General Betting
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In no particular order - and yes, I am a cynic. Please feel free to add your own...
1. Players who cheat to try and win penalties or get opponents carded.
2. Sycophantic and apologist TV pundits and commentators who fail to condemn the cheats and, instead, evade the real issue by putting most blame on match officials.
3. TV pundits & commentators who treat viewers as if we have never watched a game before in our lives.
4. Too much live football on TV. One a week should be the limit per division.
5. Goal celebrations. Whatever happened to the simple handshake and pat on the back whilst jogging back to the centre circle?
6. Players who wear t-shirts under their match shirt bearing a banal message.
7. Players who blatantly abuse match officials at will but are allowed to get away with it. Why don’t refs just apply the rules and send them off for using foul and abusive language?
8. Managers who allow (encourage) their players to act in such a boorish manner.
9. Fourth officials who fail to add on the correct amount of time for injuries and substitutions. Given the amount of time the ball is out of play, the cheating and feigning of injuries, each game should probably last 100 minutes or more (though in most cases it’s a relief they don’t).
10. Managers who treat the public with contempt with their bullsh*t post-match utterances.
11. Players’ disrespect for each other – diving and waving imaginary cards.
12. Players’ illegible ‘autographs’.
13. The press and TV media who are too frightened to challenge the often one-eyed opinion of managers and players for fear that they will stop talking to them.
14. The sensationalist reporting of the national press who are obsessed with quotes, controversy and scandal and not actually what happened in a football/tactical sense. A clear indication that most journos don’t understand the game they are meant to be reporting on.
15. Managers who try and think they are being clever with squad rotation, even deeming it wise to ‘rest’ their first choice goalkeeper.
16. Managers who continue to get jobs despite a string of failures. Only in football are failed bosses rewarded so lavishly with multi-million pound pay-offs and another new job within days.
17. Agents. Every transfer deal should be done through a central office controlled by representatives of the FA/Football League. This would ensure the money stays within the game.
18. Clubs who spend every penny they receive from their annual Sky payouts on their already overpaid players and their agents, instead of using it to make ticket prices and merchandise more affordable for the working class supporter.
19. The lighter ball. Incompetent players can’t control it or judge the correct distance for passing/crossing, and it’s also a nightmare for keepers. Bring back the heavier plain white ball of the late 60s and 70s.
20. Coloured boots.
21. Clubs that change their kit at every given opportunity.
22. Overpriced club merchandise.
23. FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley – only the final should be played there.
24. Other league games played on the same day as the FA Cup final.
25. Fixtures and kick-off times scheduled at the behest of Sky, often without any consideration for travelling fans.
26. Divisions Two, Three and Four being re-named The Championship, League One and League Two.
27. Ridiculous shirt/squad numbering. Revert to one-to-eleven and then subs from 12 onwards.
28. Clubs indulging their players with extensive ‘back room teams’. Where would they be now without dieticians, conditioning coaches, PR and media managers, and players’ liaison officers (presumably the one who shows them how to do a squiggle for an autograph)?
29. The 'Celebration' applause that has replaced the respectful and dignified two-minute silence because morons can't keep their traps shut or turn off their mobile phones for 120 seconds.
1. Players who cheat to try and win penalties or get opponents carded.
2. Sycophantic and apologist TV pundits and commentators who fail to condemn the cheats and, instead, evade the real issue by putting most blame on match officials.
3. TV pundits & commentators who treat viewers as if we have never watched a game before in our lives.
4. Too much live football on TV. One a week should be the limit per division.
5. Goal celebrations. Whatever happened to the simple handshake and pat on the back whilst jogging back to the centre circle?
6. Players who wear t-shirts under their match shirt bearing a banal message.
7. Players who blatantly abuse match officials at will but are allowed to get away with it. Why don’t refs just apply the rules and send them off for using foul and abusive language?
8. Managers who allow (encourage) their players to act in such a boorish manner.
9. Fourth officials who fail to add on the correct amount of time for injuries and substitutions. Given the amount of time the ball is out of play, the cheating and feigning of injuries, each game should probably last 100 minutes or more (though in most cases it’s a relief they don’t).
