Has English Premier League football become too predictable and boring?

First topic message reminder :

In 1956-7, Ipswich Town Football Club was promoted from Division 3 (South) to Division 2 (what's now called the Championship). Its success continued, reaching Division 1 (when it really was Division 1 and not, in effect, Division 3), and becoming English champions in its first season in the top flight (1961-2). Admittedly, the team's success owed a lot to the brilliance of Alf Ramsey, who later became the only manager ever to lead England to World Cup victory, but we all know it couldn't happen now. Nobody in their right mind would expect Swansea to become Premier League champions this season, only a very small group of teams can possibly achieve that. Realistically, only about seven teams have any chance of finishing in the top four - isn't it all too predictable, and therefore boring?

It all comes down to money, like so many things in life. Manchester United supporters used to joke that the two best teams in Manchester were Manchester United and Manchester United reserves, but I doubt if they do that now after their recent 6-1 thrashing by Manchester City. So what's changed? Manchester City was taken over by a group of businessmen from Abu Dhabi and received an enormous injection of cash.

Wouldn't you prefer it if Ipswich Town, or maybe Swansea or Wigan, had a chance of being English champions?

Not long ago many people were alleging bias, corruption and self-interest against Football's governing body, FIFA.

How fortunate we are that the Football Association is so different.

Phil Hornby wrote:

trevorw2539 wrote:

Phil Hornby wrote:Today's soccer : it is only the very poor behaviour of players that masks just how appallingly bad the officials are. And that's just the ones who aren't helpfully 'manipulating' the game to assist the betting industry.

Those referees are so dishonest that they must be Tories to a man...

Ever refereed a football match? Have all your split second decisions in life been correct? Have you ever made a bad decision?

My answers. Yes. No. Yes. Yours?

And my answers are : Yes and still do ; No, but they are at least honest decisions and not suited to a particular outcome; Yes ( but see previous answer) and don't hide behind the oh-so-supportive FA Disciplinary Panel (aka 'The Awful Referees' Friend'). A bit less backchat laddie or it's the red card for you and first chance at the shower...

I wouldn't dream of hiding behind the FA Disciplinary panel. In any case my refereeing days ended when I was about thirty due to change of family/employment circumstances. That was about 40+ years ago 'laddie' . before Sunday football. Fortunately in my day football was played by men, and not pansies. Good hard tackling, no diving and men enjoying a game without concentrating on their £50,000+ pay packet.
I do not envy you your task of 'controlling' and 'decision' making in the current situation. In fact I wish you all the best. Up to the age of 68 I was still running lines in an unofficial capacity in village football. But now I'm out of puff, and my zimmer is not fast enough
My interest is now confined to watching my local team in the Evo-Stik league.

I do not believe that a referee deliberately goes out to influence the result of a game. I do accept that mistakes are made and one sometimes wonders whether the referee 'balances out' that error later in the game. Whether that changes the result is debatable. I often hear supporters say that a decision has altered a result. Take, for instance, a red card. This should result in an imbalance to the advantage of the 11 men. But that red card can have exactly the opposite effect, the 10 men finding extra 'strength/effort' to counter that, and even overcome the disadvantage. A penalty given, rightly or wrongly, and missed, can deflate one team and encourage another.

I have no faith in FIFA and believe the FA needs to 'get a grip'. Until bans are in place for deliberate diving etc. and some technology for goalline decisions are in place we will always have controversy. Most decisions should be left in the hands of the referee and his assistants, for good or bad.

Good luck with your matches. Oh, and by the way, my post was not 'offside'.

jackthelad wrote:Capello, or is that Crapello, as resigned has England manager, ello not to worry, he was crap anyway. Glad Harry was found innocent, and not sent to jail, he could be Englands next manager. We don't need an other excitable foreigner as manager, and i believe John Terry couldn't be Englands captain whiles there are so many black players in the team. Guilty or not guilty, bad feeling will remain till he has be tried by judge and jury. Not good for team moral, having a dodgy skipper, so, new manager and new skipper (captain), new beginings.

Unfortunately, Jack, whether Terry is found guilty or not bad feeling will still remain. That's human nature.

trevorw2539 - I share your dim view of the players' awful behaviour although I am less charitable about referees' motives today in the professional leagues .

The referee is always right.




Even when he's wrong....

Phil Hornby wrote:trevorw2539 - I share your dim view of the players' awful behaviour although I am less charitable about referees' motives today in the professional leagues .

The referee is always right.




Even when he's wrong....

THE REF. IS NEVER WRONG. It's just the 22 players and 50,000 spectators that are wrong.

The best referee I have seen is Wayne Barnes.

Alas, he officiates at rugby union matches.....

Phil Hornby wrote:The best referee I have seen is Wayne Barnes.

Alas, he officiates at rugby union matches.....

Do you remember Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee?

Collina : efficient, scary and unforgettable, but maybe a bit of a showman?

Have we shot ourselves in the foot again. A few months to the European Championships and England are without a Manager again. Apart from the World Cup, Capellos record with England isn't bad. Where do we go now?
Do we really have an English manager with the capability of leading England to victory? or do we have the players?
We have good club managers but running a National team is different to a Club team.
Any ideas?

Collina - showman - yes. But good.

Do we really have an English manager with the capability of leading England to victory?

.... or, to put it another way, are there enough masochists willing to be hailed as England's Saviours only to be universally reviled a year later?

The recent FA decision was made without any reference to Capello whatever, which makes it clear that whoever enjoys the post is regarded by the Board as of equal status with one of their Chauffeurs.

oftenwrong wrote:Do we really have an English manager with the capability of leading England to victory?

.... or, to put it another way, are there enough masochists willing to be hailed as England's Saviours only to be universally reviled a year later?

