The grumpy thread

[dollywobbler]

You want good racing, I suggest that the F1 teams have their cars taken away and replaced with Minis. The Goodwood Revival generated some of the most exciting racing I have ever seen. In fact, a race between an Austin-Healey and a TVR Grantura was also monumentally epic. Drifting old cars FTW!But back on whinging form, I hate football too. Beautiful game? What's beautiful about watching overpaid twats roll about on the floor with all the acting skills of a Hollyoaks reject and lying to the referee "I never touched him!" constantly. Cricket may not exactly be non-stop action, but at least cricket players don't bicker like spoilt children and accept decisions, even when they're wrong decisions.And yes, I also get that 'odd' look when I say I don't follow it.

[Cavcraft]

If anyone else says they don't like football I'm going to come down to their manor wiv a bladdy big firm of top lads and kick their bleedin 'eds in, alright John?

[michiel]

I don't like football - fun when I kick a ball around with family once a year, but the whole business/violence-we vs them thing... Your team can be someone else's team in a flash if some rich blokes wave a ridiculously big cheque in front of the other teams slightly less rich blokes. I don't even think any of the players for the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Wherever based team live there, or have any real connection with Amsterdam/etc... Teams, managers, players switch all the time so what is your loyalty as a supporter based on?Watching the US Open this year I fear for tennis as well... too much money there, 10,000 or more idiots who can't shut up during and in between services, points etc. and who want 'their' player to win, even if their grunting and shouting is more developed than their playing technique, and and and... once again, people are idiots.

[M'coli]

Re football: a lot of the "fan" thing is to do with tribes, i.e. when you're asked "What team do you support?" you're being asked what "tribe" do you belong to. By saying that you don't support any team upsets people who follow football because they can't place you in their hierarchy of said tribes; it also removes the common ground that would allow them to be able to communicate with you, no matter how much or little they think of your team/tribe. This makes you dangerous, because you are an unknown quantity; my uncle has no interest in football and found this out when he worked in Belfast in the 90s, as he was told he "had" to support one large Glasgow team or the other because he was Scottish, and ended up being set-about outside the pub because of his refusal to choose.

[Guest]

I don't mind football in the context of it being the game I used to play round the back of Fodden fish shop with a rag-tag assortment of other scruffy kids off the estate.Unfortunately though, I've seen first-hand too much stupidity relating to football to let it pass. Vic's previous car pitch was near a pub and if there was a big game on it had to be seen to be believed. Grown men would turn into particularly stupid kids - shouting, screaming, jumping through hedges, generally being a nuisance, stumbling around drunkenly in the early afternoon. I'm not a complete kill-joy and wouldn't be bothered if they were making a bit of noise inside the pub for a couple of hours, but they were causing other people a lot of grief over their stupid little hobby.I know for a fact that not all football fans are like that, but it seems like the popularity of football means that it'll just be accepted forever because it's all special, it's "passion" and all that - it isn't. Watching football is just a hobby. There will be passion - much as people are passionate about birdwatching, stamp collecting, model railways, etc. The exception is that most other hobbies don't seem to intrude on everyone else's life, whether they like it or not.Truly dread the World Cup coming round as if you don't like it, it's very difficult to avoid it, it's everywhere. The absolute worst being if games are played at a time which will sit within working hours here, as work will be halted so everyone can sit around listening to football on the radio and not doing any work. Because everyone loves football and we should all make special allowances for it, even people who don't bloody like it.

[Pete-M]

I love football, don't bother watching England, but 'my' team is important to me.. I'm not obsessive about it, I don't cancel things because of 'the match' but I do get a bit pissed off when my team don't win.I'm not jealous of how much they earn for playing it. Good on 'em, they've put the time and the effort in and they're bloody good at it. People want to see them play and are willing to pay. They'd be daft if they didn't make something out of it as it's a career that lasts 15 years tops on average. Good on 'em.To me, complaining about how much sportsmen get paid is like not listening to the Rolling Stones "Because all they do is play music, and they're millionaires", or not watching a film because "That James Bond, look at him, he's got an Aston Martin. Flash bastard. He should be in a diesel Astra like the rest of us. Don't like Bond films. Amount of money they spend on film, they could be giving it to me. I'd buy a brown Stanza".