10. Managers who treat the public with contempt with their bullsh*t post-match utterances.
11. Players’ disrespect for each other – diving and waving imaginary cards.
12. Players’ illegible ‘autographs’.
13. The press and TV media who are too frightened to challenge the often one-eyed opinion of managers and players for fear that they will stop talking to them.
14. The sensationalist reporting of the national press who are obsessed with quotes, controversy and scandal and not actually what happened in a football/tactical sense. A clear indication that most journos don’t understand the game they are meant to be reporting on.
15. Managers who try and think they are being clever with squad rotation, even deeming it wise to ‘rest’ their first choice goalkeeper.
16. Managers who continue to get jobs despite a string of failures. Only in football are failed bosses rewarded so lavishly with multi-million pound pay-offs and another new job within days.
17. Agents. Every transfer deal should be done through a central office controlled by representatives of the FA/Football League. This would ensure the money stays within the game.
18. Clubs who spend every penny they receive from their annual Sky payouts on their already overpaid players and their agents, instead of using it to make ticket prices and merchandise more affordable for the working class supporter.
19. The lighter ball. Incompetent players can’t control it or judge the correct distance for passing/crossing, and it’s also a nightmare for keepers. Bring back the heavier plain white ball of the late 60s and 70s.
20. Coloured boots.
21. Clubs that change their kit at every given opportunity.
22. Overpriced club merchandise.
23. FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley – only the final should be played there.
24. Other league games played on the same day as the FA Cup final.
25. Fixtures and kick-off times scheduled at the behest of Sky, often without any consideration for travelling fans.
26. Divisions Two, Three and Four being re-named The Championship, League One and League Two.
27. Ridiculous shirt/squad numbering. Revert to one-to-eleven and then subs from 12 onwards.
28. Clubs indulging their players with extensive ‘back room teams’. Where would they be now without dieticians, conditioning coaches, PR and media managers, and players’ liaison officers (presumably the one who shows them how to do a squiggle for an autograph)?
29. The 'Celebration' applause that has replaced the respectful and dignified two-minute silence because morons can't keep their traps shut or turn off their mobile phones for 120 seconds.
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Replies: 47
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this would get a lot more reponse in footy forum mate
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Great post Plechy. Agree with most of the list. Football used to be the love of my life. Now, betting aside, I really couldnt give a sh1t about any of it. Run by morons, played by money grabbing gits, and watched by mugs.
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30.The Betfair Football Forum being overrrun by myopic neanderthals who actually bother to post in threads that begin with the words 'Let's all laugh at . . . '
31. Gucci washbags and ipods, the obligatory accessories carried by players as they saunter from team bus to dressing room, whilst wondering what ground they are at. 32. Super-injunctions taken out by players (and managers) who can’t accept the consequences of their actions. Thankfully, this will now change thanks to ‘outings’ on social networking sites. 33. Managers who have to make notes and assistant managers/coaches with clip boards, like school teachers taking registration. It’s always reassuring to know that Platt is on hand to point to a diagram of a ball and the net to remind the City subs where to aim their shots. |
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Money talks doesn't it ? - whether you agree with it all football is probably more popular now than it's ever been ,certainly from a commercial aspect .
The other aspect is supply and demand , the game would be a lot different if everyone had the required skill to play at top level . But like heart specialists and classical pianists there are only so many good footballers, they tend to dictate the terms. So it's like any other 'business' in that respect. |
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Football was at it's worst or peaked in the 70s from a 'neanderthal viewpoint'.
Decaying grounds in a dangerous condition,foul language from the spectators -mainly working class men ,racism was rife (banana throwing etc) ,fewer women and children at grounds (Obviously), violence,arrests and crowd disorder, smoking and drinking allowed . Attendances were also about to hit a historic low (80s) despite the lower prices of the day . |
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A pleasing list Plechy
Could I add 34. grown men crying in the crowd because their team has won/lost/scored/conceded. Have a word with yourselves ffs 35. The time it takes to take a throw-in. The ball goes for a throw near the corner flag, the 'long throw specialist' then ambles 50 yards to pick up the ball, dries it on his shirt, demands a towel from the ball boy, dries the ball some more, waits for the centre half to amble into the penalty area, dries the ball on his shirt...... GET ON WITH IT!! |
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Bear in mind Britian is a much nicer,better place than it was 30-40 years ago .
