Is there a bias towards certain clubs?

For those of you that saw the United versus Fulham game last night, when Michael Carrick fouled Danny Murphy in the last few moments of the game, how many of you thought it was a penalty? Having watched the replay a few times, it was a stonewall penalty, Carrick has come from behind, not won the ball, it should’ve been a penalty. “Everyone in the stadium expected a penalty, you have to be brave to give an away penalty at United,” said Fulham manager Martin Jol. It’s true though, if that was the other way round, United 1-0 down with just a few minutes left in the game and Danny Murphy fouled Carrick, there would be 70,000 people going berserk, screaming for a penalty and chances are, the penalty would’ve been given. Jol also went onto to say that if it wasn’t a penalty, then Murphy should have been booked for diving, which is correct; the referee can’t argue with his positioning, he was there in line with the tackle which makes you wonder why on earth it wasn’t given.

Obviously, it would never be admitted by the FA, but is there a bias towards ‘bigger’ clubs? Time and time again, teams have gone to Old Trafford and ridiculous decisions have been given against them, or decisions which should’ve been like the penalty award that never was last night haven’t been given. It’s not just Man United though, when Chelsea played at Wolves earlier on this season Frank Lampard made a horrific tackle, near enough all the pundits said it should’ve been a straight red, yet it was just a yellow. However, a couple of games previous to that, Wolves midfielder, Nenad Milijas was given a straight red card at the Emirates stadium for a tackle where he won the ball. It wasn’t the best of tackles, but it was certainly better than the one Frank Lampard made; so where is the justice? Decisions seemingly go against the so called smaller clubs more frequently than they do that of the bigger clubs because there is such a lack of consistency when it comes to the officiating of football matches; one week an offense can warrant a yellow, the next red, the next it might not even be a foul.

Fans do have an influence regarding the situation, if we relate back to the opening topic of the penalty that never was at Old Trafford last night, it is clear that if there was thousands of people shouting and screaming, the probability of the penalty being given would’ve rose. Referees and officials aren’t meant to be influenced by supporters, but it’s happened before where the referee wouldn’t have a clear view of something, the crowd would shout handball and the referee or the linesman would give it. Excluding this weekend’s football the team that has had the most penalties this season, is none other than Man United who have been awarded nine penalties, which is three more than anyone else. Last season, the two teams who were awarded the most was Manchester City and Chelsea, the year before that Chelsea again. FWFIN understands that the aforementioned are going to have a lot of attacks, but it seems like a pattern forming, doesn’t it?

Football supporters all around Great Britain need to unite against the bias that is playing a massive part in the Premiership; it will never be admitted by those in charge, but next time you play at somewhere like Old Trafford or the Emirates, or Stamford Bridge, don’t be surprised if the majority of decisions go against you. Always remember that football without fans is nothing.

FWFIN.  

 

Stop Mod£rn Football!

Chances are at some point in your life, the majority of you would’ve played Football Manager or some form of football game on a console. There’s also a very high chance that at some stage when playing the game you have cheated to give yourself more money, yes? For Roman Abramovich and Khaldoon Al Mubarak who are the chairmen of Chelsea and Man City, that game is a reality; last night when the two teams clashed at the Etihad Stadium the amount of money that both squads cost put together is ridiculous. Even if you took Torres, Aguero and Balotelli who started up front in the match, they total over £100 million thereselves, let alone the other thirty-three players. The two chairmen have luxurious roles at their respective clubs; they can pick and choose near enough any player in the world and pay over the odds for them and then see them play for their club, it’s the same with the manager as well, Abramovich is on his ninth in as many years as he tries and buys success. However, things may be changing over the next few years, because the new FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules that are being put in place basically mean that you have to live within your means or break even; Man City last year reported a loss of almost £200 million, so that will have to stop. There will be a way round it though, there always is.

As previously mentioned the game last night was played at the Etihad Stadium, which to you and me it is the City of Manchester Stadium or Eastlands, the same way that the Sports Direct Arena will always be St James’ Park. Clubs are selling their souls far too easily now, how long will it be before we have team names sponsored by companies? It has happened in Austria and in New York where you have now got Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, Red Bull is a drink! It has nothing to do with football, but in America the commercialisation of just about everything is accepted, however in Austria there was a lot of uproar surrounding the issue, but in every walk of life money talks. How long will it be before Red Bull buy a football team over here, or another global company try and alter a team’s name and a logo? It’ll be a long before we know it, which is why it’s time to act now!

The video posted at the bottom of this article shows the difference between a better time and now, how commercial the game has become, how stadiums and atmospheres have changed for the worse, it’s time to stand up and be counted in the fight against modern football because enough is enough. It should of happened a long time ago, but action wasn’t taken, by the time next season comes around it will be planned out and major events will take place across the country as we try and take back the beautiful game. Football without fans is nothing.

