Marc White Fixes Football

What are the Biggest gripes in English football? Marc White Fixes Football Survey Reveals All

Football fans' biggest gripes include FIFA, rising ticket prices and American Football style half-time shows.

Researchers asked 5,000 football fans what they would change about the modern game, with 61 per cent believing the sport has lost its way.

Other complaints include the number of subscriptions needed to live stream games and the cost of following teams, with the seemingly infinite number of tops released by teams every season.

There is also disdain for colourful football boots, the amount of exaggerated contact in the game and the Champions League not being free-to-air.

The research was commissioned by OLBG to celebrate the launch of the Marc White Fixes Football show, which is coming soon on YouTube.

The Dorking Wanderers founder and manager said: 

"Let’s be honest, as football fans, we’ve all got countless things we would change about the sport. The results won’t surprise many supporters. Fans are the lifeblood of the game, but a lot of them feel football is drifting further away from the people who made it what it is. People still love football, they just want decisions to be made with supporters at the heart of them."

The research also found the soaring costs underpinning fans' frustrations with the game.

In fact, respondents were asked what they would change if they oversaw the sport, with enforcing cheaper tickets for fans topping the list.

While 88 per cent felt ordinary supporters are being priced out of football.

The next biggest priorities were scrapping VAR, making more matches free-to-air and reducing the influence of FIFA on the sport.

When it comes to VAR, just 18 per cent said they would keep it as it is, with the biggest issues being the time it takes, the game feeling too stop-start and it creating more debate than it solves.

Meanwhile, nearly half (48 per cent) think it gives bigger teams an advantage.

If participants were to make changes, they would introduce greater consistency, quicker decisions and even a time limit for reviews.

Respondents were also disgruntled by the half-time show, with only a quarter saying they enjoyed the performance.

Interestingly, 47 per cent of Gen Z liked it, by far the highest proportion of any generation, compared with just six per cent of Boomers.

When asked how they would feel about such shows being brought in more regularly, 72 per cent felt negatively about the idea, with 31 per cent branding it "a terrible idea".

Marc White added: 

"The feeling that fans are being priced out of football really stands out from the study. Following your club has become more expensive than ever, and supporters are noticing it. Football doesn't exist without fans, so it's important the game doesn't lose sight of that."

Top 20 biggest gripes in English football

1. Rising ticket prices
2. Too much focus on money
3. Players diving / exaggerating contact
4. VAR
5. FIFA
6. Inconsistent refereeing decisions
7. Too much time-wasting
8. Too much football being behind paid subscriptions
9. Too much commercialisation
10. Champions League not being free-to-air
11. Super Bowl-style half-time shows
12. Replica football shirts being too expensive
13. Too many kits being released every season
14. Modern “systems-ball” / overly tactical football
15. Premier League decision-making
16. UEFA
17. Fixture congestion
18. Lack of atmosphere at some grounds
19. Clubs releasing too much merchandise
20. Too physical and not technical enough
    
    

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