Recently, it was proposed that Liverpool Football Club may be reducing the number of allocated tickets to Manchester United supporters for their Premier League clash at Anfield on 15th October.
Supposedly the reasons for this relate to safety concerns - the issue of supporters consistently standing during the match rather than sitting down resulted in gangways being blocked and thereby preventing the match stewards doing their jobs.
Obviously, supporters standing during matches has been a sensitive issue in football, and in particular an emotional one at Liverpool, since the tragedy of Hillsborough and the subsequent Taylor Report which, amongst other things, recommended the removal of "terracing", the dedicated standing areas in football grounds.
And so, when supporters refuse to acknowledge this and choose to persistently stand during games, especially at Anfield, they are not only flagrantly ignoring the rules but also the reasons for such rules being there to start with.
If Manchester United supporters, and I do not for a moment wish to suggest they are alone in this, have been acting in such a way then it is only natural that a club such as Liverpool would recognise the potential danger and choose to act. Certainly it is not a unique situation, as such things have happened before - in particular Liverpool themselves have seen their away allocation reduced at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
Is reducing the ticket allocation the answer? Removing one in three supporters should help ensure the safety of the others and allow the stewards to police them. Manchester United supporters might feel that they are being victimised, but they must understand and appreciate the historical significance. It is also understandable that this match in particular would be the worst affected, as it is still to this day the marquee match in the Premier League - a fierce rivalry with passionate support on both sides.
The main concern I have with this action is to ask "where does it stop?" If this action is taken in one or two unique circumstances, and that encourages other supporters to be (for want of a better term) "better behaved" then it could be viewed as a good thing.
The proposal could mean a lessened atmosphere however, and that benefits nobody. Football is a passionate game particularly in derby/rivalry games. By trying to remove this you remove part of what the game is and what it means to supporters.
Obviously I have not been privy to the decision-making process in this instance, but I would like to think that even two clubs such as Liverpool and Manchester United could work together to attempt to improve the situation without resorting to this. Liverpool could have voiced their concerns to their counterparts along the M62, and Manchester United could have spoken with supporters' unions.
So, although I can see the reasoning behind this course of action, I just hope that this doesn't become a wider-spread necessity in our game.
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
The importance of pre-season
With many teams across the Football League beginning their pre-season yesterday, and Premier League teams beginning theirs this week, I thought I would take a few minutes to put down my thoughts on this annual ritual.
For many fans, pre-season is something to whet the appetite - it tells you "Hey, the football season's nearly here!" It gives the fans the opportunity for a sneak preview of how their team might perform in the upcoming season - showcasing new signings or, in some cases, new managers and their styles of play.
But a question often asked by many supporters is "How much do pre-season games matter?"
What they really mean by "games" is "results". How much attention can you pay to these games and what weight can you give to the overall performances and final scores? There are, generally, two schools of thought:
1 - It's All About Fitness
People with this perspective tend to brush aside any notion of winning pre-season games and to an extent don't pay much mind to the performances. They'll often say that the games are just extended training sessions and that they are designed to get the team's fitness levels up in time for the first game of the regular season. Therefore it doesn't matter whether you lose 2-0 to a side three divisions below you, or beat a decent European team 3-0. "It's all about fitness".
2 - It Helps Confidence
This approach to pre-season preaches that it is important for the team to get into a winning habit going into their first game. Fans with this attitude treat pre-season games almost as if they were league games - performances and results really do matter. Often they will use the games to pre-judge how new signings will fit in over the coming season.
But what is the truth of the importance of pre-season? There is no right and wrong, but my opinion is that it lies somewhere in-between the two.
The merits of point #1 above are plain to see. Running around cones on a training field is one thing, but really nothing can better prepare you for playing football than playing football. Might sound obvious but its true. On the other hand if it really was "just about fitness" then clubs would arrange in-house friendlies and save on travel expenses etc.
Thus, we must consider point #2. Often teams will arrange pre-season friendlies against vastly inferior opposition - often local sides. The benefits of this are two-fold. One, you get to help out a small local team by bringing a crowd to their ground. Two, you are likely to beat them by a decent margin and thus get your players into the "winning habit" described above.
Obviously many of the larger Premier League teams dispense with this in favour of overseas tours and marquee opponents, but that's largely because they have the resources to. And that leads me to another point. Games such as these are also good from a commercial aspect - they help get your club name exposure in foreign markets as well as giving fans in those areas the opportunity to attend a live game.
