McClennan wrote:
I'm with you on that but it's an argument that rarely appears in football and I always wondered why there was a difference.
I suppose it's strange, but I think I'm being fair when I say most people in football don't give a funk. I think RL fans are a bit more paranoid when it comes to 'foreigners', people seem to think they are superhuman and must be on bigger wedges than most, otherwise why would they be here? In football, it seems to be accepted that foreigners are better value for money, whilst average foreign players also seem to be accepted as the norm. People in RL think that an average Aussie is taking the place of a passionate local lad, whereas in football, the perception seems to be that an average foreign player is probably better value for money than an English lad, whilst they present greater resale value as foreign players are always more willing to play in another country.
I dunno, I guess it's just the way everything is viewed. Aussies and Kiwis are viewed as mercenaries by quite a lot of RL fans, they're usually here for a big pay day at the end of their career, or because the NRL isn't interested. In football, we get more foreign players in their prime and plenty more coming here to prove themselves and progress their career. I dunno, I guess you're right in what you're saying, I guess there are plenty of reasons that the fans are so different. What was the perception of foreign players when they first came to Britain in football?
