Why Does No One Care About Football Becoming Boring?

Every year football, at the highest level, appears to be becoming more and more unequal. The result is incredibly predictable, and is draining some of the magic out of the sport, yet attendances have never been higher. HITC Sevens ponders how that can possibly be the case.

[@miche1df]

The Romanian Liga I is unpredictable -- you never know which club is going to go broke next!

[@aswedeingermany753]

And very few goals...boring league

[@Oriontrollsftw2]

rip steaua

[@switchgear2501]

Dallas Michelbacher hahaha underated comment. I Hope it gets better

[@trominho8914]

😂😂😂 It's the sad truth tho

[@tonywilliams8922]

Maybe Clinceni seen as they have the lowest wage budget

[@MrDideg]

The Portuguese league has been dominated by 3 teams ever since it's creation.

[@julianfrost4698]

dideg.santos I know nothing about Portuguese football but I’ve noticed in highlight videos that the grounds of smaller top flight clubs are soooo small

[@therealdave06]

@@julianfrost4698 it's basically a 100% chance of either Porto, Benfica or Sporting Lisbon to win

[@albertjulio8881]

Braga, the spurs of Liga NOS

[@NoaGlyn]

dideg.santos braga abd flamenco

[@mike.n.n.7723]

In more than 100 years of Portuguese football I think only 2 teams have won the league outside of Porto, Benfica and Sporting

[@qaisarbegum5955]

Money has ruined football. Small clubs find great players and big clubs steal them by offering huge salary

[@KakashiH318]

He’s you’re right money has ruined football indeed

[@iameverywhere8551]

@@KakashiH318 yes it ruined but main thing is that nowadays we just focus on strikers and midfielder Those who score goals we make them GOD but defenders are also there we should also appreciate them too...

[@Domino13334]

They are paying tens of Millions for the player. So how could this be called stealing?

[@srykextraodinairecreation9962]

And the richest football club suffered the most debt.

[@paulwoodford6229]

@@Domino13334 It is creative theft. The big teams are taking the talent with their endless pockets, after the smaller team does the hard work of nurturing and molding the player and achieving their potential.

[@danielkellett2742]

Championship this season is mad, I’m a Preston fan and we went from top to tenth losing most games including 4-0 to hull, but were still only 2 points off 5th

[@nsk3584]

I’m a Huddersfield fan but at the start of the season I predicted stoke ( who are in a relegation battle) to get playoffs

[@TawanMomo]

Same here, I don’t think anyone expects them to do this bad

[@BlazinBlz]

That's the thing, with less money sloshing about, it's easier for not only a team but fans of both the team and others to get carried away after a spending spree I predicted Stoke to go back up, I'm in shock of how bad their doing, but in that same book, Millwall are pushing for the playoffs when most people predicted them to barley survive if at all, Huddersfield are doing worse than most people expected, as are Derby I will stand by this statement, the Championship is the best league to watch as a whole, the quality is easily better in the Prem, but the unpredictability makes the Championship fun, 1 good youth player fires a team up the league, as does a good manager (ask Millwall under Rowett) Imagine if what happens in the Championship every season happened in the Prem, be way more fun

[@christianmayall8034]

I predicted qpr, hull and millwall in the play offs and derby and m’boro in the play offs

[@loganbutler8984]

And I thought town would be mid table

[@pikachudardis]

I thought they would win the league loooool

[@Bugdu]

My girlfriend once said the worst about football is that theres no last episode and it just keeps on goin

[@btbtm5189]

I think he’s forgetting the top 6 IS being cut open by two teams right now Could be 3

[@arr0w769]

Could be said 3 tbf

[@btbtm5189]

Andrew Haselden yeah

[@arr0w769]

@@btbtm5189 Sheffield, wolves, Leicester

[@btbtm5189]

Andrew Haselden 👍

[@reintaler6355]

@@arr0w769 I doubt Sheffield stays there for long, they may end up just being a one season wonder. Definitely a possibility for the other two though as they have the financial prowess it takes to establish themselves

[@Tom-wr6mq]

My mom always says RecoRd ANd wATcH lAteR😴not the same

[@notleco7147]

Yeah same,when I try to I just cant help myself to look at the score

[@zoom5817]

Same

[@shulzcomps3788]

Same

[@aleksandre9711]

@@notleco7147 it's not about the score its just not same

[@notleco7147]

@@aleksandre9711 Agreed

[@spudders9034]

Honestly i much prefer watching my local team, we may be in divison 7 of Northern Ireland and we will never win the big trophies but seeing them win is such a good feeling

[@Jordi775]

even the top irish premiership is more competitive, the top 5 is insasnely close

[@jamescarlin235]

@@Jordi775 top 4, I reckon Coleraine are out of it now

[@jamescarlin235]

@@Jordi775 midfield is too thin and not enough up top for ud

[@spudders9034]

@@Jordi775 exactly, while the standard of irish football is slowly improving, the competitiveness is better than most top leagues in europe Any of the top 5 have a chance to win

[@rvp1]

Unfortunately, nowadays football is terribly boring everywhere in the world..

[@raydenjaykaev3085]

​@261i7let me guess you were born 2020 son,

[@raydenjaykaev3085]

@261i7 stop the cap son don't lie to me, it getting boring less skill football player like messi ronaldo, ronaldinho maradona, hazard etc, var I think you know why, football is to tactical player feel more robotic. But hey it my opinion. Also stop lying about you were born in 2002.

[@rvp1]

@261i7 😂😂

[@rvp1]

@Lalll-qn5fn nice

[@iNTERS22]

"It's unscripted" Just like a FIFA game!

[@SweetChilliPhil92]

iNTERS22 nah man FIFA IS SCRIPTED HAHAHAHA

[@kathryneversole4845]

iNTERS22 fifa is shit

[@aunoriginalname3779]

Sarcasm?

[@yuvrajtalukdar5579]

@Enrique Santos from where cricket came in football discussion

[@dabbigailwilliams]

just wanted to say, this kind of football content is interesting but rare, and i’d love to see more of this type of concept. great job, HITC Sevens!

