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Football in the sun anyone?

Every now and again, somebody comes up with an idea which may change the face of football forever. At the moment, there are plans to introduce video technology as well as a third linesman for example. However, trawling through the masses of literature on the internet, I became interested in another concept which does seem plausible.

This surrounds moving the football season so it encapsulates the summer months rather than the cold hard winter. Now many years ago, when I was a child, I became incredibly frustrated that just as the weather warmed up, and everyone had the chance to go out and play, the goalposts were taken down everywhere you looked – how annoying is that?

In terms of generating attendances, particularly at the lower end of the football spectrum – moving the season to the summer could also have major benefit in terms of attractiving the floating fans. People are more likely to stand outside and watch football when the weather is nice rather than freezing cold aren’t they?

Saying that though – isn’t becoming freezing cold at a football match part of it’s tradition and appeal.

What do you think? Would you be in favour of a summer move ?

Can it ever be right to boycott your team?

There are literally millions of football fans around the world all of which take a keen interest in their team. Many people go and which their team every week and brave the elements in order to do so. But what happens if the team is not winning trophies – or even winning matches?

At any level of football, a winning team is going to generate larger gates than a losing one. This is common sense – people don’t go to watch a game of football if they are pretty sure that there team will lose.

The question is however whether or not there is a fine line between fan loyalty and lying down and letting your club take the mickey out of you. I am going to boycott my club this week as not only is the style of football absolute garbage, the results are even worse. But more than that, nobody at the club seems to give a damn in terms of investment in the team or the club in general.

Is this right? Does this make me a lesser supporter than someone who blindly accepts whatever the club say to them? It’s a difficult one to answer but in my mind, staying away from your club in certain situations can be because you love them so much you have to do it.

What do you think?

Plan for Valentines Day early folks!

As many of you will be aware, next Saturday is Valentine’s Day and this could cause you a certain amount of trouble, particularly if your team is playing away from home. Wives and girlfriends will be wanting you to spend the day with them when really all you want to do is go out, have a few beers with the lads and watch your team.

There are a number of different ways in which you could create a situation which is beneficial for everyone and WIE has some ideas which may help you out. The first one is maybe the simplest and that is to take your partner to the match with you. Invite them for a “day out” with you which may well involve a meal after the match where the two of you can spend some time alone.

Another idea is to bring up the issue early and suggest that you do something together on the Friday night instead. Again a trip to the cinema or meal out may well suffice.

If Friday does not suit then what about Sunday lunch out together instead – take her for a slap up meal and treat her like a princess for the day.

Alternatively of course you could just say you forgot about it and have made other plans – but we certainly would not recommend this!

Good luck!

New grounds or old?

Over the last decade many clubs have invested in a new ground. These have ranged from the impressive Emirates Stadium to the Deva Stadium which is the home of League Two side Chester City. There is now the situation where many clubs, both large and small are considering turning their back on their homes in order to move to newer stadiums which they believe will take them to the next stage in their developments.

Yet the question is – are these new grounds really worth it?

Some teams such as Arsenal move to new stadiums in order to attract larger crowds – which due to the success of the team, they can assume will come. Yet lower down the football pyramid this is not necessarily the case. Some clubs who are not even filling half their ground at the moment are considering moves to new stadiums with a raised capacity. This obviously raises the question – why?

A good example of this is Shrewsbury Town whose new ground may well be a disaster if they do not get promoted from League Two this season. There was, in my mind, no reason to move from Gay Meadow, yet the building of a largely character-less stadium was thought to generate more people through the turnstiles and therefore a more successful team. The short answer is of course that it hasn’t.

What do you thing – new stadiums or keep with the old?

Tell us what you think!

Do we take football too seriously?

For me going to the football can be an incredibly uplifting experience, however it can also be a depressing one and potentially could ruin the weekend.

People live for football, they work all week in order to follow their team up and down the country in the hope that they will win more than they will lose and who knows maybe even win the odd trophy or two.

But the question is do we take football too seriously? At the end of the day it is just a game although the emotions that it evokes suggest that it is much more than that. For millions of people football is a way of life. Their whole world is dominated by ninety minutes every Saturday afternoon and occasional Tuesday night.

Do we take our national game too seriously in this country? My own opinion is that as long as this does not evolve in to fanaticism which is expressed in a violent way then leave people to it. We all need to be obsessed with something in our lives and there is nothing wrong with this being football.

So let us praise football fans everywhere – you truly are the salt of the earth!

Support your local team!

There is no doubt about it – its freezing outside – literally. Yet this is the time when your local team needs you the most. Yes there is a credit crunch and yes Manchester United may me on the TV but where is your loyalty?

Attendances at lower league football are dangerously low in some quarters and as the financial crisis gets worse, this is surely the time to stand up and be counted. Even if you just go to one game a month, there is something heart warming about supporting your local team whether it be Aston Villa or Yeading you have your role to play in their future.

