Have changes been good or bad for football

[baldy]

I have been thinking about all the changes of various types that have occured during my time of watching footy at all levels and wondering if they were a good idea or not.

Here are some I thought of in (roughly) chronological order from about 1961.

Abolition of the maximum wage.

The World Cup win with the "wingless wonders".

Betting scandals involving players.

*Substitutes.

*The backpass rule and various changes to the GK options for releasing the ball.

Penalty shootouts.

Squad numbers.

Replica shirts.

All seater stadia.

The Premiership breakaway/SKY sports.

Match days & KO times.

Treatment of on-field injuries.

#Allowing one player to deliberately obstruct another to allow the ball to run out of play.

Injury time indicator boards.

Offside rule tinkering.

Corporate hospitality.

#Action from live games missed due to incessant replays.

* My favourites

# My most hated.

I am sure you will find lots to say and many other changes to comment on.

[A One And A Six]

Abolition of the maximum wage -

I think it has made the sport much more professional and players are overall, better these days but i think the game has forgotten its working class roots. Ive heard stories of people back in the day having a drink and a chat down the pub with the likes of Bobby Moore and other such famous players. I myself at Highbury an hour or so before a game and with hardly a soul around, saw Steven Gerrard completely ignore a young fan who politely asked for his autograph. Nuff' said!

The World Cup win with the "wingless wonders".

4.3.3. is back in fashion again

*Substitutes.

Changed the game for the better. No longer will a cup final (or any game for that matter) be ruined because a player has picked up a forst half injury, leaving his team to carry on with ten!

*The backpass rule and various changes to the GK options for releasing the ball.

Has led to both defenders and goalkeepers needing to be tidy with their feet, therefor improving the quality of players in the modern game.

Penalty shootouts.

Without doubt the best way to decide a tied match. People moan but its much better then countless replays clogging up the fixture list and much, much better then the toss of a coin to decide who wins!

Squad numbers.

Not really made a big difference i think, although id say they are a good thing because the number i always wear is 16!!!

Replica shirts.

Helped make the modern game the multi-billion pound buisness it is today? Good or bad thing, opinions differ!

All seater stadia.

The biggest and best improvement in modern football in my opinion. Safer, cleaner and more attractive then ever. Virtually no hooliganism in English football anymore and tradgedys like Hillsborough and Valley Parade are unlikely to ever happen again in this county.

The Premiership breakaway/SKY sports.

More footy for me to watch on TV. In fact footy for me to watch whenever i switch on the TV! Suits me!

Treatment of on-field injuries.

Any player injured should be treated then and there in my opinion, whether its on the pitch or not. The safety and health of the players is more important then getting the game back under way.

Injury time indicator boards.

Probably the best way of letting everybody no how much time is added on.

Offside rule tinkering.

Does anybody actually know the offside rule!!! :P