[@karlito_ln7091]

I agree with you. I am a psg fan, I was enjoying more back in late 90/ early 2000 because every game was a battle, some seasons, we were good, most we were dreadful, still, i enjoyed every victory. Nowadays, I still follow but it is hard to enjoy as much as before. I think most people keep on watching football because we love the sport way too much.

[@shoazdon7000]

Finally someone who gets it, I enjoyed football up until tevez left man United. It was going into a decline for my team then but also for the whole premier league in general. And today it’s honestly terrible, no real challenges and it’s boring. It’s lost it’s passion man

[@BakaryD]

Yeah I'm a PSG fan and you're a straight liar. We're always struggling every year to get through UCL and if the passion isnnt there then just say you're not true supporter

[@WhyAreAllTheGoodUsernamesTaken]

That's why Scandinavian football is so fun (both of these have 16 teams in them). Swedish league last season: only 5 points between last to 12th place, and only 5 points between 1st and 4th place, meaning that even on the last game of the season there were still a lot to fight for. In the Norwegian league there were 2 points separating last and 11th place in the league before the last round, meaning there were six teams fighting to avoid relegation last game in the season. So football is still fun some places (didn't include the Danish league because that one had a pretty boring season)

[@eirik0792]

Random Dude couldnt agree more

[@eirik0792]

Aassd Asjdj yup and the icelandic😂

[@EndlessTomahawks]

@Aassd Asjdj Finland is not a part of Scandinavia

[@runethfc]

Random dude, nah it was great last season until the last bit.

[@dandycliff2]

I'm Norwegian and the Norwegian series is SHIT

[@luukvangendt5541]

You forgot that Ipswich also won the top flight as a newly-promoted side in 1962. That was also Ipwich first ever season in the top-flight

[@tonybates7870]

Under Alf Ramsey (ex-Tottenham, natch). No wonder they gave him the England job - after the World Cup win I'm surprised he wasn't canonised.

[@giannid93]

Bravo! Easily my favourite episode so far! more like these please!

[@afrontmacz]

This had a Tifo Football feel. Alfie always brings that good Tifo feel to the channel for me. It would be cool to see them do a collaboration sometime!

[@frequentlyoffline3917]

It doesn't feel like a Tifo Football video without a "The Athletic" reference.

[@danielsuchorowiec7314]

@@frequentlyoffline3917 true

[@white_will_smith]

@@frequentlyoffline3917 lmao yeah

[@WilliamRobinson-bb6mr]

A very good video. I am a Leicester fan so my viewpoint is a bit blurred to what can be achieved. The one thing I do believe is that eventually the debts that the elite clubs will catch up with them after a season without any European football. The falls of Blackburn, Newcastle and Leeds show that this is the case. Equally find a good manager, some decent players and anything can happen. Our 2016 team was one of if not the oldest average age (no-one of the first XI was younger than 25) so all in their primes for one season. Anything can happen in sport.

[@dalex7447]

Bit late, but truly excellent video Alfie !! As a Birmingham fan the reality is very depressing for the rest of my life as a fan

[@alluvialedaempfer962]

Footballs biggest issue, in my opinion, was the fact for outright refusing to introduce a salary cap. It helps to avoid situations bordering on monopolies and legal cases which should have been investigated as a violation of cartel laws (e.g. Bayern Munich's pre-contract with then pay TV channel sky which basically had them involved in the decisions how much they'll get of the cake and how much the rest of the league will get). Why is a salary cap useful? 1. Awards clubs investing in player, club infrastructure, scouting and manager development long term. It would make it possible to turn a club like, say Union Berlin, into a dynasty since they have a check on all these boxes. They would not have to worry about players being transferred away but just how well their club is structured, and anyone following US sports knows exactly what I talk about here. E.g. The New York Knicks are the most valuable NBA team but nobody wants to play for them because their club owner and management is an absolute shit show (chaos is being punished). If you have a salary cap it doesn't matter anymore if you play for PSG or Nottingham. If you are a top player, you'll get your max contract either way, so the clubs environment becomes much much more important 2. Avoid monopolies as mentioned, it cripples competition and innovation. Have a good look at what happened to wrestling when the WWE lost its only competition in the WCW. It went down hill from there on.

[@bluearmy2699]

I have to say that I think that the most entertaining league in the world let alone England is the Championship

[@oliverward8296]

Blue Army Or League 2

[@alexstainke2424]

SPFL

[@e.l.b6435]

2nd Bundesliga.

[@ieuan67]

ILOVE JOHN MCGIN what?

[@Nathan-ke3dn]

League 1

[@Tom-vu1wr]

As a rugby fan, this recent predictability in football is the reason we want to keep a salary cap in the premiership and top14

[@Evan8787]

Premiership isn't the best example. 5 winners between 2010 and 2013. Saracens win too much. Top 14 is very competitive, though. It's up there with the NRL as the best rugby leagues in the world.

[@Tom-vu1wr]

@@Evan8787 well Saracens weren't following the salary cap which somewhat negates the argument

[@Chrispyy22]

this was a very interesting video to watch and what u said in it makes me want a longer more indepth video about this topic

[@j.p.zukauskas7626]

Absolutely agree, especially regarding the entertaining competitiveness of the lower divisions. I’m a new-ish football fan, and it became very clear to me early on that the top flight of any league is pretty boring, and that it’s the financial disparity that reinforces it. Financial fair play rules, while a good idea on one level, only calcify the table. I ended up as a Leyton Orient supporter, and it’s a lot more interesting.

