Anyone else thinking sod it

[Chisels_n_ommers]

Ultimately in this case you have a bloke in a studio looking at less than ample video footage and freeze frames deciding if a player (who appears to be looking at a football) can see the football.

And then the bloke in the studio is saying it's CLEAR and obvious that he can't see the ball.

And 100 minutes of football highs and lows and investment is decided on that.

Just let that sink in......

 

[clivewolves]

I know many people don't like the bigger clubs, but we are having a great title run-in that could go down to the last day with three teams vying for the title. It would be depressing if a late VAR call was to decide the winner. It would be fitting for the game the authorities have created, but as a fan I'd hate it. It would be an anti-Aguero moment.

 

[lobodelsur]

But you know what the answer to all these disappointments with VAR?

Just play better, score more goals, and have a solid defence.

And yet Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City - you know, teams that 'play better, score more goals, have solid defences' - have all had issues with VAR...

 

[Ned]

VAR is completely ruining the game for me now. It’s sucking the enjoyment out completely and the worst thing is that I’ve got the realisation that it’s not going to result in “it’s not working, we tried, let’s bin it” which has really done me in.

Honestly, I won’t hear or accept any argument for the use of VAR at all. The “it’s the people who use it, not the technology” argument is pathetic as well. Doesn’t matter who uses it, football is subjective and these decisions will always be open to interpretation. I’d rather feel hard done by instantly and get on with it then having 5 mins of waiting beforehand. Same with celebrating goals, used to be a quick look at the lino during the cheering - now it’s waiting around whilst some ******* in a studio looks to disallow it.

 

[maws]

It will be used to correct clear and obvious errors!!!!!!! Joke that statement is a complete lie and not one person can deny this now

 

[Macman]

VAR is completely ruining the game for me now. It’s sucking the enjoyment out completely and the worst thing is that I’ve got the realisation that it’s not going to result in “it’s not working, we tried, let’s bin it” which has really done me in.

Honestly, I won’t hear or accept any argument for the use of VAR at all. The “it’s the people who use it, not the technology” argument is pathetic as well. Doesn’t matter who uses it, football is subjective and these decisions will always be open to interpretation. I’d rather feel hard done by instantly and get on with it then having 5 mins of waiting beforehand. Same with celebrating goals, used to be a quick look at the lino during the cheering - now it’s waiting around whilst some ******* in a studio looks to disallow it.

Good post and exactly how I feel.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Having a **** on field referee does not ruin the match going experience at all. I quite like having a villain. There aren’t enough players to go at anymore akin to Lee Hughes, Danny Mills, Craig Bellamy etc. Going to football is about feeling and expressing emotion and forgetting about your world for a few hours. VAR destroys every aspect of that and leaves not only a void but a huge feeling of empty anger that ultimately just makes you despise the sport. I get why stooge pundits refuse to portray it for what it is but it’s nothing short of staggering that any match going fan could defend it in the slightest.

 

[wolvesjoe]

What I notice is a gradual but significant reduction of enthusiasm.

There have been efforts to reduce the harms VAR is causing, then it just flares up again with a poor or contentious decision.

These seem to increase as the season reaches its more tense final phase. The clear and obvious clause is suddenly reduced in scope.

The fundamental interference in undermining the celebration of a goal appears to be irreformable, however. So it has to go.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

What I notice is a gradual but significant reduction of enthusiasm.

There have been efforts to reduce the harms VAR is causing, then it just flares up again with a poor or contentious decision.

These seem to increase as the season reaches its more tense final phase. The clear and obvious clause is suddenly reduced in scope.

The fundamental interference in undermining the celebration of a goal appears to be irreformable, however. So it has to go.

That final paragraph is what I’ve been saying since 2019. Ever since it tried to disallow Neves’ screamer against MU I’ve seen it for what it is. There is nothing anyone can do to fix what VAR does to celebrating a goal. Nothing at all. This more than anything needs to be realised before those defending it in any capacity remove the **** from their eyes. And once that is established across the board it becomes evident that there is next to zero point going to a match if that aspect can’t be fixed which it can’t.

