Footballers are pricks


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Why the smiley yellow man, what you are saying makes no sense.
Did she have anything to gain by falling over?

I don't like diving either but until something is done to wipe it out of football, it will continue to happen on a very regular basis.

Which speaks volumes for the nauseating lack of moralty, decemcy and self respect of the average professional footballer.

Personally I agree with many of them. Their well reported antics in public, their diving, their attempted verbal intimidation of officials when they are clearly wrong, their petty vindictiveness, their light hearted termination of contracts for the god of gold offer little that anyone would respect, let alone themselves.

They are not on the same moral planet as our athletes. Shame on them.
 
For all the talk of footballer's wages:

a) Nobody in their right mind would turn down such money if it was offered to them.

b) There is a shitload of money swilling round football, who would people prefer to see the money go to? Chairmen? Directors? The footballers on the pitch create "the product" at the end of the day, they deserve their cut of the money they create.

I've always thought there was a slightly classist edge to these kind of comments too. You never hear people bemoaning the money made in F1/tennis/golf (more middle class sports). Most footballers are working class and many are a bit thick - people don't seem to like those sorts making big money, even though the dedication and talent required to get to the top level is immense. And most of them are actually decent lads, just the media likes to focus on the bad and gives the rest a bad name.

I don't watch golfor F1, so I don't know much about them, or how much they get paid. The overwhelming majority of Tennis players recieve nowhere near as much as PL footballers. Ditto cricketers, rugby players. With all due respect, why are you in a better place to comment on the individual merits of the majority of footballers when you have no contct with any of them, less than the media who do? Just like most of us. But even from that distance, the level of attitude and integrity and passion shown by athletes compared to footballers is as clear as day.
 
Your argument is a bit weak mate. People have already stated that the problem is the game itself, so it's not a point that needs to be made. The salient point though is that the players seem to embrace that and accept it in the way they carry themselves on off the pitch. No dignity, no integrity. The drugs thing is a good case in point. You say that if athletes could cheat to win, they would, and cite drugs. The majority of athletes do not. A small minority do, and they are villified and dispised amongst the athletic community, and the relevant organisation bodies punish them properly. Now I know you'll say "Ah, but drugs are against the rules so they don't do it becuase they know they will get done if found taking them". But diving is also against the rules. The fact is though it has become so common place it is now accepted and even recognised as being part of the game. Can you honestly imagine atheltics ever taking a similar attitude to drugs?

So frankly, you are wrong. Most athletes do have the chance to try and cheat to prosper, and they refuse it. But as you state, the majority of professional footballers do cheat, and see it as acceptable. There probably isn't a better example in fact to illustrate the difference between how sorid a professional sport football is. And if you look at cricket and Rugby you will see there too the same story as the athletics-the majority win through ability, show integrity and respect, don't make a habit of cheating, and get paid vastly inferior sums in spite of it.

This. Football is going the way of wrestling.
 
Remarkable how much more educated the athletes appear to be also.

There's no emphasis on educating footballers - the vast majority stop bothering with school when they get a youth contract, and that's why a lot struggle when they're retired. They have no connection to the real world and no skills to use within it.
 
Remarkable how much more educated the athletes appear to be also.

There's no emphasis on educating footballers - the vast majority stop bothering with school when they get a youth contract, and that's why a lot struggle when they're retired. They have no connection to the real world and no skills to use within it.

This seems to go for most sports as well. I watch pretty much everything the telly can chuck at me in terms of sport & there is a massive difference between how footballers conduct themselves & communicate compared to any other discipline, be it motor sport, golf, rugby, athletics et al. I don't buy the class thing either or education. Conceit, ego & acquiescence to that behaviour by management, governing bodies & fans(!) created the monster that is the modern footballer.
 
The first parahrgaph is irrelevant-I never stated, and in fact fully acknowledged that this isn't a new thing, just that all of the many ills of modern football have been shown up in real clarity this last week,

The comparison with Ennis and Farah is entirley relevant. They are being compared with Barton et al becuase they earn less than them. It's football which has set this standard, football which insists on valuing people on a soley financial plain, so it should deal with the fact that it values Barton or Cattermole or Higginbotham higher than Athlethes who are best in the world. That's the whole point. Football has made it acceptable to suggest that these players are worth substanitally *more* than athletes who are the best in the world at something.

