I am losing my love of football

[Stan_Darsh72]

Can't blame the teams like North, Essendon, Hawthorn who are excellent on the offensive.

The defensive teams like St.Kilda & Fremantle have begun ruining the game. They care more about wins than appealing football.

We were very attacking in 2009 and killed teams but became defensive because of Riewoldts injury and besides no AFL team has played appealing football since 2010.

Look at North excellent but lacked defense and it cost them and look at Essendon they wanted to win so bad that they did shady stuff at best, or look at every team that plays for free kicks.

Every club has done something to the game and tactically we are copying soccer but are lacking the players who make soccer tactics work.

 

[Klaus]

Bollocks. Notice who I support?

I love the Hawks but the modern game bores me to tears. I used to watch 4 or 5 games a week on TV, sometimes 2 or 3 live. And I would see 12 to 15 live Hawks games a year, even in the mid to late 90s when we were shit.

Up to 2011 I still attended 12 Hawks games a season but nothing of any other teams.

Last year I went to 6 Hawks games and only watched a majority of the Hawks games and nothing else either live or on TV. This season I haven't been to a game and have only watched highlight packages on YouTube.

And my club plays the best football in the league.

I'm going to have to echo those thoughts. I love watching the Hawks play, however my interest in other games has increasingly dropped over the past decade. I would love going to a random blockbuster in the 90's, I haven't even considered going to one in the past five years. My favourite game of all time was the North Melbourne-Essendon clash in 1999. Carey kicked 10.5, Lloyd bagged 7 and it was a back and forth shootout.

That was real footy! The coaches wanted to outgun each other and let their stars show the footy world how good they were. These days it's all defence defence defence. Let's shut down a forward line, let's chip it around for five minutes for no f***ing reason whatsoever, let's make the game as boring as possible. It's f***ed.

I'll always watch the Hawks play, i've been a member for 18 years. However the game has deteriorated into a complete scrap. I can't see myself getting excited for a neutral game until the current crop of coaches realise that the current tactics are ruining the spectacle.

 

[icee]

Ive played coached and watched Australian Football for a very long time and the game is NOT the same as it was only 20 years back
IMHO the coaches have way too much say in how our game is played and they are the ones destroying the things that made our unique game so exciting to watch like the one on one duels between champions who were not being tagged out of the play and the spectacular high marks - you are lucky to see one every round now.Lets get back to basics.

Who the hell are you to determine what coaches should do in order to win a flag for their club? WHO ARE YOU? no one thats who!

Again coaches are paid to win games for their club and fans, not to entertain neutrals. I would never watch a game i dont care about and allow myself to be upset.

At the end of the day coaches and club own the neutral nothing. You are no one..an outsider and opposition fan, so why should the caches and clubs give a stuf if you are entertained or not?

 

[Franc de Borges]

Who the hell are you to determine what coaches should do in order to win a flag for their club? WHO ARE YOU? no one thats who!

Again coaches are paid to win games for their club and fans, not to entertain neutrals. I would never watch a game i dont care about and allow myself to be upset.

At the end of the day coaches and club own the neutral nothing. You are no one..an outsider and opposition fan, so why should the caches and clubs give a stuf if you are entertained or not?

You seriously need to grow up.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You like it 'cos Sydney are gifted all the big names due to COLA, while people with a brain dislike where it's heading because it's poor to watch.

 

[icee]

Yes.

By the way, this isn't Bay 13 ********.

Take your own advice.

BTW would you rather have your club rape girls, rort the system, be bastards for the sake of being grubs..or would you rather watch your club win a flag by devising stragedies and game plans around the players your club slected.

What is it you want? The game is OK i have seen it in worst condition. 1987-88 ring a bell?

To me a lot of older people long for the days or simple things, when you went to the footy, got drunk, yelled racist abuse at the non anglo player in the opposition side, piss in a toilet filled with drunk blokes and over flowing sewage, belt people on the way home after being so drunk and then go home and belt your wife if you lost.

