What do fans want to see in a game of football?

Norman_Conquest

Norman_Conquest

Well-known member
There have been a few comments on the City v Chelsea FA Cup thread about how City are boring to watch and others have mentioned how they like the way they play. None of us are right or wrong and I am sure those making these comments don't want to see a Tony Pulis style football of lumping it.

I like watching Man City and how they retain the ball until they find that opening to exploit. Surely, this is the idea of the game. Arteta, who was a coach at City, has Arsenal playing in a similar fashion but has added pace to their style of play and is happy for his wide men to take on an opponent. Again, it is proving successful with Arsenal challenging for honours, something they haven't done for some time.

I've always liked to watch a tricky winger, a Terry Cochrane, Stuart Ripley style player, who can turn the full back inside out. Doku injects this into City but it seems to me Pep only uses him when they are chasing a result. Bernardo Silva and Grealish can both go past a man with their skill but the latter seems to be under instruction not to give the ball away. I also like the slide rule defence splitting pass that gets most fans out of their seats. There is not many better than De Bruyne at this.

What I don't like is one team dominating football and winning everything, but how do you get past that? Liverpool did it in the 1970's and 1980's and Man Utd in the 1990's and 2000's. City are now the dominant force and I was hoping Arsenal would win the league this year. I would rather see two equally matched teams playing decent football going from end to end.

So what is it you want to see in a game?
 
I like the way City play but from an entertainment point of view I want players to play like Brazil used to. Take risks, dribble past players, use individual skill to make space for others, get players forwards etc. It's always more exciting when it is an end to end game.

I also recognise that statistically that isn't the most effective way to play.

There will always be a team that dominates. As long as it's for a few years and not decades it isn't bad. It makes sense that a team plays well for several years if they have a good squad, coach and some continuity but you would expect another team to be able to challenge them if they get things right and for the dominant team to lose their coach or players and not be as effective.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
There have been a few comments on the City v Chelsea FA Cup thread about how City are boring to watch and others have mentioned how they like the way they play. None of us are right or wrong and I am sure those making these comments don't want to see a Tony Pulis style football of lumping it.

I like watching Man City and how they retain the ball until they find that opening to exploit. Surely, this is the idea of the game. Arteta, who was a coach at City, has Arsenal playing in a similar fashion but has added pace to their style of play and is happy for his wide men to take on an opponent. Again, it is proving successful with Arsenal challenging for honours, something they haven't done for some time.

I've always liked to watch a tricky winger, a Terry Cochrane, Stuart Ripley style player, who can turn the full back inside out. Doku injects this into City but it seems to me Pep only uses him when they are chasing a result. Bernardo Silva and Grealish can both go past a man with their skill but the latter seems to be under instruction not to give the ball away. I also like the slide rule defence splitting pass that gets most fans out of their seats. There is not many better than De Bruyne at this.

What I don't like is one team dominating football and winning everything, but how do you get past that? Liverpool did it in the 1970's and 1980's and Man Utd in the 1990's and 2000's. City are now the dominant force and I was hoping Arsenal would win the league this year. I would rather see two equally matched teams playing decent football going from end to end.

So what is it you want to see in a game?
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Bring back thunderous challenges, needle, on field fueds plus all the skill. For me the rivaly between utd and aresnal in the early 90s was the peak of the premier league. We had unbelievable talents like cantona bergcamp henry but we still had the physicality and aggression with the likes of keane vieira keown. Thats gone from the game, football now is tepid and soft. Watching a premier league game these days is like watching a poor international match.
 
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I think what fans really want to see is their team win. This inevitably means everyone can't be happy all of the time.

But as neutrals, I think we want a contest and unpredictability. At the top level, unpredictability has been carefully weeded out of the game. We look at the championship and say "what a crazy league" but really the championship is normal, and the PL is stale. In the last 3 complete seasons, the eventual PL winners have lost a total of 10 matches. In the first 3 PL seasons, they lost a total of 17.

Which brings me on to Man City. I see their style as technically very impressive and, tactically, the best way of taking advantage of their superiority in quality. However, it is the ultimate percentage play: the chartered surveyor's approach to football. If they don't have the ball, they can't score...

