World Cup..meaningless?

Guinness · 29-03-2014, 22:51

Back in the day..the only chance we had to see the magic of Pele, Garrincha and Eusebio was during the World Cup.

We got to see these guys on a 15-20 inch TV in glorious black and white with grainy archive clips of players like Pushkas, Wright, Matthews and Finney in the build up.

Whistleblower claims Jack Warner took Australia's £270,000 for his World Cup vote | Mail Online

Yeah, yeah..its the Mail..doesn't take away from the fact that money is buying the game....

Frankly, I am less than agog about the next World Cup or any future World cups ....not because England aint got a hope in hell of winning it, but because I can watch the skills of the best players every week on various media sources. I'm not going to see anything I aint already seen.

It's a meaningless competition and the only beneficiaries are the spongers

Eric · 30-03-2014, 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness

It's a meaningless competition and the only beneficiaries are the spongers

A lot like the Premier League, eh.

I remember Garrincha and those crazy legs of his ... And the Russian goalkeeper, Lev Ivanovich Yashin ...

A 15 to 20 inch tv! Luxury! We had a 12" Bush in a cabinet as big as my Caddy

And I'll be cheering for England this year ... why not ... I'm a Cubbies fan; so, I'm used to disappointment.

cashman · 30-03-2014, 08:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness

Back in the day..the only chance we had to see the magic of Pele, Garrincha and Eusebio was during the World Cup.

We got to see these guys on a 15-20 inch TV in glorious black and white with grainy archive clips of players like Pushkas, Wright, Matthews and Finney in the build up.

Whistleblower claims Jack Warner took Australia's £270,000 for his World Cup vote | Mail Online

Yeah, yeah..its the Mail..doesn't take away from the fact that money is buying the game....

Frankly, I am less than agog about the next World Cup or any future World cups ....not because England aint got a hope in hell of winning it, but because I can watch the skills of the best players every week on various media sources. I'm not going to see anything I aint already seen.

It's a meaningless competition and the only beneficiaries are the spongers

Aye but yeh can bet it wouldn't be meaningless at all,if we won it?

Less · 30-03-2014, 13:19

I remember the 2002 World cup held in South Korea and Japan,
all the local pubs opened at around 7 A.M. with plenty of butties for breakfast.
I used to work 12 hour night shifts back then, finish the shift drop car off at home, take a seat watch all morning then
sleep ready for next shift. really good fun.

Until that is the final, there was an urgent job needed doing on overtime,
I arranged to go in six hours early the day before and did 18 hours straight through.
Dropped the car off took my usual seat at the bar, had a quick sip of my beer and fell asleep to the preamble before the match,
only waking up as the match was finishing, my pint was now flat it still went down though, the landlord said they'd tried to wake me but it was a deep sleep I was having,
so everyone agreed that so long as I didn't snore they would leave me to it. So yes I suppose that was a meaningless World Cup for me.

This is perhaps how I spent my time that day.

Guinness · 04-07-2014, 21:31

Listening to the build up of the Brazil match on 5live earlier..

Apparently for the quarter final match between Brazil and Colombia everyone was given a songsheet of Brazilian football songs as they entered the stadium. They interviewed someone from the Brazilian media who said that the reason for this was that there were few actual Brazilian football fans who could afford the prices to watch the games and therefore few inside the stadium who knew what to do or sing at an actual football match.

Most tickets had gone, long before the games, to the rich and privileged in a country where the difference between the haves and have nots is far worse than the difference between the lords and serfs in medieval England.

I stand by my original point..only the spongers benefit and it's meaningless to the true football fan. It's not even that much of a spectacle anymore.

cashman · 07-07-2014, 22:45

Have to say, after thinking long n hard, I doubt very much if yer a football supporter Guinness? I have watched every world cup since 66, n as far as i'm concerned, this has been one of the best,very few cat n mouse games, many really great goals in this un. so can i ask yeh, how would you know how a true football fan views it?

Wynonie Harris · 08-07-2014, 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

I have watched every world cup since 66, n as far as i'm concerned, this has been one of the best,very few cat n mouse games, many really great goals in this un.

Those words ring truer than ever now! Wonder if Guinness watched it?

cashman · 08-07-2014, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Those words ring truer than ever now! Wonder if Guinness watched it?

He aint been online since posting that, must be busy watching the World Cup?

Guinness · 11-07-2014, 23:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

He aint been online since posting that, must be busy watching the World Cup?

Nope but I have been lurking....just didn't really see the point arguing that I'm not a true football fan.

The fact that I had a season ticket at Ewood for 30 years (which can neither be proved or disproved on this forum) is irrelevant to my argument that the world cup as a spectacle has become meaningless.

I've watched or listened to most of the games, sure there have been some good games and good goals..but I'd argue that 1978 and 1990 were better spectacles than this one.

The point I'm trying to make is that money has taken the World Cup away from the 'true fan'.....if they have to give out song sheets before the game that kinda proves my point.

4 years ago we had vuvuzelas, this time we have half finished stadia, crap opening ceremonies, real fans priced out of watching the games, and in a few years we will probably have a world cup that is held in winter, halfway through our domestic season, where the players have to take water breaks every 15 minutes (kinda like tennis at wimbledon)....but hey...Cahill scored a cracker and Brazil were shown to be an average side that had been media hyped as unstoppable.

Then again..I'm not a true football fan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Those words ring truer than ever now! Wonder if Guinness watched it?

Yup and I also watched the following game.....the ringing kinda fell flat

cashman · 12-07-2014, 22:24

I also had a season ticket at Rovers fer 30 yrs, which a few members are aware of, I returned to Stanley when they got back in the league, cos reason i left was 62 when they no longer had a team. Also i never said yeh weren't a true football fan, I said i doubted that fact, due to yer pompous assumption that its meaningless to the true football fan, how the hell can you speak fer all football fans?

Wynonie Harris · 14-07-2014, 19:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness

Yup and I also watched the following game.....the ringing kinda fell flat

Well, you can't expect every game to be an eight-goal thriller; that's the nature of football. But I would've thought, having served a 30 year sentence at Ewood, you'd be more aware than most of that.

Think you might be out on a limb there condemning the World Cup as "meaningless" as, whatever the sheenanigans at the top, countless millions of us "true football fans" across the globe have enjoyed the last few weeks.

I do agree, though, that money has had an unhealthy effect on the game at international and national level. What you need is to get back to grassroots level to restore your faith in the beautiful game.

See you on the Clayton End.

DaveinGermany · 15-07-2014, 05:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

What you need is to get back to grassroots level to restore your faith in the beautiful game.

See you on the Clayton End.

And so the Shepherd once more set forth to gather his flock!

The indefatigable Wynn.

ossy kid · 17-07-2014, 00:52

Thoroughly enjoyed the world cup, I thought there were some great games, I know I bellyache about the diving and the useless refs but I watched every game, which was easier for me than some as the games were on mid day up in the Yukon. I missed the semi,s because I was out on the chuck fishing for halibut but thought the final was a cracker. There are lots to complain about with the game and politics but on the field it's 11 on 11, at least they haven't screwed that up YET.