I Love Football...

[Guided Missile]

..I always have. Mostly, I loved playing it, as much as possible, for as long as possible, until my body gave up. When I wasn't playing, I was watching. In the early days, I went to the Dell for the gang warfare, to be perfectly honest. Peer pressure, too much testosterone and not enough money to have alternatives that would provide the required self respect caused that. Without that need, I would have played on Saturdays as well.

 

 

 

 

Now, watching football is simply a poor substitute for playing, but it will have to do. A football career is too short, whatever standard you play. FFS, life itself is too short, but there are very simply two reasons people go to professional football games, to watch a club that represents the area they are connected to.

1. A tribal need to "belong" to a group and live a fantasy of combat through men that are far better equipped to participate in such combat than the spectating tribe themselves.
   
2. An interest in the game being played, an appreciation of the skill involved and an enjoyment from watching skilled athletes perform.
   

Since my tribal instincts have been dulled by age and experience, I have graduated from 1 to 2. I enjoy good football played by either side. Don't get me wrong, I still want Saints to win, but I have the ability to detach the loss from a tribal failing, because I am comfortable with who I have become and am no longer in need of a football team to provide me with reflected glory.

 

The point is, whatever the score, whatever the sides involved, I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides. I looked around and thought that most of the football fans got great value as well, apart from those that need a Saints victory to bolster the tribal fantasies that give them the self respect they lack.

 

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

....Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

[docker-p]

..I always have. Mostly, I loved playing it, as much as possible, for as long as possible, until my body gave up. When I wasn't playing, I was watching. In the early days, I went to the Dell for the gang warfare, to be perfectly honest. Peer pressure, too much testosterone and not enough money to have alternatives that would provide the required self respect caused that. Without that need, I would have played on Saturdays as well.

 

Now, watching football is simply a poor substitute for playing, but it will have to do. A football career is too short, whatever standard you play. FFS, life itself is too short, but there are very simply two reasons people go to professional football games, to watch a club that represents the area they are connected to.

1. A tribal need to "belong" to a group and live a fantasy of combat through men that are far better equipped to participate in such combat than the spectating tribe themselves.
   
2. An interest in the game being played, an appreciation of the skill involved and an enjoyment from watching skilled athletes perform.
   

Since my tribal instincts have been dulled by age and experience, I have graduated from 1 to 2. I enjoy good football played by either side. Don't get me wrong, I still want Saints to win, but I have the ability to detach the loss from a tribal failing, because I am comfortable with who I have become and am no longer in need of a football team to provide me with reflected glory.

 

The point is, whatever the score, whatever the sides involved, I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides. I looked around and thought that most of the football fans got great value as well, apart from those that need a Saints victory to bolster the tribal fantasies that give them the self respect they lack.

 

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

....Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

That was not good value at £30 for what was not a good game of football. And yes I need a Saints victory for all manner of phycological reasons, otherwise what's the point?

[beatlesaint]

..I always have. Mostly, I loved playing it, as much as possible, for as long as possible, until my body gave up. When I wasn't playing, I was watching. In the early days, I went to the Dell for the gang warfare, to be perfectly honest. Peer pressure, too much testosterone and not enough money to have alternatives that would provide the required self respect caused that. Without that need, I would have played on Saturdays as well.

 

 

 

 

Now, watching football is simply a poor substitute for playing, but it will have to do. A football career is too short, whatever standard you play. FFS, life itself is too short, but there are very simply two reasons people go to professional football games, to watch a club that represents the area they are connected to.

1. A tribal need to "belong" to a group and live a fantasy of combat through men that are far better equipped to participate in such combat than the spectating tribe themselves.
   
2. An interest in the game being played, an appreciation of the skill involved and an enjoyment from watching skilled athletes perform.
   

Since my tribal instincts have been dulled by age and experience, I have graduated from 1 to 2. I enjoy good football played by either side. Don't get me wrong, I still want Saints to win, but I have the ability to detach the loss from a tribal failing, because I am comfortable with who I have become and am no longer in need of a football team to provide me with reflected glory.

 

The point is, whatever the score, whatever the sides involved, I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides. I looked around and thought that most of the football fans got great value as well, apart from those that need a Saints victory to bolster the tribal fantasies that give them the self respect they lack.

