Topic: Life after football, what's next?

[SvenJohansen]

I know there are quite a few people here on RAWK, myself included that have decided that it's time to leave football to one side, at least for next season anyway. The state of football right now is just so unappealing. There are more things to dislike about it than to like anymore. There's no need for me to list everything that's wrong with football because we all know them. I've had enough of it. I'm fed up with not being able to enjoy watching Liverpool due to inept officiating, bias and toxicity of other Premier League clubs and their fans. I'm just not going to bother with it again, it's not worth it being frustrated after every game. And so, I've decided to quit following it for next season first and then depending how that goes to pack it in completely.

It's going to be very difficult to stop watching our games. I have missed perhaps 10/12 matches altogether in the last three seasons. I've watched them all on tv as I haven't been able to go in person. It's near impossible to not be able to find a stream somewhere. But I'm going to try not to watch. I will follow Liverpool from afar, as in perhaps checking final scores and where in the table we are. But I intend on not having it so prominent in my life.

I know it's going to be hard to stop. To me it will be somewhat similar to quitting an addiction. Some may scoff at that remark but it's true. Reading football news every day, mainly just about Liverpool but then in turn other football related guff. It's everywhere. I don't want to do it anymore. I've quit three addictions in my life so I know what it's like to stop doing something I've done for years. Football is just another addiction.

I am curious with how Liverpool FC carry on when Klopp is gone. It's the end of an era so it's a good time to bow out for a while. But like I said, I'll watch from a distance.

To those of you thinking along similar lines, how will you stop and how will you cope? How do you envisage your life will be without football?

[Baby Huey]

We've lost better managers than Klopp. Being a Red, for me, isn't something I or anyone I know, could switch off from. I've been going since Shanks, and nothing could make me want to stop going. Not even Uncle Roy.

How does it go?

Walk on through the wind.
Walk on through the rain.
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

More than lyrics.

[KENNYBROML24KOP206]

This is exactly where i am at. I've been going for 38years, a season ticket holder for 30 of them, and i have had enough. The Premier League, UEFA and FIFA have sucked the enjoyment out of it for me. I am taking at least next season out, and maybe for good if  i cope ok without it. I won't even be watching it on the telly, as i can't stand the agendas of the TV companies and the pundits and commentators. I can remember when commentators used to just describe what was happening in the game rather than the shite they think they need to fill the airtime with now.

I think non-league football is the way for me. I will still get my football fix without getting too emotionally involved, no VAR, and can have a bevvy while standing on the terraces. Liverpool are blessed for having a fair few local non-league teams so will spend my weekends going to watch a mixture of Marine, City of Liverpool, Prescot Cables and South Liverpool.

EDIT - My decision to walk away for at least next season is in no way linked to Klopp going. As boss as he is, and he is my generations Shanks, no one person is bigger than the club.

[FiSh77]

Man up yer massive fannies

[JP!]

Man up yer massive fannies

Strange comment. Can you blame people for being disillusioned with the sport, genuinely?

[jillcwhomever]

We've lost better managers than Kloop. Being a Red, for me, isn't something I or anyone I know, could switch off from. I've been going since Shanks, and nothing could make me want to stop going. Not even Uncle Roy.

How does it go?

Walk on through the wind.
Walk on through the rain.
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

More than lyrics.

Could you get his name right at least?

[Baby Huey]

Could you get his name right at least?

That's horrific. Sorry to all.

[jillcwhomever]

That's horrific. Sorry to all.

It's okay. 🙂

[Baby Huey]

It's okay. 🙂

The mods say read then post. I can't write, read and post.

[jillcwhomever]

The mods say read then post. I can't write, read and post.

They sometimes change your posts as well, as I found out on the match thread before. 

[Baby Huey]

They sometimes change your posts as well, as I found out on the match thread before. 

Sneaky,

[JRed]

It’s not about stopping being a red, it’s about not letting a game that is rigged by sportswashing cheats and the PGMOL mafia dominate your life and cause more stress than it is worth. I’m just going to step back from watching games and put more time into hobbies.
No doubt I’ll check on scores but I won’t be watching us get screwed over almost every week and getting gaslit by the officials/pundits/media.

[Macc77]

In another era this was basically the life of those who couldn't go the game. You read the paper, you maybe listen to the games on the radio and if you're lucky every few weeks you may get the highlights on MOTD. Football was less of a 24/7 thing but nobody was less passionate about it back then, and to be honest people were just as clued up as they are now with 10% of the info available.

So, just step back. You don't have to watch every game if you don't want, you don't have to be on twitter every 10 minutes getting narked about people talking shit, you don't need to consume what Sky and others spout out and you don't need to converse and get involved with fans of other clubs unless you know them. Just be what people used to be, a fan of a club and nothing else. Switch off the noise, switch off the Mon to Fri bluster and debate, watch the games if you can and don't if you can't. Don't let modern football culture kill your love of Liverpool.

[AndyMuller]

The game is fucked like.

[JRed]

The game is fucked like.

