Falling out with Football

[cheltenhamlion]

And don't even start me on the downgrading in prestige of winning a cup.

[DR PETERS]

I have not fallen out of love with football, I have fallen out of love with the Premier League. I was a season ticket holder for 20 years before I moved to Australia but now I see more Villa games as they are all shown live. But once you leave the UK you realize that to the rest of the world the Premier League is made up of Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal ...oh and a few other teams.
Like many on here have said its the fact that before the season starts you know the only chance of a trophy is the league cup (assuming one of the big boys don't decide to take it seriously).
Before long most grounds will be half empty for most games as fans either cannot afford to go or simply refuse. All the Australian codes - Rugby Union, Rugby League, Aussie Rules and Football (I refuse t call it soccer !) use a salary cap which means the stars are more spread around, would never happen in the Premier League
A few weeks before we left the UK, I went to my last Villa game, we beat Newcastle 1-0, I stood for a few minutes remembering some of the great times I had seen there (The European Cup semi final win over Anderlecht, the Super Cup game against Barcelona, Kent Nielsens scorcher against Inter Milan and Platt getting the second after a classic Sid pass, the semi final against Tranmere, and God having every opposition forward in his pocket.
When I got home I was in tears, my wife said "I think sometimes you love the Villa more than you love me" to which I replied "Sometimes I love the blues more than I love you !!!!"
Could never fall out of love with the Villa - its in the blood

LTV

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Stick with it. I have a dream that one day the whole Murdoch SKY empire will collapse taking football with it as clubs are unable to meet the wages they have committed to. I have a dream that most of the overseas footballers and foreign owners will be like rats jumping from a sinking ship and return to their own leagues. I have a dream that all clubs will go bankrupt, that we will be left with a load of safe stadiums, club names and histories, and millions of followers begging to watch old fashioned football how it used to be. And all the clubs will rise from the ashes and start again from a level playing field to do battle. A true corinthian spirit, playing to take part and for the fun of it based on traditional values of fair play and sporting prowess. Apart from the Villa...Randy sticks with it and we are the only club left with shedloads of money and dictate and dominate the rest of 'em.

[German James]

It's normal in a world where literally everything is dependant on one criterium alone - the fucking market. We seem to have almost lost any sense that some things need to be done differently for the sake of society or even common sense.

From the Premier League to the supermarkets ruining the high streets and dairy farmers; from doing whatever it takes to sell a pile of shit mascerading as a news story to the inability of many to postpone gratification for even a second, we've forgotten that there should be more to life to aspire to than ripping each other off.

... Sorry about that. The sun's come out now, I'll be better in a minute.

[not3bad]

Modern football is rubbish.

I'm still optimistic For Tomorrow.

[lordmcgrath5]

Very interesting post from someone of your age, Alex. By that I mean you're a fan who's never known football  with reasonable prices, moderately paid players, with not much football on TV and no Sky. I'd expect to hear your sentiments from people closer to my age (nearly 40 now) who went through the period of massive change between the late 80s and the early 90s (end of terracing, serious price hikes, new "fans" post Hornby and Italia 90 and the arrival of Sky and the Premiership) and came out the other side wanting their old game back.

I'd be interested to know if some of your contemporaries feel the same way. The Premier League really is getting more and more predictable, though, and that must be starting to bore a lot of people. Maybe financial fair play, if implemented properly, will help.

[DeKuip]

Stick with it. I have a dream that one day the whole Murdoch SKY empire will collapse taking football with it as clubs are unable to meet the wages they have committed to. I have a dream that most of the overseas footballers and foreign owners will be like rats jumping from a sinking ship and return to their own leagues. I have a dream that all clubs will go bankrupt, that we will be left with a load of safe stadiums, club names and histories, and millions of followers begging to watch old fashioned football how it used to be. And all the clubs will rise from the ashes and start again from a level playing field to do battle. A true corinthian spirit, playing to take part and for the fun of it based on traditional values of fair play and sporting prowess. Apart from the Villa...Randy sticks with it and we are the only club left with shedloads of money and dictate and dominate the rest of 'em.