 

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

....Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

We didnt exactly get "great value" against Notts Forest, Plymouth and Blackpool at home this season though did we ?

 

We dont exactly get great value in the goal scoring stakes either do we ? I am past applauding nicely the oppositions 2 yard tap ins cos our defence is awful.

 

I am pleased you enjoyed your day out, but if you had been to every home match this season the continual defeats would be getting on your tits by now.

 

I have witnessed a great deal of the Disaster this season but its been very short on the Triumph front.

 

If and when that imposter makes an appearence I will let you know if I can treat them the same !!!!

[Legod Third Coming]

I love my wife and family. Football is a legitmate reason to call a man I have never met a w4nker and get away with it.

[Fan The Flames]

I think you have completly simplified what winning means to people.

 

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

You'll be a psychopath my son.

Edited 5 January, 2009 by Fan The Flames

[benjii]

I love being the centre of attention.

 

Look at me!!

[um pahars]

I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides.

 

Whilst I concur that as age and continually being shortchanged have made me less demanding of a Saints victory every time I visit St Mary's, I do have to take exception with your line above.

 

Whilst I can understand how you appreciated the football from United which was flowing, classy, passionate and embracing, I fail to see how you could appreciate almost anything we served up!

 

Have your standards lowered with age as well?

[Legod Third Coming]

I love being the centre of attention.

 

Look at me!!

 

Come on - we're all opinionated ****s. Otherwise we would be tucked up with Barbara Taylor Bradford.

[Fan The Flames]

I love being the centre of attention.

 

Look at me!!

 

If you really want the attention, post something more interesting than this.

[benjii]

The irony.

 

TBF I like GM - his posts are interesting and he invests more time on research etc. than any [normal] other posters.

 

I completely disagree that the match was good value though. We were inept and flacid. It was utterly pointless. Like going to the theatre and watching robots.

[beatlesaint]

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

 

Actually, thinking about it, that statement is a load of crap.

When the stadium was built we had the tag line from our glorious leader "We built it...You fill it".....and for 4 years we did but he still managed to screw it up didnt he ?

 

More bums on seats will not result in better players or keeping our current better ones.....Lowe will still do whatever he wants and if you honestly believe an extra 10,000 on each gate will make any difference you are seriously deluded......just look at recent history at SMS !

[rocknrollman no2]

I actually like the tribal side of football.

Dont get me wrong,im not into slapping other people around just because they happen to support another team,im far too old for that.But my seat in the Northam is close to the away fans and the banter in my opinion can make for a great atmosphere.

Beats what we get to see on the pitch anyway.

[Legod Third Coming]

The irony.

 

TBF I like GM - his posts are interesting and he invests more time on research etc. than any [normal] other posters.

 

I completely disagree that the match was good value though. We were inept and flacid. It was utterly pointless. Like going to the theatre and watching robots.

 

Friendly advice, stear clear of the Metal Mickey revival tour...

[corky morris]

I must admit I fell out of love with football in the last few years.

There were 3 things that really changed my view.

1. Rupert Lowe - No need to say anymore

2. Rio Ferdinand - When he said that he was guilty of nothing when he failed to turn up for a urine test. IMHO he was guilty of being an arrogant to$$er! If i dont give a breath test when a copper asks I am guilty.

3. Jermaine Pennant - Not just for the way he played against us for Birmingham in the season we were relegated from the PL, but for getting done for drink driving for the 3rd time. What kind of an idiot gets done for DD 3 times?

 

Maybe it is because when i was a kid the players appeared more approachable. I dont know how many times I was kicking a ball outside the pub at The Archers end only to be patted on the head by the likes of Channon, Boyer, Ball, Pudding McDougall etc. It is not like that now - And somehow with all this money in the game & the all seater stadia it feels very contived.

Who is gonna win the PL? Pick 1 from 3 maybe 4 - It has lost some of its charm. Over hyped & egotistical the game has become.

Or maybe I am just an old ba$tard who is bitter & twisted at the sh1t we put up with as Saints fans!

[St Landrew]

So what happens with people who have absolutely no interest in the opposition that Saints play, provided that Saints are playing in a league worth playing in, and they want to see Saints stuff the opposition..? I have always enjoyed my football watching [but not as much as playing] when I have seen Saints overwhelm an opposition, whoever they were. And it seems that a lot of people agree with me, because those big Saints scoring games often seem to be supporters favourite matches.