 

[The Wolf In The North]

I didn't celebrate Max's goal yesterday. Not because I had any doubt about offsides or otherwise, but because I no longer celebrate any goal at the time it's scored. As @rubyloo says above, absolutely perfectly, there are no longer goals, there are goals subject to approval.

There are still errors in the game, they now just take longer to make, and the spontaneous joy - and despair - has gone. Add that to the soul-grinding drudgery of financial shenanigans, and the sport has become a chore.

If you gathered together a group of people who despised football, put them in a room, and tasked them with a project to suck all the enjoyment out of the game and peeing off the audience to breaking point, I swear they couldn't come up with anything more effective than what is already in place.

 

[Darvo]

I’ve said it before when annoyed, but today I’m left thinking why bother? Mine and my lads ticket cost me just shy of £1400, that’ll go up surely. I celebrated so much when we equalised, then it’s taken away. I don’t go to a music gig for a band to play a big song then stop halfway through and say nahhhhhhhh!

As bad as sone decisions used to be, this is horrendous now, I mean this season really makes me think **** it I’ll go lower league football. Genuinely think I’m close to being done with it

Glad I’m not alone feeling this way. It would be very hard to design anything more gut wrenching than a VAR goal reversal.

I still feel low this morning.

Forget the disappointment of seeing Wolves robbed. That actually pails into insignificance compared to overall negative impact VAR has on the game that I have loved all my life.

Quite simply, VAR in any guise, is abhorrent. The slow destruction of the goal celebration is just too much to take.

 

[the genius]

Sadly I've been thinking the same for a while. But then we will probably go and win next week and I'll wonder what I would do without wolves haha. Its a drug

 

[Darvo]

I couldn't give a **** that we missed out on a point today which we may or may not have deserved. What I hate is they are taking away the main reason for going to football, the euphoria of scoring a goal. Unless its a penalty, you just can't celebrate any more without a nagging doubt that it may be disallowed. Liverpool away in the cup was just the same, that moment was taken away. I would rather have some dome dodgy decisions go against us and bin VAR as I don't go to football to celebrate a goal against us being over turned on a technically.

Nail on head!

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

Yesterday wasn’t VAR, it was a bad decision by a person.

It shouldn’t have been checked thoroughly because Fabianski’s view wasn’t impeded and his ability to save it wasn’t impacted by Chirewa.

It’s a mistake from an individual. Again. Against us. Again.

This was actually a rare incident in that the VAR official did make the mistake. So I understand the anger towards it even if I think it’s misdirected.

Usually the on-field decision does us over.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

In a nutshell what VAR does is turn your team scoring a goal from what should be the pinnacle of joy and adulation within the sport, to a moment of brief excitement followed by an immediate period of reluctance, stress, trepidation and then either relief or unparalleled anger and disappointment. It’s genuinely as if you take a risk by scoring a goal. Utterly ridiculous but painfully accurate in reality

 

[rubyloo]

Yesterday wasn’t VAR, it was a bad decision by a person.

it was VAR - VAR provided the opportunity for some idiot in West London to ruin thousands of peoples day.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

Glad I’m not alone feeling this way. It would be very hard to design anything more gut wrenching than a VAR goal reversal.

I still feel low this morning.

Forget the disappointment of seeing Wolves robbed. That actually pails into insignificance compared to overall negative impact VAR has on the game that I have loved all my life.

Quite simply, VAR in any guise, is abhorrent. The slow destruction of the goal celebration is just too much to take.

I don’t mean this in a ****y way as I really sympathise with your stance as it means a lot to you clearly.

But people have claimed for months/years that VAR ruins celebrations but it didn’t seem that way when Kilman’s header went in. The place went nuts.

Yesterday is a problem because it was a mistake.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

it was VAR - VAR provided the opportunity for some idiot in West London to ruin thousands of peoples day.

An official made a wrong call after viewing it on replay.

The problem, for me, is 100% fairness. We were done yesterday because it was a wrong call. It doesn’t matter to me who makes it.