Along the lines of what I think will happen, only I fear much worse. Randy's value will fall too when the entire western economy collapses.
Today's kids will unfortunately pay the price of the generation of greed that we're still enduring - both in football and life.
Nobody needs two houses, two cars or £80k a week. It's just obscene, all of it.

[Chris Smith]

I'm really looking forward to going to Fulahm in a few weeks.

[QBVILLA]

I'm 33, started going up the Villa during the promotion season and have had season tickets for the majority of the seasons since then.Missed a few around the turn of the century due to work comitments but this will be third one in a row I haven't bothered.For me it isn't the expense, when i've wanted to go in the past I found the money, for me it's the predictable nature of it all.We got promoted in '88,stayed up in '89,runners up in 90, nearly went down in '91, nearly won it in '93, won cups in 94 and 96 and challenged the top end of the Prem as well.Now we're once again going into the season knowing that Man U,Man City,Arsenal,liverpool,Chelsea and Spurs will make the top 6 (in whatever order), Villa and Everton will battle it out for 7th and everyone else will spend 8 months of the season in a relegation fight. There's no excitement anymore.Sure there'll be the odd game where we'll turn over one of Sky's sweethearts but you can bet your bollocks that a week later that we'll lose against someone like Wigan and if the unthinkable were to happen and we did get anywhere near that top 4, our best player would be flogged in the summer anyway.
So for me i'll stick to coaching a youth side and watching the Villa from the comfort of the pub.

[not3bad]

For me it isn't the expense, when i've wanted to go in the past I found the money, for me it's the predictable nature of it all.We got promoted in '88,stayed up in '89,runners up in 90, nearly went down in '91, nearly won it in '93, won cups in 94 and 96 and challenged the top end of the Prem as well.Now we're once again going into the season knowing that Man U,Man City,Arsenal,liverpool,Chelsea and Spurs will make the top 6 (in whatever order), Villa and Everton will battle it out for 7th and everyone else will spend 8 months of the season in a relegation fight. There's no excitement anymore.Sure there'll be the odd game where we'll turn over one of Sky's sweethearts but you can bet your bollocks that a week later that we'll lose against someone like Wigan and if the unthinkable were to happen and we did get anywhere near that top 4, our best player would be flogged in the summer anyway.

It's a powerful argument I'll grant you.

[saunders_heroes]

People alway post this sort of hysterical nonsense when things at Villa aren't going so well.
I got my Fulham ticket today. Can't feckin wait!

[King of the Nørth]

 I am feeling the same as the Op tbh. I think it started with England in the World cup being such a let down to a piss poor season with Villa. Although you get a few unpredictable results during the season the table is nearly always the same at the end of every season.

 I think t that may rekindle my interest is the youth at Villa coming through, establishing themselves, showing some loyalty to the team whilst playing some attractive football down at Villa park.

[Mac]

I think everyone has covered off what I've thought, well we've all thought, for years.

"Hope" has been taken away.

Last night's frankly boring expose on C4 carried one line that stuck out for me.  We all know it but have we ever really stopped to digest it and fully understand it?

Football is a business now.  It's all about making money.  It gave up the pretence of being a genuine competition years ago.

And I feel sad and cheated that I'm hooked and can't escape.

Love Villa, hate football.

[Fergal]

People alway post this sort of hysterical nonsense when things at Villa aren't going so well.
I got my Fulham ticket today. Can't feckin wait!

I don't think it's hysterical nonsense.  I think it's just what people are feeling in general and not because we have had a crap time of it these last few months.

[spk]

so all this bad feeling with the modern game,why havnt attendances gone down,despite times being tight.I think a day at a game is too dear and not as much fun as it was,but it seems the people disagree with me.Remember the late 80s and there being 16k there some weeks?