I would be shocked if you and I didn't want the same outcome, in terms of football the game. We disagree on the way to get there and the direction of travel. Like Ange said I am just an older fan shouting into the wind because I think we are in grave danger of losing football as the spectacle it's been for a very long time. The game has always changed from it's beginnings when it was just two villages fighting one another without rules. People died and villages were trashed. 6 Kings of England banned the game but the people carried on regardless. Then in 1863 the FA began and the rules were formalised. I'm sure you know all this, so forgive me for repeating the history but it is important for the context of my argument. I am pretty sure that in recent years since SKY there has been more meddling with the rules than ever before. We have reached the stage where every season there is a discussion by the powers on how the rules should be enforced and interpreted. This is a nightmare for referees and they get the stick when things go wrong. Now we have reached the stage where pro footballers often do not know the rules they are playing under. Is it hand ball is it not hand ball. Defenders having to put their hands behind their back. Is it a red card is it not a red card. It used to be simple, was the player playing dangerously or not.
If these changes were working we would have less penalties, less red cards, and less cheating. We have the opposite which suggests to me that all the messing about with the rule book is counter productive.
Despite what the pundits say I do not think our last game with Chelsea was a great game I think it was a travesty of football. Where the referee and VAR becomes more important than the game. Where the interruptions to play were so frequent that you wonder if four of our player ending up with injuries was a direct consequence of standing around getting cold. I applaud our manager for what he said about VAR and referees, he is spot on IMO.
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