And not even remember the whole game..just random moments.

Yeah the good old ****ing days for sure.

 

[blue healer]

You seriously need to grow up.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You like it 'cos Sydney are gifted all the big names due to COLA, while people with a brain dislike where it's heading because it's poor to watch.

He has, He's 40

 

[FuManchu]

It's left me flat. I could hardly bear to watch Coll v Richmond it was just crap. The second half on Coll v nth was utter crap. The game has lost its dynamic qualities, avoiding contests.

Then I go and watch yesterday's game and it was fantastic. So, I guess we can expect the best from the best, but it diminishes quite quickly away from the top of the ladder.

 

[icee]

So it goes like this..

people over 40 want it to revert back to how it used to be when they first watched footy

people under 40 like it better thse days

Well i be dammed.

 

[Eshay187]

I honestly can't stand the constant "bomb it long to a 1 on 1" that I see in the old games from the 90s.

Boring as bat shit.

The pinpoint hyper quick handballing and decision making of today's game is breathtaking - makes those old games look like dinosaurs.

 

[icee]

You like it 'cos Sydney are gifted all the big names due to COLA, while people with a brain dislike where it's heading because it's poor to watch.

haha ahh yeah that old chestnut. But hey who respects a club that cheated for so long and who used to pay off rape victims with shitty brown bags. I mean when was the last time the swans allowed gangsters to walk in and just take a premiership flag/cup and not return it.

And then when they have to be legit they are crap. Then they sign an old has been..oh dear.

No onder you hate the code..its so obvious.

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

And i raise you the 2005/2006/2009/2012 Grand Final.

Sorry but using 1989 as a yard stick has become terrible cliche by the old timers.

The game i showed was a final FFS!

A terrible cliche? A 6 point margin with 42 goals kicked in a Grand Final. A fantastic display of fast, open and tough football rolled into 1. A few of you young upstarts would do well to shave that sculpted beard off, wear a pair of jeans that extend below your ankles, chuck on your moccos, grab a real beer (not that imported shit), chuck a Winnie Blue in at gob and watch the game from start to finish.

 

[icee]

I honestly can't stand the constant "bomb it long to a 1 on 1" that I see in the old games from the 90s.

Boring as bat shit.

The pinpoint hyper quick handballing and decision making of today's game is breathtaking - makes those old games look like dinosaurs.

Its horrible to watch and at times i have to look away at how bad it is. I think 3/4 of the VFL up until the mid 90s would never ever get a game in todays AFL. Coaches like "Barass" would fail big time.

Take away all the violence from the mid 60s 70s and 80s and rules as a spectacle was terrible. Thats why blokes in their mid 40s long for the good old days..they wanna see blokes belt each other, you know being real men and hitting other blokes behind play.

And do people not realise that before tagging was big..the instrution by coaches was to get the pinch hitter to take out the best player on the park. Yeah thats as good as tagging if not better.

 

[icee]

A terrible cliche? A 6 point margin with 42 goals kicked in a Grand Final. A fantastic display of fast, open and tough football rolled into 1. A few of you young upstarts would do well to shave that sculpted beard off, wear a pair of jeans that extend below your ankles, chuck on your moccos, grab a real beer (not that imported shit), chuck a Winnie Blue in at gob and watch the game from start to finish.

So violence and almost killing blokes was awesome aye? As tops as yelling racist slurs at non anglos? Yeah!!

 

[DivideandMultiply]

I think yesterdays game just emphasises how bad most games are by sticking out like the dog's proverbials showing how good it should be.

I looked at my teams match on Thursday night and said the game is in trouble. The gap from good to bad has become immense. And just like a footy team, the game can't afford for that to happen.

Bad games of yesteryear were unwatchable, in fact many games were abysmal, similar to the worst state league games now or even worse.