[trigger]

I'm not a football person neither, Don't mind watching an England game down the pub with my mates and a beer but that's as far as it goes.Think it stems from school, I hated sports and i was always the last kid to be picked, Even the fat kids would get picked over me, and i was always picked to be goalie which was daft as i used to run away from the ball whist it was being kicked at my face... :oops:It makes it feel like being a outsider for me though being a dockworker from Ipswich as every bloke at work seems to spend all there time taking about bloody Ipswich Town, and when Bobby Robson died i saw grown men crying.

[retrogeezer]

I disagree....Playing football well is a lucky to have talent - no more, no less. Does being lucky to have that talent mean you deserve to get paid £75 million a year (Beckham) - No.Does training for years to be a life saving surgeon - yes. Working hard through drama school and bit parts in TV shows and working your way up to be succesfull in films - possibly.Same with music, hard life touring around playing crappy little clubs/pubs before getting a lucky break - again, possibly. Kicking a ball around at training twice a week and the odd game - no way.Oh, and films/music are entertainment for years and generations to come....once a football match is over thats it....unless you record it and watch it again for some strange reason.

[Mr Lobster]

Truly dread the World Cup coming round as if you don't like it, it's very difficult to avoid it,

Very true as sadly it will be everywhere and everyone will be expected to stop what they are doing and watch. I won't be doing that though as the one good thing about the world cup is that when Ingerrrland play the roads will be deserted Last world cup, the last game England played (when they lost) it was a lovely sunny day and I was looking after Ma Lobsta's MX5. Had a great drive to the beach at Ainsdale / Southport and back. On the way home, roof down, sun beaming, roads literally empty, MX5 truly was GR8 4 DRIFTIN round roundabouts (privately owned ones, obviously....)

[Justin Case]

Re football: a lot of the "fan" thing is to do with tribes, i.e. when you're asked "What team do you support?" you're being asked what "tribe" do you belong to. By saying that you don't support any team upsets people who follow football ....

+1Absolutely. I enjoy watching a game from time to time; the skill, the drama, the suspense when a penalty is about to be taken and as long as the better side wins that's fine. And why are you expected to support the local side? I work with someone who lives in West Bromwich and supports Liverpool for no other reason than they are a better side (which is proved year in year out ) Yet he would be made more welcome if came in and announced he had swine flu Get rid of the supporters (rather than just fans) and their stupid shirts and in spite of the money aspect and it would be a lot better game.

[Roc 24v]

I was always in goal, and picked after the fat kid too, that's a fair few of us then

[Justin Case]

I was always in goal, and picked after the fat kid too, that's a fair few of us then

Count yourself lucky. I was to thin to be in goal and too crap to be a forward, so I had to spend 90 minutes somewhere in the middle of the pitch, running around like my trousers were on fire without a clue as to what I was supposed to be doing.

[Cavcraft]

The absolute worst being if games are played at a time which will sit within working hours here, as work will be halted so everyone can sit around listening to the radio and not doing any work.

Slightly misquoted but that's all some of us do anyway, football or no football Pete_M put it very well I reckon. I won't cancel much, if anything, for a game but I do make the effort to go again now. The only way to deal with the stupid money being paid to players is to impose a world wide ceiling of, say, £1,000,000 transfer fee and ten grand a week wages. That way it'd be better for the fans because ticket prices should drop and the quality of football should be sprerad around various clubs who wouldn't find it so hard to compete.But let's be honest here, if any of us had the talent to play top class football you're not likely to sign on at Chelsea and tell them £300 a week will be fine and then go nuts and buy a Mk2 Fiesta are you? The 'tribe' bit someone mentioned is probably spot on but maybe you have to follow a team, especially a shit one like I do, to sort of comprehend the whole football package thing.Honestly you watch shite football week in week out and then you get that good draw away to a 'big club' in the F.A Cup. I can't describe the feeling of going out early doors, few drinks on the train then into a pub having a laugh with the homes supporters before walking into a large ground you've never been to before and knowing deep down the team you follow are going to get hammered but just hoping they will score and make your day. Whoever (Shankly?) said 'football isn't about life and deathm, it's more important than that' is completely wrong though. I've worked with idiots over the years who wouldn't come in on Monday because 'their' team lost, who were happy to give it out when 'my' team lost but couldn't take it back and who just never STFU about football and can only imagine how much worse it would be if I didn't like football at all.If I didn't go to work when Chester lost I'd be on the fucking dole by now

[r.welfare]

It's all Jimmy Hill's fault at the end of the day, isn't it? The big-chinned berk.

