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The Anfield Wrap
ewok-red-97:
Those football miracles episodes were great. The Twitter threads were a good reminder too.
Schmohawk:
Yes agreed. Also, the flat-earthers episode was mentioned and I wanted to listen to it again but I couldn't find it in my podcast app. Is it gone?
Fitzy.:
I enjoyed Robbo's article, and it will definitely chime - in part at least - with how a lot of people view football and the circus that comes with it. Much of football 'chat' has certainly become a bit of a hellscape; indulging in really tired one-upmanship and low-life accusations. Just grim and off-putting.
My only challenge to Robbo and to having this position (of which I am certainly drawn to) is that it's tied into being of a certain age. If you have sepia-tinted visions of a more innocent past, where money wasn't King and footballers weren't impossibly rich then that's great...to some degree. I look back at my Football 86 sticker album with a damp-eyed nostalgia that I cannot shift. But there are loads of things about modern football that are better - accessibility via TV/internet, less crowd violence, better playing surfaces, attitudes in grounds etc.
My point is that I think we have to caution being old men screaming at clouds. Yes, you've earned your stripes, you've lived the game for decades and spent a king's ransom doing it. But I'm not particularly keen to share that cynicism with the younger generation who are stepping towards these experiences for the first time; with wide-jawed awe and wonder. It's their turn to be consumed by all this...and it'll be their turn to be spat out the other side in a few decades time.
Of course, Robbo isn't advocating being miserable to the youth about enjoying football. However, I think offering a personal take of this nature on the ills of the game does step towards 'better in my day' territory, whether you like it or not. It may well be time for him to give the gig up and leave it behind - absolutely reasonable and something that comes to a lot of folk.
Charlie Adams fried egg:
--- Quote from: Fitzy. on December 2, 2022, 12:23:27 pm ---I enjoyed Robbo's article, and it will definitely chime - in part at least - with how a lot of people view football and the circus that comes with it. Much of football 'chat' has certainly become a bit of a hellscape; indulging in really tired one-upmanship and low-life accusations. Just grim and off-putting.
My only challenge to Robbo and to having this position (of which I am certainly drawn to) is that it's tied into being of a certain age. If you have sepia-tinted visions of a more innocent past, where money wasn't King and footballers weren't impossibly rich then that's great...to some degree. I look back at my Football 86 sticker album with a damp-eyed nostalgia that I cannot shift. But there are loads of things about modern football that are better - accessibility via TV/internet, less crowd violence, better playing surfaces, attitudes in grounds etc.
My point is that I think we have to caution being old men screaming at clouds. Yes, you've earned your stripes, you've lived the game for decades and spent a king's ransom doing it. But I'm not particularly keen to share that cynicism with the younger generation who are stepping towards these experiences for the first time; with wide-jawed awe and wonder. It's their turn to be consumed by all this...and it'll be their turn to be spat out the other side in a few decades time.
Of course, Robbo isn't advocating being miserable to the youth about enjoying football. However, I think offering a personal take of this nature on the ills of the game does step towards 'better in my day' territory, whether you like it or not. It may well be time for him to give the gig up and leave it behind - absolutely reasonable and something that comes to a lot of folk.
--- End quote ---
You've raised some good points Fitzy. For example I try, really try not to push my cynicism on the younger generation (at least face to face :)) because I remember what it felt like being on the wrong end of my own dad's move away from the game. Every single time I, or anyone else mentioned footy, we were treated to the fact that he was no longer bothered and the myriad reasons why. One of which was the price increase for the Enclosure at Goodison in the 60's. Looking back, it was more a defence mechanism than anything else due to Everton's decline from the great side of the 60's/early 70's.
I also remember talking to and hearing about reds who've packed it in over the years, long before all the things many of us of a similar age have been moaning about. It's just a reminder that we all have our different jumping off points and the triggers for it.
But....
I do genuinely think that the current issues highlighted by Robbo, maybe individually but almost certainly collectively, represent far stronger reasons than any I heard previously about walking away. Ignoring the money; VAR, state ownership and the quality of coverage are 3 very good reasons. Your summary of the things that have improved only add to the frustration!
Fitzy.:
--- Quote from: Charlie Adams 'Adopt Me!' Christmas fried egg on December 2, 2022, 12:56:59 pm ---
But....
I do genuinely think that the current issues highlighted by Robbo, maybe individually but almost certainly collectively, represent far stronger reasons than any I heard previously about walking away. Ignoring the money; VAR, state ownership and the quality of coverage are 3 very good reasons. Your summary of the things that have improved only add to the frustration!
--- End quote ---
Of those three, I think state ownership is an obvious point of ire amongst loads of people. It's awful and it's seeping into a variety of institutions - not just football clubs. I think the VAR thing will have diminishing impact as systems improve. As for the quality of coverage, I think that's a lot to do with how savvy we have become as an audience and how we're becoming increasingly intolerant of broad lazy analysis or 'banter' style chat that serves to provoke rather than educate. However, to counter the coverage issue, there are so many outlets - TAW being one of them - that you can really cherry pick how you consume the media that sits around football. I am extremely selective about what I engage with but still feel like my cup runneth over with high-quality analysis.
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