So make sure that you have a good thick jacket, a woolly scarf and maybe even a hip flask and get through them turnstiles. Too many fans just sit back and watch whatever games are on television when there are teams on their doorstep who need their support. WIE wants you to give them the support which they deserve. If collectively we turn our backs on them then it is quite probable that numerous clubs will go to the wall – I really don’t want to have that on my conscious and deep down neither do you!

WIE looks forward to the Third Round of the FA Cup

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated weekends of the sporting calendar this week as the F A Cup reaches the Third Round stage. Historically this has been the stuff dreams are made of as teams are able to pick their wits against some of the country’s elite and on many occasions have forced a shock result in the true tradition of the competition.

 

This weekend could be no different with many of the bigger teams facing potentially tricky encounters. The Premier League Champions, Manchester United face an awkward looking trip away at Southampton and there will not even be a grey shirt in sight!

 

Liverpool make the short journey over to Deepdale to face Preston whilst Arsenal entertain Championship side Plymouth Argyle. Chelsea will be hoping to ease in to the fourth round when they face Southend United at the Bridge whilst Everton face a potential banana skin when they travel to League Two outfit Macclesfield Town.

 

Non League Barrow are sure to have a great day out when they travel up to the Riverside to face Middlesborough we are sure to have non league representation in the fourth round as Kettering Town face giant killers Eastwood at Rockingham Road.

 

I personally cannot wait for these ties to be played – there will be some shocks you can be sure of that but where they will spring up nobody knows.

 

Where do you think it will be?

Congratulations Chris Hoy!

Cyclist Chris Hoy celebrated being named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year recently and I for one would like to congratulate him on his wonderful achievements. However part of me wonders when we will have a British footballer claiming one of the most coveted awards in sport. I guess that this will not happen until one of the home nations is relatively successful in a major tournament, but it is difficult to see this happening for the next five years at least.

 

You would have to say that out of all the home nations England look the strongest on paper, but turning this in to meaningful performances is a different thing all together. Too many players under perform on the big stages – if they didn’t of course we could well be basking in the glory of a European Championship win rather than reflecting on a rather mundane summer.

 

The Olympic Games of 2012 are surely the time to really show the world what we are made of – I cant see anything more than a quarter final exit during the 2010 World Cup (assuming we get there that is!) and so this together with the 2012 European Championships must take a predominant role in our plans. It is time to place a renewed emphasis on youth schemes and invest as heavily as we can do in the England players of tomorrow and who knows in years to come the Sports Personality of the Year award may be dominated by successful domestic players!

Goal music just isn’t football!

I have to admit that when my team introduced goal music I was less than impressed. In fact I would go so far as to say that I was embarrassed by it. This may of course be due to the fact that my team very rarely scores but for me there is something wrong with having noise blaring out after every goal.

 

Of course it can depend on what sort of music it is played, but the amount of times I have travelled to away venues to have my disappointment compounded by Blur’s “Song Two” is just too many!

 

It is either this or the Fratellis – well today I propose that goal music is banned! It just seems so repetitive that it loses any symbolic meaning which it could have. Also for me it seems that this is another step in the Americanisation of our national game and this is something which needs to be avoided.

 

Sure I get excited when my team scores and am angry when we concede, but I do not need the same old tracks over and over again to tell me which emotion to feel. It all seems a bit too corny for my liking – maybe I am growing old and am not in touch with the youth of today, but some things don’t need to be changed and in my opinion this is one of them.

 

Do you agree with me? Leave me a comment and let me know!

The road to Wembley starts here

For many teams,this weekend will commence what they believe will be the road to Wembley. However none of the players who will be dreaming of a trip to the capital are on thousands of pounds a week, subject to multi million pound transfer fees or are inundated with offers to be part of lucrative sponsorship packages.

Most of these players play for the love of the game and combine their passion with a regular job which pays the bills. They play for clubs that use a wooden gate for security, as opposed to full-blown roller shutters as is seen at most professional football grounds. The competition to which I am referring of course is the FA Trophy.

Since 1970 the competition has provided non league teams with the chance to play at the national stadium in a once in a life time experience. The levels of passion and commitment which characterise the competition are of the same magnitude as those displayed within the FA Cup, and some memorable games have been played out as part of the battle to secure the famous trophy.

Last year Ebbsfleet United overcame Torquay to become the defending champions in this years competition and they start with a tricky looking tie at Bogner Regis Town.

The two sides relegated from the Football League last season, Wrexham and Mansfield will lock horns at the Racecourse Ground whilst upwardly mobile AFC Wimbledon make the journey to Uxbridge.

Make sure to keep an eye on the FA Trophy this season and revel in a competition characterised by pure unadulterated passion.

Maybe one of the small teams will defy the odds and earn themselves enough of a following to make some roller shutters worthwhile.

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