevocably changed for me; and my passion, love and interest for the modern game has all but evaporated. I used to be able to get excited about things like transfer season, but now I find that I just don’t give a shit any more. The only form of football that I find even remotely engaging now is international football; because players are actually playing for pride.

For the first time in my life, I am seriously considering not watching any club football at all next season. Below I’ve listed a few of my reasons why. How does The Caf feel about this? Any reasons to add or discredit? Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just being a miserable cnut?

- Money has completely destroyed the game. Everything is about promotion, sponsorships, and revenue. The integrity and morals of the game are completely subverted by corporate interests.

- The fan experience is shite. Most stadiums have terrible atmospheres now, with all the investment and pandering going to VIP and corporate hospitality.

- The top level of the game has just become an arms race between the super wealthy, stock piling all the best talent.

- Financial doping of state sponsored clubs like City and PSG have made a mockery of generations of historical evolution, and supporter driven development.

- Regulation of the sport at almost every level is compromised by both corporate interests, as well as the afore mentioned state backed entities. There are no effective measures against the breaking of FFP rules.

- Players are unrelatable and unlikable. Player power is now out of control. Players who have accomplished nothing in the game are rewarded with huge contracts, killing the motivation to kick on to the next level. The vast majority are more concerned with their social media presence, personal branding, and questionable fashion choices.

- A game that used to foster artistry is now all about pace, power and stamina. Endless pressing to force mistakes, rather than magicians to pick a lock.

- State sponsored or multi billionaire takeovers - sugar daddy clubs - are becoming the only way to compete, and it seems inevitable that more and more will enter the market and change the football landscape for the worse.

- The gap between the players and the fans is widening by the year. People can say that football is just a job, but for so many of us, our clubs are something we pour our heart and souls into. Paying increasingly exorbitant prices to go to games, watch matches on TV, or buy official merchandise. Yet most of the players on the field couldn’t give two shits about the clubs they play for, or the fans they represent.

- Every year I look at the premier league, and it more and more represents the soulless, soul crushing experiences that are American Sports. Clubs are becoming franchises, rather than community hubs and lifelong relationships with their fans.

I just pretty much despise everything about modern football. Right down to the endless analysis of club operations. Watching City build a huge plastic empire. An entire empire built around a brand, rather than a club, and an endless pot of money. Dare I say it, as much as I hate Liverpool, I’d rather a real club won the premier league through their guile, wit and brilliant man management, than another title bought and paid for from the oil fields of Dubai.

FIFA and UEFA are run by utter cretins, who are corrupt to the core. No-one cares about the average fan, who are being priced out of the game. And all the while we are treated like idiots, endlessly saturated with wall to wall coverage and drowned in hyperbole over the most mundane of experiences or mediocrity of a player. The entire system panders more and more to the global fan base, primarily made up of half witted fan boys in far flung foreign markets who have no emotional connection to the clubs they “support”, and little to no understanding of the sport they follow.

If football is this joyless, soulless and rotten today; how bad is it going to look in 5, 10 or 20 years? Fans will continue to pay more, and get less. And spend more time watching sponsor messages and buying content, than actually watching the games.

Occasionally you get a bright spark of hope. A lone wolf that rises from the ashes of a romantic past to defy the odds - See Leicester in 2016, or Ajax this year - only to see them ripped to shreds by bigger fish with deeper pockets in the close season.

Is there any hope? Is there anything to look forward to? United might be shite right now, but even if they get good again (which surely they will eventually), is there any way to realistically and sustainably do it without doubling down on a megabucks approach to the game. Be it through bigger tv and sponsorship revenue, or a massive Saudi or Chinese takeover? What is there to look forward to about any of that?

Money has always been a huge part of any walk of life, but football also gave us passion - an escape - and love for the game. But is it even possible not to despise almost everything about the modern footballer and all the people involved in the game? Don’t even get me started on the influence of agents and “journalists”. Where are the redeeming qualities. I’m sorry but I just don’t see any.

I’ll still play football. I’ll still watch the international matches; even though they are run by cretins. But club football? Nah. It’s dead to me now. I just can’t invest any more energy into something that makes a mockery of the sport I grew up loving.

This is pretty much exactly why I started watching football in the early 2000s after getting fed up with US sports (NBA in particular).

I agree with virtually everything. Once the 'rich mans plaything'/free-agency (mercenary) aspects really take hold, you end up with this.

 

[Revan]

I am much less interested than before, but for totally different reasons. I think that football is better than ever, but United sucking combined with me growing up makes me much less interested for it, and I don't care that much about footy anymore. In my teen years and early twenties, I watched around 4-6 matches in average, now I watch maybe 2/3 of United matches, and the very rare other matches (I watched both Liverpool-Barca matches in UCL for example, but it was a rare occurrence). I also don't get sad as much as before when United loses, for example went to visit Barcelona the following day after they destroyed us 3-0 (but didn't go to Camp Nou, something that I decided at the heat of the moment, but kind of regret now), would have been unthinkable to have done that a few years back.

Contrary to many other people, I don't mind the money in football, neither the sugar daddy clubs.

 

[Ibrahimorich]

Not that I disagree with anything you've said but this can probably be summed up: Things changed from how they used to be and we don't like it

 

[Kag]

This is normal with age, surely?

The further into my twenties I delve and the more I appreciate my spare time on a weekend, the less time I spend watching and attending football matches.

Meals, gigs, golf, days out, work - sadly. They all take priority (more or less) over football. United’s little revival under Ole a few months back didn’t really change that either.

 

[Kentonio]

I think the biggest thing is we have mostly got rid of the upsets and excitement. It’s shit when a league is uncompetitive.

Err what? The league is more competitive than its ever been. How is this less exciting than watching United win the title ever year pretty much by default?

 

[2 man midfield]

I think big clubs now look at using marketing to attract a new type of fan. Whilst United obviously want their fans to feel attached to the club, they want to appeal to the youth of today who, outside of your local kids supporting local teams, will tend to support/follow 3 or 4 sides. I see kids around here in PSG shirts, Juve, Milan etc. They care about how good players are on FIFA and follow accordingly. Players are a bigger pull than the clubs.

I’m at an age where the way I supported a club is not really how kids in their teens and 20s may follow teams.

I’ve noticed this too. You see people on Reddit who are from Germany, but follow Manchester United and Barcelona. Access to every game ever has allowed people to basically try before they buy. They can decide who they support based on who they like watching the most. You’d think this would be detrimental for local clubs though.

 

[Gasolin]

I hear you, though my reasons are different and I’m 2 years younger.

The main reason for me is United struggling because I believe in the players but it never works out. It kills me. I used to watch before my degree all games of the leagues on top of the EPL or at least the highlights. Serie A was a big league I followed, I respected Bundesliga, I thought the Liga was shit as it was Real and some random teams, Barcelona didn’t have Messi and even with him they were a bit of nothing club. In all these years, everything changed but we went backwards.

But I don’t blame the money. I think inflation is part of life. We were able to be that good because we focused on sports and financial results and not just one. Now we have too much competition and we need to do a lot more, but that’s fair game. Other leagues don’t have that and it’s shit. Until now, EPL clubs have spent a lot of energy to battle domestically and we were a bit outclassed in some European games. That time will hopefully change and the other leagues will understand they have killed the long term game by allowing one or two big teams to always win domestically.

Now I just watch United games when we are doing well, because I need that feel good factor and the sense of excellence. But when we start losing a couple, I just ignore even Redcafe. Life goes on still, though it’s a painful one without United being a strong team on the pitch.