The drawback to placing too much weight on point #2 is that you can end up with false expectations. New signings can sometimes take time to settle in, and if you judge them too much on their 20-minute run out against a side from Thailand then you are in danger of forming a biased opinion. Additionally, the manager might experiment with new formations or strategies, and if he feels they don't work as he'd hoped then they could well be binned before the season starts; therefore the performances in pre-season may not be a good reflection of how the team will approach competitive games. If such experimentation costs you the result in a friendly game you've lost nothing but learned much.
Conclusions
In closing then, you can see that both points of view raise valid arguments. Neither can claim to be 100% accurate though. Yes, it is about getting teams fit and playing games but you'd also choose to win all of your games if you could. When I watch a pre-season game I don't have any expectations about the result but I'd be lying if I said losing them didn't disappoint me a little.
However, I do know that the most important thing is that when the whistle blows to kick off the league season, the club staff have done all they can in the preceding month or so to prepare the players efficiently.
'til next time
Adam
For many fans, pre-season is something to whet the appetite - it tells you "Hey, the football season's nearly here!" It gives the fans the opportunity for a sneak preview of how their team might perform in the upcoming season - showcasing new signings or, in some cases, new managers and their styles of play.
But a question often asked by many supporters is "How much do pre-season games matter?"
What they really mean by "games" is "results". How much attention can you pay to these games and what weight can you give to the overall performances and final scores? There are, generally, two schools of thought:
1 - It's All About Fitness
People with this perspective tend to brush aside any notion of winning pre-season games and to an extent don't pay much mind to the performances. They'll often say that the games are just extended training sessions and that they are designed to get the team's fitness levels up in time for the first game of the regular season. Therefore it doesn't matter whether you lose 2-0 to a side three divisions below you, or beat a decent European team 3-0. "It's all about fitness".
2 - It Helps Confidence
This approach to pre-season preaches that it is important for the team to get into a winning habit going into their first game. Fans with this attitude treat pre-season games almost as if they were league games - performances and results really do matter. Often they will use the games to pre-judge how new signings will fit in over the coming season.
But what is the truth of the importance of pre-season? There is no right and wrong, but my opinion is that it lies somewhere in-between the two.
The merits of point #1 above are plain to see. Running around cones on a training field is one thing, but really nothing can better prepare you for playing football than playing football. Might sound obvious but its true. On the other hand if it really was "just about fitness" then clubs would arrange in-house friendlies and save on travel expenses etc.
Thus, we must consider point #2. Often teams will arrange pre-season friendlies against vastly inferior opposition - often local sides. The benefits of this are two-fold. One, you get to help out a small local team by bringing a crowd to their ground. Two, you are likely to beat them by a decent margin and thus get your players into the "winning habit" described above.
Obviously many of the larger Premier League teams dispense with this in favour of overseas tours and marquee opponents, but that's largely because they have the resources to. And that leads me to another point. Games such as these are also good from a commercial aspect - they help get your club name exposure in foreign markets as well as giving fans in those areas the opportunity to attend a live game.
The drawback to placing too much weight on point #2 is that you can end up with false expectations. New signings can sometimes take time to settle in, and if you judge them too much on their 20-minute run out against a side from Thailand then you are in danger of forming a biased opinion. Additionally, the manager might experiment with new formations or strategies, and if he feels they don't work as he'd hoped then they could well be binned before the season starts; therefore the performances in pre-season may not be a good reflection of how the team will approach competitive games. If such experimentation costs you the result in a friendly game you've lost nothing but learned much.
Conclusions
In closing then, you can see that both points of view raise valid arguments. Neither can claim to be 100% accurate though. Yes, it is about getting teams fit and playing games but you'd also choose to win all of your games if you could. When I watch a pre-season game I don't have any expectations about the result but I'd be lying if I said losing them didn't disappoint me a little.
However, I do know that the most important thing is that when the whistle blows to kick off the league season, the club staff have done all they can in the preceding month or so to prepare the players efficiently.
'til next time
Adam
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Blog revived!
I've finally decided to revive this thing after 2 years away! I intend to keep more on top of things from now on, and I will be posting regular updates to this blog during the course of the 2011-12 season.
As a Liverpool supporter I may be focused more on the Reds' activities than other clubs but I will certainly be posting about the major discussion points in football, and offering my alternate perspective on anything that catches my attention.
Expect the first new post within the next week or so.
Cheers
Adam
As a Liverpool supporter I may be focused more on the Reds' activities than other clubs but I will certainly be posting about the major discussion points in football, and offering my alternate perspective on anything that catches my attention.
Expect the first new post within the next week or so.
Cheers
Adam
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