Is it just me...

[Saintkev]

... or is modern football confusing and have too much red-tape, and therefore lead to being rubbish?!

Chat's on this website regularly get lost in legal mumble and rules etc. Maybe because I was young, it seemed so much more simple, much more black and white, and I don't mean on the telly (i'm not that old!)

You were offside if you were offside.
You were promoted or relegated if you finished top or bottom of the league.
You progressed in a cup if you won the game.
You signed a player if you made the best offer whenever you and the other club wanted.
If a player did not try, he could be fined.
Your team consisted of defenders, midfielders and strikers... no holding roles or players in the whole.
You could stand and sing or sit with like-minded souls at every ground rather than facing different ground regulations every second week for a ground that is basically the same as teh last ground you sat at!
You didn't need to work out whether a fixed-rate or slowly depreciating mortgage to afford a season-ticket, and you knew you got into every home game with said ticket.
You had a debate with other football fans, and you did not fear being called up for offending some fancy data protection act or some other legislation that does not apply common-sense.

I could go on, but I'd like to, for the first time, take my god-given right, now that I am 30, and claim, "Everything in my day was better!"

Am I alone?

[wee john]

Was the toss of a coin to decide the match better.
We had terracing instead of seats.
Offside rule is basically the same, only confusing if you have a duff linesman.
if you finish top or bottom you are still promoted or relegated.
if you win the game you still progress in the cup.
I think the season tic price is just about on a par with wages then and now, could be wrong there though.

Just replying to some of your points, the others I agree with you.

[Kevin]

We used to drink beer at the match
We stood with our friends and the opposition fans became friends
Diving was only done in the swimming pool
From a cross the skill was to avoid the lace hitting you in the face when heading the ball
Goalkeepers all wore green woolly jumpers and a cap
A team only had eleven players
The first aid kit was a bucket of cold water and a sponge or flannel

Ah, the good old days when I wer a lad :shock:

[Broon]

The changes in Football are a reflection on society as a whole.

There are far too many Politically correct, I'll sue you if I trip over a kerb, you can't speak to me like that numpties in the world today.

We are so strictly governed by laws, rules etc that they feel the need create an association, agency, bureau or whatever to govern everything! It all boils down to nonsense like forcing us to put 'contains milk' warnings on milk cartons :oops:

Football is no different. Its a simple, enjoyable game lost in the nonsense that is a world with too many rules and rule enforcers!!

[TheBigCheese]

I think people have forgotten that football is meant to be entertainment. The constant rule changes, over-zealous stewarding, price hikes and the like have taken a lot of the fun out of going to the football.

[Tranmere Saintee]

Offside rule is basically the same, only confusing if you have a duff linesman.

The offside rule when introduced was very simple - there was no interfering with play or being active or any other such jibberish (if you are on the pitch you are interfering with play wherever you are by distracting a defender).

[Saintkev]

Was the toss of a coin to decide the match better.
We had terracing instead of seats.
Offside rule is basically the same, only confusing if you have a duff linesman.
if you finish top or bottom you are still promoted or relegated.
if you win the game you still progress in the cup.
I think the season tic price is just about on a par with wages then and now, could be wrong there though.

Just replying to some of your points, the others I agree with you.

The toss of the coin was the same... never commented on that.
We had terracing and seats, i.e. you could choose!
Offisde rule is nothing liek what it used to be, with interfering, etc.
You don't get promoted or relegated if you don't meet certain criteria.
You can lose cup games in the Champs league and still progress, by winning the second leg or more games in the group.
Season ticket price has risen well beyond common inflation.

[wee john]

I did not like get pished on at matches.
I did not like getting bottles, darts or stones on the head.
I did not like getting chased down the street.
I did not like coming home black, muddy and wet.
I like to take my kids to the match in safety.
I hated a long winding bus journey.
I did not like getting crushed when leaving the ground.

It has not all changed for the worse.

[Saintkev]

I did not like get pished on at matches.
I did not like getting bottles, darts or stones on the head.
I did not like getting chased down the street.
I did not like coming home black, muddy and wet.
I like to take my kids to the match in safety.
I hated a long winding bus journey.
I did not like getting crushed when leaving the ground.

It has not all changed for the worse.

For most of these, it's one of the best topics of conversation in teh pub, that time that Wee Hodgie was chased down the road, or that time when you chased someone else. etc. etc.

I take the point that the games and grounds are more family friendly and it wouldn't be the same at an away day without Blair and Ruari taking the mickey out of myself or you or another drunk on the bus... but the above list makes some great memories.

[wee john]

Yes you are correct, great memories, but there is no way as you get older that you could enjoy those times again.
Maybe I'm being a killjoy by defending modern fitba' but the young ones today really would not appreciate what we went thru watching football.
No exagerating,
I have been ankle deep in pish.
ankle deep in mud.
black from gravel dust that made up the terraceing at every ground.
battered by opposing fans.
hit by a dart, bottles, cans, stones and an egg, all in the stadium.
travelled on clapped out buses on windy roads thru every town and village before road upgrades.
It was magic at the time though. :***:

[Saintkev]

It was magic at the time though. :***:

Darn tootin' and it's made you love yer footy, and love the banter in the pub with any other fan who went through that... and I reckon it kind of shows now-a-days, with fans turning their back-on teams after a couple of bad performances... folk that went through that were tougher and more committed than many of today's football supporters.

