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Thread | Consistently inconsistent - the RM effect?
at 11:48 10 Apr 2024
I could not make the Coventry game, but threads here and watching highlights suggest that Aribo had a good game. The Boro match I did watch and I thought KWP had a good game. Scrolling back through these threads other players have been picked out for playing well in individual matches.
Is it the case that players have one/two good matches and then relative ordinary games.
Or is it that they have a good game and then get dropped?
Or they have a good game and the following week half their team mates change along with the system? |
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Thread | Football commentators wind me up
at 11:28 5 Apr 2024
Players do NOT "win" a foul or penalty - the opposition commit a foul.
Some commentators are reinforcing the falsehood that simulation (or as I would call it - cheating) is part of the game. Kids know this.
I watched an U15 match recently (my brother coaches them) and one of the opposition was constantly going over at the slightest touch. The ref spoke to him - nothing changed. The ref spoke to their manager at half time (stood next to us) - nothing changed. The ref eventually yellow carded him for diving - cue outrage and many swear words from their coach and supporters.
The lad who was diving had clearly been told/coached to do that and it must have been frustrating for his team mates as well my brother's team that he was like Bambi on ice.
I wonder where he learned that what he was doing was acceptable?
(My brother's team won 4-0). |
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Thread | Cool heads and calm hearts
at 09:58 2 Apr 2024
The result against Ipswich leaves us looking at the play offs short of a mathematical miracle. That of course is a disappointment and naturally some frustration about who is is blame is circulating.
It's tempting to blame the manager and his tactics. That is fair to a degree and also unfair in that he had to work with what he had and we know that the squad was perhaps two good players short of where it needed to be from the first day of the season.
Failing to correct or cover that shortfall was an error. Whose door was that at? Could the manager have tried harder to make the owners aware of this? Did the owners not have the funds? Did the strategists on the football side say that we had to manage? We'll probably never know.
Starting the season with a squad which was perhaps weaker than is could have been should have meant some compromises in style and tactics. However RM had a way of playing which took time to bed in and four games last early on were a burden we were never going to recover from without a record breaking run. And we did that with some luck, some favourable refereeing and some late, late goals. All this evened up to a point about thee/four weeks ago and left us in a good position.
The time to show what we could do was post the three week break and here we have - so far - failed. The Boro game was our season in a nutshell. Played well. Got a goal out of luck/pressure. Continued to keep the ball. Lost focus in the last 10 minutes and conceded. A draw from a game we should easily have won.
Ipswich game? They are a top 4 team at home and I would have taken a draw.
Now we are looking at playoffs and sacking the manager is not going to change that, arguably would harm us in the playoffs- and so now is not the time.
Now is the time to get to the playoffs (we could still fall out of them) and see what we get.
If we stay in the Champ, then next season we have less money and we need to assess what a realistic prospect of promotion might be if we continue to play the RM way. (My view has always been than he is a 98% manager and that 2% would always prove to be the difference).
If we get promoted, is RM the future? I think he is not but it would be hard to fire a manager who gets promoted even if it is by being 3rd/4th/5th/6th best.
We have to stay together as a team - owners, managers, strategists and players - AND fans.
end of May is when to hire and fire. |
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Thread | Is it all sunshine and roses for football players?
at 11:48 25 Mar 2024
There's a thread on here about how an average Champ player lives a live cushioned by a large salary which allows him to enjoy a big house and expensive car and no doubt other luxuries. And yes this is a charmed life but there are also some hard facts ignored in looking at his lifestyle.
I've worked with a few players and the following is all from their stories.
Had a client who joined us age 18 on the insistence of his parents. He was earning at that time around 4x the national wage and had just signed his first full time contract. He was playing for the junior teams but was expected to be a first term player within a season. Boxing Day he was training and tweaked his knee. Three months later he was told he would never play again. Within another three months he was paid out of his contract and on the job market. No educational qualifications, no work experience, no support network.
Next client was a first team player. He had addiction issues. We spoke with his club who were frankly not interested. He fell further and further into debt, his mental and physical health suffered, he dropped out the first team. Within two years was out of football. Took another three years of therapy for him to find his way again. Now works in sports agency trying to sign players.
He firmly believes that a lack of structure in his life outside training and a lack of program from the club which may have seen him develop in other areas of his life, caused his addiction problems which cost him his career, all his money and the fact that his now grown children don't talk to him.