 

[icee]

Bad games of yesteryear were unwatchable, in fact many games were abysmal, similar to the worst state league games now or even worse.

we just wernt exposed to them like we are today with all games. People romanticise the 70s and 80s but truth is they were ever only exposed to the decent games and most times the last qrt of an exciting match. The only footage we have from that period were the big games between the good sides.

But footage had emerged on youtube from people who taped the lesser games..and gee terrible..again i stand by my point that it was like watching park footballers in the 5th division..and as you say there were A LOT more terrible games back then. Also people didnt know any better so they assumed the style of footy played in victoria was the best..when the reality was it was the worst. Just it had better exposure due to it having a bigger media. In fact football in Melb up until the mid 90s was owned by ch 7 if you think about it. HSV 7 stood for Herald Sun Victoria...funny that.

 

[zero]

I don't understand people's gripes about footy not being as good as the 70s and 80s. Basically any game I have watched before the mid nineties was watching a pack form, the ball spills, gets booted long the other way, a pack forms, the ball spills, gets booted the other way until someone shirt fronts someone else or someone takes some bull***t amazing hanger. It was lazy and unintelligent football.

Footy used to be based on having better players than the opposition or hitting them harder. Now, there are strategies and disciplines in place to make sure that teams with lesser skills can compete with the teams that have better skills.

The only thing people don't like about the modern game is the numbers around the ball. I don't have a massive problem with it as it is never all that long in the middle, people just exaggerate the amount of actual game time spent in stoppages.

Numbers around the ball is central to footy now. I would suggest this may never change as it is something that is incredibly useful in AFL. Whether in the middle, in defence or offence, having extra numbers means you are more likely to win the footy. Taking away players or restricting interchange won't fix it as coaches will just pull players out of the forward line if need be. The only way they'll stop it is by introducing netball style positioning, if that happens then footy is dead.

completely agree

defensive run combined with pressure on the ball carrier (so discipline, strength, reading the ball and play), and offensive run combined with good disposal (sharp inside handball, accurate kicking), is the key to modern football.

the best teams are swift and direct, but with the tight defense that most teams can muster at least for a while, there is plenty of situations where bombing to packs and attempts at high marking occurs.

rolling mauls occur in contests of tightly matched defensive teams but they rarely last long, its like trading inside blows in boxing, or a long rally in tennis: the team that can outlast its opponents in intensity will break the game open and get the opportunities.

and games that do have extended play at that sort of intensity are some of the most fascinating to me, because it becomes a real drag out contest of will by the end.

bomb and scrag aussie rules football is long dead. its a complex game of tactics and discipline now.

i think its alot more interesting, to be honest

the football i dont really like is (surprise surprise) between two bad teams, with alot of fumbling, poor running and turnovers.

but watching bad teams has always been boring, its not a generational thing

i was pretty impressed by port adelaide the other night. they are fast, sharp with their disposal, and they fight you for every metre

 

[Bardo State]

I honestly can't stand the constant "bomb it long to a 1 on 1" that I see in the old games from the 90s.

Boring as bat shit.

The pinpoint hyper quick handballing and decision making of today's game is breathtaking - makes those old games look like dinosaurs.

This is the crux of it for me

Watching a team play their way out of a constricting zone with a fast possession chain is much better to watch than kicking long to a 1v1 or 2v2 on the wing and hoping.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

James Hird would have been shamed to the point of leaving australia for good if he wasnt an ex bombers player.

Your post is right on a number of fronts but this point nails it. Can you imagine the fallout if this had happened under Matty Knights (or any other coach really, imgine if it was someone like Neeld or Watters) and not Hird?

 

[moistie]

Sorry but i dont see the same thoughts from many hawk fans i come across. Dont underestimate how much your hate of the game at present is a direct correlation of your club being no chance for a flag for a few years.

So you make a sweeping generalisation that I refute and your reply is...

oh well not my problem kiddo. Means you dont really like the code at all..and if you keep watching something you dont like then you have issues up there. I know if something i used to like changes and offers me nothing but stress i drop and do something else as much as it hurts me.

