 | Forum
Reply | General Election
at 21:03 13 Jun 2024
The way I look at it is:
1) You can judge the Tories on their actual performance. Do you think they have done a good job? Are you confident that they can do a good job going forward? By good job, you can assess this for you and your family and/or the country as a whole. Has the last 14 years worked for you? Has it worked for the UK as a whole?
2) If no, do you believe that Labour would do a BETTER job? It's difficult to judge so this is about gut feel and reflecting on 1997 - 2010 performance;
3) If you're still not happy then does one of the other parties chime with your values, personal aims and aims for the country as a whole?
For me, the answers to the first 2 questions are, for the country as a whole, NO. The UK is broken in so many different areas and I have no faith that either main party to put it right.
So I'm left with the Lib Dems , Greens, Reform or spoiling my ballot. At present I have no idea which way to go but I hope that I can vote for a party that at least I can feel comfortable with. It may boil down to which party can deliver a positive campaign, which party could deliver electoral reform, which is long overdue, and whether I feel that I can trust any of the lying b*stards! If not, then I'll spoil my ballot - I certainly won't vote for any particular party just as a protest. |
| Forum
Reply | General Election
at 14:55 13 Jun 2024
If you vote for a party whose policies you don't believe in then you are effectively endorsing their position.
Rather than not voting, an alternative is to spoil your ballot paper. That way, your "vote", or lack of it, gets counted but you haven't endorsed any particular party. |
| Forum
Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 11:13 6 Jun 2024
I agree with all the sentiments so far. I just wanted to add a couple of things:
1) In the USA, college football is much more accessible and popular than NFL. I don't think an ESL would have a huge negative impact on English leagues;
2) Nick is right to suggest separation between ESL teams and other members of their franchises in English leagues. Nick's second model is one that I would advocate so as not to punish the true fans of those teams;
3) Back in the 70's & '80's English teams played in European competitions. Today, those teams may be based in Manchester, Liverpool, London but in my view they are not English teams (even clubs like Saints to a certain extent). The ownership is foreign, the managers & players are predominantly foreign and in the case of the big 6 so too are the majority of the fans;
4) The effect of the polarisation has also been devastating for the smaller European leagues - their best players are poached and they often then poach players from Africa.
Given the emotional connection between football clubs and their cities/fans I would like to see an ESL (or even GSL) for the telly watching fan and national leagues for those of us who like to attend live matches. |
| Forum
Reply | Stu Armstrong
at 11:22 5 Jun 2024
I suspect it's the right time for both parties & he leaves with dignity. |
| Forum
Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 11:21 5 Jun 2024
I'd love to know the views of the City support who used to post on here .....& then left in a huff!
I suspect many older fans share the views of all of us that this has all gone too far and the game needs to be "returned to the fans". |
| Forum
Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 10:33 5 Jun 2024
100% agree - there are far more supporters of other clubs so I think the needs of the majority need to be put first. |
| Forum
Reply | Brighton Alleged To Be Talking To Russell Martin To Replace Roberto De Zerbi
at 15:17 9 Apr 2024
True - however, I never equated the Swedish Cup with the FA Cup or even League Cup. The important thing is that Potter was on an upward trajectory. He had had more success at his previous appointment to Swansea than Russell Martin had. I would compare winning the Swedish Cup and playing in the top flight in Sweden as better than mid table League 1 and not winning any trophies (even the JPL or whatever it is now).
If you want to compare to Jimmy Ball then fine but it does explain some of the post-match reports we read! |
| Forum
Reply | Brighton Alleged To Be Talking To Russell Martin To Replace Roberto De Zerbi
at 12:51 9 Apr 2024
I apologise - I missed your comment about the cup in Sweden.
According to Wikipedia - "Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information, or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs."
My previous post showed no confirmation bias - I was comparing a manager with a track record of some success as a manager with a manager with a track record of zero success as a manager.
[Post edited 9 Apr 12:56]
|
| Forum
Reply | Brighton Alleged To Be Talking To Russell Martin To Replace Roberto De Zerbi
at 12:37 9 Apr 2024
Potter also won the Swedish Cup with Ostersund and got them past the group stages of the Europa League where they eventually beaten by Arsenal. So the direct comparison here would be with RM guiding MK Dons to mid-table League One!
Potter was on an upwards trajectory, whereas RM is on a tippy-tappy sideways trajectory. |
| Forum
Reply | Adam and Joe on the way home
at 12:04 9 Apr 2024
So many managers think they are far more intelligent than they really are. Mind you, compared to the majority of players, supporters..... |
| Forum
Reply | Why things have gone wrong
at 12:36 3 Apr 2024
Many good points so far. I don't want to repeat what has been said so far but my additional views, for what they are worth, are as follows:
RM is at best a competent Championship manager. As well as being tactically one-dimensional he seems incapable of being able to motivate players to perform at a consistently high standard.
Our players are mediocre - unfortunately a better manager might have been able to get more out of them, but their mental fragility has been an issue for a number of seasons now. If they are not motivated in a reasonably successful team, imagine what they would be like if Saints were struggling!
Based on the above, it is ironically even more important to get rid of RM if Saints do go up. I shudder to think of next season in the PL when Saints are likely to be scrapping for survival. |
| Forum
Reply | Sports Republic - 87m in loss in 1st year
at 13:37 5 Mar 2024
Players are intangible assets because the asset is actually a license (or a contract to use that player for a defined period of time) - not the player themselves.
