Football times are a changin

The return of football last June was a welcome sight for many, after the lockdown that began in March. Some fans have been able to return to the grounds in areas of lower restrictions but this is proving a long and halting process. Attending some of the games with empty stadiums has been a somewhat surreal process. The shouts of players, managers and coaching staff ring around the empty stadiums. There is similar clarity in the press box, with those doing commentary also clear to hear. Walking along the empty walkways at West Ham's London Stadium, the thought regularly occurs as to when will the ground be bustling again with excited fans. The past strange year has though also provided an opportunity to look back. During the first lockdown, several past games were broadcast, notably the 1966 World Cup final. It was fascinating to see the game develop, with rhe brilliance of players like Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton. The role of the West Ham triumpharite, Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. But also apparent was the way the game has changed, no substitutes, no deliberate time wasting, no play acting to get opponents sent off. The game has most definitely altered over the decades and not neccessarily for the better. The players ofcourse are paid huge amounts of money these days. Long gone are the days of players travelling to games on the same buses as fans or drinking in the same pubs. But it is probably on the pitch that there has been most change over recent years. There has been the introduction of the Virtual Action Replay (VAR), which was intended to improve decision making and cut out mistakes. In practice, mistakes still seem to being made and the VAR process is taking much of the life out of the game. When a goal is scored now the fans may jump for joy but the emotion is quickly checked as the VAR investigation flashes up on screens. Minutes then pass before a final decision is confirmed. Silly rules on offside that rule out goals because a hand is deemed to be over an imaginery line do nothing to help. The authorities also seem to be doing their best to turn football into a non-contact sport. The most innocuous challenges are now heavily penalised, while too many players seem intent on pretending they are hurt in order to get an advantage over opponents. Not that everything in that respect was great in the old days, with some of the challenges verging on grievous bodily harm. Players like Chelsea's Ron Harris and Leed's Norman Hunter certainly took no prisoners. Skilled players suffered, week in week out. But now the pendulum has swung too far the other way. There have been many improvements ofcourse in the game. The quality of the stadium, with the all seater facilities (though not admission prices). The virtual elimination of crowd violence. On the pitch, some of the changes to stop time wasting have been welcome. Rules like substituted players leaving at the nearest point on the pitch, rather than taking a long slow walk off via the furthest route (or dash off, if their side was losing). The technical quality of the players has also improved. So there are pluses and minuses regarding the way football has developed over the years. What is for sure though is that the game retains a specal place in many peoples lives. The bond between clubs and supporters has become more apparent over this year of varied lock downs. That bond, though, will only become fully realised when the clubs can welcome back all those fans once again and the joy of match days is restored.