[@ryanbridges4042]

We need a salary cap in football to make it better

[@TheT0ttenham]

Probably my favourite video you e made, or certainly up there. I’m a spurs fan and also a student who goes to regular games, so I know how lucky I am. I support the club through my family and have got lucky that we have been “good” when growing up. I think the top 6 will become extinct in a few years time however, and replaced by something else eg the top 4 used to be set in stone with Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea’s and arsenal but now us and city have joined. Think teams like Everton and potentially West Ham with Leicester as well could form a different group. When abramovic and mansour leave you never know what will happen to city and Chelsea and they could (I hope) slide down. But you are right in the fact that money rules and I for one would like to see a return to the older days , or at least a similar situation to the lower leagues. I do realise though that I’m saying this in a very comfortable position as being an established top 6 club, albeit we are rubbish this season haha, and I may feel differently if what I’m asking for does happen and we become mediocre again.

[@dazwebster]

Very interesting discussion mate.

[@henrylong00]

Great video mate, I fully agree. As a rovers fan i'd love to be back in the prem but i'd hate to stay there, just depressing

[@thomasmuller6301]

Because they just care about winning, not the entertainment

[@raphaelnasser7084]

@Bronze League Gaming RL winning is entertaining

[@thomasmuller6301]

No it isn’t. Football was designed to entertain, managers like Benitez and mourinho who park the bus are a disgrace

[@MrBark1969]

@@thomasmuller6301 lmao delete this it's so cringe

[@raphaelnasser7084]

@@thomasmuller6301 disgrace cause they get results in a results based business??

[@bobbyfirmino6562]

@@raphaelnasser7084 if everyone played with 10 up front it would be boring. We need mourinho for a vilian to root against .

[@charlieherman1]

I'm a morecambe supporter. We're in the 4th division of english football. We fight every season to stay up and it is really exciting because sometimes we will finish top 7 and other seasons like this one we are fighting to stay in the English league

[@rewnz6632]

and now you're on the verge of going up :O

[@holnrew]

Intelligent analysis, really interesting video.

[@afcjonny1]

The long distance support thing you mentioned towards the end of the video would go some way to explaining why the league here in Scotland is so heavily dominated by Celtic and rangers. I like you, was taken to football matches by my dad from a young age who is a Newcastle United fan and my grandad was also a Newcastle United fan, in Scotland however all across the smaller towns and cities everyone “gloryhunts” Celtic and rangers. They buy Celtic and rangers shirts and might on occasion go to ibrox or parkhead when they fancy a day out, the support for the old firm clubs absolutely dwarves everyone else. I went to a high school in Perthshire, more than 35 miles from Glasgow where the closest club sides were either st Johnstone or Stirling Albion, yet I would say 90% or more of people I went to school with supported Celtic and rangers

[@anonymoustangerine]

This is y i got into the mls when i started watching soccer, completely unpredictable. 7 straights years with a different supporter shield winner and 6 different mls cup winners in that time as well. The shield streak may end this year, but the mls cup is always up for grabs and with two teams that have never won it before in the race this year, we may see a different cup winner this year

[@eduardvandenbrink5694]

Makes it worse for smaller leagues like the liga nos, eredivisie, etc. We cant keep up with that level

[@justsamoo3480]

Eventually the likes of Ederdivisie and Greek Super League, will have to start their regional leagues for their teams to be competitive. The Nordics could have a league, The Balkans, Benelux, Visegrad (Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia), maybe even Alpine league with Austria and Switzerland. These leagues already exist in European Hockey and Basketball, why not football?

[@cspresimir]

Why Does No One Care About Football Becoming Boring? Today's football is just money playing against other money, everybody who cares is too small and insignificant to change this.

[@hdr_diamondz]

Many people care, the people who don't are people like me who move on to sports that are more entertaining. Im my case it's Formula 1 and motorsport in general. It's great.

[@RedSam-fj6jn]

Great work👏

[@sma5605]

Would love to see a video on why you continue to support Hull City! What drives you to continue going to the games if there is a ceiling on the club’s success and you keep having to suffer the frustration of big teams pinching standout players? I’m not having a dig. I’d genuinely like to see a video on it.

[@danieleatwell7757]

YES! It's so boring watching the same 6 clubs dominate the league every year! I'm not saying that we should have a lottery league where Man Utd can finish bottom and Bournemouth top, but can we at least have different teams challenging at the top every year like we did in the 90s. Liverpool and Aston Villa challenged in 1990, Arsenal and Liverpool in 1991, Leeds, Man Utd and Sheff Wed in 1992, Man Utd, Aston Villa and Norwich in 1993, Man Utd and Blackburn in 1994 and 1995, Man Utd and Newcastle in 1996, Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and Dortmund all won Bundesliga titles, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna and Athletic Bilbao all challenged in La Liga, Napoli, Sampdoria, Lazio and Parma all challenged in Serie A, Marseille, Bordeaux, Monaco, PSG, Nantes, Lyon, Auxerre, Lens and Metz all challenged in Ligue 1, Red Star Belgrade won the european cup in 1991, Sampdoria reached the final in 1992, Marseille won it in 1993, Ajax won it in 1995 and reached the final in 1996, Dortmund won it in 1997. The point is that the idea of an exciting competition is that you don't know exactly who is going to finish where or who will finish in the top 6. Football needs to become more open again!

[@cormacdonnelly5015]

in the last 10 years there have been 3 different winners, soon to be a fourth, including leister. This is so different to Europes other top 5 leagues

[@danieleatwell7757]

@@cormacdonnelly5015 In the 2010s there have been four different premier league champions. Of those four, one of them are part of the traditional elite and are the richest club in England (Man Utd), two of them are money clubs with sugar daddies (Chelsea and Man City) and of course there was Leicester which was a fluke. So nine times out of ten you need to be either a traditional big club that's very rich or you just need a sugar daddy that came in before ffp, either way you need to be one of the richest clubs. But at least it's not a one or two team league like other leagues.

[@cormacdonnelly5015]

Daniel Eatwell just proved my point

[@danieleatwell7757]

@@cormacdonnelly5015 It's more competitive than europes other top leagues, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a problem. Over the past three seasons there has been a top six league and then the other 14 battling it out for the best of the rest. Definitely not as open as it was in the 90s and earlier.