The Badminton thing is a good point too-players cheated, and were disqualified. The organisational body is fair. When was the last time a football body acted with similar integrity? Pendleton and Varnish were also disqualfied as well. There was a marked absence of petulance and reaction to it though. And the Japanese thing- I don't know the various intracicies of the process but the fact is it was accepted, we moved on and there was no dwelling on the egos of overpaid pre-madonnas. The sport in the end was left untarnished.

As for the last point, footballers don't come in for a tough time at all. The vapid nature of the modern footballer isn't made any better just because other people also profit in a gross manner.



Once again, not interacting with the points I made.

I've not been to either but I've read substanitally on the subject. Will that do, or do you have to witness everything in person for it to be a fact?

Can we compare Beckham to Mike Ashley then? One is renowned for his work ethic and passion for sport, the other is a fat classless pig who sells tat to scratters, yet Beckham has earned a pittance compared.

Football is a billion pound private industry which is funded almost entirely from the fans directly and indirectly, athletics is almost entirely public funded. Of course footballers are going to be paid more, it isnt right but that's capitalism for you. As I say, Justin Beiber probably has more in the bank than any footballer for essentially being a camp talentless teenager.

I totally admire the athletes but lets not pretend athletics is whiter than white. How many athletes are from disadvantaged backgrounds? That isnt a criticism of the athletes at all, but how many working class kids can afford to join rowing or tennis clubs? Football is far more accessible than athletics, it stands to reason really that footballers' behaviour will pale compared to the elite of predominantly middle class sports.
 
This seems to go for most sports as well. I watch pretty much everything the telly can chuck at me in terms of sport & there is a massive difference between how footballers conduct themselves & communicate compared to any other discipline, be it motor sport, golf, rugby, athletics et al. I don't buy the class thing either or education. Conceit, ego & acquiescence to that behaviour by management, governing bodies & fans(!) created the monster that is the modern footballer.

The fact is that compared to the majority of athletes, let alone the majorty of the world's population, footballers in the top few divisions are time and money rich. They have no excuse what so ever to not enjoy the best the world can offer in terms of art, places, enviroment, education, time with their family. They are distant from the world becuase they choose to be. They could do a part time degree in any number of subjects, volunteer for any good cause, pursue any form of enriching hobby. The majority of them spend all their time with each other in isolation though, doing nothing of value, wasting all that time and oppurtunity.
 
If they weren't footballers you do wonder what they would be doing in life as they are not very bright most of them.

The GB athletes put the lof of them to shame, most of them anyway.
 
Can we compare Beckham to Mike Ashley then? One is renowned for his work ethic and passion for sport, the other is a fat classless pig who sells tat to scratters, yet Beckham has earned a pittance compared.

Football is a billion pound private industry which is funded almost entirely from the fans directly and indirectly, athletics is almost entirely public funded. Of course footballers are going to be paid more, it isnt right but that's capitalism for you. As I say, Justin Beiber probably has more in the bank than any footballer for essentially being a camp talentless teenager.

I totally admire the athletes but lets not pretend athletics is whiter than white. How many athletes are from disadvantaged backgrounds? That isnt a criticism of the athletes at all, but how many working class kids can afford to join rowing or tennis clubs? Football is far more accessible than athletics, it stands to reason really that footballers' behaviour will pale compared to the elite of predominantly middle class sports.


I'm only 26 but i know for a fact that class hasn't always been an excuse to act like a boor, and that for much of history lower classes have activley jumped at the chance to take hold of oppurtunities they could only have dreamed of growing up. The fact is, they're not working class any more, as mentioned above, they have a better oppurtunity than most people who have ever lived to enjoy the best being alive has to offer, it's pretty hard not to be contemptable of how they live when you think about it.

I think one of the biggest and most dangerous ideas is that your class should be used as a means of explaining your failings as a person. That never used to be the case, why now? It's an excuse, for weak people. My morality probably comes from my working class background, if anything. Likewise there are a lot of middle class people I know whose morality is utterly selfish. Class has nothing to do with it. Blaming where you are in life on your background is precisley the sort of defeatist, selfish attitude which excuses you from working on your personal failings, and the sort of thing you see in football time after time after time. It's always someone else's fault.
 
