A Thin Line

Don't be fooled regarding players competitiveness ..... no matter what age they are they want to win ..... it's a natural instinct ....... the problem often lies with the coaches & parents who make winning the only factor in success & often players fear of failure inhibits their performance indeed often leading to behaviour that is aggressive in the extreme .......... bordering on malicious ..... not only this ........ this fear of losing leads to ultra negative football where teams set up not to lose as their primary strategy ...... The recent Kennedy Cup .... Ireland's premier event for U13's in this country highlighted this perfectly ........ The DDSL went down to this tournament having won the previous 7 in a row ....... a fact not lost on every other representative side down in Limerick ..... I have never witnessed such hate & spite towards a group of players as was on show at this event ...... every game that they played was watched by large crowds .... the majority of whom simply wanted them beaten ..... no matter how this happened ........ with the exception of one side who tried to play football against them ..... the majority of teams set up to choke the game & never came out to play... instead resorting to pure physical tactics ( if you can call them that ) ..... plus an over reliance on the long ball .... this is not football that will ever improve our overall standards within the country .... much to the delight of 99% of people at the tournament the best side on show for the week by far .... the DDSL .... were beaten fairly in the final by neighbours the NDSL 1-0 ...... this in itself is not remarkable .... in any two horse race you have a chance & the NDSL to their credit took theirs ......... what happened in the moments just after the final whistle however will long live in the memory ...... for all of the wrong reasons ...... players from other leagues ... parents & coaches alike ran onto the pitch to acclaim the defeat of the DDSL ...... players or kids as we should really call them ...... were spat at by sections of the crowd .... jostled & pushed to the ground ...... indeed one young player took a punch to the back of the head from a so called football fan ....... this is an absolute disgrace & highlights the cancer spreading in our game ......... amongst other things ....  we would prefer to see the brawn defeat the brain ....... physicality over technique ....... instead of applauding the likes of the DDSL for trying to play good football ..... in fairness they were one of only a few sides to try different formations ( 1-4-3-3 & 1-4-4-2 ) ..... they also played out from the back when it was on ..... refreshing considering that the majority of other teams simply launched the ball forward from the keeper .... not only this ......... the reaction at the final whistle from the crowd mirrored much of what was seen on the sidelines during the week long event ....... cursing & abusing referees is common in our game & must be eradicated for good ...... uneducated morons on the side lines must be confronted & removed for the welfare of the officials ... players ..... & decent spectators alike ....... none of this will change until the powers that be ..... firstly acknowledge the problems & secondly in conjunction with their league partners take steps to change this culture ....... it won't be easy ...... but it is vital to the successful & improved state of our beloved game .....