For those old enough to remember - Professional football before SKY and the Premier League

[Bry Nylon]

Do you prefer football as it was then, or how it is now?

 

[Mackenzie]

I liked football pre-sky. Back then the gap between the top teams and the others wasn't nearly as big as it is now, also the players didn't seem as mercenary as they do these days. It was also more affordable, and it was more alive, more real.....I loved the tribal feeling of away matches.

I can't see many people agreeing that football is better now.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Football pre sky?

Burn him

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

It was a lot simpler then. Decide whether to go (location dependent) an hour or less from the game. Cheaper too with less prima donnas around. Didn't like the aggro though.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I cant decide. I think if you could keep today's stadia and general facilities, generally better behaviour by supporters, but go back to no agents, muddy pitches, proper tackling and less diving and waving of imaginary cards I'd be happy.

I really felt it worked better when clubs were in control and not players or their agents.

 

[Cappers]

Football didn't exist before Sky.
Keepers without gloves
Invalid carriages pitch side (all light blue!)
ABC boards around the perimeter
Standing
Keepers wearing same colour shorts and socks as their team mates
No live matches
On the pitch at full time
Seeing players in the pub
Keepers running whilst bouncing the ball
..to name but a few

 

[Bill Cassidy's tie up]

And you didn't see all the ********s in their replica shirts who have never been to a football match in their lives, let alone the team they supposedly support

 

[kevtherev]

Five things better about football 20 years ago..

1. Players wages were good(very good), but still in touch with the common man. As a result the players were more in touch with the fan on the terrace.
2. No agents( well they may have just been coming into the game, but not common place).
3. Admission to game was affordable to all.
4. The domestic cups really meant something to all and were treated with respect.
5. Managers managed clubs,,,,no head coaches or director of football or first team this that and the other. The manager, managed the football club.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Agree with most of the above, I was unaware that football existed before the Sky Phenomenon.

 

[lawros left foot]

Just watched the extended highlights of the 83 city game and felt quite nostalgic, but I hated the fences, the aggro, and the bogs, but apart from that I used to love it

 

[Notters]

100% then for me.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Football didn't exist before Sky.
Keepers without gloves
Invalid carriages pitch side (all light blue!)
ABC boards around the perimeter
Standing
Keepers wearing same colour shorts and socks as their team mates
No live matches
On the pitch at full time
Seeing players in the pub
Keepers running whilst bouncing the ball
..to name but a few

Half time scores on pich side boards which were labelled A to Z and you had to have a programme to work out which letter corresponded to which team

 

[The Upper Library]

Why is it I can recall all of the FA cup finals from the 70's and 80's (even the ones that I was too young to really remember) but would be unable to tell you who won the cup from the early 90's onwards. Maybe because I am older and have a lot of other things to fill my memory Or is it, as I suspect, the FA cup finals of yester year meant something.......

 

[worthingseagull123]

Do you prefer football as it was then, or how it is now?

Then.

A team could win the second tier, win the top tier the following year and win the European cup the season after.

Now we are just ripped off to watch the same 4 to 5 teams finish in the same positions.

 

[Dave the OAP]

...when there was a penalty...few and far between..some little fat bloke with a Ralph Coates comb over ran on the pitch with a bucket of white wash to mark the penalty spot which was in a sea of mud.

 

[kevo]

One thing I really miss is all (or at least the vast majority) of the games being played on a Saturday afternoon, 3pm kick off. Hate it when games are spread all over the weekend (can't wait until we get to the Premier League and have Monday evening matches...).

And yes, the 'quality' of players is now much better, but at what cost? The gulf between the top clubs and the rest is now a gigantic chasm. We will never see teams like Ipswich, Swansea or Watford challenging for the League again. On the plus side, I like having smarter stadiums (although the atmosphere has suffered, mainly because of the all-seater rule) and less aggro.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

Keepers without gloves
Keepers wearing same colour shorts and socks as their team mates
Keepers running whilst bouncing the ball

Cappers I can't remember you doing any of the above
I do remember you being in the pub after every game tho

 

[Gazwag]

I enjoyed the first season when pass backs were banned loads of comedy goal keeper moments

 

[Beach Hut]

Oh yes, jumpers for goalposts

 

[Stat Brother]

The football was better back then right up to the moment you watch a full match.

From that point on it was actually sh*te.

- Slow repetitive football play - the ball constantly passed back to the goalie.
- Any player with any kind of ability or skill was physically assaulted.
- The pitches were no better than the park.
- The bulk (in every sense of the word) of the players weren't fit enough for 90 minutes of football.
- Standing aside, the facilities at all grounds were third world, at best.
- Liverpool won everything.
- The game was as bent then as it is today, brown paper bags of cash.

To answer the specific question, Do you prefer football as it was then, or how it is now?

The FOOTBALL is a bazillion times better now.
The game is now sh*t and rotten to the core, but it's sh*t for very different reasons.