Next client was a first team benchwarmer for many seasons. Eventually had enough and moved down a league or two. Found that his benchwarmer salary was sufficient for his lifestyle, but not the salary from a few divisions lower. Struggled to cope with the drop in lifestyle and had a number of financial, relationship and health issues. he was lucky in that his wife was supportive and he is now a coach at a pro club.
Next client was a first team player and had more money than he knew what to do with. The vultures found him and he entered a series of misadvised tax avoidance and "investment" opportunities all of which went wrong and we spent three years untangling them. Left him with perhaps a fifth of what he thought he should have after five seasons at the top level.
Finally had a client who played at a good level until his mid 30's. Drifted into the lower leagues and then semi pro. Finally finished in his early 40's. Has since had several major surgeries and operations and still cannot walk without sticks. (He's 52). There is no chance of him being pain free for the rest of his life and all of his interactions with his family and friends is driven by this fact. He's also exhausted his medical insurance and so operations to come are all at the convenience of the NHS.
So yes, players who make it past the youth ranks who have a career in the first team and these days take advantage of club programs to help them after football who invest wisely and look to the future, have a very nice life. It may be a brief few years in the sunshine. Would you think about this job given the above? |
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Thread | What happens if ... Leicester gets a points deduction?
at 10:06 25 Mar 2024
But it is not until the middle of next season.
What is Leicester are docked enough Championship points to move them out of the automatic promotion slots and the team that would otherwise have been there, loses in the playoffs?
I think this season may end - not in May - but in a Courtroom in November. |
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Thread | We've got to do this on our own
at 17:37 16 Feb 2024
I've seen a few threads around, such as Millwall helping Ipswich to and easy win and the loss of Downes for a few games perhaps and the impending suspension of a few players.
At the end of the day we cannot rely upon other teams failing to loss when we want them to or not having replacements for key players if they cannot play.
The management of the squad need to keep the first 11 focused on winning and let the teams around us worry about us.
If we are missing a key player (and to be honest it's not Downes I fear losing but one or more the CB's) then change the shape of the team to compensate.
This end of the season is where managers need to show their worth and quality and it continues ot worry me that RM has not been here before. I hope he is listening to some good advice. |
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Thread | A liar for a PM?
at 15:47 18 Jan 2024
Hot on heels of Rishi being told that his figures on reducing debt were at best out of context and at worst misleading and wrong (by the UK's statistics watchdog), comes another from the same source saying that his (and Cleverley's) claim to have cleared the backlog of asylum claims is incorrect.
Perhaps they are encouraged by the antics we see from the Big Orange man in the USA who continues to claim, last time in the hearing of a Judge, that he is right and the decisions of the Courts are wrong. He does so with little more than a slap on the wrist. Perhaps Sunak/Cleverly think this will be their punishment.
What sort of politician do we want?
One who is smart, honest, hardworking and cares about the truth?
Or one who lies with certainty and conviction because it suits his narrative? |
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Thread | In January we need ...
at 12:20 3 Jan 2024
Action and not rumours.
A 20 goal a season striker. (I wonder if Rickie Lambert is still playing?)
A holding midfield player.
At least one centre back who is not going to return to his host club at the end of the season.
A decent back up keeper. |
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Thread | Getting it wrong (for now) in a good way
at 10:45 2 Jan 2024
Happy New Year to all.
I predicted between 7 and 9 points from the 4 games over Christmas. Obviously I was wrong.
I also said that RM needs to sort out the problem of having all of the ball and not enough threat on the opposition goal. He is saying all the right things post match but still failing to fix the problem.
Having now though admitted that our expensive striker is not going to be fit this season (or perhaps ever again at this level) perhaps that will focus his mind on a new player or a different formation. (I have more hope of the former and none for the latter).
I don't know how many points we are missing from having drawn a game rather than won it, but I suspect enough to make the present difference between us and Ipswich much closer.
Will that cost us at the end of the season, pitching us into the playoffs (a lottery) rather than automatic promotion? I don't know and as I'm clearly not good at prediction, I'll reserve judgement until there are perhaps 5 games to go.
I do though remain of the view that RM's inflexible approach and inability to solve the possession to goals ratio is going to leave us a few percent short of promotion.