That’s the thing that makes it easier to walk away. Infact, that is obviously why people are walking away.

[Irishred1]

Is this the football forum equivalent of the needy girls on FB that check in at the hospital. They then type pm me hun when somebody asks what's up?

[Kenny's Jacket]

Is this the football forum equivalent of the needy girls on FB that check in at the hospital. They then type pm me hun when somebody asks what's up?

No, I think its just what it is, looking to fill a void. 

Btw I hate the FB posts you are referring too.

[JRed]

Is this the football forum equivalent of the needy girls on FB that check in at the hospital. They then type pm me hun when somebody asks what's up?

No. It’s just people who are fed up of state owned clubs cheating and fuck all being done about it and people who’ve had enough of the PGMOL mafia. Football isn’t actually a matter of life and death and if it’s rigged then what is the point?  I’ve got much better things to do with my time than be gaslit by Howard Webb and sheikh mansour.
It’s got fuck all to do with us winning or not

[Jotatheslotter]

I don't think it's "football" - I think it's "professional football".

Find a non-league team in walking distance, stand by the pitch with a pie & a pint in hand and just enjoy the game. Get to know the volunteers, the bar staff, the players - elite football isn't the only football there is. Enjoy goals when they're scored without worrying about someone ruling it out, enjoy the ride through the season and maybe even get involved if you have some time to spare. The most joy I ever got out of football is coaching and developing kids as a part of a club, watching them progress to youth and senior football, then beyond - it's pure joy compared to modern football and goes back to the routes and origins of what football was.

Probably best to start now though, before your likes of Wrexham stories filter down through all the leagues (as great as some of it is) - there are more and more lower non-league players with "agents" than ever before and it's starting to ripple down, but right now, you can enjoy a goal as a goal and meet some great people along the way.

[MH41]

In a strange sort of way, I have been really relaxed since we have been out of the title race. I have realised that over the past few seasons that I feel in a similar way during the summer.
I have followed Liverpool since 1974, but the league has got too intense. A draw away to Utd, for example, is now seen as a dreadful result. Social media, and the number of journalists etc who need to be controversial to remain relevant, is ruining football.
Strangely enough, I am enjoying watching the re-runs of The Big Match revisited. They have just finished the 1981 season, with Villa crowned champions. Football was much simpler then. Very little money, very little televised football, so much so you didn't mind watching a 3rd division match as the 2nd game in the televised highlights. It also reminded me that I had no dislike for other teams and players. I very much enjoyed watching them all. It was all we had, and there was nine of the unnecessary column inches, media posts nor agendas. I miss those days.
Now, I'm fortunate that my 4 kids play football (the 2 boys football and Gaelic) the 2 girls play Gaelic football. I get great satisfaction and enjoyment watching them.
I won't see most of tonight's villa match as one has a match at 7.30pm. I have gradually accepted the lack of celebrating a title in front of the fans. It hurts immensely, but I guess I have been fortunate to have experienced many previous ones.
So for me, it'll be a little perspective. Family should be more important than a club that has provided me so much highs throughout my life.

[Barneylfc∗]

Probably depends what's available to you, but I'd just follow my local team full time if I gave up following Liverpool.

I started supporting Liverpool as a young child. I only started following my local team a few years ago. Won the Irish Cup for the first time since 1979 last weekend and it was a wonderful day spent with my kids, friends and celebrating with the players afterwards.
Pyro seeing the players off at 10.30am, bus to the ground with a few beers and songs on the way, watching the match without arsey stewards hassling you to sit down and of course the winning goals and celebrations.
Very few people, relatively speaking, can celebrate with their kids, their mates and the players after winning the FA Cup or any other trophy.

So there's no need to just give up on football completely if there are other local options available.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

We've lost better managers than Klopp. Being a Red, for me, isn't something I or anyone I know, could switch off from. I've been going since Shanks, and nothing could make me want to stop going. Not even Uncle Roy.

How does it go?

Walk on through the wind.
Walk on through the rain.
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

More than lyrics.

How about if Liverpool were taken over by a bunch of murdering scum?

Just wondering.

[redan]

The game as a whole isn’t fucked. It is just the highest level; the Premier League, FIFA, UEFA they’re all after one thing and it isn’t the make sport we love better.

The lower leagues are still bloody great and largely unspoiled by the corrupt overlords of the game. Get yourself down to your local team, have a pint and you’ll have a cracking time, no VAR, no Saudi sponsorship, just slide tackles, route one and great chants.

Agree with you though, the Premier League is not a great product and something I no longer enjoy watching

[Red Beret]

It's not like the Red Mancs suddenly being bored with football because they're shit. We've been at the absolute pinnacle of the game and outright fucking robbed.

Lost better managers than Klopp? Not in the last 30 years we haven't. What a load of cobblers to say.

Until cheats are dealt with there's no point in being too emotionally invested. We're going to be left fighting for scraps.

