Table Talk / Mike Norman / 15 December 2008 / Leave a comment

"Mystical" Mike Norman has been watching snooker for a long time and seen great characters and players come and go, the game evolve and the fashion sense of players take many guises. But what has changed over time and what has remained the same?

The game of snooker was unquestionably at the peak of its popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. Almost all of the top players were household names, venues were constantly packed out, and TV viewing figures made the game one of the BBC's flag-bearer sports programmes.

So much has changed within the sport during the last 15 years or so, yet by the same token, quite a lot remains exactly the same.

Take the bad boys for example. Gone are the wild antics of Alex 'The Hurricane' Higgins, the cocaine addiction that curtailed the career of Kirk Stevens, and the match-fixing allegations that surrounded Peter and Silvino Francisco. But through both Quinten Hann and Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker has had its fair share of controversy since the turn of the century - Hann being less than respected for his 'smash the balls' break-off (viewed by many as ungentlemanly conduct), and O'Sullivan famous for his mental state and lapses in professional etiquette as much as he is for his genius on the table.

However, generally, snooker these days has very much a clean-cut image and the standard of play and professionalism has risen to an extraordinary level. Never again will we see a cigarette-puffing, lager-swigging player in the style of Higgins or the late Bill Werbeniuk, and perhaps never again will we see a player entertain the audiences during a mid-session interval quite like John Virgo did - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gTptQhI2sps

The speed and attacking style of play has made snooker much more the young man's game we have today, stark contrast to when the world's elite contained so many players well into their 40s like Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Eddie Charlton, and the slightly younger Terry Griffiths and Cliff Thorburn. Though in the admirable and evergreen Steve Davis, 51, and the brilliant Stephen Hendry, 40 next month, the game of snooker can still boast some golden oldies capable of beating any professional on their day.

Snooker is a lot more global now, with tournaments being hosted and screened all around the world, and because of this, far more international players are appearing in the top echelons of the game. Ding Junhui who is priced at ([14.0]) to win the UK Championship this week is from China whilst Australian Neil Robertson ([25.0]) and Hong Kong's Marco Fu ([50.0]) can also be found ranked in the world's top 16 and will also be in contention to win this week's tournament taking place in Telford.

Everything moves on, and I hope I'm wrong in thinking that snooker has had its golden period. The loss of tobacco sponsorship has meant some tournaments have fell by the wayside, prize money isn't getting any higher, and an increasing number of big matches are being scarcely attended.

A couple of today's players appear to lack the desire and determination to go right to the top whilst too many suffer from mental fatigue when things don't go their way. O'Sullivan ([2.84] to win the UK Championship), Hendry, Mark Williams ([18.5]), Steven Lee ([36.0]) and Graeme Dott ([60.0] are just a few of the top players who have admitted to things not being 'right in the head' during slumps in form.

Perhaps the pressure of performing consistently well in a game that is fascinating to watch, but can no doubt be tiresome to play, is a huge burden for the less mentally strong players, but for me a lot of the humour and fun aspect has gone out of the game.

Virgo, Willie Thorne, and Dennis Taylor are three former players who could never be described as being 'right in the head' because they enjoyed playing the game so much and were never far away when a wisecrack was to be made. They now take this fun aspect into the commentary box and along with Clive Everton form part of one of sport's best group of commentators. In snooker this has always been the case - Whispering Ted Lowe was instrumental in the rise in popularity of the sport, and along with Everton, Jim Meadowcroft and Ray Edmonds produced some fantastic commentaries and insights into the game.

The commentaries are just as good today, perhaps enhanced by the use of modern technology that allows the viewers to see predicted shots, great camera angles, where a ball is likely to end up, the effect of spin etc.

And thankfully, another part of the game that has never changed is the fashion. Dominic 'The Spaceman' Dale was consistent in his outrageously coloured attire, but it never caught on - just like Joe Johnson's shoes never did!

Yes snooker has changed down the years.... but then again, there is so much left of it that we remember so fondly.