[@cormacdonnelly5015]

​@@danieleatwell7757 theres 2 teams outside the 'top six' in the top 6 as we speak

[@dylancraft1006]

Cracking video. You are a clever bloke👏

[@Fariko_Doner]

I am a fenerbache fan but our league is very competitive this year it’s very fun to watch and analyse the different teams and how they perform

[@cnut4563a]

Excellent video, I'd like to see more exploring the economics and societal impact of football. What you describe is a trend which is echoed in the wider world, late capitalism/neoliberalism creates massive inequality, and there's seemingly little the 99% of people who are left behind seem to be able or want to do about it. On a different note, I'd also be interested to see you looking at the evolving tactical trends in football, and the extent to which they are driven by data. It's a fascinating area to me, but I can't help but he dismayed when I look at what's happening to midfield. Gone are the days of Pirlo, Xavi and Iniesta, skilled passes of the ball have been replaced by workman like athletes, and, for me, it makes the beautiful game far less beautiful.

[@danielgertjohannesvankoppe9252]

Watch Hakim Ziyech

[@reintaler6355]

@@danielgertjohannesvankoppe9252 I hope he does that in one of the top 5 leagues on day. Otherwise, the point still stands

[@lcc8394]

more a dumbass video....in 2013/14 leicester were in the championship....2 seasons later they won the premiership.....just think about it............it's not impossible to break the top 4 it just takes money and a manager who has that experience......go back to the previous ten years and Liverpool, spurs and man city didn't finish every season in the top 4..............man city came from th depths of league 2 back in 2000.....

[@katgunderheisendonoghue6050]

mullen50 Nobody cares that you dropped out of school so you could practice labour and smoke whenever you liked.

[@nicolas.idrovo]

I feel intimidated by your vocabulary

[@lordfawkesvonproudhon9656]

Nice to hear someone else supporting their home club. Go on Ballymena United!!

[@user-uu2ir1rw8w]

7 most capped players of all time

[@calm74]

Leeds United would enjoy watching that

[@unitedwestand160]

What about them

[@kaiharding7996]

This has really changed my view on football but as only been born in 2004 I hsvnt rlly thought about it being grown up with this rigid top 6 idea but I have heard of the times when anyone could win anything including us (Newcastle fan) but like alot of people they have just grown up with this and cant remember the real days of unpredictability.

[@kierantv9857]

I’m also born in 2004, it’s crazy how much it’s all changed and like us the younger generation may of thought the top 6 has always been the samr

[@tommair5783]

In Australia most major sports have a salary cap, and the leagues have different winners almost every season, and no club has been able to completely dominate the NRL or AFL over the past decade, and it means when teams do succeed it’s more down to skill. There is certainly no set top 6 in either league

[@Evan8787]

Agreed, then Penrith happened.

[@michaelfisher7159]

One of your best videos

[@Hagi223]

The MLS is extremely unpredictable & is why it’s the fastest growing league in North America. There is a new champion every single year thanks to no relegation and equal salary caps, the talent is equally dispersed amongst 28 clubs 🏆

[@nasihbasheer8342]

Liga MX is the most unpredictable league in the world

[@isaaccastro4846]

Used to be* Sadly that is changing slowly

[@Christopher_TG]

Both the two major North American leagues are pretty unpredictable. That kind of happens when you have financial systems in place to promote parity and you use playoffs to determine your league champion.

[@jamescarlin235]

Northern Irish Football League is class to watch, my team Coleraine were midtable last year and are challenging for the league this year

[@ATS1031]

Nasih Basheer j league is

[@carlosquesnel8881]

💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

[@ZapSports]

I know it's very unlikely to happen but a suggestion would be to have a salary cap (a maximum amount of money a club can spend on wages per week) with clubs allowed one 'marquee' player, who's wage can be exempt. This works well at least in Australia (where I am from) Thoughts?

[@ayman310]

Zap Sports that’s why no one watches Australian football ( no offense)

[@BlazinBlz]

as an Australian, I have to disagree, the A-League frigging sucks, though that is probably because of how low the wage limit is, the MLS is somewhat tolerable because it's so much higher, but I don't think that would work, unless FIFA forced it onto every country with one consistent limit it won't work

[@ZapSports]

@@BlazinBlz Yes, I agree that the only real way it could work is if fifa made it mandatory worldwide or something, and my comparison to a salary cap was more towards how it works in the AFL rather than the a league

[@BlazinBlz]

@@ZapSports so more just a hard cap, that would work, but again, it would need FIFA to enforce it, and, well, FIFA won't do jack

[@ryansmith-jr4gn]

Salary cap would be terrible.

[@breckogrady2891]

I believe part of it is down to the fact that as humans we hate the unknown and are willing to sacrifice a little bit of that unknown for some knowledge. Knowledge that there will be a top 6. But I also believe that we enjoy times, like this season, where we are proved wrong. Where we are shown that there is some magic in the game we all love

[@raymondhughes7972]

I'm a Bristol City fan and we beat Man United in the carabow cup quarter final one time .. I went to school with Bobby Reid .. we avoided relegation to League one lol and we rushed the pitch .. we missed out on top flight football because of an amazing Hull City Dean Windass outside the box volley

[@harleyhayes-scott37]

I’m a chelsea fan (yes I know, we’re a team that benefited from this significantly, but we was a top 4 team beforehand) and I completely agree. I reckon there needs to be a wage and transfer quota implemented. Also this may be a bit of a stretch, but they could make it a rule that you can’t sign players under the age of 18, also could say 21 in order to help smaller teams flourish with their amazing youth talents. I just would like to see smaller clubs compared to the top 6 manage to even challenge for a cup, like look at what happened to Watford last season, didn’t really have much of a chance. The FA cup used to be won by a different team pretty much every year.

