Whitey Grandad

Nobody ever likes to admit that they were conned. On this matter my conscience is clear

There are times when words are not enough. You have no need to apologise for anything. My thoughts and respect are with you.

There is a throwaway comment in TheTimes this morning. ”Frank Lampard will lift Everton gloom but faces immediate test of his credentials” “Lampard may have ended as the unanimous choice of a tortuous process, but that is different to being first choice. Indeed, it is worth recapping why it has taken Everton two weeks to replace Rafa Benítez. The first choice was Roberto Martínez, a move which was instantly spiked by the Belgian FA’s understandable refusal to allow him to perform a job share in a World Cup year. Duncan Ferguson was supposed to be in caretaker charge for “upcoming games” which offered a chance to press his claims. That was abandoned after the 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa last Saturday despite the fact Ferguson was subsequently handed an interview at 24 hours’ notice. Lampard has asked Ferguson to remain on his staff. Portuguese coach Vítor Pereira then became the preferred option, with the proposed inclusion of a break clause in his contract that could be triggered at the end of the season effectively making him an interim appointment. This would give Everton the chance to regroup in the summer when a better array of candidates were available. Or at least ones they had a better chance of seducing once the season was over. Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhüttl was the main target.”

Oh good. So if we are ever invaded Poland or the Ukraine will come to our aid. Now I can sleep safely at night.

I meant in the sense of where the away fans are situated and to what extent having away fans behind the goal helps their team in the second half. I am not as familiar with the arrangements in other grounds as I once was.

It’s the bang-bang mentality. Things either work or they don’t. No room for Mr. Inbetween.

How does St. Mary’s compare with all the other grounds?

That’s been a bone of contention for a long time. When you consider that the usual convention between teams is that the away team attacks the end containing their own fans in the second half it should be no wonder that we tend to let in more goals in that period. It may also go part of the way to explaining our tendency to let leads slip.

But they weren’t shite until we signed them.

Why? That is the very definition of unfair. That would mean that the same people would go to all the games whilst those who for various reasons could only manage one or two games a season wouldn’t get a look in. Away supporters are of no financial benefit to the club.

If they buy Broja then he won't be able to play for us. If they did that with their relegation rivals then it might give them an edge.

19:45 according to the BBC.

Can’t we sign 10% of him?

My dad played Isthmian League football just after the war and he wouldn’t head a wet leather ball.

That semed to creep into the game when the number of 'continental players' started appearing in the country. I don't remember seeing much of that forty years ago.

That's why I ask them. I would guess that any benefits from any improvements would be secondary and would not have a direct return in any income in the short term. Part of it is maintaining what you already have. Then there are the secondary benefits of presenting a club that's looking to the future and wants to improve its image. Maybe even to the extend of attracting new talent.

Quite so. If it were your own personal money would you think it worthwhile? Personall I don''t think it's too bad, not enough to worry about anyway.

Can you make a business case for such changes?

Probably, but the Ticket Office would know for certain.

I was thinking about the studs earlier. When I played at school we had studs that were made out of a stack of leather discs. They were nailed through the sole of the boot and the ends were hammered over. Sometimes the nail ends would dig into your foot. Then came the nylon studs either fully moulded or screw-in. These caused a lot of nasty cuts if the wearer had worn them on concrete and the edges had got some vicious edges on them. There was a period when the linesmen would check the studs of substitutes before they could enter the field of play.

If you went to A&E with that you’d be laughed at. Not a chance of a stitch there. How would you describe it? It certainly isn’t a laceration. A graze/scrape perhaps. I’m guessing that Hackett was nowhere near the ground when he watched it. Reckless is a yellow card.

I would like to think that none of our players would be a big enough woos to take a photo of it and put it on social media.

Just a surface scratch. When we were kids we used to get worse than that just falling off our bikes. I love the wy that some of the media describe it as a 'gruesome injury'. There won't be a permanent scar. Execpt mentally, perhaps.

It was only a scrape and if you don't come off the pitch at the nd of the game with half a dozen of those then you haven't been trying.

1. We also hit the woodwork from Broja's header. 2. That foul was a tug back by Adams (?) 3.. Several minutes after the incident VAR stopped the game and then somehow concluded that there had been a foul by Romeu outside the box. A ridiculous waste of time but it gave us a chance to have a breather and it broke up City's momentum. I agree about Armstrong. He tried to oull out but his studs scraped down Laporte's thigh. Probable yellow, never a red. Probably looked worse for anyone watching on television but nothing nasty in it for those who were at the game. An example of where VAR is no use for judging the severity of a challenge.