For years people moaned that skilful players were being kicked out of games by over robust tackles that were largely ignored by the officials of the day. Then the rules became stricter when it came to what was allowed for tackling and the Norman Hunters, Ron Harris and Tommy Smiths of the game largely became less significant and skilful players were allowed to flourish more. There were always exceptions back then, George Best, Tony Currie, Frank Worthington etc were great skilful players to watch despite the Iron Men defenders attentions. Now we have a game peppered with cheats, divers and in Whitehall’s case complete fannies when it comes to playing the game. I find him embarrassing to watch most of the time but he scores goals and the younger fans love him because they have known no other way the game is played. Football ,like life, moves on but not always for the better in terms of a spectacle to watch or the betterment of the game in general.
