华尔街英语中级Lesson 40

     Football of course is a team game, isn’t it?  However what we tend to hear about all the time are the individual the soccer stars our heroes on the football field.  Is it difficult for a football player to learn not to be a personality, but to be a part of a team, do you think?  It is, yes.  That’s a very good question.   And one that many clubs have never totally resolved.  Obviously, managers want to encourage the individuals, but they also know that if they are going to those results that I spoke about earlier in other words, if they are going to win the game.  It’s got to be a team effort.  And teams of course have different ways of playing a different style of approaching the game.  Sometimes, England, especially in world cup competition have been called a bit pedantic, a bit slow, a bit stodgy in the way they play football.  Where as other teams play with more energy and flare.  Do you think that’s fair?  Yes. It is very and very often.  The English approach appears to be, as you put it, pedantic and rather slow.  And certainly the club that I follow has that same approach.  Their tactics ia simplely the goal keeper gets the ball and he punts it high up into the other half.  And they hope somebody will be underneath it, from our side, who will be able to control that ball sweep it out to the wing.  The winger sweeps it back in again and bang it’s in the net.  that’s the theory, but in practise, it doesn’t work out  that way.  And the trouble is the spectators do get a bit fed up with one type football.  Finally, John you obviously love the game of football and as a professional commentator you’ve been looking at the game for some years now.  What do you think the future holds for English football?  I’m very concerned about the future and I think most people   associated with football are concerned with the future of English football or football in general.  Largely for the reasons I’ve stated and big money is entering the field, the television companies are entering the field literally.  The spectators are not being given enough attention and consideration.  It’s becoming less of sport and more of business.  And that concerns me very much indeed.