[KENNYBROML24KOP206]

Is this the football forum equivalent of the needy girls on FB that check in at the hospital. They then type pm me hun when somebody asks what's up?

How is someone saying that they've had enough of what the sport has become and has had enough of going the match being needy? For me, it's a personal choice that after nearly 40 years going the game since i was 4 years old, it's no longer the game i fell in love with when i was a kid. It's so fuckin rigged now. There are plenty of reds (match going) i know who feel the same.

You know what, i've been a long time lurker on this forum, and decided to join to keep my hand in now i won't be going or watching on the telly and maybe have a decent discussion or two, and yet in one thread i've had the misfortune to come across bad dickheads like you and the other one telling us to 'Man up yer fannies'.

[Irishred1]

The need to tell people you are leaving is needy

[SvenJohansen]

The need to tell people you are leaving is needy

I gave an opinion and wondered what others in my boat thought. How is that needy?

[Irishred1]

I indeed get your frustration and reasoning behind doing so. By walking away you are letting them win though in a way.

[Irishred1]

I gave an opinion and wondered what others in my boat thought. How is that needy?

We are all different. Perhaps I have it wrong. you know your intentions for doing so better than me .

[KENNYBROML24KOP206]

nah it's not lad, i don't need validation off people on here that i've never met and never will meet. I was responding to someone elses post and giving them my own point of view, the way you have done, except i did it without being a dickhead. The person who's started the thread is saying the way they feel about the game. Isn't that the point of a forum?

Or is this you venting because you don't go the game, and you think someone who does, is giving it the whole 'woe is me' routine?

[Irishred1]

nah it's not lad, i don't need validation off people on here that i've never met and never will meet. I was responding to someone elses post and giving them my own point of view, the way you have done, except i did it without being a dickhead. The person who's started the thread is saying the way they feel about the game. Isn't that the point of a forum?

Or is this you venting because you don't go the game, and you think someone who does, is giving it the whole 'woe is me' routine?

No I was not venting. I just could not see myself posting that I was going to stop watching football. If I were to stop doing so I would just stop. You have every right to vent your frustration. I apologise for being a dickhead. I hope you don't stop watching your beloved team over the cheating pricks though.

[SvenJohansen]

I indeed get your frustration and reasoning behind doing so. By walking away you are letting them win though in a way.

I don't see anyone or thing that's going to win by me walking away. It will be my loss more than likely but this is where I am right now. The suggestions of others about following a local club seems like a good outlet so I'll have a look. Like someone else said, it's professional football that's the problem.

[vblfc]

It’s a shame there hasn’t been coordinated, loud, persistent and visual protests against the cheating and corruption. Maybe everyone is so numb by it that the fight has gone out of it?  So we don’t believe anything will change. Every City game should have been a protest.
Seems this a subject we all can’t align on, so the path is left clear for sportswashers etc to thrive.

[Irishred1]

I don't see anyone or thing that's going to win by me walking away. It will be my loss more than likely but this is where I am right now. The suggestions of others about following a local club seems like a good outlet so I'll have a look. Like someone else said, it's professional football that's the problem.

Yea the grass roots stuff is untainted. Its not nice what is happening in the top leagues across Europe that is for sure. i wish you well on what you decide

[So… Howard Philips]

It’s a shame there hasn’t been coordinated, loud, persistent and visual protests against the cheating and corruption. Maybe everyone is so numb by it that the fight has gone out of it?  So we don’t believe anything will change. Every City game should have been a protest.
Seems this a subject we all can’t align on, so the path is left clear for sportswashers etc to thrive.

You’ve obviously missed the Bitters brandishing their pink cards,

[KENNYBROML24KOP206]

No I was not venting. I just could not see myself posting that I was going to stop watching football. If I were to stop doing so I would just stop. You have every right to vent your frustration. I apologise for being a dickhead. I hope you don't stop watching your beloved team over the cheating pricks though.

No worries, i shouldn't have reacted the way i did though. I mean i suppose it's in part to do with City, with the way they've gone about things but it's just the way that football has become, well as some one said previously, top-level football. They (The Prem, The FA, UEFA, FIFA) have sucked the life out of it for me.

[Fromola]

There's a lot wrong with football, there always has been (it tends to be a microcosm of society), but the money men always make it gradually worse.

VAR has been such a terrible invention though. Even the pleasure of your team scoring has been taken away now, that was the one thing you thought they couldn't ruin.

I only enjoy watching football without it, the way it was always played. EFL/non league still has that. Sadly all the top leagues has the VAR killjoys.

[lobsterboy]

Not so much Klopp leaving, more just the sad state of the game turning into a bent, sportswashed charade. It's like wrestling now.
Klopp leaving just seems like the natural point to wash my hands of it all.
My lad thinks footballs shite and isn't interested, says it's a lot of softarses with shit haircuts rolling around faking injury so no reason there to stick with it.
I'm 50 now and can't see it getting better, only worse, time to move on I guess.

[thejbs]

Started watching more Gaelic recently. That will likely takeover when I move back west in a few years.