Respect campaign

[fenman]

A few seasons ago ( or is it more than I think ) the FA started a Respect campaign . As usual it started at the lower levels of the game and a great deal of money was spent on advertising and providing fencing , technical areas etc. etc. . We also had the farce of shaking hands with the opposition ceremony before kick off . For all this nothing seems to have changed  , players still abuse officials and crowd behaviour has become worse ( bear in mind that I'm talking about lower level football ) Admittedly the sin bin system has reduced cautions as regards dissent but dissent still occurs .Turning to the upper levels ie. Premiership there seems to be a complete disregard  for the aims of respect . In the recent Wolves , Manchester City game for example , Willy Boly  made a tackle that resulted in a dismissal , now there are mixed opinions as to whether it should have been a red card and comparisons have been made to worse tackles recently going unpunished , Kompany's tackle on a Liverpool player being one . The reactions of the Manchester City players  immediately surrounding the referee was appalling  . This happens game in  every week where players abuse officials and the rules  nothing is done about it . My  question is why is there one set of rules for lower level football and different rules for the top tier . Logically the tightening of rules should start at the top as this is where the influence on the lower level starts . Surely with a huge worldwide audience the FA  would want the game to be seen in a more sporting light . Or is it a case of  money and the tail wagging the dog ?

I have a £20 bet that only older and the 2 B's respond to this

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

The true power sits where the money is.

No-one is going to rock the money boat that the premiership has become.

The FA and world bodies have a fantastic lifestyle now, all funded by the all powerful media companies...they have no intention of sinking that boat.

Easy option, start at the bottom, and that is one of many reasons that local football is failing.

Just look at the rule book, an inch thick or more, but only applies, and is applied at this level. 

[baldy]

The respect campaign is the biggest joke the FA (influenced by FIFA?) have ever introduced. Fenman is absolutely correct. One is not going to influence (positively) the younger generation when players such as Rooney (then England captain) can be lip-read telling the lino to F Off. The cash cow cannot be killed as TV and other sponsors won't permit games to finish 8 v 7 which is what should happen in many top level games.

PS Am I one of the Bs?

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

58 minutes ago, Keith B said:

I guess it will only work if the FA really enforce it. They should make the officials enforce the regulations and give them full support when they do.

Never going to happen, the power sits elsewhere these days.

Money talks, just look at the government, all the money sits at the top...and they make sure it stays there. 

Google, Amazon, EBay...untouchable,  the same as the big clubs and big players. 

[gingerninja]

4 hours ago, fenman said:

A few seasons ago ( or is it more than I think ) the FA started a Respect campaign . As usual it started at the lower levels of the game and a great deal of money was spent on advertising and providing fencing , technical areas etc. etc. . We also had the farce of shaking hands with the opposition ceremony before kick off . For all this nothing seems to have changed  , players still abuse officials and crowd behaviour has become worse ( bear in mind that I'm talking about lower level football ) Admittedly the sin bin system has reduced cautions as regards dissent but dissent still occurs .Turning to the upper levels ie. Premiership there seems to be a complete disregard  for the aims of respect . In the recent Wolves , Manchester City game for example , Willy Boly  made a tackle that resulted in a dismissal , now there are mixed opinions as to whether it should have been a red card and comparisons have been made to worse tackles recently going unpunished , Kompany's tackle on a Liverpool player being one . The reactions of the Manchester City players  immediately surrounding the referee was appalling  . This happens game in  every week where players abuse officials and the rules  nothing is done about it . My  question is why is there one set of rules for lower level football and different rules for the top tier . Logically the tightening of rules should start at the top as this is where the influence on the lower level starts . Surely with a huge worldwide audience the FA  would want the game to be seen in a more sporting light . Or is it a case of  money and the tail wagging the dog ?

I have a £20 bet that only older and the 2 B's respond to this

I'm just replying so you lose your £20 bet 😂😂😂

[fenman]

Luckily  it was a hypothetical bet ,Baldy you weren't one of the B's  to that's twice I've lost ..