The recent FA decision was made without any reference to Capello whatever, which makes it clear that whoever enjoys the post is regarded by the Board as of equal status with one of their Chauffeurs.

Ah. You've got it about right.

It would appear that Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish. has suggested his team should not be judged on their League performances ( where they have underperformed, incidentally). Maybe we should judge them on the conduct of their players. How about we start with the singulalrly unpleasant Suarez or the regularly-foulmouthed Bellamy? Hmmm, not much joy on that score either, then.

Dullglish is so deluded and indulges so much in the avoidance of uncomfortable fact that he must surely be a fully paid-up Tory...!

You'll never walk (safely In Liverpool)alone!

Now hands up anyone who has NEVER had a hand-grenade left outside their house?

Things are so tough where I live that even the terrorists have to travel round in twos.

I never knew cats had tails until I was 27...

Phil Hornby wrote:It would appear that Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish. has suggested his team should not be judged on their League performances ( where they have underperformed, incidentally). Maybe we should judge them on the conduct of their players. How about we start with the singulalrly unpleasant Suarez or the regularly-foulmouthed Bellamy? Hmmm, not much joy on that score either, then.

Dullglish is so deluded and indulges so much in the avoidance of uncomfortable fact that he must surely be a fully paid-up Tory...!

You'll never walk (safely In Liverpool)alone!

Dear Mr Hornby,

I don't want to embarrass you, but after the above, I must ask you to return your season ticket for Liverpool Football Club at Anfield.

Yours faithfully

D. Moyes

Manager. Everton Football Club.

Ok - it's a fair Kop...

It was always easier to understand the Boer War.

oftenwrong Yesterday at 10:19 pm



It was always easier to understand the Boer War.

I agree. After watching some matches there was more action in the Boer War than the bore 'war'.

"Don't DARE frow vat bladdy spear at me!!"


OOPS wrong match!!

Ouch.

I'm not sure why the thought should have come to me as I watch the Chelsea -v- Benfica Champions' League match on TV, but does anyone know how much it costs to buy a referee these days...?

No idea, but can I suggest you e-mail howardwebb@ferguson.trafford.co.uk?

I certainly wouldn't suggest that your typical English referee would take money for throwing a game.

No, most of those guys would quite willingly cheat for nothing...

British Football is now a conglomeration of Limited Liability Companies. With the same concentration on market leadership as a Soap-powder manufacturer. The Rules of the Game are subordinate to the rule of money.

An interesting Easter of football has seen the usual awful decisions from a variety of match officials . One has to sympathise most with the normally mild-mannered and polite Roberto Martinez whose Wigan team were the victims of at least two amateur howlers from what are supposed to be top-class officials at Chelsea. Quite disgraceful.

Add another missed offside at Old Trafford which - along with an associated player dismissal -sank QPR, and are we entitled to believe that all this incompetence is the result of such referees etc being treated a little too leniently by administrators, who are quick to punish managers who complain , but are strangely reluctant to actually want to see poor officials improve in any way. Incredible and unacceptable.

And we won't even ask why Mario Balotelli wasn't sent off for his cowardly first-half tackle on Sagna yesterday.....

Clearly what is required for perfect control of a game of football is to remove the Referee and his linesmen from the actual field of play. The technology already exists to record every second of the match and replay it in slow-motion.

Several Officials are already known to have the attention-span of a gnat, so they can be used to stop the game when any infringement of the Rules is detected. Play to resume from where it was interrupted.

Most games should be finished well before everybody has fallen asleep.

For some unaccountable reason, Rugby Union referees and touch-judges seem to be able to make decisions which are as accurate as could be desired( even if, sadly, some are increasingly tempted to 'lean' towards one team - ie Wales!). It helps not to have players who are play-acting and feigning injury, but there also seems to be an 'attitude' aspect which is missing with soccer referees. Rugby also enjoys a very effective use of technology. All in all, a far better 'package' than yer average footy match...

Don't stop the gottle of geer impressions on our behalf, Phil!

No matter how hard I try, I just can't get it right whilst consuming a glass of water. I am therefore reduced to making a correction - and not for the first time today - with my 'vairiety' in another post. Whatever happened to that spell-check facility to assist us poor performers...?

Don't worry, that nice Mr Gove is ensuring that our children will know how to spell. Phonetically, anyway. But that's a start, isn't it?

... any more dissent from you, ow, and a review by the TV referee may be called for...

Ben Arfa at Newcastle is bringing some much needed skill, flair, and excitement to the premier league.

In Soviet Russia, youngsters dreamt of becoming the most productive builder of Tractors ever, and having a Song written about their exploits.

Here and now, a pad in Wilmslow and a Man U contract is as good as it gets.

Who'd change places?

It was pretty exciting tonight!

Cracking goals from Cisse for Newcastle......with spurs and newcastle both winning, it keeps the race for champions league on; and newcastle v man city this weekend could also decide the title for either man u or man c.

But "The Sun" is only interested in their personal frailties, such as a speech impediment.

Well I got that one wrong, didn't I? The finish couldn't have been more exciting, and congratulations to Manchester City for winning, in the five minutes added on to the final game, their first top flight league title since 1968. Perhaps our sports editor will be along to comment once she's finished celebrating!


However, it doesn't alter the fact that Manchester City is only the fifth team to win the Premier League since its inception in 1992.

I know nothing about football, but I do know that Wigan Athletic staged a wonderful comeback and avoided relegation! Woop!

I prefer rugby league myself, and Wigan Warriors have just stuffed St Helens!!! Double Woop!

Now hands up those who confidently predicted the City win in advance, you bloody liars!

Shocking! As soon as the talk turns to soccer , the standard of language deteriorates. Any mention of a hot pie and Bovril at half-time and you'll have to be asked to leave the Board...

Do they still suck lemons at half-time?