[@_______2107]

Wholeheartedly agree

[@someguynamedmike4766]

Think the Homegrown quota needs to be scrapped personally, shouldn't matter your nationality if you're good enough xenophobia shouldn't stop you having a team of Portuguese, French, Italian etc instead of the forced English-ness of the PL

[@someguynamedmike4766]

@John Mitchell I am aware of the stipulations like it's something along the lines of 3 years in the squad before you're 21 you class as "homegrown" just never liked the rule, it's just so every nation can give an advantage to their youth in the whole, you're good enough regardless of colour, age, nation, sexuality, size, height imo no need to enforce rules like that

[@MillerMighty]

Chelsea were going bankrupt if it wasn't for the money man himself Roman Abramovich they may not even be in the PL let alone top 4

[@Strictly45Sound]

Top 4????? Wtf? Chelsea???? Not until they became chelski were they top 4 ya cheating plastic spastic.

[@jungsbodyguard]

When I was little kid, I wanted to support Liverpool. My dad (a West Brom fan) said he didn’t mind which of the local teams I supported but it should be a local side My mates were largely Aston Villa fans, at the time, so I chose them. It’s been a tumultuous 25 year love affair but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, despite Liverpool being excellent now

[@abigailslade3824]

jungsbodyguard your dad can’t tell you who to support. It’s not his decision but as long as you’re happy

[@MotRi1986]

Because football is so much more than just the results. To put it simply it is fun to watch, it is pure entertaining to watch a good team play even though you know Liverpool or any other dominating team is going to win. It is a sport that is perfect for both TV and live. It is about the community, the suporters. No matter if you support a team in Norway or Brazil you can relate and understand each other. Every supporter from every nation on earth have the same excitement before a game or the same fear if you support a team in the relegation zone. Football simply the perfect entertainment product.

[@jtmmmm27]

So long as money is the biggest factor it will always be boring/predictable. If they implemented some kind of salary cap then it would make it more competitive throughout. The biggest problem is the all the top leagues would have to agree or the players would just flock to the free markets. It sounds oppressive but it works in the US and players wouldn’t necessarily be worse off if they use the hard floor rule where if a clubs salary falls under say 90% of the cap then the extra money is dispersed evenly to the contracted players.

[@kagge2120]

As a Liverpool fan i agree. Would love to see the money from the prem and other leagues get split and distributed down the pyramids and even out everything. Yes big clubs would still have rich owners but small clubs could have more economical power than before. Something does have to change for football to reach an even higher entertainment level.

[@gribhead9780]

This would be shit its fun to see those small clubs woth no money work there way up the league why the fuck would you want every team to get equall amount of money this would so boring

[@MrSilencedGamer]

I get what you're saying and i'm also a Liverpool fan but you gotta face the fact that most new teams to the premier league are spending upwards of 100 million pounds in the summer windows. They are also getting financially stronger, it's really more about bad signings and impatient owners than it is about economics at this point. Every owner thinks that they can instantly turn money into success but it just doesn't work like that.

[@everythingisamindgame9666]

@@MrSilencedGamer Spot on

[@Santiago-ts6ko]

Premier League money gets distributed very fairly, the difference between the team that gets the most money from tv rights and sponsors from the one that gets the least it's 1.6 times, while in Laliga and Bundesliga is 3 times and in Liga MX ir goes as far as 9 times. Small Premier League clubs are way better off financialy than small spanish or French clubs

[@matthewbarone9088]

I agree. I am from Australia and do support Liverpool for a family member. But I know a lot of people that follow them for no reason at all. It is almost forced in a foreign country to go for one of the top 6 clubs otherwise it is seen as “oh were you originally from ..... is that why you go for them.” But if you go for let’s say Man U people are like ok. I think it is stupid and I don’t know 1 person that goes for a team outside of the premier league unless they have family or heritage from there. The only exception is Brighton with Matt Ryan and Aaron Mooy playing there and at an Australian standpoint, of course I hope they do well.

[@TheTristanmarcus]

You are absolutely right, and I am totally hacked off with Premiership matches (though a fan of an also-ran mid-table premiership team😊). Never watch full games any more - too dull. Championship games much more entertaining, and high quality too. Still a sucker for international matches though, although whole games there are rather dull too - highlights preferable 😊

[@MrBenji0]

So long as wages are as high as they are, and clubs are able to rake in the multi-millions, there's really not much that can be done unless you're bracing for a dark age. Financial caps in the current state is only going to choke small clubs even more than they because they need w/e cap they can get to attract the best from the bottom of the barrel (Fair play's too-little-too-late policy comes to mind). Only two viable options that I can think of are: 1. Put a cap of ticket prices (which won't happen) and 2. Have a draft system similar to the one practiced in the NFL.

[@SonOfJudah2002]

You can’t have a draft. You’ll have to kit rid of relegation

[@kierantv9857]

Are you going to the Hull and Chelsea game I’ll be in the west upper stand

[@user-zg6br9yc2h]

Soccer is only good for sleeping... especially those boring 0-0 games

[@concacaf3898]

Better than whatever your sport is

[@j1real506]

Lol

[@Burner026]

You don't have to score to make it a good game it's about the plays even if it doesn't result in a goal that's why billions of people watch the game that's the beauty of the sport

[@danieltaylor3737]

Good video, Alfie.

[@yourguy382]

One of the key things not addressed in this video is that people want to see an incredibly high standard of football. For example, Liverpool vs. Manchester city games usually exhibit the highest quality football performances ever witnessed... and that is an enjoyable and even very intense watch, regardless of the team you support. When you watch clips of old games, you see how much lower the standard was than it is now.

[@callumpeters2529]

People forget for a lot of the premier league era the “top 6” have had some insane managers with SAF and wenger being the long running ones 🤷‍♂️

[@gribhead9780]

I dont think people realise that there is eras for each team it if there was always a even playing field it will be way to boring if you wanna see what its like watch the aleague most boring league Because there is a salary cap

[@hdr_diamondz]

I stopped watching football last January. Too many fixtures and only 20% are worth pouring 90+ mins of my time into. The beautiful game is also the stagnant game, with very little changes to spice things up except occasional ESL threats and small but dodgy rule changes on offsides and handbas. Big teams always stay big unless they themselves mess up. Tactics aren't easily seen to a regular viewer on the pitch. And shock wins only give 3 points which isn't a big swing in points. Formula 1 is better. There's 20+ races a season and all bar 1 is worth the 100 minute of your time. Qualifying to decide who starts where for the race is always intense and entertaining. Strategy is clearly visible playing out on the track with drivers stopping for new tyres st different points. There's also regulation changes every few years that change up the car designs and therefore give smaller teams a chance if they can nail their own design. A shock win is massive for midfield and below teams, worth 25 points which can make a huge difference when all is said and done. And, the 2021 season was the best title fight in the sport's history.