FWFIN.

 

 

Supporters are not criminals.

“Bolton had already come from behind in a lively derby that saw a number of Wigan fans ejected for setting off flares and smoke bombs.”

It’s the same situation as the Middlesbrough versus Sunderland game which was mentioned last week, of which there is a probe into due to a flare was set off and now ‘a number’ of Wigan fans have been ejected from the Reebok Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers, for setting off smoke bombs and flares as the quote says. But why? There is no logic behind it whatsoever, FWFIN understands that is against ground regulations, but so is bringing musical instruments into a ground, but the England band are allowed to go all around the world without any hassle. But as soon as any form of pyro is set off, stewards and the plod feel like that the world is going to come to an end and they have to get people kicked out the ground, or failing that, video evidence will be studied and then whoever it maybe will be nicked further down the line. 

One good point though, is that pyro seems to be getting used more in this country as the weeks go by and I think it will only increase, it’s the same as a lot of other things, things such as the one at the Sunderland game and the few at the Wigan game are covered by the media, but it goes on in many more places, which is kept out of the papers and the media. However, when a European club comes over to England, just take Hadjuk Split as an example, when they played Stoke at the Britannia Stadium, they set off numerous amounts of pyro, but nothing was done, because they were foreign. The commentators will always say how good the support is from European clubs is when pyro has gone off, so why is it condemned so much in this country! 

In modern day stadiums, you have so much CCTV watching you for the duration that you’re in the ground, you feel like a criminal, FWFIN understands that it’s for your ‘safety and security’, but surely that’s why stewards are hired? Just think, your every move is watched, it’s an invasion of privacy, of course people will say, if you’ve got nothing to hide, then there’s no problem. Look at it the other way, you’re being watched constantly, the security team know what you’re wearing everytime you step into the ground, they know where you will be in the stand, who you will be with. 

On a unrelated matter, Portsmouth FC players threw their shirts into the stand housing their supporters away at Blackpool on Saturday as a show of appreciation for the long journey that they encountered for the evening kick off. The players that threw their tops into the crowd, will have to replace them themselves, due to the fact that the club’s accounts have been frozen and the players haven’t been paid for weeks and they will be in court next week to try and avoid a winding up order. They own in excess of twenty million pounds, however, to a club like Man City, it’s just loose change, they could quite easily help them out. As well as Darlington who are clinging on to existence by the skin of their teeth. 

Supporters are not criminals.

Football without fans is nothing.  

Absolutely anything can be achieved.

For far too long have we taken too much slack off our clubs for not being correct, if you take Man United as a prime example, even though they’re one of the biggest clubs in the world, if not the biggest, there supporters still get messed about. For the past few seasons anytime they make the short journey over to Anfield, they’ve had their allocation cut, due to ‘persistent standing’, what is wrong with standing? You can have stewards giving you a constant reminder to sit down due to ground regulations, however when it’s half time, you can stand freely, without any restrictions imposed by the ground staff.

This is just one of the examples where ridiculous regulations are put in place, just to defer the experience of a football fan. Which is why it’s absolutely crucial that safe standing is introduced back in England; it’s come to the stage where it has been discussed in parliament, but that is all it has been. However, once the wheels are in motion, it will be pushed and pushed until they have no choice but to seriously consider it. In Germany, Borussia Dortmund have the Die Südtribüne, which is the biggest free standing terrace in Europe, it’s absolutely incredible, it holds 25,000 people which is more than some Premiership grounds. If Germany can do it, why can’t we?

It’s going to be the case of someone having to take a lead and then hopefully the rest will follow, because it’s something that is a must, because the way that football is going, all the stadiums will become souless bowls, take Arsenal for example, at Highbury, the atmosphere was quite impressive, at the Emirates, it’s nigh on non existent at times. Imagine though, if one of the stands behind the goal was standing though, that would improve the atmosphere tenfold, at least.

What would football actually be like that without fans, though? Admittedly you would have you Man City’s who would be able to operate without any fuss due to the fact that are ridiculously wealthy, but if you look at other Premiership clubs, your likes of Newcastle, Everton, Stoke, they would not be able to function without their loyal supporters. It’s not just in the top division though, if you look even down to non league, club’s would be nowhere without their fans.

Given time, boycotts will be organised around the country, so for one set weekend next season, the majority of grounds will be half empty if not less, because maybe then, the club’s will take the supporters seriously. The spiraling ticket prices are disgusting, it’s pricing your working class man out of the game, and that’s something that needs looking into.

Just remember, football without fans is nothing.