So, what makes it successful also reduces unpredictability. I don't find it very attractive: I think it's a style than forces the opponent to pack the defence. I think, when it's successful, it requires exceptional players like Messi and de Bruyne to unlock the defence. They can be great to watch. However, without the x factor players to make it work, the style itself is dull, and you're left with Swansea.
 
City are good, they have influenced the game in England massively - Pep has done that.. however, they overpass, over retain possession & over play - slowly - too much to be enjoyable.. I'd not want to watch every week..

As said earlier Brazil of the 1970's was the style I like - players that can pass & have individual skill that can go past people plus look to attack more often than not..

Pep yesterday - last mins of normal time - ranting at Foden for passing the ball forward into space for Alvares to attack 1 on 1.. & make it 2 v 0, maybe.. inferring retain possession & maybe run it into the corner ( with still 2 mins then +8 extra to go ) - no thanks, not the football I want to watch..

Pep is a game changer - zero doubt about that - however he's been at the best clubs, with the best players & money to spend - & for me at Bayern Jupp Heynckes's team played the much better football ( & won the CL )

Attacking, creative football with some tactics thrown in - I enjoy watching good defending & counter attack, I like to see passing of the ball - more on the ground than in the air - & I like watching skilful players run with the ball & take players on..

** cheats punished & VAR needs to be far quicker ( automated where it can be ) - maybe onfield decision is given & each manager gets one challenge per half.. maybe..
 
BobUpnDown said:
Pep is a game changer - zero doubt about that - however he's been at the best clubs, with the best players & money to spend - & for me at Bayern Jupp Heynckes's team played the much better football ( & won the CL )
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He is a game changer, not always for the better, but that's also not always his fault.

Pep's teams keep the ball and have a lot of possession. Therefore, some have understood, they are successful BECAUSE they have a lot of possession. Well, correlation is not causation. Others have tried to ape the style with lesser players. It's made other teams dull to watch, and failed to make them win.

In fairness to Pep, he's always said he's not sure his tactics would work with lesser players.
 
Wingers running at people rather than looking for the safe pass inside, big man / little man partnership up top, Keepers launching the ball from their hands or off the deckmrather then playing that passing from the back possession based football.
 
If Boro are playing in a game then I want them to win.
Fantasy football keeps my interest in the Prem, otherwise I have no real axe to grind and like to see a good game - an exception to this is I’m not usually on Liverpool’s side. This may originate from the 1950s,60s,70s whe the scousers had already been relegated and they beat Boro to bring us down too into the old second division where we couldn’t get back into the first tier for a couple of decades.
 
Jonny_Rondos_Disco_pants said:
Wingers running at people rather than looking for the safe pass inside, big man / little man partnership up top, Keepers launching the ball from their hands or off the deckmrather then playing that passing from the back possession based football.
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I absolutely hate watching grealish play for that reason. 95% of the time its a safe pass inside
 
Each era has teams which dominate. Man Utd were the unstoppable machine of my childhood. You would play them hoping somebody had an off day so that there was a little weakness you might be able to exploit.

When I watch football, I want to see a game where there is that chance. Where a player might be able to burst through, go past someone and expose that little weakness and catch them napping. It probably won't go in, but it gets your heart thumping and gets you out of your seat; you believe that it might happen.

I've banged on about this on here before but a whole generation of players who would have done this week in, week out at Championship/low end of PL level were sucked into elite academies as youngsters and now get paid mega money to go on a few loans, get to their mid twenties then fade away. They could be out there making those moments of magic but are diverted as teenagers.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
I'm watching the cheats Derby and to say that the winner could avoid relegation, they are both serving up a dire affair.
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I think it's a bit of a myth that quality=entertainment.
That said, there is some overlap: the most entertaining matches probably do result from the highest quality teams going at it.

However, Pl matches can be dire; non-league matches can be fantastic to watch
Sometimes errors result in more entertainment.
 
Frozen Horse said:
I think it's a bit of a myth that quality=entertainment.
That said, there is some overlap: the most entertaining matches probably do result from the highest quality teams going at it.

However, Pl matches can be dire; non-league matches can be fantastic to watch
Sometimes errors result in more entertainment.
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Totally agree, and expected more from the Everton v Forest game. Other than Pickford's save and McNeil's goal, it's been very poor.
 
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