Saw this on the BBC website, very interesting and I think we need to go this way before the cash cow of the PL ruins football in this country: [video]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22307630[/video]
The germans have a good way or running their club football and also changed their international set up a few years ago, which they are now reaping dividends from. What pisses me off the most about English football is the constant hiring and firing of managers, causing some clubs to spiral downwards. Owners, foreign or not, have no sense of loyalty and many don't seem to grasp the idea that stability can bring success. Sure, it may take a little longer but you will end up with something that will last. English fans don't help this either with their constant wish for success now and hound managers out of jobs. Man U, Arsenal and Everton are good examples. Two clubs with the money to stay at the top and one who consistently do well without spending big. They have all had consistency and reap the rewards for it. Look at Liverpool however and they are struggling from how they were before under Benitez. How will Man U do when SAF finally retires, they could go through some tough times whilst they search for a replacement? English football is becoming increasingly expensive and prices out the average man and his family. Fans cherry pick matches and attendances suffer for it. I hope that terracing can be re-introduced so that the common man can again start to attend matches on a regular basis and help to raise noise levels within what are normally empty and quiet stadiums. Terracing works in Germany, although they do still have problems with hooliganism in the lower leagues. Not sure if you can blame terracing or ticket pricing for that though. Have we reduced hooliganism by pricing out the common man and having more of the prawn sandwich brigade in the stands, meaning there are less 'council estate louts'? There is a lot to be learned from the german model but if the English fan doesn't change their outlook then owners will always be under pressure to deliver success.
An interesting article, could have done with some advice to skip the first 5 minutes!! Have to agree with San Diego, would really like to see terracing return to football grounds.
I saw the report last night on the editors. I'd like to have the German system but I thought the report was a complete waste of license fee. I pray we never have terracing again! No disasters have happened in this country for 25 years, wonder why!
[No disasters have happened in this country for 25 years, wonder why![/QUOTE] What none at all!! Are footballing problems all down to fans standing up?
We have terracing at little grounds that only attract a few hundred supporters and that's a little different from a crowd of 40,000 or 80,000+
What none at all!! Are footballing problems all down to fans standing up?[/QUOTE] We still have problems but we don't have fans being crushed to death now which is a bit of a bonus.
In Germany they have safe areas of standing at big stadiums! No one is suggesting that we go back fully to the old days but there is a case for having partial standing areas within the bigger grounds.
No one is suggesting making all grounds all terracing, what many people want to see is safe standing areas in some parts of the ground thereby giving fans who want to stand the opportunity to do so. Just out of interest HYL how many grounds are there that hold more than the 80,000?
Posh have standing terraces at both home and away end of their ground with a combined capacity of these areas of around 8,000...I do not recall them having to many problems over the past few years.