In the 70s we had high inflation,terrorism, poor quality exports,debt - we had to borrow from Germany and Belgium lol - the place was falling down ,London was filthy - luckily foreign investors eventually came to our rescue and tidied London up  |
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36. Playing 'not to lose' as opposed to playing to win.
37. Teams winning by the odd goal making a bee line for the corner flag at every opportunity late on in the game. 38. Stopping play by kicking the ball into touch just because a player stays on the ground after he's tripped/dived/whatever. 39. The over protection of goalkeepers by the ref. |
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1 the constant screams for video technology 'like they have in Rugby' from people who have never been to a rugby league match - and don't realize that ots only used there if the game is telivised.
2. The constant scream for video technology from morons who haven't really thought through any examples of how and when it would be used. 3. Actually this should be number one 'Robbie Savage' |
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Then there's European football.
1. Turning an exciting cup competition into a league based event to favour the big clubs. |
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1.People who say such and such a team doesn't deserve to be in the Premiership because their crowds are some of the lowest in the league.
2.People who say the game is "all about money" when, if they knew anything about life in the divisions outside the Premiership, they'd know that's not the case. 3. Commentators who routinely call the "game over" when a team takes a 2 goal lead with 20 minutes or so left. 4.Commentators, and betfair forumites, who use the present tense when they should be using the past perfect, future or conditional: "who wins tonight?" "he connects with that, it's a goal". 5. Fans who don't applaud a fantastic goal just because it was scored by the opposition. |
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there could be a separate list for the football forum imo
1. FREE MONEY threads... |
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Good stuff, chaps, plse keep it coming. At this rate, we'll cheer ourselves up!
Coachbuster: Britain might be a much better place, but let's leave politics out of this. May I add (whilst taking into account the very valid contributions of lee h2, stow_judge and diizeydavid1). . . 49. Players festooned by hideous-looking tattoos on every visible inch of flesh. 50. Players who retire, having cashed in on the Premier League gravy train of £10k per week average wages in the 90s, and bleating to the man on the street: "Hey! But it's only a short career." 51. TV/radio commentators/pundits who can't go 5 mins into a game without using the modern cliche of "tempo". No mention of "skill", "control", "technique" or "can he trap a bag of cement by any chance?", just "they need to up the tempo". In other words, "come on, run around like headless chickens, but a bit quicker than normal, like." 52. The pre-match handshake on the pitch. All in the name of 'fair play', until it finally dawned upon the authorities that most players don't actually give a sh*t about each other. 53. Players who routinely appeal - no, plead with incredulity - for a throw-in even though Stevie Wonder and Peters (of Peters & Lee) have very clearly seen the ball rebound of the complainant's leg before rolling into touch. 54. Martin Tyler licking first Andy Gray and now Gary Neville's ars*. Kenneth Woltstenholme, Barry Davies, Gerald Sinstat, Keith Macklin and co. didn't need a professional co-commentator to tell them why a 'goal' was disallowed for offside. |
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55. Managers of the top 4 clubs who bleat every year about fixture conjestion and having to play twice a week. There's an easy solution to that . . . give up your 5-year, £100k a week contract and go and manage, say, Burton Albion, or any of the other 70-80-odd league clubs who are out of all cup competitions by December.
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12. Players’ illegible ‘autographs’.
 agree with plenty on those lists, most recently 5. Fans who don't applaud a fantastic goal just because it was scored by the opposition...after the Suarez and Cisse goals last week, i checked the crowd to se if any opposition fan applauded and just saw a few giving it the w@nker handshake  biggest one for me is the almost complete denial of the rule that handball has to be deliberate...commentators saying it's defo hit his hand....we can see that you mug but that's not the point...stupid pens for handball when blasted at point-blank range cancelling out good goals....and fans as one appealing for handball if the ball strikes defender anywhere between knee and chin for me the game died when the phrase 'he's entitled to go down' became accepted |
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1. The season should not start until 1 Sept
2. Europa league should become straight knockout 3. Cancel all but a few international friendlies 4. W/C qualifers should not include the likes of Andorra 5. Champs league should only be the top two clubs 6. If you sack your manager during the season you can only replace him with someone from within the club. 7. No handshakes before the game. |
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Duncan..."for me the game died when the phrase 'he's entitled to go down' became accepted"......I wouldn't say the game exactly died but I strongly agree with the sentiment.