[Legod Third Coming]

I must admit I fell out of love with football in the last few years.

There were 3 things that really changed my view.

1. Rupert Lowe - No need to say anymore

2. Rio Ferdinand - When he said that he was guilty of nothing when he failed to turn up for a urine test. IMHO he was guilty of being an arrogant to$$er! If i dont give a breath test when a copper asks I am guilty.

3. Jermaine Pennant - Not just for the way he played against us for Birmingham in the season we were relegated from the PL, but for getting done for drink driving for the 3rd time. What kind of an idiot gets done for DD 3 times?

 

Maybe it is because when i was a kid the players appeared more approachable. I dont know how many times I was kicking a ball outside the pub at The Archers end only to be patted on the head by the likes of Channon, Boyer, Ball, Pudding McDougall etc. It is not like that now - And somehow with all this money in the game & the all seater stadia it feels very contived.

Who is gonna win the PL? Pick 1 from 3 maybe 4 - It has lost some of its charm. Over hyped & egotistical the game has become.

Or maybe I am just an old ba$tard who is bitter & twisted at the sh1t we put up with as Saints fans!

 

I agree with the first bit, but the Premiership was won by Liverpool about nine times in my first ten-fifteen years of supporting (when it was Div One). At least now it's one from four. What has changed is that a team like ours could never finish second. Albeit Villa will give it a right go.

 

Maybe what's changed is Chairmen's patience and having a real strategy.

 

And instead being in love with Mamon.

[Weston Saint]

Good post GM with a bit of Kipling for culture.

[smithy]

I also enjoyed yesterdays game. The atmosphere was excellent and the Utd fans very loud (and arrogant). I have a sore throat from trying to outsing them but the thing I didn't really appreciate were a couple of idiots singing "You're going home in a coma" to the Utd fans, if that's being tribal then I don't want to know!!!

[shurlock]

"Apart from your families, the club is the most important thing in your lives and that is a big responsibility for me to look after...We are all a family together and it is very special for me to be part of it. The most important thing for me is that we develop a spirit which reflects you and the club".

 

Nigel Pearson, 2008.

[Legod Third Coming]

"Apart from your families, the club is the most important thing in your lives and that is a big responsibility for me to look after...We are all a family together and it is very special for me to be part of it. The most important thing for me is that we develop a spirit which reflects you and the club".

 

Nigel Pearson, 2008.

 

Spilt milk and all that but I really liked big Nige.

 

I reckon he's going to be a lucky manager.

 

Carlisle, then us.

[del boy]

Completely agree GM, could have written that myself

[slickmick]

I must admit I fell out of love with football in the last few years.

There were 3 things that really changed my view.

1. Rupert Lowe - No need to say anymore

2. Rio Ferdinand - When he said that he was guilty of nothing when he failed to turn up for a urine test. IMHO he was guilty of being an arrogant to$$er! If i dont give a breath test when a copper asks I am guilty.

3. Jermaine Pennant - Not just for the way he played against us for Birmingham in the season we were relegated from the PL, but for getting done for drink driving for the 3rd time. What kind of an idiot gets done for DD 3 times?

 

Maybe it is because when i was a kid the players appeared more approachable. I dont know how many times I was kicking a ball outside the pub at The Archers end only to be patted on the head by the likes of Channon, Boyer, Ball, Pudding McDougall etc. It is not like that now - And somehow with all this money in the game & the all seater stadia it feels very contived.

Who is gonna win the PL? Pick 1 from 3 maybe 4 - It has lost some of its charm. Over hyped & egotistical the game has become.

Or maybe I am just an old ba$tard who is bitter & twisted at the sh1t we put up with as Saints fans!

 

 

My love for Saints hasn't died, infact its improved since we have got rid of the mercenaries. The downside is the soap opera of a boardroom and a lack of likeable characters.

As for premiership football, the joy of watching that, died once the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Lampard and Adebayor were whining about how small their salaries of £100,000 a week plus were.

As you have stated above, players nowadays seem to look down on us fans through their stuck up noses. The characters that you have named above seemed to have gone for good.

