Just got through reading the comments on there and IMO there's one excellent one that sums up the situation in football today. Ive cut and pasted it here so hope the author and the Guardian don't get annoyed with me. It's a bit long but take the time and appreciate the sentiments.
joolsa40 41m ago
01
The problem has come from two things I think; football as a business and social media.
If you take football as a business first, well, yes it always has been in a small way. Teams could go bust, although rarely and better run clubs generally did better than badly run ones. But now it's a like your local grocer in 1986 changing to become a supermarket chain in 2016. It may have the same name, the first shop is still in the same place, the old guy who sweeps the floor still might work there, but it is clearly not the same shop.
In a business, if you don't like that situation as a customer, you go and shop somewhere else. But football, despite presenting itself as a business, isn't really. I support Fulham (and believe me, if I could support someone else, I really, really would sometimes) and there isn't a lot I can do about that. Millions of other supporters are the same and that's where the problem starts.
The football business relies on those turnstiles ticking over, the replica shirts being bought and of course, the atmosphere generated by both sets of fans at matches. Clubs like Charlton, Coventry and many others, would have folded if they were true businesses as their 'customers' would have voted with their feet. And there is the disconnect. Football clubs regarding themselves as businesses when they actually aren't 'real' businesses at all, and supporters seeing themselves treated as customers, which they clearly aren't; they are fans which is a HUGE difference.
I have toyed with the idea a few times of going to Non League football instead, simply to avoid this exploitation and fake business models, with their Media Managers, Business Enhancement Managers, Third Away Kits which make you want to shout "It's 22 men trying to kick a ball into a net for God's sake, not a corporate behemoth intent on growing its market in the Far East!". And nice though it is to be short-listed for Nickleodeon child friendly club of the year, it really isn't what football is actually about.
The second point is social media. Fulham lost on Saturday, 2-1 at home to QPR. That's annoying. The fact that we missed 2 penalties, hit the bar, missed two open goals and they scored with their only two half-decent chances, didn't help. However that's football. Get over it, it's a game.
There was plenty on social media immediately afterwards demanding the Owner resign. OK, he's not perfect, but we have bought 14 players this season which he's paid for. Last year we had a transfer embargo for 6 months as he spent too much. He does attend some games. Yes, he is a businessmen and yes, Felix Magath was the worst appointment in history but to be frank he had a Bundesliga win on his CV and most of the fans thought that someone who would give the players a kick up the backside might be good. Neither us nor I suspect Mr Khan realised that he was actually, certifiably mad.
Social media gives voice to the worst in people; it's slightly less annoying than a radio phone in, but only just. Every half-baked opinion is recycled and the overall whole creates a ridiculously toxic atmosphere - even when you win, you get idiots determined to belittle the opposition rather than celebrate your own success. So this intense discontent rumbles on and starts making football less fun and more something for angry, white, middle-aged men (for that's who it is mainly) to shout about stuff. And what's easier than blaming the manager or the owner?
Three teams will get relegated from the Premier League this season. These will likely be the teams with the worst players. Bad owners play a part certainly, as do bad managers and even bad luck. However, even if every team in the Premier League plays to their full potential, with brilliant managers and caring owners, three teams will still be relegated. It's the way it goes.