(And yes, that is a churlish attitude given an 18 game unbeaten run but it's how I feel.) |
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Thread | European Super League ban from FIFA/UEFA is unlawful
at 10:30 21 Dec 2023
Ok, to be pedantic, FIFA and UEFA cannot ban clubs from their own competitions if they join a European or global super league. To do so is an abuse of their dominant position and a restriction on the ability of clubs to trade.
Inevitable result I think.
We will therefore see a prototype European Super League within three seasons.
Given the power of the top PL clubs to change their league, I'd expect to see three down/two up in the PL from the 24/25 season so that by 26/27, the PL is 18 teams which will free up their schedule for European games. Perhaps the Super League teams will also miss the FA/League cup as well.
Would not be surprised to see the PL down to 12 teams if I live that long.
That has a ripple effect down the leagues and perhaps a third professional division.
Also means less money flowing from the top of the game to be bottom. Might be why the PL has been stalling over agreeing a financial package? |
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Thread | Reporting COVID infections?
at 16:41 20 Dec 2023
Here's a quiz.
If you think you have COVID, buy a test kit and the test comes back positive, are you required to report that test result to your GP or to the Gov't?
My wife contracted COVID and tested via a kit we bought from Boots. She later tried to get a sick note from the GP as she was off work a week.
The GP said that it was "clear" that a positive test, even on a paid for test and not a free one, had to be reported but was unable to show us where it was said on a webpage or the GP website, that this was required.
Result is a a bit of row, no sick note and we're moving GP in January.
If people are getting COVID - and anecdotally it seems to be rising - but are not reporting it, could the actual rise in cases be higher than the "official" statistics show?
(Note, this is not an invitation to run your favourite attack/defence of COVID, vaccines and conspiracy, just a simple question f anybody has had similar experiences). |
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Thread | SPOTY
at 11:37 12 Dec 2023
What a woeful collection of names on the short list.
Cricketer Stuart Broad, jockey Frankie Dettori, footballer Mary Earps, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and golfer Rory McIlroy are the nominees.
Clearly been a bad year for British sport. |
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Thread | Football in Turkey
at 11:10 12 Dec 2023
Is suspended following an attack on a referee by the club president following a 97th minute equaliser for the away team.
Apparently the ref is on FIFA's top list and is well thought of.
This comes at a time when a number of incidents in Turkish football including violence at games, coaches carrying player attacked and suspensions of players, officials and others over corruption have all been in the news.
Presumably UEFA/FIFA will not allow non Turkish teams to play there until it is "safe".
Given the background above and the attitude in some places that football really is as Bill Shankley said "more important than life or death", this sort of event was perhaps inevitable.
Could it happen here? |
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Thread | Marginal gains and losses
at 11:47 11 Dec 2023
Back in the early 2000's, the GB cycling team with very deliberate intention looked at literally every aspect of their riders, their kit, the venues used for competition and even how to best get rider and kit to places in order that they could compete at their best. Some of the ideas and kit they came up with have made it into mass production road/off road bikes. Some was nonsense and was binned.
The point is that they left no stone, physical, mental or spiritual unturned in their search for perfection. And it worked.
For them "nearly" the best was not good enough. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result was not good enough. Mentally they invested in their riders and some who did not have the strength were let go.
I fear that we are or have become a "nearly good enough" team. Playoffs? Probably. A playoff though is almost random chance of promotion (OK - 1 in 4).
It worries me that almost half way through the season, RM is still talking about mental resilience, killing off teams and making the most of dominating possession - and we're not doing any of it.
That is a failure of RM and his coaching team and one that cannot continue if we want to get out of this league. |
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Thread | Fake (AI) news
at 08:52 8 Dec 2023
The case at the link below crossed my desk this morning.
https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKFTT/TC/2023/TC09010.html
Long story, short - a taxpayer in appealing a penalty used some "helpful" previous cases generated by an AI system, Chat GPT.
Turns out that the cases quoted did not exist and the AI system may have suffered from "hallucination" which apparently is a process by which the AI predicts results rather than reports a result.
This was a relatively simple case with a couple of well travelled paths which have previously been decided by a Tribunal.
Accepting that the taxpayer here had (or claimed to have) some mental health issues which prevented her from dealing with her affairs and was therefore not perhaps experienced in the the law or practice, it's quite worrying that:
A. She thought that she could rely on an AI system rather than a real person
B. The AI system not only "got it wrong" but then invented supporting evidence
Humans have a well practiced ability to fool each other and don't need help from machines.
In this case, perhaps the "Artificial" overcame the "Intelligence"? |
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