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The first parahrgaph is irrelevant-I never stated, and in fact fully acknowledged that this isn't a new thing, just that all of the many ills of modern football have been shown up in real clarity this last week,

The comparison with Ennis and Farah is entirley relevant. They are being compared with Barton et al becuase they earn less than them. It's football which has set this standard, football which insists on valuing people on a soley financial plain, so it should deal with the fact that it values Barton or Cattermole or Higginbotham higher than Athlethes who are best in the world. That's the whole point. Football has made it acceptable to suggest that these players are worth substanitally *more* than athletes who are the best in the world at something.

The Badminton thing is a good point too-players cheated, and were disqualified. The organisational body is fair. When was the last time a football body acted with similar integrity? Pendleton and Varnish were also disqualfied as well. There was a marked absence of petulance and reaction to it though. And the Japanese thing- I don't know the various intracicies of the process but the fact is it was accepted, we moved on and there was no dwelling on the egos of overpaid pre-madonnas. The sport in the end was left untarnished.

As for the last point, footballers don't come in for a tough time at all. The vapid nature of the modern footballer isn't made any better just because other people also profit in a gross manner.



Once again, not interacting with the points I made.




I've not been to either but I've read substanitally on the subject. Will that do, or do you have to witness everything in person for it to be a fact?

Of course I've interacted with the points you've made, and some of them have been valid. Your original statement about the athlete not taking a dive was silly and has been the whole point of my argument. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm wrong.
You've read substantially on the subject of athlete training compared to footballers,:) have a word with yourself man and give up.
 
Of course I've interacted with the points you've made, and some of them have been valid. Your original statement about the athlete not taking a dive was silly and has been the whole point of my argument. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm wrong.
You've read substantially on the subject of athlete training compared to footballers,:) have a word with yourself man and give up.

I've nothing to give up, nothing to prove. A debate isn't a fight if you're not younger than 12. It's about exhanging opinions. I'm happy for people to read our exchanges and come to their own conclusions.

Just so you know though, the majority of the broadsheet papers have been running articles on athletics, training, that sort of thing, for about a year now, what with it a being a hot topic and all. The Sunday Times has had something to do with an athelte and their rotuine and motivation pretty much every other week. And I read numerous books on football tactics, biographies etc, becuase I find the history of the sport very interesting. Also frequently read journals and the like on football training and condition for my own playing. Would you like me to give you a biography? It's really not hard to come by the information you seem to think requires some sort of special access or dedication to.
 
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I'm only 26 but i know for a fact that class hasn't always been an excuse to act like a boor, and that for much of history lower classes have activley jumped at the chance to take hold of oppurtunities they could only have dreamed of growing up. The fact is, they're not working class any more, as mentioned above, they have a better oppurtunity than most people who have ever lived to enjoy the best being alive has to offer, it's pretty hard not to be contemptable of how they live when you think about it.

I think one of the biggest and most dangerous ideas is that your class should be used as a means of explaining your failings as a person. That never used to be the case, why now? It's an excuse, for weak people. My morality probably comes from my working class background, if anything. Likewise there are a lot of middle class people I know whose morality is utterly selfish. Class has nothing to do with it. Blaming where you are in life on your background is precisley the sort of defeatist, selfish attitude which excuses you from working on your personal failings, and the sort of thing you see in football time after time after time. It's always someone else's fault.

That's all very true, but that wasn't really my point - just that if you open it up to all you're bound to get a mix of good and bad - and there are plenty of good guys in football who you've ignored and focused on the bad
 
Can we compare Beckham to Mike Ashley then? One is renowned for his work ethic and passion for sport, the other is a fat classless pig who sells tat to scratters, yet Beckham has earned a pittance compared.

Football is a billion pound private industry which is funded almost entirely from the fans directly and indirectly, athletics is almost entirely public funded. Of course footballers are going to be paid more, it isnt right but that's capitalism for you. As I say, Justin Beiber probably has more in the bank than any footballer for essentially being a camp talentless teenager.

I totally admire the athletes but lets not pretend athletics is whiter than white. How many athletes are from disadvantaged backgrounds? That isnt a criticism of the athletes at all, but how many working class kids can afford to join rowing or tennis clubs? Football is far more accessible than athletics, it stands to reason really that footballers' behaviour will pale compared to the elite of predominantly middle class sports.