[Windmill Arm 2]

..I always have. Mostly, I loved playing it, as much as possible, for as long as possible, until my body gave up. When I wasn't playing, I was watching. In the early days, I went to the Dell for the gang warfare, to be perfectly honest. Peer pressure, too much testosterone and not enough money to have alternatives that would provide the required self respect caused that. Without that need, I would have played on Saturdays as well.

 

 

 

 

Now, watching football is simply a poor substitute for playing, but it will have to do. A football career is too short, whatever standard you play. FFS, life itself is too short, but there are very simply two reasons people go to professional football games, to watch a club that represents the area they are connected to.

1. A tribal need to "belong" to a group and live a fantasy of combat through men that are far better equipped to participate in such combat than the spectating tribe themselves.
   
2. An interest in the game being played, an appreciation of the skill involved and an enjoyment from watching skilled athletes perform.
   

Since my tribal instincts have been dulled by age and experience, I have graduated from 1 to 2. I enjoy good football played by either side. Don't get me wrong, I still want Saints to win, but I have the ability to detach the loss from a tribal failing, because I am comfortable with who I have become and am no longer in need of a football team to provide me with reflected glory.

 

The point is, whatever the score, whatever the sides involved, I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides. I looked around and thought that most of the football fans got great value as well, apart from those that need a Saints victory to bolster the tribal fantasies that give them the self respect they lack.

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

....Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

 

GM You really are an arrogant ****

[rooney]

I enjoyed the post GM but perhaps you should have added

"If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,"

 

From one of the "lunatic fringe"

[John Smith]

I once went for the 'tribal' experience also. I would put it on a par with going to a 'Rage Against the Machine' gig or 'Carter USM', the energy and the anticipation outweighed anything that went on on the pitch, but that built up anticipation was 'unleashed' in a euphoric moment when we scored!

 

I hung my playing boots up 7 years ago, couldn't play anymore and couldn't be arsed to run my arse off to cover 'the kids' that all wanted to go bombing forward and then trudge back. I was always the ball winner and play maker and got a fair few in the net to boot. But enough of my glorious years, what now?

 

When I played, I loved playing at the higher levels because of one thing 'the shape'. The way everyone knew what to do, and when things weren't working, CHANGING!

 

WGS enthused me as a 'supporter' because he was able to view the situation in front of him. He had drilled his squad in many different variations and manipulated the squad to achieve the best possible results. Sure, we didn;t always win, but WGS made sure we were in a position to 'compete' to the best of our players ability. You could see the change right in front of you, you could tell when we were 'squeezing' the opposition, you could tell when we upped the pace, and when we kept the ball, it really did feel like we were watching Brazil.

 

But, since WGS, we have had nobody that has half an ounce of his knowledge! Wigley, not quite sure what his plan was. Harry, OMG, just didn;t have a clue what to do. Sturrock, thought he might do well, but wasn't given a chance. Burley, got the team playing well, in glimpses, but for some reason, played the players out of position beyond belief. Pearson, now you could see that he was laying the base for something. He instilled the confidence first, established his first team, tightened the defence and then worked on attack and then the season was over, but you could see improvement, and most of all - OPTIONS.

 

With JP, I thought we might see a master tactician, someone who might nurture the kids and give them confidence in their own ability, hence the reason I was so unsure about this coming season. However, I did warn that inconsistency would breed a lack of confidence and a knock on effect of loss after loss, regardless of tactics.

 

As I haven;t been to the games this season, I can;t comment on whether JP is a good tactician or not, but one thing is for sure, if I was a senior pro in that team, I would consider leaving, because you just cannot support SO many kids in such a brutal league.

 

Like I said after the game on Sunday, if Jimmy Case was still playing, he would never have allowed DMG to swan around up front. He would be encouraging him to chase the ball down, he would encourage him to find space, he would encourage him to do better! But even Jimmy Case couldn't encourage half a team to do better, to hold their chins up and to pat them on the arse and encourage them further.

 

Whatever the tactics, whatever senior pro's we have, we cannot support this many youngsters (and I don't mean as a fan, but as a player). The balance has never been right from day one. And come the end of the season, if we still have more than 3 youngsters in this team, we will go down (by more than three, I mean 4 5 or 6 etc, 3 is the max).

 

I love tactics, I love working a game out, but we don;t currently have a team that could do that, regardless of the managers tactics.