[pogweasel]

Football can bollocks. I hate it, total load of old cock. I'd rather spend an afternoon slamming my cock in the oven door than watching 22 twats chasing a bagfull of air about. When attending a public house, any sign that states 'LIVE SKY SPORTS HERE' or similar will see me walking away, they'll not get my money. Though they probably would only serve horrible lager for consumption by tasteless peasants anyway.

[FredTransit]

I can't stand football either, no idea why it's supposed to be 'News'. OK, maybe the very big match's results might hold my attention for about 4 seconds, then it's on with my life!I don't want it on all of the channels at onceI don't want it on the front page of every newspaperI don't want it on the radio when I am drivingI don't want the country to stop when ingerland are playing.On the subject of radio, anybody listen to Virgin on Saturdays? That Rock 'n' Roll Football really gets on me tits! You are just listening to a good track, and they interrupt it to tell you somebody somewhere has scored a goal! WTF?? It's about that time I switch over to Heart.....

[pogweasel]

On the subject of radio, anybody listen to Virgin on Saturdays? That Rock 'n' Roll Football really gets on me tits! You are just listening to a good track, and they interrupt it to tell you somebody somewhere has scored a goal! WTF?? It's about that time I switch over to Heart.....

Don't listen to it then!But do remember to tune back in for when Classic Rock starts. Hell Yes.

[FredTransit]

Exactly, I don't listen to it, but the radio would be tuned to Virgin the rest of the week, so when it comes on I have forgotten about it since last week!

[michiel]

I sort of look forward to the world cup - South Africa, drunken 'fans' with money etc vs desperate and poor inhabitants, even more violence than usual probably and apparently there might be a license to kill for the police... shoot first, then shoot some more, then maybe ask a question. Will this be the cup to end all cups?I just don't get the big money thing in all possible jobs - I'm no communist but why would you need to 'earn' XX or even triple X millions a year, whatever you do? Do you really need an 800 million euro yacht or a 75-bedroom house?

[Pete-M]

I can't stand football either, no idea why it's supposed to be 'News'. OK, maybe the very big match's results might hold my attention for about 4 seconds, then it's on with my life!I don't want it on all of the channels at onceI don't want it on the front page of every newspaperI don't want it on the radio when I am drivingI don't want the country to stop when ingerland are playing.On the subject of radio, anybody listen to Virgin on Saturdays? That Rock 'n' Roll Football really gets on me tits! You are just listening to a good track, and they interrupt it to tell you somebody somewhere has scored a goal! WTF?? It's about that time I switch over to Heart.....

It's not on all the channels at once. I can't see half the matches I want to see on telly because its on some bloody subscription channel on Sky. If you can get these matches for free on every channel, will you please swap tv with me. I'd save a fortune.It's not on the front page of the papers half as much as Jordan or the other celebrity x-fucker in the jungle kitchen with talent shysters. It's not on telly as much eitherIf its on the radio, you need to tune to a better station. Radio 2 never, ever does football.The South might stop when England are playing, but up here in the civilised North it's not a big deal at all. Life goes on.

[Guest]

I cant stand football, just don't see the facination in watching it, funny cos i was kinda good playing it when I had to at P.E in school (despite knowing sod all about it) and my ex played in a ladies team and was a full on bluenose (whats up with that, supporting a team that's based 100s of miles away?).

 

Then there's the fact almost everyone at work talks about it all the time, i just feign interest when some one says "oh guess what the score was in (insert game here)" when really I couldn't care less.

