trousers

I've only been on the forum for 20 years.... You'll get used to it after a while...

Are you my wife? She's always twisting my words to imply something that I didn't say.... I'll make it easy for you... (see, this patronising malarkey is child's play.... ) - I don't think RM is an idiot - I'm not a sycophant nor over defensive of RM It's almost as if both of those stances aren't mutually exclusive....

Aren't theories "made up" by definition....? Otherwise they'd be facts, not theories...? (I have a theory you may disagree with me... )

Indeed. My point precisely. I fully admit that my initial sychopancy with Ralph clouded my judgement and, as you'll astutely recall, I admitted as such towards the end of his tenure and joined the call for him to go. So, yep, thanks for underlining my point...

"Give it a chance".... agreed, and I think *most* fans would class themselves in that bracket at the moment. Seemingly, the difference between, say, me and your good self, is that I value opinions on both sides of the debate, even those that are at either extremes. If someone feels that 'Russball' is doomed to failure and thus doesn't feel that it's worth 'giving him a chance' then that's a perfectly valid viewpoint in my book, and not something that I feel the need to insessantly contest. What I don't get is this obsession with attempting to ridicule, dismiss or scoff at other points of view. We all think differently. Hoorah! That's something to embrace rather than endlessly attempt to 'prove' someone wrong. Maybe that's why my marriage has lasted 35 years.... ("Yes dear, that's a very good point. Now, do you mind if I switch over to watch The Chase?")

Ha! My money was on you being Lucy but close enough...

If only there was a way of resisting a call for a managerial change (like myself) without coming across as pompous and self-righteous (hopefully not like myself)...

Aye. That's probably a better way of articulating what I was attempting to convey at 1am this morning! I also purposely refrained from using the phrase "club plant" as that would obviously be a ridiculous notion and somewhat conspiratorial... That's never happened on here, ever...

Most, if not all, local journos tend to prefer to ingratiate themselves with the club they report on, as they know that rocking the boat is likely to cut them adrift. I'd be surprised if most journos don't already know the full story with regards RS and are keeping it under their hat to avoid souring relations with the club, which is understandable I guess.

Every manager we've had down the years has had a clutch of unwavering backers on here, regardless of their questionable acumen. Whilst it's obviously good to have alternative views, I agree that some of those who defend a manager to the hilt regardless, and against a prevailing tide of discontent, can tend to come across as sycophantic, obsessively defensive and having a superiority complex. FWIW, I still have a hunch that Martin can turn things around this season, but I also appreciate why a lot of people don't see it that way.

For the first time in my married life (nearly 35 years and counting!), I managed to get my own way.... and it turns out we're heading for.... Seychelles... yay! Going in about 5 weeks. Any hints, tips, etc from anyone that's been, in particular any day trips to recommend? (nothing too strenuous given we're the wrong side of 55....! )

Always good to read differing points of view 👍

Actually, on reflection, this is probably a better reaction to that news....

Ha! That would actually be quite amusing... Come on Ten Hag... you know it makes sense...

Nah... much prefer this version....

You've missed the point (just for once...). I was responding to the "unbeaten run" comment, that's all. My viewpoint is that said run became counterproductive. Other viewpoints are available of course. It's not mandatory to agree with eachother....

Yes, by the skin of our teeth when, perhaps, it should have been more comfortable....

Yep, the much lauded "unbeaten run" ended up being a hinderence rather than a benefit. We became too satisfied with draws because it "preserved the unbeaten run"...

That's spooky... I watched Naked Gun last night where this tune is played over the credits. Any parallels to be drawn between the Drebin and Martin...?

The thing is, the way we play, and with the calibre of players we have, is more often than not going to result in "individual errors", ergo these "on another day" scenarios, whilst they will happen from time to time, are likely to be relatively rare. That's simple logic and probability.

Yeah, realise that, but Ankersen was there for 5 years and one would therefore assume he was happy with the philosophy that was deployed there?

Don't most teams "play out from the back" as a default these days but the difference being they aren't dogmatically wedded to doing it 100% of the time during a game? Brentford had 37% of the possession yesterday, highlighting that they aren't as obsessed about keeping the ball as we are.