Strange title I know but I would like to debate the pros and cons of just how non contact football is becoming and whether it's a positive or a negative for the game as a spectacle.
I may as well give my opinion first and I believe that football is all the poorer for having the physical edge taken away from the game. I can't disagree that perhaps there needed to be some sort of clampdown from the way that the game was played in the 70's & 80's but in my opinion it has gone way too far.
I'm all for really talented players being able to express their ability after all I was fortunate enough to grow up on the shelf watching the likes of Hoddle who to this day is still (along with Ginola & now Berba) the best technical player I have seen play for Spurs. But Glenn had to earn the right to produce the extra ability and inmy book rightly so, also his team mates had to help him have the right and football was more exciting for it.
There are no physical confrontations any more, Keane v Vieira? Do me a favour they were like pussycats in comparisson to Roberts V Souness and I'm sure older fans can tell us more about the excitement of Mckay v Bremner or Chivers v Hunter. Now we can't even find a Keane v Vieira confrontation anywhere in the Premiership.
For me personally the Premiership at times lacks excitement because of this, you can get really exciting games like our 6-4 against Reading but there are no blood and thunder games anymore. No more tackles flying in all over the place and it's also driven all of the honesty out of the game with all this pathetic diving and rolling around. I can remember when players would hardly ever go down as to look like you were hurt was a sign of weakness that you didn't want to show, now players want to look like wimps who roll around and scream for nothing, the whole thing is a bit embarassing.
Furthermore too many redcards are spoiling games to a ridiculous point. Look at Ipswich V Pompey in the FA cup, 25000 people work their nuts off all week to go to football on a Saturday, they spend bloody good and hard earned money to go and watch a game all for it to be ruined by a referee who sent off an Ipswich player after 20 minutes for literally NOTHING. Mendes screams and rolls around like a girl and all those punters may just as well have burnt their money. Its wrong, just plain bloody wrong.
I don't want to see 2 footed tackles and am all for straight reds for them but other than that lets see some tackling back in the game, some battles, some wars sometimes. I'm tired of watching free kick after free kick because a player breathed on somebody.
As a Spurs fan the most exciting game for raw entertainment I have everwatched was in 1987 when we beat the Spammers 5-0 in the league cup. What a game, it was just exhilirating, 100 mph, tackles flying in all over the place from both teams and some magnificent football played in and amongst it all. I can remember leaving the Lane that night totally exhilirated by the spectacle I had just seen, sadly I know there will never be such a game again whilst tackling is all but forbidden in the game.
So what do you think, would football be more exciting if we encouraged it to go back a little in time and become more aggressive again?
I may as well give my opinion first and I believe that football is all the poorer for having the physical edge taken away from the game. I can't disagree that perhaps there needed to be some sort of clampdown from the way that the game was played in the 70's & 80's but in my opinion it has gone way too far.
I'm all for really talented players being able to express their ability after all I was fortunate enough to grow up on the shelf watching the likes of Hoddle who to this day is still (along with Ginola & now Berba) the best technical player I have seen play for Spurs. But Glenn had to earn the right to produce the extra ability and inmy book rightly so, also his team mates had to help him have the right and football was more exciting for it.
There are no physical confrontations any more, Keane v Vieira? Do me a favour they were like pussycats in comparisson to Roberts V Souness and I'm sure older fans can tell us more about the excitement of Mckay v Bremner or Chivers v Hunter. Now we can't even find a Keane v Vieira confrontation anywhere in the Premiership.
For me personally the Premiership at times lacks excitement because of this, you can get really exciting games like our 6-4 against Reading but there are no blood and thunder games anymore. No more tackles flying in all over the place and it's also driven all of the honesty out of the game with all this pathetic diving and rolling around. I can remember when players would hardly ever go down as to look like you were hurt was a sign of weakness that you didn't want to show, now players want to look like wimps who roll around and scream for nothing, the whole thing is a bit embarassing.
Furthermore too many redcards are spoiling games to a ridiculous point. Look at Ipswich V Pompey in the FA cup, 25000 people work their nuts off all week to go to football on a Saturday, they spend bloody good and hard earned money to go and watch a game all for it to be ruined by a referee who sent off an Ipswich player after 20 minutes for literally NOTHING. Mendes screams and rolls around like a girl and all those punters may just as well have burnt their money. Its wrong, just plain bloody wrong.
I don't want to see 2 footed tackles and am all for straight reds for them but other than that lets see some tackling back in the game, some battles, some wars sometimes. I'm tired of watching free kick after free kick because a player breathed on somebody.
As a Spurs fan the most exciting game for raw entertainment I have everwatched was in 1987 when we beat the Spammers 5-0 in the league cup. What a game, it was just exhilirating, 100 mph, tackles flying in all over the place from both teams and some magnificent football played in and amongst it all. I can remember leaving the Lane that night totally exhilirated by the spectacle I had just seen, sadly I know there will never be such a game again whilst tackling is all but forbidden in the game.
So what do you think, would football be more exciting if we encouraged it to go back a little in time and become more aggressive again?