[dubai_phil]

A nice whimsical post GM, of course totally unsuited to this environment on TSW.

 

I like others felt we were just never at the races, they let us make some pretty passing patterns for the first ten minutes and then that was it, game over. For it to be enjoyable for ALL spectators, there has to be some chance that "the two sides make a game of it"

 

BUT, I was watching the game with a Rangers supporting mate who actually enjoyed the game as he said although we had no idea what we were doing, he enjoyed the game and in his words "it actually sped by"

 

The repsonses on here though show that the age gap is where the difference between appreciating the tribal aspects and the athletic performance is most seen.

 

Unfortunately even though I'm an old f*rt these days, I'm still tribal enough to actually feel let down by our performance and naivety on Sunday (even if relieved that we kept it down to 3) and I feel that the only reason Man U showed you and others something to appreciate was that we were so bad at stopping them doing it...

 

So do we REALLY ever give up the tribal aspect? No, disagree with that concept GM.

 

In fact when you leave home and live so far away, maybe if anythingthat spirit of belonging or needing to belong becomes stronger with age

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I once went for the 'tribal' experience also. I would put it on a par with going to a 'Rage Against the Machine' gig or 'Carter USM', the energy and the anticipation outweighed anything that went on on the pitch, but that built up anticipation was 'unleashed' in a euphoric moment when we scored!

 

I hung my playing boots up 7 years ago, couldn't play anymore and couldn't be arsed to run my arse off to cover 'the kids' that all wanted to go bombing forward and then trudge back. I was always the ball winner and play maker and got a fair few in the net to boot. But enough of my glorious years, what now?

 

When I played, I loved playing at the higher levels because of one thing 'the shape'. The way everyone knew what to do, and when things weren't working, CHANGING!

 

WGS enthused me as a 'supporter' because he was able to view the situation in front of him. He had drilled his squad in many different variations and manipulated the squad to achieve the best possible results. Sure, we didn;t always win, but WGS made sure we were in a position to 'compete' to the best of our players ability. You could see the change right in front of you, you could tell when we were 'squeezing' the opposition, you could tell when we upped the pace, and when we kept the ball, it really did feel like we were watching Brazil.

 

But, since WGS, we have had nobody that has half an ounce of his knowledge! Wigley, not quite sure what his plan was. Harry, OMG, just didn;t have a clue what to do. Sturrock, thought he might do well, but wasn't given a chance. Burley, got the team playing well, in glimpses, but for some reason, played the players out of position beyond belief. Pearson, now you could see that he was laying the base for something. He instilled the confidence first, established his first team, tightened the defence and then worked on attack and then the season was over, but you could see improvement, and most of all - OPTIONS.

 

With JP, I thought we might see a master tactician, someone who might nurture the kids and give them confidence in their own ability, hence the reason I was so unsure about this coming season. However, I did warn that inconsistency would breed a lack of confidence and a knock on effect of loss after loss, regardless of tactics.

 

As I haven;t been to the games this season, I can;t comment on whether JP is a good tactician or not, but one thing is for sure, if I was a senior pro in that team, I would consider leaving, because you just cannot support SO many kids in such a brutal league.

 

Like I said after the game on Sunday, if Jimmy Case was still playing, he would never have allowed DMG to swan around up front. He would be encouraging him to chase the ball down, he would encourage him to find space, he would encourage him to do better! But even Jimmy Case couldn't encourage half a team to do better, to hold their chins up and to pat them on the arse and encourage them further.

 

Whatever the tactics, whatever senior pro's we have, we cannot support this many youngsters (and I don't mean as a fan, but as a player). The balance has never been right from day one. And come the end of the season, if we still have more than 3 youngsters in this team, we will go down (by more than three, I mean 4 5 or 6 etc, 3 is the max).

 

I love tactics, I love working a game out, but we don;t currently have a team that could do that, regardless of the managers tactics.

 

A very good post . But I'm getting worried now. Do I usually agree with you??

[H]

..I always have. Mostly, I loved playing it, as much as possible, for as long as possible, until my body gave up. When I wasn't playing, I was watching. In the early days, I went to the Dell for the gang warfare, to be perfectly honest. Peer pressure, too much testosterone and not enough money to have alternatives that would provide the required self respect caused that. Without that need, I would have played on Saturdays as well.