Ron...."W/C qualifers should not include the likes of Andorra".....I strongly disagree. Andorrans, San Marinoans (or whatever they're called) etc have as much right as anyone else to have their national team play in the World Cup. That's the whole point of it, it's the World Cup, for the world. Another pet hate for me...when people stress "there was contact" while trying to justify a penalty being given following yet another ridiculous dive (take a bow Ashley Young). Penalties should be given for fouls, not for contact, contact is permitted all over the pitch including in the penalty area. |
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exactly dd...contact does not = penalty...sadly, a generation has been informed by commentators/pundits using these cliches and now believes that contact= penalty, ball striking hand=penalty and that strikers are entitled to go down...personally dont see any reversal of this happening, tho reading this thread is comforting in knowing i'm not the only one muting MOTD on a sunday morning!
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I leave the sound on Duncan so I can indulge myself by playing grumpy old man while my son rolls his eyes at the ceiling as he listens to me complaining.
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#1 football gripe for me - the loans system - who thought up this nonsense and what other sport would put up with it ?
Remember the good old days when your team consisted of your own players and not somebody elses ? Now the big clubs have more players playing for other teams than they have playing for their own team If the lower division clubs had half a brain between them they would realise that doing the player development for higher division clubs as opposed to developing their own players just makes lower division clubs collectively worse |
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4.The stupid Sky gadget TV with the magic pen
5 kick offs at every time except 3pm on a Saturday afternoon 6. Fans who actually believe that it matters to the owners Man Utd Ltd whether they win the PL or finish second....it doesn;t!!! apart from the 800k prize money 7. Robbie bluddy Savage 8. Actually most of the BBC radio team....Spoony ( I fink and I fought ) and Green 9. DFCIRONMAN and his never ending posts/thread!! |
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4.The stupid Sky gadget TV with the magic pen
5 kick offs at every time except 3pm on a Saturday afternoon 6. Fans who actually believe that it matters to the owners Man Utd Ltd whether they win the PL or finish second....it doesn;t!!! apart from the 800k prize money 7. Robbie bluddy Savage 8. Actually most of the BBC radio team....Spoony ( I fink and I fought ) and Green 9. DFCIRONMAN and his never ending posts/thread!! |
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10 Parents watching their young kids play football and screaming them on....very frightening
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Great posts dizzy and duncan. I think if anyone said 'entitled to go down' in my company, I may just have to tw@t them.
It's hilarious (and sad) that pundits (who just get worse and worse), condemn a dive when there happens to be no contact, but fully back a dive when there is the slightest touch. Often the dive is already well underway before the contact is made. Another pet hate of mine is that almost no-body in football actually knows what constitutes in and out of play. |
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9 The 'Technical Area' Ha Ha by techinical they mean the place managers stand to scream abuse at the 4th official.
10 the clearly marked 'Technical Area' So why do managers routinely step outside the lines?? 11. Sky pundits , all ex players scared to death of critisizing their old pals, the players or managers. 12. Sky and radio pundits who are so lazy they have never even bothered to read the Laws of Association Football. 13. Robbie 'bone idle lazy' Savage. Listen to his pre match analysis he does for William Hill.## 'Chelsea yeah, good team, Drogba. Man U good team Rooney, You know er yeah er, should be a good game, you Know yeah,...I'm gonna you know, go for both teams score. Thanks Robbie for the useful insight and analysis now foff. |
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Players picking up the ball after a foul has been given against them and not giving it back.
Tactical Fouls. The Goalkeeper going up to the ref and spending ages telling him the ball is not on the spot properly when the player is ready to take the penalty. |
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Top of my list is Goal Music.... it's omission so far is a bit shocking. There can be little more cringeworthy at the football than seeing grown men dancing around or pumping their fists to goal music... What the f*** is wrong with cheering & applause.
