--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most of this fixation was easy to…" description: "\"“Most of this fixation was easy to explain. Brady was a midfield player, a passer, and Arsenal haven’t really had one since he left. It might surprise ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/nick-hornby-325_football-team_most-of-this-fixation-was-easy-to-explai_2317779.png" --- # Most of this fixation was easy to explain. Brady was a… ![“Most of this fixation was easy to explain. Brady was a midfield player, a passer, and Arsenal haven’t really had one since he left. It might surprise those who have a rudimentary grasp of the rules of the game to learn that a First Division football team can try to play football without a player…” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/nick-hornby-325_football-team_most-of-this-fixation-was-easy-to-explai_2317779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/nick-hornby-325_football-team_most-of-this-fixation-was-easy-to-explai_2317779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/nick-hornby-325_football-team_most-of-this-fixation-was-easy-to-explai_2317779.png) > ““Most of this fixation was easy to explain. Brady was a midfield player, a passer, and Arsenal haven’t really had one since he left. It might surprise those who have a rudimentary grasp of the rules of the game to learn that a First Division football team can try to play football without a player who can pass the ball, but it no longer surprises the rest of us: passing went out of fashion just after silk scarves and just before inflatable bananas. Managers, coaches and therefore players now favour alternative methods of moving the ball from one part of the field to another, the chief of which is a sort of wall of muscle strung across the half-way line in order to deflect the ball in the general direction of the forwards. Most, indeed all, football fans regret this. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we used to like passing, that we felt that on the whole it was a good thing. It was nice to watch, football’s prettiest accessory (a good player could pass to a team-mate we hadn’t seen, or find an angle we wouldn’t have thought of, so there was a pleasing geometry to it), but managers seemed to feel that it was a lot of trouble, and therefore stopped bothering to produce any players who could do it. There are still a couple of passers in England, but then, there are still a number of blacksmiths.”” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical critique of modern football tactics that abandon traditional passing for brute force. **In simple terms:** Football has become overly physical, losing the art of passing. Key Takeaway Value skill and creativity over brute force. Themes sports culture change tradition Mood critical humorous Type satire commentary When to use this quote - watching matches - coaching - player development - fan discussions Key Concepts football tactics modernization masculinity Questions to Reflect On - Do you think the sport has lost its artistry? - How can balance be restored? A Different Perspective May exaggerate for comedic effect, not reflecting all leagues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brady Midfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brady-midfield-5529403/) [Explain Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-brady-5529404/) [Football Fans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-fans/) [Football team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-team/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Pass Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass-ball/) [Pass Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass-team-622856/) [Play football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-football/) [Player Passer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player-passer-5529405/) [Rules of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-of-the-game/) ## Related quotes > [The Celtics have always had an older person to try to pass along some of the team philosophy. I've learned to fill that role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/the-celtics-have-always-had-an-older-person-to-try-to-pass-along-some/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [You need to beat a defender when you have the ball. 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I think it's a very important part of football that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eran-zahavi/i-think-people-in-china-like-to-see-r-f-and-how-we-play-i-think-it-s/) [Eran Zahavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eran-zahavi/) > [Football is all about fans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-chhetri/football-is-all-about-fans/) [Sunil Chhetri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-chhetri/) > [It's football - fans are passionate about it, and sometimes it's difficult for players to take, but we are good men, and we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-adebayor/it-s-football-fans-are-passionate-about-it-and-sometimes-it-s/) [Emmanuel Adebayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-adebayor/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. 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I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Football team quotes > [The reason I went to an all-boys Catholic school was because they had the best football team. We won the state championship my junior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-rossi/the-reason-i-went-to-an-all-boys-catholic-school-was-because-they-had/) [Theo Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-rossi/) > [There are lots of positives to come out of playing all sports, not just football. Team games can offer you different life skills than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-powell/there-are-lots-of-positives-to-come-out-of-playing-all-sports-not/) [Hope Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-powell/) > [The pride and presence of a professional football team is far more important than 30 libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-modell/the-pride-and-presence-of-a-professional-football-team-is-far-more/) [Art Modell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-modell/) > [The running backs are the strengths of their football team. They have quality players who can do a number of things for their team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-schiano/the-running-backs-are-the-strengths-of-their-football-team-they-have/) [Greg Schiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-schiano/) > [The emails and the tweets and the Facebook posts and the fan mail that we get from young people all over America that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-donovan/the-emails-and-the-tweets-and-the-facebook-posts-and-the-fan-mail/) [Trevor Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-donovan/) > [That's the biggest shame there is, that L.A. doesn't have a team. I was a big fan of the L.A. Rams, and when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-braeden/that-s-the-biggest-shame-there-is-that-l-a-doesn-t-have-a-team-i-was/) [Eric Braeden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-braeden/) > [“I'll tell you about Ryder. He's the star quarter back of our Division 1A state championship football team. 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Brady was a midfield player, a passer, and Arsenal haven’t really had one since he left. It might surprise those who have a rudimentary grasp of the rules of the game to learn that a First Division football team can try to play football without a player who can pass the ball, but it no longer surprises the rest of us: passing went out of fashion just after silk scarves and just before inflatable bananas. Managers, coaches and therefore players now favour alternative methods of moving the ball from one part of the field to another, the chief of which is a sort of wall of muscle strung across the half-way line in order to deflect the ball in the general direction of the forwards. Most, indeed all, football fans regret this. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we used to like passing, that we felt that on the whole it was a good thing. It was nice to watch, football’s prettiest accessory (a good player could pass to a team-mate we hadn’t seen, or find an angle we wouldn’t have thought of, so there was a pleasing geometry to it), but managers seemed to feel that it was a lot of trouble, and therefore stopped bothering to produce any players who could do it. 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