Post by hendo on Apr 26, 2020 8:44:13 GMT
AGE: If you’re old enough, you’re probably not good enough…
There comes a time in every footballer’s life when it’s time to hang up the boots for the last time and concentrate on inventing various fanciful stories that somehow turn them from having been a bog-standard clogger into a hallowed club legend. There is no doubt in sport, the older you get, the better you were. …I was brilliant by the way.
Some are a little slower to get the advancing age message. At 52, Kazuyoshi Miura is currently the oldest player in the world still playing first class football. He runs out (probably rather slowly) for Yokohama FC in the second division of the Japanese leagues, the last of his 89 international caps was won over twenty years ago.
They obviously put something in the noodles in Japan as there are five players aged over 40 still active in their First Division, and the lower leagues are rife with men who should be out chasing girls and riding motorbikes and generally having proper decent middle-age crises.
Goalkeepers generally have a longer shelf life than outfield players and John Burridge holds the distinction of being the oldest in Premier League history, appearing for Manchester City as a sprightly 43 and a half year-old.
Further up the pitch, Teddy Sheringham and Ryan Giggs both hit forty whilst still playing at the top level. They put their longevity down to diet and staying fit, but as neither of them got a GCSE in Maths, I put it down to the fact that they can’t count.
But what of the age of the supporters? There is no doubt that non-league football attracts the more senior end of the spectrum and that’s hardly surprising.
To quote some rather disturbing research carried out by Man United, the average age of a fan in the Stretford End at Old Trafford rose from 17 in 1968 to 40 in 2008. At Newcastle’s St James’ Park, the average age rose from 35 to 45 in less than a decade. Obviously, the exorbitant cost of attending is the main reason for the shift, because whilst inflation grew by 77% over twenty years, the cost of watching most Premier League sides grew by over 1100%.
In my industry, there are often complaints about the exorbitant fees the top film stars receive and yet the average cost of a cinema ticket has risen by less than the rate of inflation in twenty years. That is because the actors get paid what the industry can afford and therefore there are no extra costs demanded from the public. This is not the case with Premier League football.
Less kids going to big games now means that there will be fewer adult fans in years to come as the older incumbents come to their senses and abandon ship, leaving a generation void.
Who can blame them for going? They are being ripped off at every opportunity, exploited for their passionate loyalty to their club. They can’t park near the ground or use public transport to a game without being rammed so close to their neighbour that they could be charged with sexual assault. Ticket prices and refreshment costs are eye-watering. Journeys have to be planned days ahead and often incur a huge extra outlay and why? Because most Premier League footballers get paid in five days the same as the average full-time worker earns in a year and, unlike the film industry, that cost is passed on to the people who can afford it least. The Fans.
So, with this tragic enforced break, it makes perfect sense to examine your priorities and step away from the madness and come to non-league and get the best value football-fix you will ever find.
Park easily, enjoy cheap food and drink, watch players who are better than you ever were, stand or sit wherever you want, make real friends, support a club where you get to know the players and staff and where you can make a difference and contribute, see excellent skilful football played as it should be without cheating, meanwhile saving enough money to buy a small island in the Caribbean.
But wisdom comes with age.
There comes a time in every footballer’s life when it’s time to hang up the boots for the last time and concentrate on inventing various fanciful stories that somehow turn them from having been a bog-standard clogger into a hallowed club legend. There is no doubt in sport, the older you get, the better you were. …I was brilliant by the way.
Some are a little slower to get the advancing age message. At 52, Kazuyoshi Miura is currently the oldest player in the world still playing first class football. He runs out (probably rather slowly) for Yokohama FC in the second division of the Japanese leagues, the last of his 89 international caps was won over twenty years ago.
They obviously put something in the noodles in Japan as there are five players aged over 40 still active in their First Division, and the lower leagues are rife with men who should be out chasing girls and riding motorbikes and generally having proper decent middle-age crises.
Goalkeepers generally have a longer shelf life than outfield players and John Burridge holds the distinction of being the oldest in Premier League history, appearing for Manchester City as a sprightly 43 and a half year-old.
Further up the pitch, Teddy Sheringham and Ryan Giggs both hit forty whilst still playing at the top level. They put their longevity down to diet and staying fit, but as neither of them got a GCSE in Maths, I put it down to the fact that they can’t count.
But what of the age of the supporters? There is no doubt that non-league football attracts the more senior end of the spectrum and that’s hardly surprising.
To quote some rather disturbing research carried out by Man United, the average age of a fan in the Stretford End at Old Trafford rose from 17 in 1968 to 40 in 2008. At Newcastle’s St James’ Park, the average age rose from 35 to 45 in less than a decade. Obviously, the exorbitant cost of attending is the main reason for the shift, because whilst inflation grew by 77% over twenty years, the cost of watching most Premier League sides grew by over 1100%.
In my industry, there are often complaints about the exorbitant fees the top film stars receive and yet the average cost of a cinema ticket has risen by less than the rate of inflation in twenty years. That is because the actors get paid what the industry can afford and therefore there are no extra costs demanded from the public. This is not the case with Premier League football.
Less kids going to big games now means that there will be fewer adult fans in years to come as the older incumbents come to their senses and abandon ship, leaving a generation void.
Who can blame them for going? They are being ripped off at every opportunity, exploited for their passionate loyalty to their club. They can’t park near the ground or use public transport to a game without being rammed so close to their neighbour that they could be charged with sexual assault. Ticket prices and refreshment costs are eye-watering. Journeys have to be planned days ahead and often incur a huge extra outlay and why? Because most Premier League footballers get paid in five days the same as the average full-time worker earns in a year and, unlike the film industry, that cost is passed on to the people who can afford it least. The Fans.
So, with this tragic enforced break, it makes perfect sense to examine your priorities and step away from the madness and come to non-league and get the best value football-fix you will ever find.
Park easily, enjoy cheap food and drink, watch players who are better than you ever were, stand or sit wherever you want, make real friends, support a club where you get to know the players and staff and where you can make a difference and contribute, see excellent skilful football played as it should be without cheating, meanwhile saving enough money to buy a small island in the Caribbean.
But wisdom comes with age.