[@o-hotynk25]

Truth is most people don`t like randomness, and preferer if things stay static.

[@baquithemonkey5330]

One of the reasons I'll never stop watching CONMEBOL football. I was born in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. To this day there no other club I support more than my hometown team. And although the quality of football of the the Colombian league will never be European level, I will never stop watching it. It's unpredictable and I've an emotional attachment

[@muthuchelvam6751]

Appreciate you man but in my country cricket is a religion and we rarely compete in football but I am slowly getting into the beauty of football and I love both football and cricket love colombia from india

[@mrcfan4619]

@@muthuchelvam6751 not only cricket and football india compete with kabbadi and badminton too this sports are my favorite.

[@mannytuzo]

That’s why I love Liga MX from Mexico and some south American leagues. It truly is unpredictable! In liga MX a team will be champion and next season be almost dead last! Nobody ever really knows who will be champion in any season. We do have the playoff system so that does have an effect on it. It definitely does add an interest touch to it.

[@Evan8787]

Great example. America is the top dog but they never dominate. Several teams have won it in the past decade or so. Any team can realistically win a championship.

[@TheJackson1991]

It used to be a competition of a consistant 2 teams at the top, then 4, now 6. And with the money becomming more available for the generally lower teams being able to spend (albeit still needed smartly) along with 4 of the big 6 struggling to find the same consistency as they used to, and teams are truly beginning to compete against those top 6 teams more than they have for a long, long time. So couldn't dissagree more on that part. So at least when talking about the premier league, if anything, it's becomming more open, which is much more fun overall.

[@matthewkilcoyne7217]

Your essay gets a b-

[@TheJackson1991]

@@matthewkilcoyne7217 Yeah yeah Ed, hurry up and offer Phil Jones a £300.000 a week contract already will ya!

[@amandygirl78]

But still more stale than the pre-Premier League days.

[@gibbygoldfisch7012]

Football has absolutely gotten duller and more rigid, but it's happened so slowly and insidiously that we've grown used to it and adapted to it. I've got a mate who supports Crystal Palace, and he gets annoyed with clubs like Wolves and Everton spending big to reach the top, but for whatever reason just accepts that the big guns are going to do that anyway. He still won't accept that football is now based on false principles and continues to believe that there is some combination of players, manager and good form that will make Palace a genuine force. I think that goes for a lot of fans who get caught up in one-off matches and lose sight of the bigger picture.

[@sebastianresch3560]

Very complicted topic. On th one side the competitive balance of the whole league is a huge problem as you mention. Accordning to science this normally lead to less in interest towards a league. But the Premier Leauge is different. Yes Leichester helped a lot. On the other side the target market for the Premier League is not England anymore or Europe but China and arabic countries. From an economic perspective fans in stadiums are just there to produce great pictures and sound for the tv broadcasters. If some local fans would think its boring it has no relevance. The Premier League is an worldwide entertainment product. This league has due to investors and good marketing the biggest names in average and produces the biggest spectacles on average. Thats why it has the huge popularity in Asia and also America. Those people in this continents support teams not because of its locality but for reasons of success , stars, particular player nationality of investor from the club. So as you said for the top 6 the system how it is is pretty good and intersting. For the rest of the league it is not but on the other side the payment from TV broadcasters is so high that until now nobody had a reason to complain yet. The system works how it works.Cheers

[@Ben_PN]

9:10 is that you, Alfie? 😂

[@rhysburns5420]

😂

[@ekvedrek]

That table is cursed

[@danielraggett7903]

Seeing Stan Bowles made me happy

[@rodafowa1279]

As an American, I watch the NBA, NFL and NHL. The difference between those leagues and the top football leagues in Europe is very stark. 6 different teams have won the Stanley Cup in the last 10 years. 7 different teams have won the NBA Championship in the least 10 years. 8 different teams have won the Super Bowl in the last 10 years. Let's compare that with the top leagues in Europe. 4 different teams have won the Premier League in the last 10 years. 2 different teams have won the Bundesliga in the last 10 years (Bayern Munich won the last 7). 3 different teams have won Serie A in the last 10 years (Juve won the last 8). 3 different teams have won La Liga in the last 10 years. The reason for this difference is simple: the US leagues have a salary cap while the European football leagues don't. There really isn't a magic solution to make the top European leagues more competitive, though, as a salary cap simply wouldn't work. Saying that, I think it should be looked into.

[@stephenpuls8839]

I know this might be a bit of a unpopular opinion but as a support two teams in England (my local team Derby and Spurs) I can see where your coming from. In my opinion I’m just happy if Spurs get champions League football as there’s no way this season we can get close to winning the Premier League especially how Liverpool could go undefeated and could get 100 points or more. But as a Derby fan I agree with you as it’s a lot more unpredictable in the championship what can be good and bad. But however it’s nice seeing clubs going up or down leagues quickly as that’s quite rare. For example Bournemouth getting to the premier league or Luton returning to the championship again. Thanks for that video I really enjoyed it.

[@astronautthoi297]

Football isnt as beautiful as it use to be now it is all about money and now with technology comming in I don't know where it will head atleast from my Pov it's a dying sports the new generation are more into eSports ,tech is everywhere not a beautiful game anymore as it use to be back in the days and after Ronaldo Messi era its bound to go dead

[@astronautthoi297]

@holland how old are u

[@user-sr3sf]

⁠@261i7no, it is the opposite. Football is getting more and more unpopular. In football nations like Brazil and Germany most people didn’t even care for football anymore

[@depekthegreat359]

You are extremely so right as you have clearly read my mind about the footballing capability of nowadays mainly in most leagues in Asia and England which is the Premier League have made the sport to be extremely so boring and too predictable,admin!!!I am more into other men's leagues in Europe,mainly Italian football,African leagues,North and South American leagues as those are the real exciting leagues which depict the true meaning of the sport rather than too much of the money being generated to the likes of most of the fake teams in Asia and Chelsea and Manchester City which easily made the sport boring to watch after all,admin.