 

Thankfully there are a few (well one) like minded individuals in my work who are more into cars then sport so i'm not alone

 

Plus is it really headline news?, i mean that's what the sports section is for (on TV especially).

[garethj]

Truly dread the World Cup coming round as if you don't like it, it's very difficult to avoid it, it's everywhere. The absolute worst being if games are played at a time which will sit within working hours here, as work will be halted so everyone can sit around listening to football on the radio and not doing any work. Because everyone loves football and we should all make special allowances for it, even people who don't bloody like it.

I was commuting home from London one afternoon when England were playing in the world cup, I managed to beat my average time by about 10 minutes. I love world cup days....

[michiel]

The "Maradona goes to Italy to visit a special weight loss clinic, he wants to lose 5 (!) kilos" item almost made me attack the tv last week... just walk to the airport and back, don't stop for snacks or coke on the way and hey, you've lost a kilo already at least. Same thing happens when the news starts with items about coaches getting the sack after 8 days/weeks/months, or any other celebrity culture based shit... in brief, almost every day I want to attack the tv.Jeez, 105 grumpy pages already.

[FredTransit]

I hate 'none news', particularly about celebs. Do I really need to know Jordan has blown her nose? No I don't. Football related stuff can stay at the back of the newspaper too, thank you very much!

[Cavcraft]

The "Maradona goes to Italy to visit a special weight loss clinic, he wants to lose 5 (!) kilos" item almost made me attack the tv last week... just walk to the airport and back, don't stop for snacks or coke on the way and hey, you've lost a kilo already at least.

 

Same thing happens when the news starts with items about coaches getting the sack after 8 days/weeks/months, or any other celebrity culture based shit... in brief, almost every day I want to attack the tv.

 

Jeez, 105 grumpy pages already.

He'd be better off keeping away from his dealer then the fat smackhead twat.

[seth]

Football can bollocks. I hate it, total load of old cock. I'd rather spend an afternoon slamming my cock in the oven door than watching 22 twats chasing a bagfull of air about.

Is the oven on? What temperature?

[Rocket88]

. I hate it, total load of old cock. I'd rather spend an afternoon slamming my cock in the oven door than watching 22 twats chasing a bagfull of air about.Luckily, my oven picks up Sky Sports so I can do both!

[whitevanman]

This is the same twunt that lost his key (lives alone) and was knocking on his own door to get in....

this tells me everything I need to know about him..............

[michiel]

That piece made me LOL for a bit, thank you AR. Unbelievable twunt/cat indeed.

[Volksy]

Recruitment Agencys.. Gah.I'm currently changing jobs, my present employer is shit, although I get a decent package, it's impossible to take any time off, that includes weekends etc. Being on call 24/7 doesn't help either.One downside of the current employment situation is that employers are all using agencies to filter out the candidates before putting you through to the employer. AND THEY ARE USELESS.An example last week is for a position as a Facilities Manager/Property Services Manager role I applied for. I have been doing this kind of role in various capacities for the last 5+ years. So I rattle off a CV to them and have heard nothing back. I called them up today and get some 19 year old 'Consultant' (yer right) on the end of the phone. Consultant: "Oh we have decided not to put you forward for this role as you dont have the relevant experience"Me: "Sorry?"Consultant: "Well from looking at your CV, it's not relevant"Me: "We are discussing the same role here?"Consultant: "Yes, we have only one availiable"Me: "Ok, so you want someone with experience of the property industry, and the service sector, who can also manage a large team?"Consultant: "Yes"Me: "So my years of experience managing properties, grounds and services listed in my CV aren't relevent?"Consultant: "erm.. no"Me: "The fact I have managed a Staff team of up to 90 isn't relevent either?"Consultant: "erm.. well... erm.."Me: "So what is the role you are advertising, as it doesn't seem to be the one you have put in the advert"Consultant: "Well it states clearly in the advert we want someone with experience of managing buildings, grounds and a staff......Oh, yer, I see where you are coming from"Me: "So are you now going to put me forward for it?"Consultant: "Erm, no, as we have already shortlisted, but we will keep your details on file...."At this point I nearly jettisoned my phone out the window.