Things You Miss From Old Football

[Risky]

Don't get me wrong, I still love football and it's still a massive part of my life BUT I'm worrying that I'm just an old man who thinks everything was better back in my day. But I'm really starting to feel that the game is actually in a really shit place at the moment, certainly in terms of the product on the pitch at least.

It may just be nostalgia for when I was younger but there's so many things that I miss about the way football used to be played.

I miss most games being Saturday at 3pm and not being on telly. Remember how special football felt when you only had MOTD, The Big Match on Sunday, and then the big FA Cup semis and final on the TV. Not to mention the excitement of an international tournament #Italia90wasthebest

I miss the game having proper characters. I'm not even talking about going back to before my time with the likes of Best, Bowles, Robin Friday or whoever. I'm talking about maverick players like Zlatan, Totti and the like. Players who were geniuses capable of moments of magic but also capable of immense headloss and ridiculous mistakes.

I miss players being able to tackle hard as long as they're genuinely trying to win the ball, and I miss referees being able to take intent in to account in their decision making (I think the Dundee Utd red card tonight triggered this thought).

I miss not having VAR sucking the life out of moments and pushing the game towards micro-analysis of slo-mos rather than considering moments at full football match speed and intent.

I miss through balls and strikers rounding the keeper before slotting.

I miss offside being about a striker gaining an advantage by getting goalside of the last defender before a pass was made, rather than today's world of well timed runs being offside because a striker's knee was ahead of a defenders elbow etc.

I might be completely wrong and the game might be better than ever now and I'm just an old man longing for my own glory days. But there's so much I miss.

Please feel free to call me out on being a miserable twat, or please feel free to add your own things you miss.

[Shogun]

I mean I agree with all of them but the kick off times/TV are the big one for me. Miss being able to watch the FA Cup between ITV/BBC. Miss be able to watch the champions league matches on ITV. Miss having pundits just chatting around the table giving their thoughts on the match rather than this top 6 catered ANALYSIS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS sensory overload that seems to be on every single match broadcasted.

I miss just being able to buy a ticket for the game. Not spending money on a membership for the right to buy a ticket in the first place only to then spend like £65 for a run of the mill football match.

[Audrey Horne]

I miss checking teletext hahah

Miss watching soccer Saturday and when one of them made a noise, convincing myself if was the one doing our game and we just conceded haha

[CannockPricey]

None of the above are wrong but I miss the Saturday pinks and paper fanzines too. That was the weekend sorted for me. I can't read long articles on phone/tablet.

VAR absolutely sucking the life out of the game and European football formats being so elongated as to be soul sapping are terrible too.

[biziclop]

Apart from an ability to celebrate a goal when it goes in, what I miss most is the chaos of unseeded draws and a pure knockout format in European club tournaments.

[74Blue]

Agree with everything from the OP, but I would like to add that I miss the FA Cup being a proper, meaningful competition. I miss the magic of the FA Cup, the giant killings, the replays, semi finals being played at a neutral ground that is not Wembley and most of all how magical the Saturday of the FA Cup final felt. If your team got to the final, there was that real scrabble for tickets and if your team wasn't in the final or you weren't lucky enough to get a ticket, the whole day was covered on BBC, from the teams boarding the coaches at their hotels and the entire coach journey to Wembley. It was always a 3pm KO on a Saturday and it was the centrepiece of the domestic season. Everybody in English football from non-league right up to the top flight took the competition seriously and everyone played with the dream of winning the FA Cup.
I miss 42 league games a season too and only having 1 substitution. Football was simple back then, but it was real and it belonged to the fans. It meant something.

[Audrey Horne]

1 sub??

[Brownie]

3pm Saturday KOs
The FA Cup being the end of the season and an event
Only rewarding success to get into Europe
FA Cup replays
Proper physicality in a game

[Cozzie]

3pm Saturday KOs
The FA Cup being the end of the season and an event
Only rewarding success to get into Europe
FA Cup replays
Proper physicality in a game

Yeah the FA cup replays are a big one for me.

Minnows managing a draw then getting a trip to a massive team.