Football 17/18

[TheGayTent]

33 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

Wrexham have been in the conference for longer than any other team in the league. If you offered me hoofball and a promotion I would snap your hand off!

I'd rather get relegated to the conference south than do that. 

[Hugh Jass]

2 hours ago, TheGayTent said:

If Plan A is hoofball for 38 games with little to no adapting then fuck right off. 

Ah Tone... Luckily he's brought Gary Megson in this season as his number 2 to curb his more attacking impulses.

[Hugh Jass]

Hoofball is shite, but tiki taka can be boring too.

I'd like to see a direct, high-energy, pressing style with pacey, tricky wingers running at defenders and strikers and midfielders busting a gut to get into the box... Sadly Tone prefers to fill his side with 6 foot geriatric centre halves so there's only one way to play... Hooooooooof!!!

[jyoung]

11 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Ah Tone... Luckily he's brought Gary Megson in this season as his number 2 to curb his more attacking impulses.

What's the feeling around Gary being back? All seems a bit strange after five years off the face of the planet.

[mjsell]

When done right, 'hoofball' can be great fun to watch. 

And like has been said, when done wrong 'tiki taka' can be unbelievably dull.

[Hugh Jass]

26 minutes ago, jyoung said:

What's the feeling around Gary being back? All seems a bit strange after five years off the face of the planet.

Megson is, and always be a hero at Albion, quite possibly our greatest ever manager. Took over a team that was staring down the barrel of relegation to the third tier in 2000 to promotion to the PL in 2002 (and again in 2004 just for good measure). It's not hyperbole to say that everything we have now was started by Megson in the early 2000's, without him we'd be another Forest or Ipswich. It's fair to say his appointment has been popular amongst Albion fans.

Looking past the romanticism though I have concerns, it bothers me that he's been out of the game for so long, concerns that he's too similar in style to Pulis, concerns that most players won't know or care who he is, concerns that he'll be much more popular than our actual manager....

I want it to end well, but I'm not sure it will.... which is also my prediction for us this season as a whole.

[Hugh Jass]

3 minutes ago, mjsell said:

When done right, 'hoofball' can be great fun to watch. 

And like has been said, when done wrong 'tiki taka' can be unbelievably dull.

I have to admit it is very satisfying, and always very funny, to give a Pulising to the likes of Liverpool or Arsenal. 20% possession, defend, defend, defend, nick a 1-0 from a set piece. We do it once a year and the reaction of fans of "proper football" is always hilarious.

[TheGayTent]

10 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

I want it to end well, but I'm not sure it will.... which is also my prediction for us this season as a whole.

There's been a few pieces written about clubs that finish a season poorly often start the next poorly too. 

[TheGayTent]

54 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Hoofball is shite, but tiki taka can be boring too.

Agreed. 

[Hugh Jass]

3 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

There's been a few pieces written about clubs that finish a season poorly often start the next poorly too. 

We finished poorly the season before last too and it didn't make too much difference. My biggest concern is that we open with 5-6 winnable matches (Bournemouth, Burnley, Stoke, Brighton are our first four) and we really need to be looking to have at least ten points on the board by the end of September, otherwise it could be a long, hard season. The fact that we usually wait until the last couple of days before the window closes to do any business doesn't help either.

[TheGayTent]

33 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

We finished poorly the season before last too and it didn't make too much difference.

I haven't looked at the stats to know - it feels like lazy journalism where it probably happened once and people trot it out as common giving the one example that did happen as proof it's happened a lot. Think Ipswich may have had a bad end to the season previous to relegation but that was  yonks ago. Only mentioned it as I've read two pieces in the last week that raised it when discussing Albion's chances this season. 

33 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

My biggest concern is that we open with 5-6 winnable matches (Bournemouth, Burnley, Stoke, Brighton are our first four) and we really need to be looking to have at least ten points on the board by the end of September, otherwise it could be a long, hard season. The fact that we usually wait until the last couple of days before the window closes to do any business doesn't help either.

At least your first three games aren't away from home...

[Hugh Jass]

3 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

I haven't looked at the stats to know - it feels like lazy journalism where it probably happened once and people trot it out as common giving the one example that did happen as proof it's happened a lot. Think Ipswich may have had a bad end to the season previous to relegation but that was  yonks ago. Only mentioned it as I've read two pieces in the last week that raised it when discussing Albion's chances this season. 

You could easily get away with just recycling the previous season's prediction piece for us for a few seasons now. Just change a couple of names and Bob's your uncle.

