"if you can't win, don't lose"
I've heard that trotted out a lot this last month. Thing is no one says the next line... "and do that for a season you'll be relegated"
It's a BS mantra that prioritises "keeping the run going" whilst ignoring the objective.... promotion! I predict on the Monday night phone in some joker will suggest "We're on a good run. Only lost one in fourteen".
It was true back in the days of Clough and GSE and no transfer funds and cut the wage bill year after year. But we're looking for promotion now, not mere survival - I thought.
So for those in doubt about the meaning of "good" in the context of a team wanting to be promoted it's this.
At home, only a win can be considered "good".
Away a draw against a top-eight team can be considered "good". Against rest a win is needed to be "good", though I'll concede an away point against 9~15th is 'OK-ish' if not totally good.
So. Since the turn of the year we've had one good result (Brentford) and one OK-ish result (Millwall). The other seven have been BAD. We need to use the word, so the players and the club understand the performance expectation. Hiding behind the phrases I've highlighted at the top of this post and pretending that drawing against teams in the position Reading, Wednesday and Birmingham occupy is somehow keeping something "good" going is a dangerous self-delusion.
It starts at the top: Rowett needs to start telling it like it is and shake these players out of the comfort zone they appear to occupy at the moment.
<RANT OFF>
<RANT ON>
posted on 26/2/18
comment by I'm not Spartacus, resilience and charact... (U4603)
posted 22 minutes ago
In the days of terracing nobody left because they wanted a pee.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, how I miss standing in a river of urine. Wembley 1985 was the worst ever - got tickets for the Man U v Everton cup Final - sweltering hot day, steaming urine ... that's what football was about.
Re attendances - on Saturday, Reading opened the big gates at half time so any Tom Richard or Harry could get into the away end. If someone nipped in at half time, would that count as a 1/2?
posted on 26/2/18
comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 12 minutes ago
My uncle (by marriage) is Scotch. He's the same uncle who once punched a horse in the face outside the City Ground in the early 70s. Anyway, he hailed from Glasgow and he said that even when Hampden was packed for a big game the first few rows at the bottom of the terrace were unoccupied, on account of the rivers of urine that had cascaded down from higher up. He also said that he himself as a small boy would often pee into the jacket pocket of whichever unfortunate he was jammed up against.
Not that he was a racial stereotype or anything.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Scottish. Scotch is the drink
posted on 26/2/18
comment by HebridesRam (U2909)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 12 minutes ago
My uncle (by marriage) is Scotch. He's the same uncle who once punched a horse in the face outside the City Ground in the early 70s. Anyway, he hailed from Glasgow and he said that even when Hampden was packed for a big game the first few rows at the bottom of the terrace were unoccupied, on account of the rivers of urine that had cascaded down from higher up. He also said that he himself as a small boy would often pee into the jacket pocket of whichever unfortunate he was jammed up against.
Not that he was a racial stereotype or anything.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Scottish. Scotch is the drink
----------------------------------------------------------------------
......and into the landing net
posted on 26/2/18
comment by HebridesRam (U2909)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by lastapostleofvidal (U1491)
posted 12 minutes ago
My uncle (by marriage) is Scotch. He's the same uncle who once punched a horse in the face outside the City Ground in the early 70s. Anyway, he hailed from Glasgow and he said that even when Hampden was packed for a big game the first few rows at the bottom of the terrace were unoccupied, on account of the rivers of urine that had cascaded down from higher up. He also said that he himself as a small boy would often pee into the jacket pocket of whichever unfortunate he was jammed up against.
Not that he was a racial stereotype or anything.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Scottish. Scotch is the drink
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are Scottish, but drink a certain amount of Scotch, at what point would you become more Scotch than Scottish?
posted on 26/2/18
Like a lazy Scotch salmon on the River Tay, lured by a Hairy Mary.......
posted on 26/2/18
Every game without fail two guys leave at 35mins for a half time pint. Sometimes they push behind me which is quite unsettling.
posted on 26/2/18
Go on then
posted on 26/2/18
I think Rameses has the right method of counting after 15 mins.
Could it be done by weight averaged over a season? We would know the weight of beer/pies in the ground before KO. There would be a problem with urine and excrement though as there must be tonnes of it. It might be easier than quantum physics to work out.
posted on 26/2/18
The City ground could be done by measuring the light light reflecting off the seats.
posted on 26/2/18
You might think that Iwas, but if they were tilting their heads to one side at the time of analysis you would get some spurious empty seat readings.