It’s not about ruining peoples day. It’s getting it right. So anger for yesterday is warranted but it needs to be at the **** who made the wrong decision, not a system.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

I don’t mean this in a ****y way as I really sympathise with your stance as it means a lot to you clearly.

But people have claimed for months/years that VAR ruins celebrations but it didn’t seem that way when Kilman’s header went in. The place went nuts.

Yesterday is a problem because it was a mistake.

It’s an instinctive reaction after decades of doing so. I went mental when Lemina scored the winner vs Spurs but after a few seconds my mind instantly goes to whether he may be offside. That’s what var does. It taints the moment even for goals ultimately awarded.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

It’s an instinctive reaction after decades of doing so. I went mental when Lemina scored the winner vs Spurs but after a few seconds my mind instantly goes to whether he may be offside. That’s what var does. It taints the moment even for goals ultimately awarded.

Fair enough.

But I would say looking at the celebrations after Lemina’s goal, you’re in the minority despite what people say on here. It was wild and it was close.

 

[rubyloo]

An official made a wrong call after viewing it on replay.

The problem, for me, is 100% fairness. We were done yesterday because it was a wrong call. It doesn’t matter to me who makes it.

It’s not about ruining peoples day. It’s getting it right. So anger for yesterday is warranted but it needs to be at the **** who made the wrong decision, not a system.

the more layers of unnecessary complexity and human involvement you put into ANY system, the more chance there is of mistakes being made. I really cant make it any clearer than that. VAR IS THE PROBLEM

 

[StockportWolf]

The absolutely staggering thing is how passive most paying fans actually are to it all. They all know what it does to the game and the experience, yet nothing happens. This will never ever improve either, people need to realise that. How can that goal today be disallowed ffs. And what happens now is that whenever we next score a significant goal, are you going to jump around like a lunatic and enjoy the moment you pay all that money for? No, of course not. You're going to think back to today and be reluctant. So whether the goal is given or not, the moments gone. It's hideous, I ****ing hate it. And it infuriates me how we all just let it be.

The passivity is excruciating. I've been proud of how vocally anti-VAR our fans have been since its introduction, especially when we've sung things during a check that could fall in our favour. I think the midlands clubs generally have been the most vocal about this, but what's enraging is as soon as 'doing something' about it is suggested, there's such a pathological fear of appearing to be 'scouse' or 'a victim' of any injustice by our fanbase that we're happy to just sit (or stand) and be enraged by it. For me, I would much rather run the risk of being accused of having a victim complex than I would being a bootlicker.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Fair enough.

But I would say looking at the celebrations after Lemina’s goal, you’re in the minority despite what people say on here. It was wild and it was close.

Perhaps in terms of duration, but I guarantee there wasn't a single Wolves fan in the stadium who didn't at some point during their celebration have the thought process of whether it could be offside. Even if it's just 1% of doubt, it's not the same. And what's worse is that the more significant the goal, the more that doubt will creep in. Picture a last second winner in a cup final. Yes you'll lose your mind for a bit, but then that niggling thought sneaks in again. It's impossible for it not to. That is what VAR's presence alone does to the experience and it's bloody tragic.

 

[rubyloo]

The passivity is excruciating. I've been proud of how vocally anti-VAR our fans have been since its introduction, especially when we've sung things during a check that could fall in our favour. I think the midlands clubs generally have been the most vocal about this, but what's enraging is as soon as 'doing something' about it is suggested, there's such a pathological fear of appearing to be 'scouse' or 'a victim' of any injustice by our fanbase that we're happy to just sit (or stand) and be enraged by it. For me, I would much rather run the risk of being accused of having a victim complex than I would being a bootlicker.

It wont happen, but id love our fans to sing **** VAR for 90 minutes against forest regardless of what was happening on the pitch.

 

[wolvesjoe]

I don’t mean this in a ****y way as I really sympathise with your stance as it means a lot to you clearly.

But people have claimed for months/years that VAR ruins celebrations but it didn’t seem that way when Kilman’s header went in. The place went nuts.

Yesterday is a problem because it was a mistake.

