Standards in football nosedive

These days, looking at football on the TV, all the shirts are of an unpronounceable name. Football used to be called the "English" game and sportsmen used their skills to score goals.

Shirt pulling, elbows in the face, booting opponents on the floor - all accidentally of course - and the "it wasn't me ref, it was him" attitude, have spoiled the game.

The man writhing on the floor in apparent "agony" suddenly recovers when awarded a free kick for excellent play acting.

Anyone actually scoring a goal puts his life in peril, not from the opposition, but from his team mates who appear to be attacking him in numbers due to the wonder of scoring a goal. In my day you just shook hands.

The other wonder today is the goalkeeper, who seems to be halfway between his goal and the halfway line. Football today has come a long way - in the wrong direction.

T Roberts, Oswestry