Disheartening things in football?

[statpadder]

Not able to celebrate most goals now because of VAR.

 

[Robertd0803]

Attacking players being stupid enough to foul a defender shielding the ball when chasing the game. The defender will go down with the slightest of touches so dont be stupid enough to shove them in the back.

Players trying to run the clock down by the corner flag and losing the ball super easily and putting their team under pressure again.

Same situation the players kicking the legs off the person shielding the ball and no free kick being given.

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

Not able to celebrate most goals now because of VAR.

You beat me to it. That Hojlund goal at Villa Park really stood out for me. Me and my dad just stayed silent for a couple of seconds before one of us said "that will get disallowed won't it". After watching the replay and seeing he was onside, there was barely even a cheer.

Penalty goals are one of the only occasions where I feel like I can properly celebrate.

 

[DJ Jeff]

You beat me to it. That Hojlund goal at Villa Park really stood out for me. Me and my dad just stayed silent for a couple of seconds before one of us said "that will get disallowed won't it". After watching the replay and seeing he was onside, there was barely even a cheer.

Penalty goals are one of the only occasions where I feel like I can properly celebrate.

Thats me with basically every vital goal now. I barely celebrated Kobbie or Garnacho's goals in the cup final because I thought someone was offside in the build up in both. Or a niggly foul 3 passes before the goal gets called. I know refs were getting so much wrong that VAR has arguably improved the game but for me it has ruined it simply because I don't celebrate anything now and by the time its confirmed most of the joy of the moment is gone.

 

[Plant0x84]

People who wanted MG back at this club because he is ‘good at football’ over having a moral compass and considering there might be a bigger more important picture to that particular situation.

 

[DarkLord1984]

Another disheartening thing for me in football is Pep Guardiola.

Allegations of corruption and cheating have followed him everywhere he goes (except for his stint at Bayern - unless there's dodgy stuff there we don't know about yet). Even his playing days have question marks over them.

Yet instead of being rightly called out on it, he gets hailed as the "bestest manager ever of all time" with some even saying he is better than Fergie.

Last time I checked, Fergie wasn't accused of bribing referees, and didn't have 115 charges of financial fraud against his name. Fergie also didn't have doping accusations made against him while he was still playing.

Pep is a liar and a cheat, yet he gets lauded for it.

Disgusting.

 

[Swordsman]

- My heart sinks when fullbacks for teams I support (club & NT) burst through to the byline in clear space, with their ability being the only factor in where the cross/pass goes, and they blast it into the box, not because they are playing for the corridor of uncertainty, but because they are incapable of picking out a man and finding him with their pass/cross. You already know when certain fullbacks are in said space that absolutely nothing positive will happen. Equally, it’s a real pleasure to watch those fullbacks who can play pinpoint balls in from the same aforementioned scenarios.

- strikers and those tasked with putting the ball in the net who are unable of first time strikes, and instead of backing themselves in these situations, would rather take multiple nothing touches before losing the window of opportunity that was initially there.

- midfielders who can’t make forward passes - not complex ones, just progressive ones. Being raised on United teams who always had excellent ethos and ability to do this, it was a skill once taken for granted, somewhat. These days, it’s painful to watch midfielders who cannot do the bare minimum of what was expected of a United midfielder featuring in the first xi under SAF.

- keepers who can’t play out from the back. Never used to bother me, and I didn’t gripe about De Gea not being able to do it, but in this day and age it’s a prerequisite of the position for most teams, and keepers like Pickford - the punt the ball to the opposition rather than play out types - really make the heart sink.

- managers/coaches who look bewildered in-game and can’t make real time adjustments. You get paid a fortune to be in control and to have insight others do not.


Few of mine. What disheartens you when watching a game of football?

Their world class acting like they have been punched by a prime Tyson. Their expression looks like they need to be send to ER or they will die. Fall too easily and exaggerated. It's like footballers are made of tofu. Easily destroyed

 

[DarkLord1984]

Their world class acting like they have been punched by a prime Tyson. Their expression looks like they need to be send to ER or they will die. Fall too easily and exaggerated. It's like footballers are made of tofu. Easily destroyed

Yeah this is appalling. I remember watching the Premier League in the early 90s and it could not have been more different. Players would kick the shite out of each other and often wouldn't even get a yellow. The players who had been taken out would just get up and get on with it as if nothing happened. It's terrible how far the game has fallen in this regard.

 

[harms]

Still seeing news reports about players/fans being racist.

This & all the domestic/sexual abuse scandals that seem to pop up with scarish regularity. Not sure if they're getting more frequent or with the added exposure of the social media era and the general shift in public perception on the matter more cases become known to the public.

 

[SilentWitness]

This & all the domestic/sexual abuse scandals that seem to pop up with scarish regularity. Not sure if they're getting more frequent or with the added exposure of the social media era and the general shift in public perception on the matter more cases become known to the public.

Agreed. Think it's the added exposure/shift in perception. I've seen it with social media stars and youtubers recently too. Feels like there isn't a week that goes by without one being involved in a scandal.

 

[luckypepper]

Disheartening things (some infuriating) in order of increasing disheartening-ness:

1. Players gaining ground by a few meters while taking throw ins (Walker, Trippier, Evra?, and so many others - mostly defenders)
2. Lack of ability to control long balls - Rashford, Hojlund, others
3. Not supporting your team mates when they're being bullied by opponents, which showed a general lack of team spirit - on quiet a few occasions our players would get kicked about and the only player I saw come to fight was Fred
4. Referees being abused in matches - more so in lower tiers/ youth level
5. Fans from other countries/ other regions being called out as 'plastic'
6. For United specially - being late to the women's football scene and consistently losing our top players, coaches

 

[Chairman Steve]

The fact that social media has exposed a lot of players to be dickheaded manchildren who live in a bubble separate and out of touch from the real world and real people, despite being told for years prior they were role models.