I dont celebrate goals immediately anymore, unless it is absolutely clear that VAR cannot rule it out. And that is quite rare as there always might be something in the build up, etc, etc.

Removing VAR would lead to a few more goals being given when there has been a foul of some sort, and a few good goals being ruled out by biased or poor officials.

But we would get back the celebration, and that, after five years of this ****, is a price worth paying.

(And I am a repentant sinner in this, having thought that VAR could be reformed to be a background checking system to stop very bad decisions being made. I can no longer see how this can be done.)

 

[DJW]

I've thought 'sod it' but at the same time I'm very grateful for what the team has achieved this year and mildly excited for next year.
So I hope we might be back to full strength for the Liverpool game and spoil their party

 

[Darvo]

I don’t mean this in a ****y way as I really sympathise with your stance as it means a lot to you clearly.

But people have claimed for months/years that VAR ruins celebrations but it didn’t seem that way when Kilman’s header went in. The place went nuts.

Yesterday is a problem because it was a mistake.

Yesterday was a mistake … but as gut wrenching as it was I can and will get over that.

What I am struggling to get over is the possibility that every goal we score may be chalked off.

My mate (die hard Wolves) did not celebrate the ‘equaliser’. Says it all.

 

[xbomber]

Needs to be an automated AI-driven system with decisions given in the moment with human intervention as an exception. If technology is not there yet then most people's preference, mine included, would be to roll back to the old system.

Sadly the stewards of our fine game don't have the preferences of customers at the heart of their decision making. To be fair it's consistent with Hollywood and entertainment companies who spend more time on being inclusive than having a product designed with the audience in mind.

There's no obvious answer. You can't really say to a media giant or a football industry "try asking your customer what they want". Well you can but they're not hearing.

Me? Another one here who isn't going to games after many decades. Hopefully they find a way out of this mess they've backed themselves into.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

A big obstacle as well is 'brains' like Lineker with their roundabout nonsense ideas about teams having 1 challenge a half etc. Which will basically just mean that any goal is challenged just in case something can be found. Given that it's generally quite rare for most sides to score more than 1 goal a half. I wish people would just face the reality for what it is. VAR kills the enjoyment of the game and that cannot be fixed. It's as simple as that. So what do we want as paying fans? That. Or for human error decisions to exist but ultimately be able to celebrate a goal again? Give me the latter every single time.

 

[lets all have a disco]

After the last few weeks if we meant sod the "mix" then yes.....If we mean Wolves , football and my team NO CHANCE....

 

[lobodelsur]

It wont happen, but id love our fans to sing **** VAR for 90 minutes against forest regardless of what was happening on the pitch.

How about supporters of the 3 clubs playing Arsenal, City and Liverpool throwing tennis balls on the pitch during the last matches of the season (assuming all 3 are still relevant)

 

[Darvo]

In a nutshell what VAR does is turn your team scoring a goal from what should be the pinnacle of joy and adulation within the sport, to a moment of brief excitement followed by an immediate period of reluctance, stress, trepidation and then either relief or unparalleled anger and disappointment. It’s genuinely as if you take a risk by scoring a goal. Utterly ridiculous but painfully accurate in reality

And yet some still defend it! I find that very difficult to get my head around.

 

[cannockwolves]

The main issue with VAR is it's a different experience for those at the game and those watching on TV that may well not be as emotionally invested. It's like stupid kick off time for TV and other anti-match going fan nonsense.

The game is being restructured to suit the TV audience. These VAR checks are an interesting debate while you can see the instant replay, they are just plain infuriating when you have not idea what's going on.

It's just another set towards sin bins and quarters for ads.

I hate it, but the match going fans are just extras in a TV show. How long will it be before they can overlay an AI generated clowd to provide the 'atmosphere'?

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Anfield on the final day -

Everyone turn up with F*CK VAR gold t-shirts on and a load of tennis balls to disrupt the media pantomime as much as possible.

We'll be expected to be nothing but the opposition who bend over for the fairy tale ending in front of millions and millions of viewers.

