And you criticise Ponders for being patronising That's nice, I wonder will people be rushing to London for the World Athletics Championship.
I am only ever honest in my opinions. That is why I am so disliked in certain quarters. Hey-ho. Dressage is brilliant, though.
Good thread. I totally agree with Typical. Having said that, my opportunities to go to football are very limited and if it's not Charlton (or at a push Dartford or Deportivo La Coruña) I'm just not bothered which does sort of tie in with the football malaise thing. Having said that, my Dad suffered the same thing. He still loves Arsenal but at most follows the updates on teletext. As you get older valus and interests change, but Charlton is still Charlton. I also agree but to a lesser extent with Irish. I don't know about yorkshire U21 archery but the Olympics is a massive event. But then, it's easy to get excited when Team GB was so successfull. Plus the Premier is also a top level league or so they tell us. I hate it but I hope we win the league this year. Confused. I reckon I went past my limit on the Rioja last night.
Another example of Football's decline is the attendance tonight at the England v Italy game where the stadium looked less than half full.Empty seats everywhere.Attendance was 15,000- who would have thought that even 2 years ago.
Strange decision to hold it in Berne in the first place - beats me. I know it couldn't have been at Wembley, but why not go the whole hog and just hold it in Italy? Decent performance tonight and just sometimes, Defoe takes your breath away. Good for Jordan Rhodes as well - hope it's the start of a long and successful international career.
There must be a reason. They played a friendly against Ireland last year in Belgium It must be a private company that arranges their friendlies, like with Brazil, and they may not be welcome in any Italian club ground right before the season, so they go to countries with large Italian migrant populations... maybe?
Dont want to keep on about this, but , just to show the impact , one of my work colleagues has decided not to renew his Fulham season ticket for himself and his son as he doesnt want to watch overpaid,petulant,up-their-own-arse,arrogant footballers anymore. Also, i am having second thoughts about buying the season ticket for the Valley that i promised myself at the end of last season. Judging by the attendances that i've seen so far, it looks like Football is going to deal with quite a reaction with a lot of people walking away from the sport, simply having enough of the petulance and also perennial lack of success by England. I believe it could be quite a sea-change.
I personally got goosebumps and a lump in my throat from re-watching the whole Muamba saga and how all of football united to show support to a fellow professional. That was something quite special. There are some dark elements to the game, but it's nowhere near as bad as made out. Oh, and I cant BLOOMING wait for Saturday.
I have to say I think the attendances will be down. Allowing for goodweather and holidays I think we will start to see a startling absence in match attendance this weekend. Not for one second am I suggesting that football is finished but I do expect an Olympic hangover. I wonder how many football fans are now Olympic converts. It is all speculation on my part but I reckon the loss will be significant at Championsip level and below. I know 3 season ticket holders at CAFC who have had enough. An Arsenal fan and a Chelsea fan at work are all hanging up their season tickets for reason realating to value for money and entertainment.
Football attendances have peaked I reckon. My guess is that it's down to a combination of certain unedifying tales about players' behaviour on and off the pitch, and the public's understandable reluctance to pay £40 to see them play. From a visual point of view this will look even worse on the TV, because the boom in attendances since the late 80s has seen so many clubs build larger stands/grounds. They had to be optimistic when building them or they would be accused of lacking ambition, but now in many cases it just looks sad when scores of empty seats are in evidence.
It's also a matter of finances too. The past 2 years I haven't been able to go and buy 2 season tickets like I had in previous years. Certain financial sacrifices had to be made to be able to afford them.
So Charlton Athletic lose out because you're disappointed with England's performances ?? Incidentally, England qualifying for the quarter finals was as I had expected before the tournament, but above the expectations of most England fans before the tournament. I did think they'd have enough to beat Italy but I guess I underestimated the Italians. Not sure how Euro 2012 can be seen as a failure for England. Anyway, how can anyone be an 'Olympics convert'? They happen for two weeks out of every 4 years! Or are some of you really excited about Sochi, and fairly happy with the human rights abuses in the build up to that?
I didnt say that I was disappointed with Englands poor performances - i'm used to it ! - i suggested that the general public may be getting to that point. Its also not being an Olympics convert - its a general rejection of anything football, because its been shown to be full of Chavs,Liars,Cheats and general up-their-own-arse Scumbags that ordinary people are no longer prepared to fund. the Olympics has purely proved to highlight that there are extreme athletes out there , giving more sacrifices and working 20 times harder than pro-footballers, who have respect and humility - compare that with most footballers.
I don't have any problem with football as a sport- my problem is with the Premier League. This latest Van Persie saga for instance- what a bore and yet it fills up the sports pages and may well be the talk of 606 for all I know. The standard of referees in league 1 may leave a bit to be desired, but overall for the last 3 seasons I haven't seen anything like the level of cheating that you see in the Premier League. The main problem however is that it is predictable, due to the way the so-called "Champions' League" monopolises the finances, and so a few elite clubs can attract the best players and managers, creating a glass ceiling for the other clubs. Still I'm looking forward to this season in division 2, 4 great South London derbies as a bonus.
Big news on Sky Sports right now.. 'Joey Barton has just come off the golf course and is really upset that his shirt number has been given to someone else wihout the club asking him' Nuff said ??
Interesting description of Chris Powell. Or was it another player/staff member at Charlton that you were thinking of? You said you were thinking of going back on your plans to buy a season ticket. You then followed it up with a rant about England. Sorry for connecting the sentences. What have Charlton done that has resulted in you reconsidering buying the ticket? Typical mentioned the term 'Olympic convert'. Can't wait for Saturday
I'm already in Nottingham, staying with my sister. A quick jog down to the train station in the morning, and off we go to Brum. The Olympics are nothing but a distant memory. Come on you Reds!
I'm off to Lords to watch hardly any up-their-own-arse sportsmen (especially now KP isnt playing, - thats Kevin Pietersen to you, IA) I'll be pissed on Shampoo by lunch time (be rude to let it get warm!) Come on you Reds !
I'm off to Birmingham to see hardly any up-their-own-ass Charlton players battle their way to a brilliant result
I think the Olympic hangover thing is a myth. I enjoyed the Olympics despite the fact that I did not (and still do not) believe that the cost of hosting them could be justified. But fair play for a job well done. However, if I fall out with football it will because I have taken a value judgment based on cost, entertainment or morals (or a combination of all 3). I can't rule out that I might and I agree with others, noteably FHB about the Premiership. But for me at least my views on football have bugger all to do with the Olympics. Fun though the summer has been I can't wait to get the season back into action and back down the Valley. But we need to realise that this season cannot be the fairy tale of last year so there will be a reaction at some point. Anyone know how many season tickets we have sold?