Can't remember if I've ever felt this apathetic before the start of a season. Don't think we'll go down, there will still be 4-5 teams worse than us and Pulis is too canny to be dragged in, but it won't be good either. Haven't bothered renewing my season ticket either, was umming and ahhing over it for personal reasons (baby incoming) but I haven't seen anything from the club to convince me to return.

[TheGayTent]

Price would do it for me (were I a baggie) - last time I checked your prices were ridiculously cheap 

[jyoung]

4 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Haven't bothered renewing my season ticket either, was umming and ahhing over it for personal reasons (baby incoming) but I haven't seen anything from the club to convince me to return.

Congrats mate! Hypothetically, if Salomon Rondon scores 40 goals and you win the league will you name your baby after him?

Edited August 9, 2017 by jyoung

[Hugh Jass]

2 minutes ago, jyoung said:

Congrats mate! Hypothetically, if Salomon Rondon scores 40 goals and you win the league will you name your baby after him?

Cheers, although if that happened I'd name all my kids after him.

[Hugh Jass]

5 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

Price would do it for me (were I a baggie) - last time I checked your prices were ridiculously cheap 

Prices are very reasonable, my ST usually costs around the £350 mark. Problem is that I live in London, so not only is there the extra cost of getting up and down to Birmingham but going takes up my entire Saturday. Don't really want to give up one day of my weekend every two weeks when I could be spending that time with baby.

[TheGayTent]

8 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Prices are very reasonable, my ST usually costs around the £350 mark.

My local non league side charge £280 for a season ticket...

Quote

Problem is that I live in London, so not only is there the extra cost of getting up and down to Birmingham but going takes up my entire Saturday. Don't really want to give up one day of my weekend every two weeks when I could be spending that time with baby.

Yes, were I in your situation I probably wouldn't bother either. Although I might be tempted to get one knowing I was going to miss a lot of games. 

Like the Hawthorns - one of the few proper grounds left. 

Edited August 9, 2017 by TheGayTent

[Hugh Jass]

2 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

My local non league side charge £280 for a season ticket...

Yes, were I in your situation I probably wouldn't bother either. Although I might be tempted to get one knowing I was going to miss a lot of games. 

Like the Hawthorns - one of the few proper grounds left. 

Knowing my luck this will be the year we get to a Cup Final and I won't be able to get a ticket.

[Hugh Jass]

Danny Rose next out of Spurs?

http://www.football365.com/news/danny-rose-stops-just-short-of-asking-for-transfer

At least he's honest about his ambitions and wages.

[eFestivals]

3 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Danny Rose next out of Spurs?

http://www.football365.com/news/danny-rose-stops-just-short-of-asking-for-transfer

At least he's honest about his ambitions and wages.

am loving that "wants to play up north" bit.

Honest? It's a crock of shit. Honest would have been to honestly ask for what he wants.

[Hugh Jass]

6 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

am loving that "wants to play up north" bit.

Honest? It's a crock of shit. Honest would have been to honestly ask for what he wants.

He's not going to physically ask for a transfer as then he loses out on a pay-out. This as honest as he's allowed to be. He's honest in terms of wanting more money - He's the best left back in the country and he's currently paid the same as Keiron Gibbs and Connor Wickham. He has never won anything, Djimi Traore has a bigger medal collection than him.

Unfortunately for Spurs, as honourable as their model of breaking into the elite whilst maintaining a wage structure is, this is where the system falls flat. All it takes is one play (Walker) moving to a competitor and doubling his wage for the others to question their own worth.

[eFestivals]

18 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

This as honest as he's allowed to be.

that might be the case, but that doesn't make it honest - and in fact that justification proves it as not honest.

[Wooderson]

Spurs having a tough time of it this summer. 

[jyoung]

Chain reaction stuff. The Spurs lads aren't all Harry Kane and it remains to be seen if he even lives up to the loyalty that he suggests. The players will see what Walker is up to, at a club with a stronger squad, collecting more money and medals than they ever will at Spuds and then think to themselves, I could be doing that too. Spurs have a fantastic first team but unfortunately for them what you really need is a fantastic squad. If they don't invest, they risk losing it all. Danny Rose is class and I'd have him at Chelsea. 100%.

[eFestivals]

6 minutes ago, jyoung said:

If they don't invest, they risk losing it all.

aren't they currently having to do an Arsenal, and have no money for players cos it's all going on the stadium at the mo..?