And for us that game will no doubt be a dead rubber, and it shouldn't be. It should be a chance for us to secure European football in some guise, and we've been robbed of that because of endless **** VAR decisions. If people actually want to do something about this vampire then there you go.

 

[wv3wulf]

I’ve said it before when annoyed, but today I’m left thinking why bother? Mine and my lads ticket cost me just shy of £1400, that’ll go up surely. I celebrated so much when we equalised, then it’s taken away. I don’t go to a music gig for a band to play a big song then stop halfway through and say nahhhhhhhh!

As bad as sone decisions used to be, this is horrendous now, I mean this season really makes me think **** it I’ll go lower league football. Genuinely think I’m close to being done with it

VAR killed it for me last season and now the mess with FFP has taken all the enjoyment away, although I still have my season tickets which Ive now given to my nephew I enjoy my match days much more going to Castlecroft to watch Afc Wulfrunians with a pint and burger and not feeling like smashing the house up after being robbed by a referee every week.
Football needs to change before more fans from outside of the sky top 6 clubs start boycotting to watch lower league or non league football.

 

[Arcadius]

The main issue with VAR is it's a different experience for those at the game and those watching on TV that may well not be as emotionally invested. It's like stupid kick off time for TV and other anti-match going fan nonsense.

The game is being restructured to suit the TV audience. These VAR checks are an interesting debate while you can see the instant replay, they are just plain infuriating when you have not idea what's going on.

It's just another set towards sin bins and quarters for ads.

I hate it, but the match going fans are just extras in a TV show. How long will it be before they can overlay an AI generated clowd to provide the 'atmosphere'?

That ia a brilliant viewpoint! It's ironic that we are manipulated "paying" extras!

 

[maws]

I didn't celebrate Max's goal yesterday. Not because I had any doubt about offsides or otherwise, but because I no longer celebrate any goal at the time it's scored. As @rubyloo says above, absolutely perfectly, there are no longer goals, there are goals subject to approval.

There are still errors in the game, they now just take longer to make, and the spontaneous joy - and despair - has gone. Add that to the soul-grinding drudgery of financial shenanigans, and the sport has become a chore.

If you gathered together a group of people who despised football, put them in a room, and tasked them with a project to suck all the enjoyment out of the game and peeing off the audience to breaking point, I swear they couldn't come up with anything more effective than what is already in place.

This is the best post of 2024

 

[maws]

Anfield on the final day -

Everyone turn up with F*CK VAR gold t-shirts on and a load of tennis balls to disrupt the media pantomime as much as possible.

We'll be expected to be nothing but the opposition who bend over for the fairy tale ending in front of millions and millions of viewers.

And for us that game will no doubt be a dead rubber, and it shouldn't be. It should be a chance for us to secure European football in some guise, and we've been robbed of that because of endless **** VAR decisions. If people actually want to do something about this vampire then there you go.

If only this could happen, time for Wolves fans to unite

 

[Jefe]

I know many people don't like the bigger clubs, but we are having a great title run-in that could go down to the last day with three teams vying for the title. It would be depressing if a late VAR call was to decide the winner. It would be fitting for the game the authorities have created, but as a fan I'd hate it. It would be an anti-Aguero moment.

I for one would be delighted if the title race was decided by a last-gasp VAR howler. Chuck in the Champions League / Euro final for good measure - VAR failing a big team on a monumental occasion is the only way it might be scrapped. As it its, VAR is like Jaws, it lurks for a while, then resurfaces to cause carnage one random weekend.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Anfield on the final day -

Everyone turn up with F*CK VAR gold t-shirts on and a load of tennis balls to disrupt the media pantomime as much as possible.

We'll be expected to be nothing but the opposition who bend over for the fairy tale ending in front of millions and millions of viewers.

And for us that game will no doubt be a dead rubber, and it shouldn't be. It should be a chance for us to secure European football in some guise, and we've been robbed of that because of endless **** VAR decisions. If people actually want to do something about this vampire then there you go.

Great idea. Tennis balls on pitch every 10 minutes to mark the amount of points dropped