As I figured this has turned into a thread to knock soccer. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it

close thread?

I'm a Melbourne Victory member and a Melbourne Demons member.

Not going to enter the "soccer is boring" discourse, it's a subjective topic, i love it, some don't.

I was at the game on the weekend, what happened was appalling and is rightly being condemned and MV will be punished as they should.

I've witnessed violence in the stands at multiple sporting codes (A-League, AFL, Tennis etc) but this was different and it's heartbreaking as a lover of the game and sport in general to be honest. 

46 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

There's no way aussie rule fan would sing for the entire game.
Far too much relentless action for that and the game moves on quickly.

Soccer fans may as well sing "Boring .... Boring" for an hr and a half.
Cause that's what they're actually doing when they sing their songs.
Same with the flares.
No entertainment on the ground.
May as well bring their own.

Hi Forky. It's actually quite easy to both sing and be engrossed in what's playing out on the pitch. Like walking and chewing gum or brushing my teeth while I'm taking a pee. It's interesting to see how hyper sensitive some people are to any form of criticism of our native game in this country. I've actually been told in this thread that if I didn't like the crowd noise at an AFL game to go back to my own country which is the sort of response I probably haven't heard since primary school. It's fine for someone to articulate why they don't like or understand football, but surely even they understand the futility in trying to articulate to someone else why they shouldn't enjoy it? 

Edited December 19, 20222 yr by Rab D Nesbitt
typo

10 minutes ago, DubDee said:

As I figured this has turned into a thread to knock soccer. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it

close thread?

We need something to keep us entertained until the next training report DubDee. Thankfully there's a lot of SPL and EPL football on over the festive period which will help fill the void (ducks for cover). 

 

10 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

We need something to keep us entertained until the next training report DubDee. Thankfully there's a lot of SPL and EPL football on over the festive period which will help fill the void (ducks for cover). 

 

Fork-em is right. No AFL crowd would sing for more than 30 seconds.  Unless there is a big break in play for some reason, even cheering and booing usually can't last beyond the next kick.

Now that we're into knocking soccer, can I also point at those unpatriotic rugby fans who don't support OUR UNIQUE NATIONAL SPORT.   (Where is the safest place to duck RAB D N?)

 

2 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

I find soccer to be an abysmal spectator sport. It's slow, mostly one way, lacks intensity, and generally lacks excitement. You see lots of matches end in a 0-0 scoreline, so it's no surprise when a bunch of losers with a half chub resort to madness. In my experience attending matches, and some have been EPL years ago, the crowd is more exciting to watch than the game itself. Says a lot about how boring the sport is to watch that I had more fun watching some loony chavs getting [censored] up! You could make a case that the Mexican waves, flares, fights etc are partly due to how slow and dull most soccer matches are. People get drunk and without something to focus on or enjoy, they start causing trouble.

What happened the other night and at a lot of soccer matches is way beyond that though and is more of a social problem than the sport being a poor one. For generations we've seen young males cause serious trouble and start riots at these sorts of events. A friend of mine attended an EPL match about a decade back. He was completely impartial, no supporter colours, general seats, sober. For whatever reason some fights broke out near him and sitting in his seat he wound up as collateral, got king hit in the back of the head and suffered a fracture in his skull from his head hitting on the way down. When that's even a possibility, let alone an outcome that regularly happens at these events, then you know society is stuffed. The world is too kind to trouble makers these days and without harsher punishments, these life-spuds will keep taking the [censored] knowing they'll get away with their ****ty behaviour without consequence. 

And of course A Grade spud judges let them of again and again and again with lettuce leaf penalties. Our justice system is an absolute disgrace.And dont get me started on defence lawyers either!

9 minutes ago, sue said:

Fork-em is right. No AFL crowd would sing for more than 30 seconds.  Unless there is a big break in play for some reason, even cheering and booing usually can't last beyond the next kick.

 

 

Correct.
You've barely got time to yell "BALLLL" before play has moved on and something else is happening to yell at 😅

On 12/18/2022 at 10:18 AM, george_on_the_outer said:

....and soccer wonders why it can't get ahead in this country.

We had a Dutch visitor a couple of years ago, who was a fanatical soccer fan back home.  But when I suggested we go to an AFL game she was terrified, yes terrified.  She was accustomed to being bussed to opposition grounds ( even for local games) and parked behind barbed wire to be separated from opposition fans.  Then the same procedure going home.

So when we arrived at the MCG where fans of both teams walked to the ground together, sat together , and then walked home together, she was simply blown away. 

Not a Collingwood game ?

I don't really care...but apart from being offered apologies, the goalkeeper who threw the flare into the crowd, reportedly, seems to escape criticism or sanction. Strange.

58 minutes ago, roy11 said:

I'm a Melbourne Victory member and a Melbourne Demons member.

Not going to enter the "soccer is boring" discourse, it's a subjective topic, i love it, some don't.

I was at the game on the weekend, what happened was appalling and is rightly being condemned and MV will be punished as they should.