 

 

 

 

Now, watching football is simply a poor substitute for playing, but it will have to do. A football career is too short, whatever standard you play. FFS, life itself is too short, but there are very simply two reasons people go to professional football games, to watch a club that represents the area they are connected to.

1. A tribal need to "belong" to a group and live a fantasy of combat through men that are far better equipped to participate in such combat than the spectating tribe themselves.
   
2. An interest in the game being played, an appreciation of the skill involved and an enjoyment from watching skilled athletes perform.
   

Since my tribal instincts have been dulled by age and experience, I have graduated from 1 to 2. I enjoy good football played by either side. Don't get me wrong, I still want Saints to win, but I have the ability to detach the loss from a tribal failing, because I am comfortable with who I have become and am no longer in need of a football team to provide me with reflected glory.

 

The point is, whatever the score, whatever the sides involved, I had great value on Sunday and appreciated a lot of the football from both sides. I looked around and thought that most of the football fans got great value as well, apart from those that need a Saints victory to bolster the tribal fantasies that give them the self respect they lack.

 

If the same number turn up every home game, we will get the players that will satisfy everyone's needs.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

 

And treat those two impostors just the same;

 

....Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

 

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

I think you've got away fairly lightly with this one for once GM; surely it was a prime opportunity for the usual suspects to see ...

 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools

 

And only a couple of them have bitten ...

[SaintIT]

I once went for the 'tribal' experience also. I would put it on a par with going to a 'Rage Against the Machine' gig or 'Carter USM', the energy and the anticipation outweighed anything that went on on the pitch, but that built up anticipation was 'unleashed' in a euphoric moment when we scored!

 

I hung my playing boots up 7 years ago, couldn't play anymore and couldn't be arsed to run my arse off to cover 'the kids' that all wanted to go bombing forward and then trudge back. I was always the ball winner and play maker and got a fair few in the net to boot. But enough of my glorious years, what now?

 

When I played, I loved playing at the higher levels because of one thing 'the shape'. The way everyone knew what to do, and when things weren't working, CHANGING!

 

WGS enthused me as a 'supporter' because he was able to view the situation in front of him. He had drilled his squad in many different variations and manipulated the squad to achieve the best possible results. Sure, we didn;t always win, but WGS made sure we were in a position to 'compete' to the best of our players ability. You could see the change right in front of you, you could tell when we were 'squeezing' the opposition, you could tell when we upped the pace, and when we kept the ball, it really did feel like we were watching Brazil.

 

But, since WGS, we have had nobody that has half an ounce of his knowledge! Wigley, not quite sure what his plan was. Harry, OMG, just didn;t have a clue what to do. Sturrock, thought he might do well, but wasn't given a chance. Burley, got the team playing well, in glimpses, but for some reason, played the players out of position beyond belief. Pearson, now you could see that he was laying the base for something. He instilled the confidence first, established his first team, tightened the defence and then worked on attack and then the season was over, but you could see improvement, and most of all - OPTIONS.

 

With JP, I thought we might see a master tactician, someone who might nurture the kids and give them confidence in their own ability, hence the reason I was so unsure about this coming season. However, I did warn that inconsistency would breed a lack of confidence and a knock on effect of loss after loss, regardless of tactics.

 

As I haven;t been to the games this season, I can;t comment on whether JP is a good tactician or not, but one thing is for sure, if I was a senior pro in that team, I would consider leaving, because you just cannot support SO many kids in such a brutal league.

 

Like I said after the game on Sunday, if Jimmy Case was still playing, he would never have allowed DMG to swan around up front. He would be encouraging him to chase the ball down, he would encourage him to find space, he would encourage him to do better! But even Jimmy Case couldn't encourage half a team to do better, to hold their chins up and to pat them on the arse and encourage them further.

 

Whatever the tactics, whatever senior pro's we have, we cannot support this many youngsters (and I don't mean as a fan, but as a player). The balance has never been right from day one. And come the end of the season, if we still have more than 3 youngsters in this team, we will go down (by more than three, I mean 4 5 or 6 etc, 3 is the max).

 

I love tactics, I love working a game out, but we don;t currently have a team that could do that, regardless of the managers tactics.

