Of course as a practitioner you are entitled to justify the practitioner's position. A lot of us spend time justifying our own existence in a job. However I don't think my views as a consumer and critical friend are rubbish - they are a conclusion I make considering the evidence. Like all things football evolves - not necessarily for the better.
These are the pen pictures from the team in 1966/67 -our first season in Div 4 - notice how short they are. These days most teams have 5 or 6 6 footers -with some around 6ft 3and 6ft 4. They occupy a lot more pitch and than players 55years ago. That's the increase in athleticism and size -pitches have not increased in size nor the size of goals.
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As for youngsters -29 years ago -probably one of our finest ever 11s and their ages on New Years Day 1992 when they beat Newcastle 4-0 to go top of the second division.
Sansome 30, Austin 21, Scully 21, Prior, 20 Powell 22, Jones 26, Tilson 25, Cornwell,27, Ansah 22,Angell 23,Benjamin 30, Subs Locke 21,Butler 25.
7 out of 13, 23 and under.
There are always the exceptions that make it later Steve Tilson being the prime example here, but in the main players are now shielded from proper football unless they really are good enough.
If the gap between League 1 and the championship isn't that great why is it that 2 out of the three promoted sides inevitably get relegated the next season and those that get relegated
get promoted.
Football has to become exciting again i.e. more than one shot every 30 minutes, and much less boring and predictable with sides just waiting to prey on a mistake and if there are no mistakes its 0-0.