I've witnessed violence in the stands at multiple sporting codes (A-League, AFL, Tennis etc) but this was different and it's heartbreaking as a lover of the game and sport in general to be honest. 

I’m interested Roy, as a Victory member, on your take on the proposed ban on supporters at games? Do you think most members will be furious about this, or do you think they’ll accept it as punishment for a horrible event?

Its a bizarre situation, and I wonder if members will ask for money back.

Edited December 19, 20222 yr by The heart beats true

14 minutes ago, sue said:

Fork-em is right. No AFL crowd would sing for more than 30 seconds.  Unless there is a big break in play for some reason, even cheering and booing usually can't last beyond the next kick.

Now that we're into knocking soccer, can I also point at those unpatriotic rugby fans who don't support OUR UNIQUE NATIONAL SPORT.   (Where is the safest place to duck RAB D N?)

 

 

You realise that 'A Grand Old Flag' is 1 minute 39 seconds long. 

I really hope we're all friends again by the middle of March. 

49 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Hi Forky. It's actually quite easy to both sing and be engrossed in what's playing out on the pitch. Like walking and chewing gum or brushing my teeth while I'm taking a pee. It's interesting to see how hyper sensitive some people are to any form of criticism of our native game in this country. I've actually been told in this thread that if I didn't like the crowd noise at an AFL game to go back to my own country which is the sort of response I probably haven't heard since primary school. It's fine for someone to articulate why they don't like or understand football, but surely even they understand the futility in trying to articulate to someone else why they shouldn't enjoy it? 

I could call you hypersensitive to comments criticising soccer.
And let's face it, the game and supporters provide plenty of ammo.
People don't sing because they're engrossed in the game.
They sing cause they're bored and passing time till that magical 2 seconds when the ball actually goes in .... If it does at all.
Then you've got all the diving and acting from the stars of the game which seems an accepted part of the sport.
The last full game of soccer I saw was the world cup with aussies in one of the finals and that Italian cheat took a dive in the penalty box with 30seconds to go and was treated like a hero.
I was done right there and then.

 

1 hour ago, DubDee said:

As I figured this has turned into a thread to knock soccer. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it

close thread?

Soccer deserves everything it is getting right now. Where was the extra Security on Saturday night? It was well known Shi.t was going to go down at the 20 minute mark

Complete Amateur Hour 

Is it that hard to Ban Flares….??

2 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Is it that hard to Ban Flares….??

 

Bring back bell bottoms, I say!

2 minutes ago, Fork 'em said:

I could call you hypersensitive to comments criticising soccer.
And let's face it, the game and supporters provide plenty of ammo.
People don't sing because they're engrossed in the game.
They sing cause they're bored and passing time till that magical 2 seconds when the ball actually goes in .... If it does at all.
Then you've got all the diving and acting from the stars of the game which seems an accepted part of the sport.
The last full game of soccer I saw was the world cup with aussies in one of the finals and that Italian cheat took a dive in the penalty box with 30seconds to go and was treated like a hero.
I was done right there and then.

 

Hi Forky. You're trying to project your reasons for not liking football into why I shouldn't like it which surely you would agree is a pointless exercise. I like both sports and enjoy discussing their similarities and differences. Quite why that seems to infuriate some people on here though I don't quite know.  I understand that you don't like football and the reasons why and will under no circumstances attempt to convince you that you should like it. 

The World Cup final was a brilliant game… anyone who found that boring due to the fact that there’s not a change to the score every couple of minutes, would be in danger of rigor mortis setting in.

The only negative for me, generally speaking, is that the commentators do not call out diving, but rather, show concern for the player that dived. I found it a bit sad that in such an important game, Argentina’s De Paul found it necessary to dive any time an opponent went near him (I haven’t heard such screaming by a player since the Wimbledon tennis final). He was a blemish in an otherwise spectacular game of football. If the commentators started calling in out in no uncertain terms, then perhaps we would start to see less of it occurring.

Edited December 19, 20222 yr by hardtack

22 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Soccer deserves everything it is getting right now. Where was the extra Security on Saturday night? It was well known Shi.t was going to go down at the 20 minute mark

Complete Amateur Hour 

Is it that hard to Ban Flares….??

Completely agree. Staying on topic about the Victory crowd debacle  the A league could well fold in a couple of years the ways it’s being managed

its more the general soccer is boring / bs that I’ve heard for decades that is tiresome. Dont like then don’t watch it

1 hour ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

We need something to keep us entertained until the next training report DubDee. Thankfully there's a lot of SPL and EPL football on over the festive period which will help fill the void (ducks for cover). 

 

Not to mention the A league returns on Friday!

*ducks for more cover to avoid metal buckets

I find it bizarre how a few footy fans get so defensive and fired up when someone says they like soccer or maybe something about soccer is better than footy

they are so different and both amazing sports. 
can’t we all just get along?!?! 🙂

9 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Hi Forky. You're trying to project your reasons for not liking football into why I shouldn't like it which surely you would agree is a pointless exercise. I like both sports and enjoy discussing their similarities and differences. Quite why that seems to infuriate some people on here though I don't quite know.  I understand that you don't like football and the reasons why and will under no circumstances attempt to convince you that you should like it. 