 

Really good points here. This is why we play well from the kick off, if we fail to score, the opposition suss us out. Then we concede.

[Guided Missile]

I think you've got away fairly lightly with this one for once GM; surely it was a prime opportunity for the usual suspects to see ...

 

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools

 

And only a couple of them have bitten ...

 

I seem to return to Kipling's poems more and more, lately. When I returned from Mumbai, where he was born, I posted on TSW, how genuinely friendly and helpful the low-paid workers were that populated the hotels and restaurants in that great city. It was not 'till later that it transpired that many of these workers sacrificed their lives for the guests that were trapped in the hotels. Kipling's poem, "Gunga Din", came to mind.

 

'E carried me away

To where a dooli lay,

An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.

'E put me safe inside,

An' just before 'e died,

"I 'ope you liked your drink" sez Gunga Din.

So I'll meet 'im later on

At the place where 'e is gone

Where it's always double drill and no canteen.

'E'll be squattin' on the coals

Givin' drink to poor damned souls,

An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!

Yes, Din! Din! Din!

You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!

Though I've belted you and flayed you,

By the livin' Gawd that made you,

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

 

Every time I hear of our servicemen being dishonoured in their own country, by the general population, I recall the poem he wrote a hundred years ago, entitled "Tommy":

 

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,

But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;

An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,

Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind,"

But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind

There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,

O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

 

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:

We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.

Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "

But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;

An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;

An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

 

In my opinion, Kipling's greatest poem was written for his son, John (Jack) who he had pulled strings for, to get him accepted into the Army during the First World War, despite his poor eyesight. He was killed on his first day of action, at the battle of Loos, unable to see a thing in the torrential rain, aged 18. Kipling never forgave himself for his influence in getting his son into the Army and his son's body was never found. He wrote "My Boy Jack":

 

HAVE you news of my boy Jack? "

Not this tide.

"When d'you think that he'll come back?"

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Has any one else had word of him?"

Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?"

None this tide,

Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind---

Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,

This tide,

And every tide;

Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide.

 

He even had a verse for the Lowe haters amongst us:

 

All Power, each Tyrant, every Mob

Whose head has grown too large,

Ends by destroying its own job

And works its own discharge;

Edited 6 January, 2009 by Guided Missile

[um pahars]

I seem to return to Kipling's poems more and more, lately. When I returned from Mumbai, where he was born, I posted on TSW, how genuinely friendly and helpful the low-paid workers were that populated the hotels and restaurants in that great city. It was not 'till later that it transpired that many of these workers sacrificed their lives for the guests that were trapped in the hotels. Kipling's poem, "Gunga Din", came to mind.

 

'E carried me away

To where a dooli lay,

An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.

'E put me safe inside,

An' just before 'e died,

"I 'ope you liked your drink" sez Gunga Din.

So I'll meet 'im later on

At the place where 'e is gone

Where it's always double drill and no canteen.

'E'll be squattin' on the coals

Givin' drink to poor damned souls,

An' I'll get a swig in hell from Gunga Din!

Yes, Din! Din! Din!

You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!

Though I've belted you and flayed you,

By the livin' Gawd that made you,

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

 

Every time I hear of our servicemen being dishonoured in their own country, by the general population, I recall the poem he wrote a hundred years ago, entitled "Tommy":

 

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,

But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;

An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,

Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind,"

But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind

There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,

O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

 

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:

We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.

Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "

But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;

An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;

An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

 

In my opinion, Kipling's greatest poem was written for his son, John (Jack) who he had pulled strings for, to get him accepted into the Army during the First World War, despite his poor eyesight. He was killed on his first day of action, at the battle of Loos, unable to see a thing in the torrential rain, aged 18. Kipling never forgave himself for his influence in getting his son into the Army and his son's body was never found. He wrote "My Boy Jack":

 

HAVE you news of my boy Jack? "

Not this tide.

"When d'you think that he'll come back?"

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Has any one else had word of him?"

Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?"

None this tide,

Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind---

Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,

This tide,

And every tide;

Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide.

 

He even had a verse for the Lowe haters amongst us:

 

All Power, each Tyrant, every Mob

Whose head has grown too large,

Ends by destroying its own job

And works its own discharge;

 

You like cutting and pasting don't you? I suppose at least this time around you've credited the original author;)

[Weston Saint]

I spoke to someone a few months ago who was a friend of Rudyard Kipling at Burwash.

