Quality or Entertainment?

[pjdaly]

There have been quite a lot of posts recently informing us of the very poor quality of our new league. I think it's inevitable that with every step down in the pyramid – and particularly as you drop from the last rung of The Football League into non-League – the drop in quality is inevitable.

So do we want quality or entertainment? Of course the answer is both! But as we're not going to get the ultimate in quality at the fifth level of English football does that mean it's reason for despair? I certainly think not. I enjoyed yesterday's game, and far more so than almost every match last season at the higher level. I think we played some very decent football at times. Of course we want better but we always will want better. But I think yesterday was very enjoyable. I'm not complaining.

Quality does not always provide entertainment. You can get dour, boring encounters at every level, partly due to sterile tactics employed by one team or the other. Who would want to watch the Argentina team (the second best team in the world) every week if they played like they did for three-quarters of the match against England and then the entire match against Spain (bar the last few minutes when they had no choice but to try to attack)?

By contrast, one of the most entertaining Barrow teams I have ever watched was the Vic Halom side that won the dirt-low NPL title in 1984. Purists with their technical analysis would, I am sure, have ripped holes in that league and found no end of technical deficiencies . . . even in the Barrow team that romped to the title! But were Halom's team entertaining? Massively so!

I'll finish by putting the cat amongst the pigeons by suggesting, controversially, that, up to a point, a lack of technical quality can actually increase entertainment because the flaws and deficiencies lead to gaps, openings and chances.The sort of gaps, openings and chances that you wouldn't see in a match involving an almost defensively watertight Argentina team. Technically solid? Yes. Boring? Yes.

Give me Cowps and Barry Diamond ripping into a low-quality Goole Town any day of the week.

[Fazered]

I have not enjoyed football at Holker St since the Chelsea game and I like you have been happier watching football at the lower level. It's more fun, less serious, easier to enjoy

[Scott5]

It's a results business and ultimately that's what counts. Fans are fickle and a winning team will always attract fans, a team that isn't doing so well will inevitably lose fans.
I don't think the level necessarily dictates that you have to be a long ball team or not play any kind of good football.
Going back a few years but the team that Kenny Lowe assembled played some great football in the old Unibond league, a league made up mostly of carthorses and cloggers. We got great crowds in those days too for the level, far above any other club but in the end we probably underachieved and never went up.
More recently of course the Ian Evatt team played great football but aside from Boreham Wood, that's something that you don't really see much at this level. Teams like Sutton and Bromley went up as big, strong direct teams and were successful in their first couple of seasons, Bromley in particular.

Probably the best team aside from that Evatt team that I have seen was the 2007/08 play off winning team, which probably wasn't the most skilful or best footballing team, but one with plenty of pace and power on the wings and upfront, and had a player in Mark Boyd who could pick a pass. Goalmouth action and crosses or 'box entries' as Murray says is what people want to see, whether it's 5 passes to get there or 25 doesn't really matter. It's one thing to be direct, just so long as it's not aimless hopeful balls being punted forward which is terrible to watch and doesn't really get results. I'd say we are a direct team but there's people in there that can play a bit too ie. Whitfield, Ward, Marriott....

[Wintergreen]

Last season there was just too much much ‘Look at my stats’ aimless passing sideways and backwards with little in the way of threatening the opposing goal before eventually making a costly error, going behind and then starting the whole ineffectual process again. God it was awful and the writing was on the wall from Christmas onward. So it is refreshing to see a sense of urgency, a clear pupose and a will to win from our new squad. We’re not perfect, but on Saturday there were thrills, spills, altercations, hilarity, noise and above all – goals! It will do for me. Baracelona and all that was rather unique and great to witness but with that success came the usual price to pay as bigger clubs came in for our top performers which also did for us last season as our midfield shipped out en masse.

As a footnote, I found Abbey Road gridlocked on Saturday, so I drove down along Park Road (not my usual route) eventually passing the ground to park. Coming from this different direction I was struck by just how many families and young kids where milling about and I thought ‘I bet some of those young kids have never seen Barrow win a game’. I thought of them again later on after that resounding hard-fought win and hoped they had enjoyed their afternoon as much as I had and would be keen to go again.

[HenneysKnee]

Saturday was great to watch; the football was a lot better than what folk are making out, certain people seemed to have decided that Murray is Paul Cox 2.0 and that’s that despite the evidence in front of us!

Ideally yes you’d play like the Evatt title winning side every week but that is so so rare at this level; coming home from (very depressing!) games last year all you heard on Radio Cumbria almost every week was how Carlisle needed more athletes in the team, quicker/more physical players and we’ve seen that already

[Barrowvianbedlam]

It’s entertainment and atmosphere that gets bums on seats and repeat business.

[Big_Bluebird]

Results.

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

The National league is a big step down in quality from the EFL. That much has been evident in our first few games imo
It’s ping pong football with players playing as though the balls a hot potato. We won on Saturday yes that was great, Plenty of passion, desire and hard work but if it’s quality easy on the eye football you want to see bar the odd exception you won’t see much in the National league

[behind the goals]

The National league is a big step down in quality from the EFL. That much has been evident in our first few games imo
It’s ping pong football with players playing as though the balls a hot potato. We won on Saturday yes that was great, Plenty of passion, desire and hard work but if it’s quality easy on the eye football you want to see bar the odd exception you won’t see much in the National league

Hopefully crowds won't suffer to much with people deciding whether to attend or not to watch this dreadful football because it would impact the Club massively we don't have a large fan base to start off with if we lose a few games we also lose many fans, many of us have watched for 30/40/50 years and go to support the Club demanding quality and entertainment football in non-league won't happen most of the time, I too though Saturdays game was good entertainment and didn't go home thinking it was poor.

[Gazza]

Im pretty sure you will find that winning is the most important factor in maintaining decent crowds. It can be still be exciting without being particularly good quality.

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

Im pretty sure you will find that winning is the most important factor in maintaining decent crowds. It can be still be exciting without being particularly good quality.

Results will maintain the crowds yes but to grow them you need to marry results and quality together.

[mall]

Im pretty sure you will find that winning is the most important factor in maintaining decent crowds. It can be still be exciting without being particularly good quality.

Results will maintain the crowds yes but to grow them you need to marry results and quality together.

So come the end of March, if Barrow were top - or in the top three through playing how we did against Sutton - we wouldn't command the attendances we might get if we played more entertaining football.

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

Results will maintain the crowds yes but to grow them you need to marry results and quality together.

So come the end of March, if Barrow were top - or in the top three through playing how we did against Sutton - we wouldn't command the attendances we might get if we played more entertaining football.

You will always attract more at the end of March the business end of the season if you’re up there. I’m talking about October, November January February months

[behind the goals]

Worrying times for Murray if he can't get his team to play with Quality and also Entertain the demanding fansbase could be the first manager to be sacked but still won games, going to be a very interesting season ahead.