Rab, perhaps if this topic had been posted in “Other Sports”, where it should have been, you probably wouldn’t be getting this type of negative comment about the game, as only those interested in and appreciative of the game would be on that site. However it wasn’t the game itself, but the crowd behaviour, that  the original poster was condemning, and rightfully so. And football (soccer) does have an unfortunate worldwide reputation for occasional crowd violence - the likes of which are thankfully not seen in the AFL. The fact that the topic diverted into the likes and dislikes is just unfortunate. 

39 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

I’m interested Roy, as a Victory member, on your take on the proposed ban on supporters at games? Do you think most members will be furious about this, or do you think they’ll accept it as punishment for a horrible event?

Its a bizarre situation, and I wonder if members will ask for money back.

It's a tough one to consider, but the right course of action.

I think there are 9 home games left this season. I'm not expecting to go to a game any time soon. At a bare minimum I expect it'll be 3-5 games with no fans and they will suspend the 'active area' for the remainder of the season. Active Area being the originating source of the chanting/flags/flares.

The Club will be fined, which they'll have to take on the chin, the powers to be will be need to see as taking a strong stance.

The result of the game on Saturday will probably be awarded to Melbourne City. There's a strong chance the team could be docked points as well. It's not really fair on the playing group, but what can you do, 

The club has 20,000 or so members, the majority of which are decent, law abiding sport loving individuals. I'm not going to deny there is an element of football culture who are up for a scrap. All the members I know are passionate lovers of the game, we've gone together since the inception of the A-League. Some are brining their kids now. They're all saddened/horrified by what occurred on the weekend - and they'll all be punished due to other people's actions. They all understand the sport has been brought into disrepute and some punishment is required. It's been alleged that a number of individuals that stormed the pitch on the weekend are already serving life bans from the game. Due to lack of technology and ease of buying tickets, it's difficult to maintain and police this. 

Hard to comment on refunds without knowing what the punishment may be. We're all going through a cost of living crisis and having paid for something and not being able to use it due to the actions of some (expletives) is frustrating. If the club offers refunds/credit for next year it won't help their financials - A League clubs aren't exactly flush with cash post COVID. Melbourne Victory actually secured major investment a few months ago and now seemingly will be used to plug some holes. 

Don't envy the decision makers here, the club rightly need to be punished and members accept this, but ultimately everyone will suffer as a result.

Sorry for the waffling. 

42 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Where was the extra Security on Saturday night? It was well known Shi.t was going to go down at the 20 minute mark

This is something I didn't quite understand on the night, the tension was palpable, fan discontent the week leading up to the game etc and on the night security/police presence was lacking. Not that you can stop (expletives) acting like (expletives).

51 minutes ago, hardtack said:

The World Cup final was a brilliant game… anyone who found that boring due to the fact that there’s not a change to the score every couple of minutes, would be in danger of rigor mortis setting in.

The only negative for me, generally speaking, is that the commentators do not call out diving, but rather, show concern for the player that dived. I found it a bit sad that in such an important game, Argentina’s De Paul found it necessary to dive any time an opponent went near him (I haven’t heard such screaming by a player since the Wimbledon tennis final). He was a blemish in an otherwise spectacular game of football. If the commentators started calling in out in no uncertain terms, then perhaps we would start to see less of it occurring.

Grew up loving soccer but highlighted above is why I stopped watching it decades ago. It's blatant CHEATING and I hate it. Another reason for crowd anger?

52 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

Rab, perhaps if this topic had been posted in “Other Sports”, where it should have been, you probably wouldn’t be getting this type of negative comment about the game, as only those interested in and appreciative of the game would be on that site. However it wasn’t the game itself, but the crowd behaviour, that  the original poster was condemning, and rightfully so. And football (soccer) does have an unfortunate worldwide reputation for occasional crowd violence - the likes of which are thankfully not seen in the AFL. The fact that the topic diverted into the likes and dislikes is just unfortunate. 

Hey Neil. My initial thought was that it was placed in a footy thread knowing the predictable reactions it would receive but the original poster says not, who I take at his word. Admin could have moved it at any time I guess but sometimes it's not a bad idea to see how a thread plays out first as you don't know where it might go. I've now learnt that I'm not patriotic because I enjoy a foreign game and should consider returning to the land of my birth for even contemplating the passion of an AFL crowd 🤦🏻‍♂️

Edited December 19, 20222 yr by Rab D Nesbitt
typo

18 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Hey Neil. My initial thought was that it was placed in a footy thread knowing the predictable reactions it would receive but the original poster says not, who I take at his word. Admin could have moved it at any time I guess but sometimes it's not a bad idea to see how a thread plays out first as you don't know where it might go. I've now learnt that I'm not patriotic because I enjoy a foreign game and should consider returning to the land of my birth for even contemplating the passion of an AFL crowd 🤦🏻‍♂️

rab, i guess you just have to