Both your reply's are in keeping with a good website . I read several forums on various news web sites , I don't contribute to them because of their content .When you see the appalling grammar and spiteful comments on them you feel that you don't want to lower yourself to their level ( possibly I'm just an old arrogant git ) This forum on the other hand is a pleasure to make the odd contribution to even if people don't always agree with what you post . Long may the site continue .

[St Darren]

Inconsistency of referees in their ability to deliver a set of laws in a football match doesn’t help. 

If you’re one of the top English players you get away with a lot more then someone from a lower team as sub 

and that’s before we even get to local football 

[fenman]

yourself and Steve B . Yourselves and Older mostly seem on the same wavelength as me  so I knew you'd respond  but I didn't think anyone else would . Wrong again  !!!!!!!!!!!!           I should add that  although I've been an ardent Wolves fan since  1955 ( strange that I still feel only 25 ) this has no bearing on my comments about Manchester City  . Although there are mixed opinions about the red card the manager accepts it was a sending off and that the end of it . . I would have thought that their behaviour was out of order whoever they were playing . People always assume that its only children who are influenced by that sort of behaviour , it isn't . Many adults  are keen to copy things because its fashionable . For example look how " like  " has replaced the verb in language  its absolute nonsense grammar wise but it's fashionable so its acceptable in many peoples eyes . Cheating on the football pitch is the same , it's fashionable to cheat so I must follow fashion .

PS  no bets on who responds .

St. Darren ,  without wanting to harp on about that particular game , it has been said in many newspapers that had Wolves have been one of the " elite " teams in the league Boly would have got a yellow card . This is not me being biased , as I said before it was a mistimed tackle made to look worse by the other player and his team mates , but you can't argue the red card . But it was interesting to see these comments appear in some newspapers .

[St Darren]

I completely agree with you. Referees treat players and moments differently. I don’t get why players aren’t booked in the first 5 minutes for a challenge that would get a yellow on the hour mark!!  No wonder it does players heads in

[fenman]

W

Well I was almost right  , .

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

There is no respect in football, it is a simple mirror of society today.

[CornishWall]

1 hour ago, TheolderIgetthebetterIwas said:

There is no respect in football, it is a simple mirror of society today.

Too true. Unfortunately.

[Martin Eddy]

Who 😛

[fenman]

In the 1950's  and early 1960'sWolves along with Manchester United were 2 of the best sides in the World . Although Real Madrid won the European Cup < or should I say dominated  )  , English clubs were banned from entering European Competitions by the FA  . so their names don't feature  in those competitions in the middle 50's . Manchester United were I think (although it may have Chelsea )the first English team to play in the European cup , but the tragic Munich air crash prevented any possible success Billy Wright was the Wolves captain and along with Bill Slater ( recently deceased ) Eddie Clamp an,d Ron Flowers were the regular defenders for England in the late 50's .Billy Wright was the most capped English outfield player until that tattooed person passed him . Co incidently Billy Wright was married to a pop star , one of the famous Beverly singers , The difference was that she could actually sing !!!!!!!!!!!.  As you say Keith Bert Williams was their keeper ( Wolves not the Beverley sisters ) and he also played for England on occasions . Unfortunatley for him England had many top rate goalies in those days , a bit like the Clemence , Shilton , Bonetti era ., so his England career wasn't that long . From the 1970's Wolves faded from the top level and went down to the old division 4 .. Many people always thought that some of Wolves best players in the 1970's , were overlooked by the England selectors because the club was unfashionable . For instance John Richards , the equivalent of  Harry Kane today, was regularly the leagues top scorer , but was only picked to play once and that was on the wing .totally out of position .

Finally Billy Slater played for Wolves and England but was technically an amateur player because he was also a lecturer in Physical Education at Birmingham university .How times change

[baldy]

Had the pleasure of meeting Billy Wright in Katowice in 1973. He and Brian Moore were commentators on the Poland v England WC qualifier. Good trip, crap game.

[stevieb]

Another  good post Fenman  , haven't been posting much recently  , personally  I don't think the respect campaign  has any effect  whatsoever  on behaviour  towards  officials  ,  players to each other and supporters  towards officials  , it even made the BBC main news about the amount  of refs who have left the game due to abuse  and physical  violence  towards them . Something's  is going to break  , less people  becoming involved , be it volunteers  , officials  , because  they are asking the question  is it worth ?  , to get hassle  for trying  to  put something  back into the sport  we all have loved for so many years .