[@Cream147player]

It would actually be a lot more boring for football to be entirely equal. Then there would be very little to separate the clubs other than where they happen to be, and what colour kit they play in. The various storylines of clubs throughout the season are given flavour by the relative and varying quality of their squads, size of their bank balance, and history of success (or lack thereof). In the world as we have it, Leicester winning the league is a magical moment and it could and did happen. In a more equal world, it would have just been another season.

[@lodevermeiren3152]

Please do top seven brothers in world football right now

[@rafaelcarvalho9031]

It's so much worse in Portugal, only 3 teams really win league titles Benfica, Porto and Sporting. In fact only Benfica and Porto have consistently won since the 1970s. 90% of the people support one of these clubs, most of the stadiums outside of the big 3 plus Braga and Guimarães are pretty much empty. In the current league table Benfica have amassed 48 out of 51 points, Porto is next with 41 and Sporting is just on 29 points. Sporting can't even compete on the pitch or off it with Porto and Benfica anymore.

[@BlazinBlz]

To add on that, in the Primeira Liga, only 5 teams total have won the league, the three you mentioned plus Belenenses (45/46) and Boavista (01/02)

[@davidprescott5690]

The sole reason I support a non league side. Completely unpredictable and incredibly exciting compared to the stagnant boredom that is Europe's top leagues. I was born near enough to Liverpool to have them as my local club, but I stopped supporting them almost entirely 2 seasons ago, because I could see that they were/ are in for a period of incredible growth, and I just didn't want to sit there every week expecting to win against anyone and everyone. Where has the dynamism gone? Before Christmas, Southport, my non-league club sat in 3rd in the Conference North, now we are in 10th with 6 defeats in a row, but still miraculously only 9 points behind 3rd. That is football's unpredictability at its very best IMO.

[@steelernation1989]

I had a choice of being a Hearts fan or Rangers fan. Being from Glasgow, it was always going to be Rangers, although my great grandad, grandad, uncle and cousins are all die hard jam tarts. I just followed my dad and I can remember being locked in as a Rangers fan after the 1996 Scottish cup final.

[@carltonleboss]

The Championship is very unpredictable!

[@randomvideosforrandompeopl2175]

It is ridiculous but this season: It looks like the ‘big six’ will be disbanded Liverpool will win their first title since 1990 No one can tell who will win the champion’s league And Leicester’s title win was only four years ago

[@gibbygoldfisch7012]

The big six is still there, Arsenal are just having a crap year and Leicester a good one. They'll spend a lot of money and be back next season. Liverpool should probably have won a title a while back, this has been a long time coming. The Champions League will be won by one of the same six or seven teams that are always contenders. And Leicester's title win remains a footballing miracle!

[@leedsedits927]

In my opinion the Championship is the most entertaining league in the world. You can get clubs thatve recently come up, like luton or coventry, doing extremely well, aswell as clubs that have just gone down, like stoke or sunderland, winding themselves in a relegation battle. The smallest of clubs can sometimes thrash the biggest clubs in the Championship. Predicting this league is like predicting a league you've never watched before. Last Year Barnsley found themselves in a promotion battle, but this year they'ved dropped all the way down to last in the league. The Championship is by far the most unpredictable league in Europe.

[@sanoojshajahan9608]

Now its not only about entertainment but it's a big platform for huge business and endorsement deals. So bigger u spend to succeed bigger will be that team's business side and hence it's gonna be the same in the coming years also.

[@xdemgeo3581]

Football is inherently boring because of lack of action in between goals. Very low scoring game. Not much exciting parts other than goaling. Basketball and volleyball are miles ahead in terms of excitement.

[@dababy1234]

Cap

[@richardpentney8438]

This is exactly why I haven't watched a minute of Premier League football in over 2 years and spend more time, it is so dull. If you feel like disagreeing with this then go and spend some time at your local non-league side and see how happy they are to see you compared to the faceless corporations of "top level" football.

[@notleco7147]

@Burnt Toast Support.Your.Local

[@tonybates7870]

Yeah, but people that are "happy to see you" are not necessarily the best players. If they were they wouldn't be playing non-league football. Stands to reason.

[@richardpentney8438]

@@tonybates7870 what do you mean by "the best players"? The Ballon d'Or has only ever been won by 3 Englishman since it started in 1955 and not by anyone in a British team since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008. That's an awful lot of not having the best.

[@tonybates7870]

@@richardpentney8438 I mean compared to non-league players.

[@markusk9080]

Result of over-professionalisation. You know the players are so well coached that there's little room for individualism on the field. They'd rather make a pass to the wing than to have a go from 30 yards or so as they have been told that it's the better choice long term. However, it's made watching a lot less fun. Even a team like City who play great football from a theoretical and objective point of view are not great to watch for me. There's no flair and so much is predictable. They just pass their way through to the goal line, someone squares it into the six yard box for a tap in. It's a well crafted goal, but it feels like a review of a goal they have scored so many times before. It's getting repetitive.

