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Lately, I've been thinking about when I started to slate players.
When I first started caring about football as an 8 year-old, everything about football was great. It was pure.
My dad and I went with his best friend and his son to watch SC Freiburg in Germany's 2. Bundesliga. Expectations were not so high and I got a buzz just from being in the stadium.
When I became a Ryan Giggs fan and later an United fan, I still loved everything about football and about United.
Even, if a player was poor or even ****, at least he was our ****.
I would applaud the efforts and defend any player to the hilt.
Somehow all that changed.
I think there are several factors for this:
The above are just a few factors that probably have resulted in the way I criticize United players today.
As a united fan, I always think we should be competing and winning honours, when we're not, I don't feel good and look for every reason why success is not happening.
Arguing with rival fans have led to me over-scrutinizing our own players.
Chelsea have set such a high standard with star players having to sit on the bench, making players like Fletcher see inadequate. (and yet Fletcher did a great job against them recently).
Playing games like Football Manager definitely distorts your views and expectations.
Egotistical players like Ronaldo and Nani play to look good and not necessarily for the best interest of their team. Comments from Ronaldo saying he enjoys watching himself on TV showed me what his priorities are.
and finally.....
Keano's outburst.
Although I didn't know his exact words, his public outburst was confirmation from the inside that things weren't right.
Until that point in time, it had been speculation from an outsider's perspective, but to hear Keano question his team mates' ability and attitude showed me that I could trust my instincts when it came to my observations about footballers and their behavior.
Lately though..... I'm getting tired of nit-picking and fault-finding and I'm kind of hoping to get back to enjoying football more.
Sure, discussing football and tactics is a must and I'm not saying I'm not going to criticize, but I think I want to adopt more of the "At least he's our ****" attitude.
Not every player is fabulous, but as long as they're wearing the red for United, I'm going to try my best to love 'em more.
When I first started caring about football as an 8 year-old, everything about football was great. It was pure.
My dad and I went with his best friend and his son to watch SC Freiburg in Germany's 2. Bundesliga. Expectations were not so high and I got a buzz just from being in the stadium.
When I became a Ryan Giggs fan and later an United fan, I still loved everything about football and about United.
Even, if a player was poor or even ****, at least he was our ****.
I would applaud the efforts and defend any player to the hilt.
Somehow all that changed.
I think there are several factors for this:
- As a United fan, I've been spoilt and expectations are sky high
- Arguing with rival fans
- Keeping up with the Joneses - Roman's revolution
- Playing football management games
- Roy Keane's outburst
- Egotistical players
The above are just a few factors that probably have resulted in the way I criticize United players today.
As a united fan, I always think we should be competing and winning honours, when we're not, I don't feel good and look for every reason why success is not happening.
Arguing with rival fans have led to me over-scrutinizing our own players.
Chelsea have set such a high standard with star players having to sit on the bench, making players like Fletcher see inadequate. (and yet Fletcher did a great job against them recently).
Playing games like Football Manager definitely distorts your views and expectations.
Egotistical players like Ronaldo and Nani play to look good and not necessarily for the best interest of their team. Comments from Ronaldo saying he enjoys watching himself on TV showed me what his priorities are.
and finally.....
Keano's outburst.
Although I didn't know his exact words, his public outburst was confirmation from the inside that things weren't right.
Until that point in time, it had been speculation from an outsider's perspective, but to hear Keano question his team mates' ability and attitude showed me that I could trust my instincts when it came to my observations about footballers and their behavior.
Lately though..... I'm getting tired of nit-picking and fault-finding and I'm kind of hoping to get back to enjoying football more.
Sure, discussing football and tactics is a must and I'm not saying I'm not going to criticize, but I think I want to adopt more of the "At least he's our ****" attitude.
Not every player is fabulous, but as long as they're wearing the red for United, I'm going to try my best to love 'em more.