[Martin Eddy]

On 25/01/2019 at 11:23, Keith B said:

Billy Wright - captain of Wolves and England. Played centre half - central defender these days. Fenman would probably know the dates involved. Their goalkeeper was Bert Williams who also played in that position for England and it was upon him that I modeled myself, then playing in goal for my school. Eddy Clamp was Wolves right half and he too played in that position for England. I'd have to google the rest of the team from those days (fenman would probably know) but Wolves provided a number of players for England then and were always near the top of the old 1st Division of the English league. I'll shut up now.

Joking Keith I have seen the grainy footage just before my time,am I right in saying Billy won a hundred caps for England

[fenman]

Keith B , I wouldn't mind being 25 again but not in this era , I much rather be 25 back in the 60's . Having said that  I wouldn't have the pleasure of my children and grandchildren so as my dear old mate used to say " it's a catch 23 situation " When you're old you have the fear of  dementia etc.  but I feel sorry for the young people with the rectangular plastic growths on their hands . Hopefully a cure will be found for it some time in the future . Thinking back to 25  I was forced into making a huge gamble on my future  especially with a young wife and 1 year old son . Luckily it paid off .

How about this for a subject to debate as regards Respect . Does anyone think that social media will have a detrimental effect on grassroots football ?. To put it another way ,as we all have to face , grass roots football is dying .League secretaries , club secretaries and committees  keep football going as much as players ( plus referees of course ) .. The use of social media has meant that players are able to criticise these people in an offensive way . Now generally speaking these people especially league officials have to make decisions that are fair and beneficial to the game . Some decisions don't suit everyone , that would be impossible . Most intelligent people with a bit of common sense would  realise this  and accept it . Sadly we have reached a point where people use social media to abuse these officials in an unpleasant manner  over a decision or policy made by a committee . Others join in and the whole thing becomes messy . From my own experience many of these media users weren't near the front when intelligence was handed out , and " empty vessels  "springs to mind . My point is , how long before people running leagues , clubs etc. throw it all in because of this ?  We have to accept that people are entitled to an opinion , but that opinion is only acceptable if it is based on some sort of knowledge about the subject  . Most of the offenders for this behaviour ( again I'm basing this on my own experience within our own league ) contribute nothing to the game personally  so wouldn't be likely candidates to fill the vacancies made by people leaving because of the abuse ..

ps I'll probably read this later when the forecasted gales arrive and think what a load of nonsense I've written .

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

You are only entitled to an opinion if you can present it properly.

Not as in social media... anyway you want without a thought for the recipient...as in the tragic cases of these youngsters who sadly end their lives because of it.

Today's kids could not live in the era a lot of us grew up in, imagine the shock of having to do what you were told!

My grandchildren and great grandchildren call me retro because of all the rules that apply when they come to visit me.

And they are told that as long as I breathe they will apply.

No prisoners in my house.

[We Two]

54 minutes ago, fenman said:

Most of the offenders for this behaviour ( again I'm basing this on my own experience within our own league ) contribute nothing to the game personally  so wouldn't be likely candidates to fill the vacancies made by people leaving because of the abuse ..

We should all thank our lucky stars for that Fenman, who would want football to be in the hands of people such as those you describe above.
Nothing would ever get done except the publication of a list of people whose fault it is that nothing has been done.
When criticisim of a subject is followed by a sensible option by its author, then is the time to listen, others can be read as a matter of courtesy and then ignored if the content is considered to be written in a negative  manner.

[fenman]

Digressing from Respect slightly . We seem to be obsessed with statistics in the game , very much like the Americans . Being old fashioned the only statistic that matters to me and the league or cup table is how many goals have been scored or conceded at the final whistle . However  browsing through the BBC's  statistics at each game I notice that on average there are 30 fouls committed per game . Some of the older ones will work that out at a foul every 3 minutes . Added up , the time taken to take the free kick and the time taken for the referee to possibly book the offender plus the time taken by the opposition in arguing the rights and wrongs of it  , that's an awful lot of playing time lost per game .Add in the substitutions , including the farcical ones at 85 plus minutes  how much action is there  and does the added time compensate for it all ?. or in other words does the paying fan get value for money .