I enjoy the game just hate the baggage like the media and the vast amounts of conflict of interest in those who run and write about the game, namely the victorian bias.

And then you make another one. I happily go watch my local country league and enjoy watching the skill on offer. I love VFL matches, walking ontp the ground at 1/4 and 3/4 time to hear the coaches address, kicking the ball on the outer during or on the ground after the game. Edible pies, good food and full strength beer at a reasonable price.

 

[icee]

Your post is right on a number of fronts but this point nails it. Can you imagine the fallout if this had happened under Matty Knights (or any other coach really, imgine if it was someone like Neeld or Watters) and not Hird?

It makes me sick to think James Hird will be retunring to coach the bombers and is treated the way he is. The guys you mentioned would have been shamed and bullied. If Matty knights did what Hird did at the bombers there would be so much backlash towards him and his family from bomber fans...in fact there would eb death threats.

But not for Saint James. He is a disgusting person who basically highlighted the farce that is AFL in Melbourne and how "starts" can get away with so much. Point in case Darren Millane..a violent drunk who died behind the wheel after being intoxicated to the point of no return.

What do we get? Respect and all that. I mention this to collingwood people and they get very very angry.

Hypocrisy in the AFL is too hard to stomach.

I would love a 4 corners style to expose the AFL..but its just not important enough to the rest of the country tbh.

 

[icee]

So you make a sweeping generalisation that I refute and your reply is...


And then you make another one. I happily go watch my local country league and enjoy watching the skill on offer. I love VFL matches, walking ontp the ground at 1/4 and 3/4 time to hear the coaches address, kicking the ball on the outer during or on the ground after the game. Edible pies, good food and full strength beer at a reasonable price.

You seem to be in the minority tbh. All my hawk supporting mates cant get enough of the code at present.

Good that you are going to local leagues..at least you are being proactive and showing you still love the code to go follow a second tier comp. Many here just wont do that..because local leagues hasnt got the pazzazz of an AFL game.

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

So violence and almost killing blokes was awesome aye? As tops as yelling racist slurs at non anglos? Yeah!!

Seriously? Why don't bring up Tiananmen Square while you're at it?
I'm not talking about the snipes. There was relentless physical pressure and excellent skill displayed by both sides. But hey, enjoy 15 goals in total in good weather. 2012 was a great Grand Final. See, even old bastards like me can appreciate modern GF's.

 

[OniAu]

Lack of big forwards? You chose a weird time to state this when big forwards dominated this weekend. Brown 4, J.Riewoldt 4, Cloke 4, Franklin 4, Pavlich 4, N.Riewoldt 5, Crameri 4, Henderson 5, Hawkins 5. This goes along with Schulz kicking the first big bag of 7 last week.

Nick Riewoldt has cemented himself as the best CHF since Carey and he is about to bring up his 600 milestone, along with Pavlich, Brown and Franklin. There is also a plethora of top quality young talls coming through in Cameron, Patton, Boyd, Daniher and others who are going to join the likes of Cloke, Kennedy, Hawkins, et al shortly.

Plenty of tall forwards to get excited about, but hey since you're not watching games you're obviously missing out.

Please dont let facts get in the way of a good whinge

 

[OniAu]

I do agree however with the OP that the game should be left to how it is and let it evolve.

Too many fingers in the pie trying to mould the game to a certain way.

I despise the sub rule , its so contradictory. Along with the interchange cap & the dropping the ball rule no one can even understand this rule anymore.

 

[icee]

Seriously? Why don't bring up Tiananmen Square while you're at it?
I'm not talking about the snipes. There was relentless physical pressure and excellent skill displayed by both sides. But hey, enjoy 15 goals in total in good weather. 2012 was a great Grand Final. See, even old bastards like me can appreciate modern GF's.

Becasue fact is that back then it was common to hear racist slurs at grounds and yelled by packs of drunk blokes.