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Modern football is pushing my buttons

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Football Anfield goalHAPPY New Year to one and all! I hope January 1st wasn’t solely filled with bad headaches, conversations with a porcelain friend and old Aunt Edith’s raw egg hangover cure, which in actual fact doesn’t work as well as a 2-0 win, as Rafa would say FACT!

Before New Years I tried out a new format for my pieces, raising a number of issues that were pushing my buttons and that seemed to go down quite well so here I am once more Mcdonaldising my views.

Too Much Too Young

Over the last week or so I have seen more and more linking us to Will Hughes, who does indeed look a cracking midfield prospect, and Liverpool fan to boot!

The persistent rumour is a First Option clause, and to me this has to be the way forward. As I see it, our interest in a young player has 3 options:

1. We buy and develop. 2. We buy and loan. 3. First Option.

In my mind nothing beats first team football, and Hughes is getting that in a decent team under a decent coach, why disrupt that? If we were to follow one of the first 2 options we risk confining him to U21’s and occasional bench appearances and placating his hunger, names such as Pacheco and Wilson spring to mind. The first option business, if true, keeps him as property of Derby, but importantly keeps that hunger as no big move is at yet guaranteed.

FA Cup Joys

This is the time of year managers of the top clubs must detest FA cup 3rd round weekend. A time of year that is slippier than the surface at Stamford Bridge (must be why they keep falling over surely?) as fan expectation outweigh reality far more than normal.

Liverpool drawing Oldham at home on paper should have been routine but that’s all well and good on paper. In the real world Oldham had nothing to lose, playing in, for some, the biggest game of their life. This attitude may well be the Voldemort to the magic of the cup, but luckily, this year, Liverpool avoided a repeat of last season’s embarrassment.

FA Cup Woes

For me growing up the FA Cup was magical. The opportunity to see match-ups rarer than a humble Jose Mourinho interview, and the excitement of the cup shock with teams like Sutton and Wrexham securing their place in folk lore. The final was a whole day affair. I remember it taking over the TV schedule as my Mum muttered in the background about the disgrace Murder She Wrote had been cancelled for the week, although I’m pretty sure Angela Lansbury tuned in. The twin Wembley towers the iconic symbol of the day.

Fast Forward to the present day and across the board people bemoan that the magic is gone. Why is that? Surprisingly the buck stops with the FA…again. From allowing United to boycott the competition, to playing semi-finals at Wembley, to rescheduling the date to mean that Premier League fixtures occur the same day, the FA is YET AGAIN the root of a problem in the modern game, but hey they are infallible.

See No Football, Speak Some Football, Only Hear Football

If for whatever reason you couldn’t get to see the Liverpool v Oldham game. It might has well of been 1974 rather 2014, as you huddle round the wireless or frantically searching the town centre for a Rumbelows to watch teletext updates in the window…arrrrrrrgh its only on page 3/14.

In 2014 where you can watch TV on your phone, have a watch with more storage than a desktop computer from the 1990’s and a TV you can speak to, the FA only made available rights for 8 games to be shown. 8! Two of which were all Premiership affairs that happen twice a season whatever.

I get why they showed the North London derby, but Man United v Swansea? Really? The magic of the FA cup lies in a David v Goliath story, so why not have cameras at Spotland? Moss Rose? Or even at Anfield where there is actually a story related to the FA Cup? Surely in the modern age it would be financially better to have the ability to broadcast, pay-per-view, games? How many Leeds fans would have (albeit at the start of the game) paid say £3 to watch their team? Or even Owls fans, allowing cash strapped clubs like Macclesfield to maximise the occasion.

FFP or Failing Financial Planning

It may have been lost in the New Years celebrations but CHELSEA DECLARED LOSSES OF NEARLY £50 MILLION IN YEAR ENDING JUNE 2013. That is prior to their summer transfer activity which included Van Ginklel for £8m, Willian for £30m, Schurrle for £18m and whatever humungous wages they are all on added to those of Eto’o.

How can anyone compete with this? They have arguably the best Goalkeeper in the world out on loan, arguably one of the best young strikers in the world (who cost around £20m) out on loan, a former LFC target Atsu out on loan, Marin out on loan and just bought Bertrand Traore to immediately loan him, there is talk of a £20m+ bid for Luke Shaw, even using Ryan Bertrand as bait.

As a club we are trying, finally, to do things the right way and live within our own means as much as possible and yet are competing with this attitude that carries no repercussions is impossible and killing football. Careers are being ruined and the game being harmed but hey as long as those in power have a ticking over bank account no problems eh! Not as if any of these issues affect the National side is it! Ahem!

Let me leave you with a radical proposal as food for thought, it will never be implemented and perhaps shouldn’t, but…what if there was a law stating that should you sign a player between the age of 17-23 and he plays less than 60% of available games a club is fined/points deducted. This may allow players to develop and who knows, bring competition…

Anyway, us usual, like, dislike, whatever, let me know, leave a comment or find me on twitter @timdibs

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8 comments

  • stevie says:

    Interesting article. Personally I want to see us sign the best young english talent so it’s good that we have first refusal on will hughes……if he wants to leave derby
    I also think ffp needs to be strictly implemented. Sick of citeh and chelsea getting away with cheating

    • Malcolm Daley says:

      Another boring article of some guys nonsensical opinion. Do we really need to be subjected to these inane ramblings ? Find better authors please

  • Malcolm Daley says:

    Another boring article of some guys nonsensical opinion. Do we really need to be subjected to these inane ramblings ? Find better authors please

  • Josh Purnell says:

    Malcolm Daley, is talking pure waffle. It’s a good read.

    The idea at the end was abit pointless but other than that good read.

    I think the FFP rule does need to be changed or made a more fair playing field. City are finding ways around it but at the end of the day, if u buy a business you should be able to put as much money into as you want.

    The pay per view FA cup games shud be a must. It wud make perfect sense and your right it would maximise profits for the lower league teams.

    • Tim Williams says:

      Thanks Josh,

      The point at the end was more of a stimulus for debate than to be taken seriously, just grinds my gears that young talent is just hoovered up and wasted!

      Not just the FA cup either, PL games surely need to be accessible! We crap on about PL being the best in the world to the extent that the ludicrous notion of a 39th game is talked about yet surely before we offer Malayasia the opportunity to see West Ham v Crystal Palace we need to offer the opportunity to watch any of a clubs other 38 games!

  • Adam Thomas says:

    Bit harsh that Malcolm, surely if the article was not to your liking you could Stop reading. Don’t think there was any need to attack the authors opinions.

    Anyway, I agree with most points mentioned, none more so than FFP. It’s time for the law makers to put up or shut. Unfortunately it has always been a bit of a bluff IMO. If a billionaire cannot take a million quid out of his bank and invest it in his team, he will simply use his company to sponsor the club for ….yes…you guessed it……a million quid.

    The FA cup isn’t what it was because the big teams simply don’t want to win it as badly as they used to. There is so much emphasis on challenging for the title and top four because that’s where the real financial rewards lie.

    Would having pay per view matches encourage teams to want to go further and play more maches ….maybe, but it would almost certainly contribute to falling gates, and (as a regular at Anfield) It could possibly inflame a much bigger irritation of mine, the decline in match day ATMOSPHERE!!

    A cheaper option than a match ticket will appeal to many in our current financial climate, But I personally think the coverage of matches is the major factor in this decline. Sure the clubs can fill their boots with the revenue but if the crowds die, the game dies.

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