sheeds wrote:Have enjoyed reading these forums until the last few weeks. When are you blokes who seem to think that it is still ok to fight and hurt players going to step into the 21st century? Footy has changed - thuggery is no longer acceptable. Get it through your heads that no-one cares if you think you are tough. No-one cares if you win premierships. No-one cares if you continue to bag umpires. They do a job. And just like your players they make mistakes. Probably no more than some of the players who still run around. So stop defending blokes who get suspended for games - we all know that if the umpires reported every player who broke the rules there would be a line-up out on to Tynte St every Wednesday. So if a player gets caught just wear it and stop your whingeing because you probably had 20 before that who didn't get reported. So forget your court of law rules-pretty sure you have no idea of those anyway-and play footy as it should be played. Reputations of so-called tough western or northern clubs have been fading for years and now are becoming bigger whingers than college teams. The "everyone is against us" mentality is old & tired - get over it and step into the world of discipline & abide by the rules instead of trying to break them and see how you go. Maybe then you might get the respect you think you deserve.
Not a bad post Sheeds, and welcome on board.
I agree, bagging of umpires is very common, but it always has been. I also agree that plenty of stuff goes un-reported on Saturdays too, but one of the reasons it gets ignored is because some umps cannot be stuffed doing anything about it, while others will report at the drop of a hat. Perhaps if EVERYTHING was reported, it may help remove some of the inconsistency. I think one of the main issues brought up was the tribunal, not the umpires themselves. On the whole, i reckon the umpires do a reasonable job and i dont think that they 'cheat' as some describe it. Yes, they do make errors, and thats fine - as you said, so do players. The umpires are there to control and enforce the rules though - the players are not, so unfortunately errors from umps can have bigger ramifications.
As i am heavily involved with B grade footy, i do see occasions where club-supplied umpires are 'suspect' in their decision making, but to be honest, the best team still ends up winning the flag at the seasons end. It does frustrate players though.
Not sure on your comments about no-one caring if premierships are won, and no-one caring if umps are bagged (you obviously do care !).
I am sick of this whole 'feel sorry for yourself' attitude though - get on with it, FFS !!!
