Has the heart and soul gone out of football?

Question

is it all about money, flash sponsorhsips.......

Answer 1

I wouldn't say that.
A lot of footballers have nice legs.

Answer 2

Football in Scotland got boring some years ago when it became apparent that nine seasons out of ten, a Glasgow club would win it ("oh, what a surprise. Celtic are Scottish champions! Never saw THAT coming....!" et c) with the other Glasgow club coming second.

Every ten years or so one of the pursuing pack is allowed to upset the form book, but in most years the top two in Scotland are going to be Celtic or Rangers. You may also bet and not lose good money on the next five places being made up of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee, Dundee United and Aberdeen.

English football has also lost its surprise and spontaneity. The long-ago days when a team like Nottingham Forest could (under a charismatic manager) come out of nowhere to take the title are history.

Since the formation of the English premiership, we've had a Scottish-style situation on this side of the border where the bigger richer clubs have been able to form a league within a league and carve it up among themselves. And like Scotland it's every bit as boring and predictible.

Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and a couple of others have it stitched up - the rest are cannon fodder. (Although I still back Man City to win at least one of the local derbies, out of pride and cussedness)

Result: boredom. And a consequence of Scottish football having a few bigger fish in a small pond is that the pond's gone stagnant - the Scottish national side can no longer compete at world level in a way it once could, because the best Scottish players aren't stretched enough every Saturday. Nor can Scotland's best sides compete effectively in Europe as the biggest fish in the Scottish pond are just minnows still in the European lake. Could a similar thing happen in England?

Answer 3

I disagree. If you drop down the leagues, League one, league two, the football conference or lower you will find thousands of fans who believe the beautiful game is much more than money and sponsorships. This is what is great about the FA cup. you can have Bakers postmen accountants windowcleaners on the same pitch as the overpaid players of the premiership and championship.

The heart and soul of football is grass roots. Children playing in the local park. It's not all about professionals. It can be played by anyone. anywhere, anytime.

Answer 4

No, i think there still is alot of heart and soul into the game or why else would soccer players spend all that time trainnin and tryin out for clubs if it wasnt 4 heart and soul. soccer players usually get rejected a few times b4 being signed even well known ones such as gilardino n ronaldinho they kept tryin and working hard 2 achieve there dream 2 become a professional soccer player n gilardino is goin through a hard time scoring at the moment but instead of makin excuses and partyin he is trainin more then every1 else on the team everyday 2 get bak on track n wat about the italian soccer team while the world cup was on scandles were takin place at home but they pulled together wanted 2 prove every1 wrong n that they were a talent team n they put a lot of heart n soul into all the games n tranin n thats wat helped them succeed 2 win the world cup. dnt get my wrong there r sum there 4 the fame n money but alot of them r livin there dream n have worked hard 2 het were they r 2day.

Answer 5

Has it ever! What about this new "book" being marketed by Man Utd's manager and players and costing £3,000? The era when football belonged to the masses is over. Long live the overpaid!

For heart and soul I think you have to go to the lower reaches of the League - the Rochdales and Darlingtons.

Answer 6

I think so too. The players are payed too much money its crazy. There are some supporters on low incomes that sacrifice their quality of life to watch overated, overpayed, inflated egos running around the field often with little to show. These so called stars tend to think theyre bigger than the club itself - which is all wrong!
I think that local teams should consist of local players. Rant over

Answer 7

I think it is indeed all about the money flash, sponsorships, and seeing who can be the biggest gits while taking the public's money.
--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 8

since England played their usual crap in the World Cup I just can't be bothered anymore....

... all our English players deep down are crap and overpaid no matter how well they play for their club. Our UK media is crap as well, it just talks bollocks, they still ramble on about Beckham.

...we should ban all our players that played in the world cup for a year as punishment for being rubbish and ship them off to another league.

Answer 9

Its well on its way to going out of football, but there is life in the old dog yet.

Answer 10

i think the outstanding rookies this year will bring back the heart and soul of football.