My daughter rows at Durham ARC -about £14 a month. No special gear to buy.

Durham Archery Rise Tennis club-£50 a year for juniors.

There's a perception of exclusivity, but in reality non exists.
 
I've nothing to give up, nothing to prove. A debate isn't a fight if you're not younger than 12. It's about exhanging opinions. I'm happy for people to read our exchanges and come to their own conclusions.

There's definitely a hint of arrogance in your posts. What with the above statement, your constant erroneous clams that I haven't been 'interacting with your points' that 'I am wrong' and 'my argument is weak'.
Thus insinuating that you are therefore right and your opinon is strong.
This isn't exactly how a debate is carried out but you weren't too far away.
At least it didn't come to name calling, so that's an achievement on here. ;)

My daughter rows at Durham ARC -about £14 a month. No special gear to buy.

Durham Archery Rise Tennis club-£50 a year for juniors.

There's a perception of exclusivity, but in reality non exists.

Is Gordon still helping out there or has he finally retired?
 
The game at the top level is dead as a 'sport'.

When it implodes (as it will), we will all be better off.

Pure fkng greed has killed football.

It´s more or less what my grandad said to my father sometime in the 60´s..It always amazes me that so many have an 100% taliban view of what football ought to be without being able to say why..
 
That's all very true, but that wasn't really my point - just that if you open it up to all you're bound to get a mix of good and bad - and there are plenty of good guys in football who you've ignored and focused on the bad

At the top level, I'm not convinced there is. The likes of Kompany, Hart stand out a mile becuase they are so very different from the majority. Compared to any other sport the majority looks spoiled and medicore. There are of course exceptions, but the sort of thing they are seen as being exceptional for-fair play, likeability, integrity, passion, ability to recognise there are more important things than sport while still competing as hard as anything on the field-are the kinds of qualities you see in, say cricket, more or less without exception. You don't signal out many cricketers for posessing those qualities, becuase pretty much all of them do and display it time after time after time. It is literally part of the game, as opposed to being exceptional as it is in football.

There's definitely a hint of arrogance in your posts. What with the above statement, your constant erroneous clams that I haven't been 'interacting with your points' that 'I am wrong' and 'my argument is weak'.
Thus insinuating that you are therefore right and your opinon is strong.
This isn't exactly how a debate is carried out but you weren't too far away.
At least it didn't come to name calling, so that's an achievement on here. ;)



Is Gordon still helping out there or has he finally retired?

Of course I think my opinion is right. I wouldn't hold it otherwise. Someone disagreeing with you is not a fight. There is arrogance in your posts too, thats' fine, you're entitled to that, I'm entitled to beleiving it's misplaced. I don't think less of you as a human being or anything though. It's just a debate. Nothing personal meant by it.

It´s more or less what my grandad said to my father sometime in the 60´s..It always amazes me that so many have an 100% taliban view of what football ought to be without being able to say why..

What do you mean?
 
But these much applauded olympic athletes will not benefit from your patronage in any way I take it?

But let me ask you a single question, if the footballing gods smile on SAFC this season and they reach Wembley to play Chelsea in the FA-Cup final after having trashed the mags 6-0 in the semis and a champions league place is in the bag after a tremendous season...and someone offered you a Wembley ticket.
Would you take it?

Think about it because it´s easy to stay away when your team is doing badly..

My team are not doing badly, they are in a better place than they have been in a long time, it's about footballers and their attitude.

I will not pay to watch another game in the current climate
 
Of course I think my opinion is right. I wouldn't hold it otherwise. Someone disagreeing with you is not a fight. There is arrogance in your posts too, thats' fine, you're entitled to that, I'm entitled to beleiving it's misplaced. I don't think less of you as a human being or anything though. It's just a debate. Nothing personal meant by it.

Grown men spending an afternoon on here debating trivialities it's crackers isn't it :lol:
A great win for Murray there, tremendous tennis. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
 
Grown men spending an afternoon on here debating trivialities it's crackers isn't it :lol:
A great win for Murray there, tremendous tennis. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

It's a good distraction for when we're not winning things ;)

Have a good day yourself marra
 
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