Players squaring up and going head to head, it's made all the worse when one of them decides to fall down and roll around. Players giving it the hunched shoulders, it wasn't me look when they have commited a blatant foul. Fouls/handballs/obstructions not being given in the penalty box when they would be given everytime if committed in the centre circle. Footballers over-using words and phrases in interviews, "obviously" & "He's just gone and ..." are two that spring to mind. |
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Goal music is a good one, tho i've never experienced it at first hand that i can remember (usually go to Anfield, where they dont have it, thank Christ)
Not sure about your penultimate point tho...foul's a foul and handball's handball but i dont watch games thinking lots arent being given cos they're inside the box...in fact, i would say only a handful of handballs per season are bona fide deliberate yet you see 2 or 3 pens a week given, the vast majority for ball to hand |
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Red cards and cheap penalties ruining the contest. Only allow champions to play in the champions league and stop this race for 4th spot FFS. Put some weight back in to the ball to stop it becomming a game of ping pong.
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agree with much of the original list. however
4. Too much live football on TV. One a week should be the limit per division. what is the problem with this? no one is forced to watch it all afaik. and i'll add clubs which rip off creditors by going into administration, effectively cheating other clubs they are competing against and yet only lose nine or ten points. they should be relegated at least two divisions (or three if they were going down anyway). liquidation should mean you start at the bottom of the non-league pyramid in your local area while only being allowed to pay a certain percentage of your income in wages..... |
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Some very good points listed above ... here are mine
1) I'm sick and tired of ther media droning on about how the referees deserve more respect,then every 'pundit' and his dog go on to complain about them getting decisions wrong ... Jeez they get one chance in real time,you've got umpteen cameras.Could they do better? Probably not.It's about time the FA,UEFA,FIFA got their heads out the sand and used video technology. 2) Kick off times dictated by TV companies ... For the most part,early lunch time matches are dreadful. 3) Far too many phone ins etc etc talking garbage . example 2 wins in a row " oh gonna be in the shake up for the title " or 2 losses it's the opposite 4) Too many teams playing frightened football.Play to not lose. 5) Presenters going on about this ex whoever FC legend and so on . NO THEY ARE NOT LEGENDS !! 6) Players not taking responsibility for their teams performances ... Paid mercenaries for the most part ... Don't act like you care,because all you care about is your pay packet. 7) The media,particularly SKY,seem to think that apart from the odd club,everything in football's financial garden is rosy ... Oh really ? |
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REM 11 May 12 12:30
Only allow champions to play in the champions league and stop this race for 4th spot ____________________ No ,no ,no ,no ,no ,no doesn't anyone realise why it's formatted like it is ? |
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The media who insist in high summer of putting on some banal football news first in the sports round-up regardless of what cricket, rugby league, wimbledon, horse racing, athletics might be going on.
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Players not being penalised for obstruction when they are shepharding the ball out of play by blocking the attacker and making no attempt to play the ball. A few indirect free kicks would soon stop that nonsense.
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teams which complain about the season being too long and then go off and play friendlies, testimonials, etc. often involving lengthy flights. both of the above points are good ones.
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Everything
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ttt
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fans of big clubs who think their team is entitled to special treatment on the grounds of its fanbase/history.
referees who don't punish dissent or simulation (regardless of whether there was "contact"). the notion that red cards ruin contests (they make them better as often as they ruin them and a good red is as much fun as a goal) and i'm down with Fouls/handballs/obstructions not being given in the penalty box when they would be given everytime if committed in the centre circle. |
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the laughable belief that the FFP regs will make it a more level playing field gets my goat.
and the suggestion that UEFA will exact self-harming sanctions and bans against any teams that don't conform Also, whilst I'm moaning, the ludicrous over-dependence on TV money to keep the clubs afloat. At least The Premiership is quite fair in how it get's dished out. In Spain, Barca and Madrid receive around 100million a season more than anybody else. How exactly is FFP going to help the other sides in the division? All those moaning about football's disregard for the average fan - it's easy to make them listen Just knock your sky sports and ESPN off for a month or two and watch them s*** themselves. If everybody stuck together and did this... would they have any option but to listen since the future of their clubs is completely dependent on ever increasing incomes from the TV deal. |