[Dave Deacon]

Referring back to the Respect subject - what do you think of the latest Cornwall FA move:-

Cornwall FA are holding a ‘We Only Do Positive’ respect campaign during the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd February 2019.  

    The aim is to promote respect and good behaviour by educating coaches, parents and players that positive behaviour shown towards everyone, can in turn, create      a positive environment for our young players to enjoy and play football.

    We cannot achieve any of this without the support of our clubs and teams participating and getting involved in the event. It would be fantastic to see lots of the              grassroots community joining in and promoting this respect weekend.  A few ways you can do this are:

• Display any respect banners you may have

• Ensure that all parents, coaches and players know how good behaviour can create a positive environment

• Respect the referee and coaches

• Never engage in or tolerate offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour 

[baldy]

Perhaps the FA should do it for all the Premiership clubs!

[Dave Deacon]

8 minutes ago, baldy said:

Perhaps the FA should do it for all the Premiership clubs!

That was my thinking too. Although on a more local level - why not the National League South with Truro and the SWPL Premier?

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

36 minutes ago, baldy said:

Perhaps the FA should do it for all the Premiership clubs!

Correct. 

[fenman]

I don't want to appear to have a negative view but, although something has to be done it hard to imagine what . Personally I think the problem is too deep , particularly in youth football . I honestly don't think that parents and coaches ( generally speaking ) will pay any heed to it . I know several parents whose children play in youth football and they are shocked at the behaviour of many other  parents . Many referees I know refuse to do youth matches because of the abuse from parents . It's one of the evils of modern society . You have to give credit to the Cornish F.A.  for at least making an effort .As far as many parents are concerned  their involvement in their child's football career is a short one  football career is a short one so the future doesn't matter , live for today  forget about tomorrow sort of attitude .

[Dave Deacon]

I think the campaign is being run in some shape or form by the County FAs as part of the FA’s ‘We Only Do Positive’ Respect campaign.’

Wiltshire have the subject on their county fa site. Yes - the same Wiltshire who pulled out of playing their SWCC Youth match in Cornwall with less than 24 hours to go. Where were the parents then when they should have been encouraging their lads to attend the game?

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

You would have to change society itself to change football attitudes now.

It should start with the parents, but as we all know a lot of it comes from the parents themselves. 

Discipline at home, and in school is sadly lacking today.

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

4 hours ago, Keith B said:

Spot on older - as usual.

Old people we know donus.

Answer your mother, father or your teacher back...look out!

[Goldeneye]

Football only has to follow the example set by Rugby and Cricket. I think I'm right in saying that at the Rugby League Cup Final the two sets of supporters are not even segregated. 

 

[fenman]

Football is a bizarre sport or business . On the one hand we have the outpouring of grief at grounds where we have the minutes applause or whatever for someone who 97% of the crowd didn't know and didn't care for while they alive . For that the football community is regarded as a close knit caring community . At the same  match fans will pour out foul abuse at the officials , opposing fans and opposition players , even on their own players occasionally . Recently  a semi professional club banned a fan from games because of racial abuse on social media toward one of his clubs players . I was at a Plymouth game recently , Every time the ball went out of play near him a Plymouth fan leapt to his feet and gave the nearest opposition player and load of abuse .He was sitting in the row nearest the pitch ( the fan not the player ) so the player  who was taking the throw in got a whole earful  of this . Why do we have these extremes ?

I say 97 % it could be 98%

Can I just add that  I am not referring to   tragedies  in a local community  where players  , club or league officials  are involved .Because these people are local they are in a manner of speaking all part of their local football community  and people like to pay their respects to them .

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

7 minutes ago, Keith B said:

Fortunately it's usually the loony few who cause the problems fenman. The ''few'' when measure against the majority of supporters, who do not join in the ugly scenes and who simply go to matches to enjoy the game of football that is. Most of these detest the antics of the few - as do I.

 

Right again older. Father didn't tan me often - but when he did - you remembered it !

Job done he'd probably have said, rest his dear soul.

Ha ha, mother would say "I'll tell your father" worked every time...lol