[Broggy Man]

Anybody seen my teeth :***: Im sure i left them in here :wink:

:oops: :oops: :oops:
Sorry couldnt help it.
You cant compare then and now. From a viewing prospective then was better terracing decent crowds atmosphere change ends at half time no casuals decent pies not destroyed by some european directive. Now well jeez i cant think of anything nice to say about football today

[Kevin]

Anybody seen my teeth :***: Im sure i left them in here :wink:

:oops: :oops: :oops:
Sorry couldnt help it.
You cant compare then and now. From a viewing prospective then was better terracing decent crowds atmosphere change ends at half time no casuals decent pies not destroyed by some european directive. Now well jeez i cant think of anything nice to say about football today

:) Can't show my teeth.......

Well, you could say the ball is the same shape and that there are still 11 players on the pitch from each team (most of the time).

All I was remembering were my early days at Spurs, when getting the kids to the best viewing spot was important and there was always that lovely smell of beer in the air :D Like you say, none of these ridiculous EU Directives to face up to and no litigatious society (I blame the lawyers for that though :***: )

What I really wish is that folk would go the the football to enjoy themselves in a happy frame of mind, as opposed to the negative boo-boy mentality that is pervading the game just now. OC was out the dug-out on Saturday trying to get support but all he was getting was a 'sit down' shout from the West Stand :(

[Steve Maskrey]

I miss the days when you could stand behind the goal to cheer on your team and have a bit of banter with the opposition's goalie then change ends at half time and do it all again in the second half :D

When teams played by the score-one-more-goal-than-the-opposition-to-win-the-game tactic rather than the score-a-goal-and-hang-on-to-the-lead tactic or just-come-out-and-play-for-a-draw tactic commonly used nowadays

[garydavidson]

the thing that annoys me about football these days is that some players are just big gimps and cant take challanges.

there is some horrific tackling going around but some people act to much! thats what grinds my gears :)

[MUZZ]

standing at games was braw
crowds were bigger
football was more fun in general
TOO MANY POLITICS IN FITBA NOW :evil:

[saintbear]

never get the same buzz as you got in the Muirton enclosure,miss that
FOD...FOE dont miss that

[Indicator]

If not better certainly different.

Scottish teams were full of ball-playing home grown entertainers and 'characters'.
(Our style of play in our leagues was totally different to say the English leagues)
(English spectators witnessing our product used to drool over the type of)
(entertainment available compared to that in their leagues)

Dunfermline won the then 1st Div.

Kilmarnock won the then 1st Div

Aberdeen were kings.

We still never won anythin...

Scottish players were in demand all over the place.

Style of football played in each country was identifiably different.
(ie: Such as, if the Hungarian team turned up at Hampden you talked about their)
( style of play for ages after the match - Nowadays the uniqueness has gone)
( as players 'have boots will travel'. A bland 'sameness' is how I perceive it.)

Teams consisted of predominantly players born-bred in the country concerned.
Not like now where nearly every team could be classed as 'International' and those
that can field the best mixture of players available invariably dominate competitions.

Chelsea - International team
Liverpool - Becoming more and more by the day
Arsonel - International
Man U. - Pretty well the same
Celtic, Rangers aye and Hearts I could go on...

Rich FSU Oil Barons buy trophys.

I dunno I just find it all a bit bland nowadays. :?

[StDuncM]

All I can think of is -

Forwards

Watching Kenny Aird jinking down the wing mesmorising all before him.
Admiring the skill of Henry Hall, despite his size
There was no one like Buck..................seriously
or the legend JC,
or the languid Fred Aitken, Jimmy Pearson and Bobby Kemp

In the middle of the park
Ron McKinven
Benny Rooney
Alex Rennie
Even Ian McPhee was, on his day, above average.

At the back

John Lambie and Smokin' Willie Coburn

Custodians

the goalkeeping genius Jim Donaldson and the supreme Derek Robertson

not forgetting..............................the smell of Muirton Park!

[Victor]

Football died when-

Stage 1.Seeding was introduced.

Then -

Stage 2.Attitude changed from going out to score one more goal than the opposition to having them score one less than us.

And finally -

Stage 3. It became business not sport.

[Mr_Plow]

I think the standard of football has increased in some areas but the advent of Sky, Bosman etc has obviously changed football, and not always for the best.

For instance there is too much of it on TV - who in the hell wants to watch Conference football on Sky?

Hardly any player plays for the shirt/has an affinty with with their club due to the likelihood that they won't be there long.

Player's wages are extortionate, fair do's they cop a lot of abuse from fans, but how can anyone justify paying someone £100K+ a week for playing a sport (and only training half-days etc). Especially with the clubs who do this, being seriously in debt.

I could go on. and on. and on.

[208saint]

I did not like get pished on at matches.
Nope, just pished :***:

[208saint]

I have been ankle deep in pish.
ankle deep in mud.

Aye but it didn't even cover the soles of anybody else's shoes :***: Mind you Hodgy reckons it was waist deep :***: :***: