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Thread | BWFC
at 11:08 27 Jan 2022
Am sure you will be thrilled to know that we are all paying for our near neighbours now. A £5M pandemic loan taken by "Football Ventures" has been converted by the British Business Bank as shares in Bolton F.C.
How does that benefit the British taxpayer? Dividends? Resale? Share of profits?
You could,nt make it up. |
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Thread | Is Beezley trying TOO hard?
at 11:56 4 Nov 2020
Like most football fans, the willingness of a player to put in a massive shift goes a long way to offsetting any lack of technical ability. When this is coupled with an obvious desire to succeed and repay the faith that people have shown in him, it is difficult to be critical.
However I can,t help but feel that his willingness to put in the miles is detracting from the primary aim of any centre forward in getting the ball in the net. I watch him constantly closing down (whilst rarely getting a tackle in) first the left back, then a centre back then a right back ad infinitum. Admirable and a legitimate tactic when it is done with other players adding their support in a high press, but this is rarely the case. I can,t help but feel it is achieving little except to sap the vigour from his legs. Most succesful strikers are just that because they possess pace over the first couple of metres, either to get to the ball before a defender or to lose that defender running into space. When you are running a marathon at the same time, something has to give.
By all means form the link when we get the ball forward by holding the ball up, which he does well albeit without the ability to turn defenders but stop chasing the lost causes and concentrate on your primary job of finding space and conserving the explosiveness in your legs. Ignoring goals of individual brilliance, most successful attacking teams gain an understanding of where individuals are likely to be such that a degree of passing becomes almost instinct. At the moment he is all over the place both physically and mentally. Some forwards are bullys that will muscle their way to chances but he strikes me as a player that needs to anticipate passes into space and feed off the half chances.
The glaring miss last night was a case in point, whilst drawing a veil over the attempt he at least anticipated the fumble and was in the right place.
BBM must be happy with his approach but when Humphreys is back I cannot see anything other than a straight swap as I don,t see who else he would drop without it being a greater loss. Newby is a play maker with good feet that can get a ball across although as others have highlighted he often over elaborates and without Rathbone we lose a massive amount of tempo.
I hope the lad can open his account soon and preferably with a brace for at the moment his confidence must be rock bottom.
Up the Dale
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Thread | The Future?
at 11:58 30 May 2020
I am writing this with the assumption that neither a Covid vaccine or effective treatment becomes available in this calendar year. "Expert" opinion on that seems to range from this September to never!
Taking this uncertainty, I have become to think that the interminable deliberations of the EFL in how to close out the current season are becoming a form of denial of the true nature of the threat to our game. I fully acknowledge that to a large degree, events are out of their control with no timescales to plan towards and a commendable desire to please as many camps as possible. However I fear a lack of application to the far more important question of how are league clubs going to survive in the absence of any meaningful revenue in the coming months. Its going to be no consolation to me if the band on the Titanic manages to finish playing its last tune just before the whole ship slides under water. We see time slipping by in discussing how to finish this season, involving the expenditure of cash on testing that many clubs can simply not afford. At this time it should be financial damage limitation and the eking out of reserves for future survival.
Perhaps its the age profile of the people I have discussed this with but the majority have indicated that in the absence of a vaccine, they will not be attending even if restrictions on sporting event crowds were to be lifted (which I very much doubt). When I look at the demographics of the Main stand it seems self evident to me that many in there will conclude the same.
Perhaps I am jumping the gun and after the inevitable decision to abandon the season for leagues 1 and 2 the far more important issue of how does the pyramid survive going forward will be addressed. Although my fear is that the longer this takes, the more likely that certain clubs will not make it.
It is my understanding (but I am by no means certain) that revenue for a club like Dale is made up in roughly thirds, split paying customers, commercial such as sponsorship and then what dribbles down from the elites via media rights etc. The commercial will disappear in the absence of customers and personally I don,t believe for a second that anything other than lip service will come from the Premiership. So there we have it and I come back to my opening remark with the question. Just how the hell does our precious football ladder survive?
On a personal note I would like to wish all connected with the club, that is staff, players, fans and their families better times going forward and in particular anyone who knows me personally.
UP THE DALE! |
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Thread | Seems a lost cause but.....
at 14:20 24 Feb 2019
I am still in favour of sticking with KH. Thats not with any great enthusiasm and perhaps over the years I have been conditioned to expect him to pull something out of the hat. However leaving aside the financial aspects of a sacking primarily because non of us know the true cost of that in terms of £sd, I feel any advantageous opportunity has now been missed. Surely any firing and hiring should have been prior to the January transfer window. It was our one remaining chance of rescuing the current situation and sadly it looks as if it has gone. So the die is now cast until the end of the season and the only rational reaction is to get behind the current squad and give them our best support and see if we can get some positivity back, because woe is me, feeling sorry for ourselves and infighting among the supporters is only going to fulfill our fears.I fully understand how difficult that would be for many who write on this forum given our managers personality, but the reality is asset or liability we are stuck with him for the here and now. Anyone who thinks he will somehow walk away at no cost really do need a reality check.
Having said the above, I do however have some real concerns about our managers tenure medium to long term. It has struck me several times this season that events that have been commented upon during games with my compatriots have been subsequently echoed on this forum from numerous different contributors. Ok we are all armchair managers but I am talking fundamentals that seem glaringly obvious to many. Examples that spring to mind are Dooleys corner kicks and playing Andrew wide. Both became points of derision immediately after games.However what rings greater alarm bells for me in the medium to long term is the increasing number of times that players arrive at the club and initially impress, only for us to revert back to being disappointed with them and the team performances. Its a recurring theme now. Is it Hills constant chopping and changing such that there is no time to build up understanding between players, playing players out of position? Is he constraining players with do,s and don,ts such that any natural instincts are lost? Is he asking for a style of play that given there are two teams on the pitch often fails because they can,t change from "the plan"? Is it that players arrive full of enthusiasm but given Hills perceived personae some then wished they had,nt? I have no idea but something strikes me as not being right and certainly feels different from the glory years. I don,t buy the budget for players argument. Obviously we cannot compete with the Sunderlands of this world but if it is true that Hill had an increased budget this year then it has only been reflected in an even greater churn of players rather than a mid table stable squad for which I am sure that right now we would all gladly settle for.
My biggest fear is that if Hill does take us down to Lge 2 and given the contractual situation is still with us, then a continuation of the last two seasons will see us looking at the non-league trap door. For now he,s my man and in Hilly we trust but medium term sadly I have lost faith.
Up the Dale
ps Does you good to get it off your chest. |
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Thread | So many whys?
at 17:59 26 Aug 2018
Just a few personal thoughts on this wet and miserable Sunday afternoon.
I would,nt mind Henderson (our one true converter of chances) dropping into mid-table occasionally, if he actually achieved anything in doing so. He does,nt.
If Keith Hills team talks are anything like his interview musings then it,s no wonder the players look disjointed and confused.
Why is Calvins ratio of headers won so much greater in our penalty area than the opposing teams area?
Why does it seem that everytime someone has a good game they are dropped for the next.
Why are we so reluctant to shoot from outside the box.
Why are we playing the ball out of defence at a snail pace.
Why are we playing across the defensive back line as we do. Its total football but only in our defensive third. We can,t or won,t do it from the halfway line.
Why if its practised in training, has our crossing of the ball not improved in the last 2 years.
Why other than the last 10 minutes in the Fleetwood and Walsall games when we were chasing the game by taking route 1 (and looking more dangerous in doing it) do we play the same tactic for 80mins of a slow march out of defense with no end result.
Why does Camps look a troubled soul out there.
What must Cannon be thinking.
Why is an injured players status such a state secret? I defy any opposing team to second guess a Hill team selection beforehand so what does it matter?
How does Hill motivate players (a genuine question) because I see nothing in his personna that would get me pulling my tripe out for 90 minutes if I was playing in a position I felt was,nt my best and then getting dropped for it. Anyone with any inside knowledge, please tell because I genuinely believe that he would drop Ronaldo if he did,nt perform at right back.
Has Hill ever publicly admitted losing a match due to his mistakes rather than the players. One for TVOS there.
And finally how are the refreshments organised. Is it a concession that is awarded for a fixed fee so the club don,t give a damn? A pie and a drink used to be part of the match experience. Alas not any more for me.
Does you good to get it off your chest. |
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Thread | A little light relief.
at 11:25 1 May 2018
Meanwhile tensions are rising at Spotland prior to their 28th "must win" match of the season.
Over to the changing rooms sponsored by Greggs.
"Bloomin eck Steve! Have you seen the stains on this shirt? I,ll never get those out on a 30 degrees quick spin. You know damn well from the accounts that we only have 2.5 million on deposit and I,m not allowed a 90 degree wash."
Steve carefully places his sausage roll down, unfortunately right on top of Keiths flat cap, and inspects the offending garment.
"Not guilty Jack, thats not pie juice, its that Herbylicious stuff. I won,t go near that stuff. Messes with your head. Makes you turn from butter would,nt melt into doing all sorts of unprofessional things. Look at that business with "Wanting When he should Score". "He only had one sniff and damn near took that defenders head off."
Jack pondered for a moment and held his hand up, brushing Steves knee.
"Apologies mate and fair do,s apart from the odd chilli pasty crumb, yours have been the cleanest shirts all season"
"Well thats very kind of you to say Jack but to be fair to the other lads I think Brown Rice could give me a run for my money, if not the clubs, and it is difficult to work a sweat up when your only getting substituted in the 86th minute.
Jack nods his head in agreement and inadvertantly impacts Steves patella. Steve winces and drops his economy pack jam doughnut. A big dollop of strawberry jam as unerring as a Done Deal injury time equalising header, lands on a discarded pair of Keiths jeans. Steve is not to concerned as the jeans are a pink relic of happier times.
Jack muses. "You know Steve, your right. I,ve been telling him for ages in the dug out, he should play you more often but he keeps looking round instead of down and thinks its one of those you know, what the call em, you know, help me out here Steve"
"You mean paying customers"?
"Yes thats right probably one of them cheapskate season ticket holders, not even a proper £22 fan". Anyway you know he won,t have any of that difference of opinion nonsense especially at a football match, so ends up whipping round and giving a section of the stand some verbals". Press box love it, but even I thought it was a bit much when some of the Directors thought it was a wheeze and jumped on the bandwagon".
At that moment he who must be obeyed, other than apparently for match instructions, bursts into the changing room, scattering 2 for 1 deals to the far corners. Not even an iced bun covered in hundreds and thousands could put a smile on the young Romanian sitting dejectedly in the shadows. Training had been a grueller that morning. Its no joke doing 250 runs in 90 minutes up and down the touch line and not being allowed to do one single step over.
He who must be obeyed doffs his cap with the half eaten sausage roll still perched on the crown and ushers everyone outside for more training. For the umpteenth time he hands out the booklets titled "Closing down a game for Dummies" and patiently explains to Mr T that the rules of the game do allow you after running to approach an opponent to then proceed to tackle the aforesaid opponent.
Steve unhappily trudges off to the treatment room for an inspection on his rapidly ballooning patella and Jack goes off to try some herbylicious as a stain remover.
Stop Press
I don,t want to heap more concern on the faithfull for Saturday but I have heard rumours that a certain agent Wabbit has been going round all week muttering "I,ll show him if I,m a defender and one of our own is adamant that the secret to last minute penalty taking is the delicate chip over the goalkeeper off the outside of the foot.
Up the Dale and keep the faith.
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Thread | Golden Gamble Numbers
at 11:45 24 Mar 2018
Hi
Can anyone please help with winning Golden Gamble numbers for Wimbledon and Fleetwood games. Thanks in advance. |
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Thread | Chant Request
at 17:03 4 Jan 2017
Whilst chanting seems to be a hot topic, could I make a request that at the next home game we give Chris Dunphy a chant. He would no doubt be mortified with "Give us a wave" but it would be nice to show some appreciation of our position as a club.
I sit in the mainstand and at 61 still mange to lower the average age where I sit, so its never going to happen from there I,m afraid.
The last time I heard his name chanted was away at Blackpool and then it was only to wind up the Oystons. When you look around at other clubs it makes you grateful for what you have. Thanks in advance to whoever is the chant leader. UTD |
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Thread | Newport Programme
at 15:28 14 Dec 2016
Hi,
Can anyone confirm that for the postponed 25th January 1969 fixture (promotion season) away at Newport, no programmes exist as none where actually printed. The tie was subsequently played on the 10th February.
I have been seeking this programme for awhile now but I am now being told I have been on a fools errand. Would appreciate confirmation of this from any of the experts out there. Thanks in advance. UTD.
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