[@dejanstojkovic8757]

Without offence to the likes of you and many other fans around the world but thats the main reason why football is among the most boxing sports ever today I much prefer basketball in that regard

[@justinsumba3510]

This is exactly why watching football has gotten boring for me, I always had fun sitting down for a full game stuck to the seat, watching wondering what happens next, but now and days it doesn’t have that same feeling,now I only watch my home country play now

[@engage1942]

Well said

[@hdr_diamondz]

I didn't know how to describe the feeling that you described, but you've absoloutely nailed it. Well done. The players are just too sensible. Formula 1 is better. Teams are often forced to gamble with strategy to get ahead of cars they would not have been able to overtake with a more conventional strategy. Strategy is clearly visible for viewers with drivers stopping for new tyres st different points, sometimes to get ahead immediately and sometimes to have younger and faster tyres at the end of races to overtake cars ahead of them easier. Drivers can also be forced into attempting risky overtakes instead of being over-professional, such as if the car starting the race ahead of you is faster than you, and it is critical to get ahead of them as you're fighting them for position in the championship, so at race start, you make a risky overtaking attempt or defend aggressively if they end up behind you after they stop for new tyres. And the most recent season had one of the best title fights in the sport's history so it's good.

[@davidrees5030]

I totally agree with you. The champions League was only formed to stop smaller teams like, oh I don't know, say Malmö or FC cologne from reaching the final.

[@dimimitrijenogic1272]

In Serbia just two teams have one a title in the last 20 years and one team is third for about more than 10/20 last seasons

[@danielmurphy8262]

In Ireland last season Cork City who finished 2nd in 2018 finsihed 8th last season (out of 10) but apart from that nothing surprising happened. In the First Division, Cabinteely who joined in 2015 and highest finish was 7th (out of 10) finsihed 4th and were 3 play-off games from the Premier Division which would have been unbelivable. There was also a very close title race between Shelbourne and Drogheda United too.

[@Evan8787]

Shamrock Rovers dominate too much.

[@hunorbalazs8395]

The best team from every european country that has never won the UCL/European Cup

[@everythingisamindgame9666]

Atleti

[@MortChrist]

I do agree with the main premise of the video, you nail it down pretty well. I do however want to add that the predictability of the PL isn't entirely down to the big 6, but as much is down to a lack of consistent midtable teams. If teams like Everton, West Ham or going back a few years to Newcastle or Villa didn't bottle season after season and had kept a consistent level of playing (thus leading to a consistent income club levelwise) they could have easily replicated what Leicester is doing this season (especially this year where practically no one else than the top 2 want UCL it seems).

[@SwazZz0]

funny you mentioned the game of our lives as I just picked it up not long ago, how about a seven best football books with some of the most interesting stories/information they hold? (might be a bit niche but still)

[@rorybessell8280]

Football is still much less predictable than any other major team sport

[@rorybessell8280]

@MrNorthernSol As a cricket fanatic I disagree entirely. Literally any team can beat another like Auckland FC at the club world cup a few years ago. Afghanistan beating the West Indies came as no surprise at all seeing as they had already beaten them multiple times and had been improving rapidly over the past ten years

[@rorybessell8280]

@MrNorthernSol Don't get me wrong there are plenty of upsets in cricket, but in football you see semi-professionals beating top tier sides in competitions like the FA cup which is slightly more of a jump than two national sides even if those are still huge upsets. I love cricket so much more than football but it's not as unpredictable

[@muthuchelvam6751]

@MrNorthernSol bro nope not every team with an odi status can beat every other team especially a top team and which country you are from bro because I hardly see people outside of sub continent speaking about cricket

[@muthuchelvam6751]

@MrNorthernSol bro eventhough you invented cricket football is the most popular sport in your country isn't it and about cricket I may didn't clearly mention about it but apart from top 15 teams no teams have quality nowadays and yes t20 is the most unpredictable format but can you say a story like greece of 2004 winning the euro or porto of 2004 winning the ucl or Leicester city winning the league in cricket eventhough I am a die hard cricket fan I also love football because of this unpredictability

[@muthuchelvam6751]

@MrNorthernSol yep bro I agree with you for me the biggest upsets in wc are , Ind winning the wc in 1983 vs wi because wi was the best team during that time and aus winning the wc in 1987 because they came there as underdogs and still won that and pak winning the wc in 1992 because they started as huge underdogs that tournament and finally sri lanka winning the wc in 1996 and finally do you watch ipl

[@DanteTheIguana]

Hey Alfie, I was delighted to hear someone finally talking sense on FFP and how it maintains the status quo. I always get really angry when I hear fans (usually Liverpool or Manchester United) whine and complain about how Manchester City & Chelsea bought titles. As you alluded to with Blackburn in '95, spending money for success is nothing new, even in the days of the maximum wage, many clubs would make unofficial under the counter payments to secure the best players. I love the idea that any club can come into money, and in time, challenge. Success is not, or at least shouldn't be, a privilege of the elite. Fans of "BIG" clubs bang on about history, and sneer at clubs like Manchester City because they don't have it. Even ignoring the fact that Manchester City is a pretty historic English club, I just find this view so unbelievably elitist. That people can call Manchester city fans plastic glory hunters, then two sentences later laugh how they can't fill the Etihad, absolutely baffles me. You know why they don't fill the stadium? Because they're the same bloody fans who were going to Maine Road in League One! I am happy for Manchester City's success, because as a fan of a lower league club (Bradford City) it gives me a glimmer of hope. Maybe... maybe one day. I know I've been more blessed than many fans supporting their local team, having watched my team beat Liverpool on the final day of the season to stay in the Premier League, and gone to Wembley to cheer my team on in a League Cup final whilst playing in League Two. Since then we went up to League One, fell twice to Milwall in the playoffs, and were relegated in 24th last season. Back to League Two, challenging for the playoffs. It's not the Champions League... but hey. I love my team and always will, through good times and bad. Perhaps even especially the bad. I've ranted on longer than I meant to, I just feel passionately about this stuff. Huge fan of the channel, and your book, keep on talking sense mate.

[@joshdolan9146]

So true

[@anotherelvis]

The Danish league has shrunk to only contain 12 clubs. That has actually helped a lot. Furthermore the league is split in an upper and lower half after 22 games, and the clubs within each half play eachother again.

[@thomaskristensen9814]

Yet, it is also getting significantly less competetive.

[@GrinddalCPH]

I do think there should be a wage loft - For many reasons, it helps make the American leagues unpredictable. It would also make sure players don't become silly rich, and are in it for the money more than the game. Normal people cannot relate to players anymore.