footballs back

[fenman]

Yes Keith good win for Brentford , I hope they do well this season , they've skirted promotion from the Championship for a couple of seasons  so they are obviously a decent team .

Sorry to be negative BUT we've had the Olympics , cricket , cycling , rugby and my beloved motorsport  all relatively  sporting . Along comes the so called " beautiful game "  and we are back to the snarling arguments with officials , riots in the streets because " we don't like the opposition " and homophobic chants at players as well as the normal foul language directed at the opposition and referee .  Beautiful game  ? what a load of nonsense , what is it about football at all levels that brings this about ?. Why can't the players ( at all levels ) obey the rules and why can't the fans respect each other and the officials ? 

[baldy]

I lay the blame firmly at FIFA’s doorstep. Constantly fannying about with the laws which used to be simple enough for everyone to understand. How about the lack of respect to officials, cheating, time wasting, not retreating after a free kick is awarded, ridiculous celebrations, the “professional” foul anywhere on the pitch not sufficiently penalised. All simple things to fix with some authorised disciplinary procedures. Would clean the game up in a couple of weeks.

[fenman]

I don't think that everyone will agree with you Baldy .Many  fans seem quite happy to accept the cheating , abuse of officials and all of the bad things about the game today . Money has undoubtbly ruined the game , it's no longer about entertainment its all about winning at any cost . Personally I think the pundits are partly to blame with  comments like " he had to take him out and take one for the team " and so on .