In Cityboy's example: the intangible asset increases by £1 million and cash goes down by a million if all paid immediately. If only half is paid immediately then cash goes down by £0.5million and creditors go up by £0.5m. The cash and creditors go down further as and when the money is actually paid.
Furthermore the intangible asset is amortised (depreciated) over the life of the contract. So if the contract is five years the intangible asset goes down by £200,000 per year - after say 1 year the intangible asset is now only £800,000 and there has been a £200,000 cost in the Profit & Loss Account.
Hope this helps but it probably just confuses further! |
| Forum
Reply | Mason Holgate
at 08:03 20 Feb 2024
Thanks for your reply, which I've now had a chance to wade through. Let me address your points:
1) I'm not interested in pundits on MOTD but the views of fans around me at matches etc. There is a huge amount of criticism and abuse of players and managers who make mistakes so your point is just wrong. Secondly, refs in the Premier League are meant to be the best of the best and are aided by both assistants and technology. They still make some significant mistakes;
2) "Refs are quite often held accountable" - in other words they're also not held accountable! The problem is that the accountability doesn't appear transparent. In addition, it's not about sacking someone after one mistake (which is a bit of a hysterical statement) but about referees showing a degree of humility or contrition and willingness to learn from mistakes;
3) My mistake - I meant in England outside of the Premier League. As a Saints fan on a Saints forum I am most concerned with the Championship. There seems to be a much greater acceptance amongst fans that referees don't always get things right. Why? It's because refs in the Premier League are meant to be the best of the best and are aided by both assistants and technology but still make some significant mistakes;
4) I have no problem with the technology or VAR - it's the application of it that is problematic. To suggest that it's down to the LOTG seems flimsy - it's clearly the operators that, once again, make mistakes;
5) It's not about controversial decisions but the "look at me" attitude of certain referees. The majority of fans go to matches for the excitement, atmosphere etc. created by the players (the stars of the show). I'm sure those that go to watch the referee in action are in the minority. Referees are bit parts to the main event;
6) I'd love to know what your job is because what you have written about the world of work doesn't apply to many people who are highly successful (not mediocre) in their fields - (as an extreme take Elon Musk as an example!).
The grass roots issue is more of a societal issue than simply down to justified criticism of referees getting major decisions wrong. there is a lack of respect towards authority particularly where the authority appears flawed (we see this towards police for example). Is it right? Of course not but it is a much wider, more complex issue.
I find your last sentence insulting and pathetic and childish - I do not "moan non-stop" about referees. I post on this forum very rarely and have tried to provided valid comments. also you know nothing about me. When my son used to compete in a different sport (FYI he represented GB at World & European Championships) , I did referee at a very junior level in order to help out!
Frankly your whole, defensive attitude sums up what is wrong with refereeing as a whole - there's a lack of humility and contrition and a significant amount of "it's someone else's fault". Everyone wants the standard to improve and the only way to do that is through rigorous self-examination - not knee-jerk defence. |
| Forum
Reply | Mason Holgate
at 13:59 19 Feb 2024
It's quite simple really:
1) Referees often make decisions that are crucial to the outcome of a match;
2) In any other walk of life people are accountable for their decisions. If I get things wrong in my business I am directly accountable. Referees seem to be immune from this;
3) There seems to be a lot less complaining about officials outside the Premier League - suggesting that many fans do understand the issues;
4) In the Premier League VAR was brought in to sort out clear mistakes. The fact that it is contentious is nothing to do with the technology - it's all to do with the operators;
5) The best referees are those who go un-noticed. They just get on with the job to the best of their abilities. They are not the stars of the show;
6) In most sports referees are made up of those who are not good enough to play the game and moreover are pedantic as they like rules! As a result they are usually not the most popular - it's a fact of life!
Conflating VAR with abuse at grass roots is frankly ridiculous, as is blaming everyone other than those at the root of the problem - PGMOL and referees themselves. |
| Forum
Reply | League table for the last 50 years
at 13:59 16 Feb 2024
I fully realise that retard has multiple meanings. However, the use depends on the context. So I'm interested in which use of retard did you mean then?
BTW, not being naïve (note the correct spelling) or woke or anti a so-called Pompey "fan" being on here. I'm not even agitated - just pointing out that you used a term that is now generally considered as offensive. The context is clear - it's just that you seem to have a problem being called out for something.
If you're not obsessed about Saints why do you bother stalking and coming on a Saints forum? |
| Forum
Reply | League table for the last 50 years
at 13:25 16 Feb 2024
Absolutely understand the context of the thread.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary the term "retard" is "a word for a person with a learning disability (= a condition that can have an effect on someone's ability to learn easily), which was used by doctors in the past but is now extremely offensive". It's not holier than thou or woke to pick someone up on that - it's just decent.
You've clearly been a bit agitated by this criticism because your last sentence has one grammatical error (no comma after now) and one spelling mistake (though for thou). Maybe try to understand the modern usage of language and calm down a bit before posting? |
| Forum
Reply | League table for the last 50 years
at 12:19 16 Feb 2024
Shame you have to resort to using an offensive term ("retard") to describe someone - you've really lost the argument.
[Post edited 16 Feb 12:23]
|
| | PaleRider
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 55 | | Comment Votes: | 202 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 257 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.