 

One lovley story was he used to go down to Kiplings house at Batemans. Kiplings wife was very protective when Rudyard was working. As he used to come near the house Rudyard would wave to him from the window of his study but when he knocked his wife would say he was not at home. Fantastic to speak to someone (he is 94 now but still lucid) who was a close friend in the latter part of his life.

[Guided Missile]

I spoke to someone a few months ago who was a friend of Rudyard Kipling at Burwash.

 

One lovley story was he used to go down to Kiplings house at Batemans. Kiplings wife was very protective when Rudyard was working. As he used to come near the house Rudyard would wave to him from the window of his study but when he knocked his wife would say he was not at home. Fantastic to speak to someone (he is 94 now but still lucid) who was a close friend in the latter part of his life.

Great to hear that, Ron. Kipling has for many years, been totally non-PC, but I think anyone that takes the time to read some of his work, can't fail to appreciate that things don't change that much over a century.

 

I think Barack Obama should read this verse, from "The White Man's Burden".

 

Take up the White Man's burden -

Ye dare not stoop to less -

Nor call too loud on Freedom

To cloak your weariness;

By all ye cry or whisper,

By all ye leave or do,

The silent sullen peoples

Shall weigh your Gods and you.

Edited 6 January, 2009 by Guided Missile

[Legod Third Coming]

Great to hear that, Ron. Kipling has for many years, been totally non-PC, but I think anyone that takes the time to read some of his work, can't fail to appreciate that things don't change that much over a century.

 

I think Barack Obama should read this verse, from "The White Man's Burden".

 

Take up the White Man's burden -

Ye dare not stoop to less -

Nor call too loud on Freedom

To cloak your weariness;

By all ye cry or whisper,

By all ye leave or do,

The silent sullen peoples

Shall weigh your Gods and you.

 

I prefer his later works:

 

You were working as a waitress in a ****tail bar,

when I met you,

I picked you up,

Shook you up

And turned you into something new.

 

Or:

 

I looked at Mrs Withers and she said to me,

"By 'eck Mr Kipling, thou dost make exceedingly good cakes"

 

Think on how much relevance both of these have to our club today.

[John Smith]

30,000 share the heights of victory

The delight that's all too clear

In euphoria we dance and cheer

And celebrate together

 

20,000 take the fight

And share in the endeavour

Side by side, Not one will hide

As victory becomes dimmer

 

15,000 hold out hope

And shoulder all our dreams

The brave few soldiers left still standing

Dream that will deliver

 

As triumph turns despair

And the last stand is all but mustered

The brave few souls left to hold

Of all but Thirty Thousand

[sidthesquid]

Reasons why I love football

1. I love the tribalism - that's the whole point. I love the world cup - I always want one team to win more than the other - some link to an ex-player or past holiday, some irrational desire to see Scotland/Germany/France etc lose and if I can't find that reason to support one team I probably won't watch. I only watched the cup final to hope to see Pompey lose. I check the results seeing if my other teams - mostly southerners or old sentimental ties - have won.

2. I love seeing young lads come through and develop and in the good old days go on to play for England. My favourite players were always Channon & Holmes & Williams & MLT & Oakley & Bridgey & and I'd follow the careers of all our ex-players, even knowing that the Bury manager (I think) is Alan Knill an ex-apprentice of ours

3. I love watching my lad play (under 15s in the county league) and if he starts playing regularly on a Saturday afternoon I might just give up St Marys

4. Nearly 40 years of highs and lows, Saints has outlived everything in my life bar my family

5. The hope that our mad experiment of a team of young academy graduates might just turn the overpaid corporate business that football has become on its head

6. The chance to be bigoted and irrational and angry when things don't go right and to loathe another human being for their stupidity (are you reading this Mr Riley?)

Is that enough to be going on with?

[graymalkin33]

Its great isnt it when people on here can turn a great GM Post into something bitter n twisted.

Jesus.

Carry on GM Im liking your work.

 

Note to the bitter and twisted: One persons perception of value for money or good value is totally different to another persons. It doesnt make anyones opinion wrong. But on here it seems the louder you shout the more correct your opinion is.....