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Has commercialisation chased the ‘hard’ men out of football?

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Liverpool hardmenGONE is the age of ‘hard men’.  Sure there are still players putting in full blooded challenges, but as often as not they are penalised.  Gone are the genuine shoulder on shoulder tackles because so many smaller and lighter players fold like a pair of sixes to a re-raise.

Money and mobility have changed the game so drastically that England will, in all likelihood, never win another World Cup.  There was a time, no too long ago, when English clubs were dominated by English players. 

But with the infiltration of business into what was an expression of intense domestic rivalry; titles, players, managers, etc, now go to the highest bidder. 

Where foreign players tended to play in their own countries, the seven and eight figure salaries on offer today provide an enormous incentive for players in poorer countries to hone their skills and head for the European leagues.  Since the premium seems to be on quickness and ball handling, the game is evolving in that direction.

With the preponderance of highly skilled players at high investment, comes a need to protect that investment from harm; ergo, the new enforcement of rules and the half-hearted attempts at curbing simulation.

Once upon a time, players were nurtured by their teams’ academies and powerhouse clubs were built on the dedication and sturdy bloodlines of the local population.  Diving was seen as unmanly (and un-English) and only used to draw the attention of the referee to a genuine foul.

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Now players welter in imaginary gore after the slightest contact, players whose shoulders are brushed clutch their heads and writhe in agony and team members of the mortally stricken brandish imaginary yellow cards or mob the referee.

Will we ever see another Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard?  Paul Ince or Tommy Smith?  Home grown talent and men-mountains used to be a standard and Liverpool always had its share of the best.  And many of them from an earlier age could be had for 5 figure sums.

Today’s matinee players command salaries that only rock stars once enjoyed.  In order to pay those princely sums, clubs were forced to yield the reins of ownership to princes of industry, princes of desert wealth or opportunists and quasi criminals from newly capitalized states.  Where once fans cherished their owners for their personalities or dedication to the team, in the new reality all those fans can see is the owners’ pocketbooks and the depth of their pockets.

Like it or not, now that football is a collection of corporate entities, you have undergone a metamorphosis from fan to consumer.  Although your heart may swell as much as before when the pregame “You’ll Never Walk Alone” sweeps around and through Anfield, Fenway Sports Group is much more concerned about your pocketbook than your four-chambered passion.

I think we’ve all lost a little something in the commercialization of sport.  So the next time we vilify a Luis Suarez or Fernando Torres, we would do well to remember that passion, loyalty, and gratitude are incompatible with exposure to international markets or the drive to sell your talents to the highest bidder.

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Retired High School English teacher. Coached high school football (soccer) and basketball. Played football (soccer) in high school and at university. Live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with my wife and 2 cats. Have been a Liverpool fan since we started receiving broadcasts in Canada. Love to golf and read Terry Pratchett.

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