We're all experts

[Greasy Chap Butty]

You are right though, we're not all experts.


But I am.

Ex = Has been
Spert = a drip under pressure

 

[pommpey]

He goes to matches

So do I

Next ...

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

Shots fired!!!

And they were all blanks

pommpey

 

[10-0 win]

I,ve tried watching one player only for 15 minutes now and then, it,s a remarkable way to really see how much movement there is off the ball. Furious makes hundreds of runs every season without getting the ball,he,ll make a new run still,every now and then a pingpass comes and it creates some goals and chances. We are very diciplined off the ball,thats down to good management.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I pretty much agree fully with what Roy and Ben say on Bladespod, so whatever they are, i'm in the same bracket.............

Can you scout from under a bridge?

 

[Greystones Blade]

There'll be internal politics too. Also some players might have personal/ private issues, which we never get to know about.
Some might perform really well or really badly in training in the week building up to a match.
Then there are positive and negative influence in the dressing room or first team, some might have agents stirring the pot.

Many criticised Hecky regards the treatment of Khadra
but the truth might be Hecky didn't like his attitude and saw him as a negative influence.
It could have been down to finance and contractual implications, so the decision to play him more was taken out of his hands.
It might seem unfair and he might even be wrong but as Hecky is the manager he stands and fall on his decisions.
He's not going to be honest and make it public what he thinks, so he needs to be careful and manage the situation carefully.

I thought I read (in The Star?) that if Khadra played one more game then United were bound by the contract with BHA to sign him at the end of his loan period. Presumably Hecky didn’t want to sign him so he couldn’t pick him.

 

[Champagneblade]

Football is a very simple game.

There seems to be a desire to make the analysis complicated or somehow a closed shop.

If you attend enough matches it isn't difficult to evaluate which team is in the ascendency and where they are getting most joy.

Now perhaps the solution to those problems may not come as readily because each team only has 11 players and by resolving one issue you could well create another and people whose job it is to work in football will have certain 'go to' tactics to hand, but nothing that the common man wouldn't explain.

'Experts' is a very subjective term and is also why great ex players don't always make great managers.

Having skills that permit you to be a footballer (e.g. Shop Floor worker) and being able to work on a tactical level does not mean at a higher level that you have any idea how to think strategically (E.g. Management).

Will Still hardly played football at all. He played Championship Manager when he was younger and studied the game.

He's taken over an indifferent Reims team, after acting as assistant, and he has them winning 5, drawing 5 at the top of the French game.

As 'Box Office' as Keane can be, speaking of desire, mentality and all that could quite frankly be done by anyone with a bit of passion about them. Doing what Neville first did, talking low level tactics might feel new but merely analysing prior matches and movements which certain players perform isn't something only ex-footballers can achieve.

Everyone is capable of making a good point. Let's also not forget there are good pundits but also bad ones. When asked about how advanced Serie A was in terms of things like dieting, Big Ron once said "yeah, and the crap teams at the bottom also eat pasta!"

To suggest the absolute worst pundit speaks more sense than any fan is quite frankly nonsense.

Here's the potentially condescending point too. Most footballers stop their education at an early stage (most, not all). They then spend 15 years focusing mainly on kicking a bag of wind around a field. To suggest then that they have a heightened ability to understand certain aspects about the game that you or I couldn't possibly get our head around is laughable.

Talking about green passes and such jargon is an example. We might not know that term but we are fully aware that a pass to team mates with nobody around in your own half carries less risk than a pass in the final third to a team mate surrounded by a high volume of defensive players.

I'd encourage everyone to share their views and don't be shouted down and blindly follow what the 'experts' say. As others mentioned, they don't all agree so it's not as if a differing opinions is a wrong one.

 

[Charlieblade]

There'll be internal politics too. Also some players might have personal/ private issues, which we never get to know about.
Some might perform really well or really badly in training in the week building up to a match.
Then there are positive and negative influence in the dressing room or first team, some might have agents stirring the pot.

Many criticised Hecky regards the treatment of Khadra
but the truth might be Hecky didn't like his attitude and saw him as a negative influence.
It could have been down to finance and contractual implications, so the decision to play him more was taken out of his hands.
It might seem unfair and he might even be wrong but as Hecky is the manager he stands and fall on his decisions.
He's not going to be honest and make it public what he thinks, so he needs to be careful and manage the situation carefully.

I might amend your final sentence. ‘He is not allowed to be honest and make public what he really thinks, so he is obliged to obfuscate’.

 

[Charlieblade]

Most of the OTT comments come during of immediately after the game. These ‘knee jerk’ reactions are often angry or very passionate.
We often regret something said in anger,or at the height of passion, which is probably why the shout box was invented.
The solution is to keep all comment and opinion to the shout box, starting at kick off and running for the 24 hours after a game finishes.
Many times I have seen fans after a game, walking purposefully, head down, chuntering to themselves about some perceived issue in a game.

 

[Norwood's 6 iron]

Most of the OTT comments come during of immediately after the game. These ‘knee jerk’ reactions are often angry or very passionate.
We often regret something said in anger,or at the height of passion, which is probably why the shout box was invented.
The solution is to keep all comment and opinion to the shout box, starting at kick off and running for the 24 hours after a game finishes.
Many times I have seen fans after a game, walking purposefully, head down, chuntering to themselves about some perceived issue in a game.

I sometimes think it's the culture of the modern world. We would all like to earn more money, have a big flash car, posh house, have expensive foreign holidays, etc etc.
In many cases we apply the same thoughts towards United. We know how good we can be because we have sat there and watched us rip teams apart. We want that excellence every week and are disappointed when it doesn't always happen.
I try to not get too carried away by the odd poor performance and think back to the last time we won promotion. I don't remember the poor games, the Cup defeats, because at the end of the season we got promoted. I'm sure we went through the same agonies when we played poorly but the record books say we won promotion easily.
It's the same this time around we all know we are close, we just want more, we want that doubt of failure taking away, we want perfection.
We just need to have faith in our management team. Yes , the United way is to cock this up, but just maybe this time around it will all be different.

 

[Charlieblade]

I sometimes think it's the culture of the modern world. We would all like to earn more money, have a big flash car, posh house, have expensive foreign holidays, etc etc.
In many cases we apply the same thoughts towards United. We know how good we can be because we have sat there and watched us rip teams apart. We want that excellence every week and are disappointed when it doesn't always happen.
I try to not get too carried away by the odd poor performance and think back to the last time we won promotion. I don't remember the poor games, the Cup defeats, because at the end of the season we got promoted. I'm sure we went through the same agonies when we played poorly but the record books say we won promotion easily.
It's the same this time around we all know we are close, we just want more, we want that doubt of failure taking away, we want perfection.
We just need to have faith in our management team. Yes , the United way is to cock this up, but just maybe this time around it will all be different.

All the more reason to keep the instant anger in the shout box. If a poster feels that sad later, it can always be posted on the appropriate thread.
Having followed the team since the 60s, I understand the blades way of fucking things up but I’m much less emotional about things nowadays.

If we don’t go up auto this season, there’s something seriously wrong. Quality squad and a great manager. No reason we should lose it from here. Any squad that can carry an aging Sharp, an underperforming Berge and the odd Stevens contribution must be in with a shout.

The nice house the posh car have passed me by. I can live with that. A wealthy but sensible owner will suit me just fine.

 

[Vass Borbokis]

I'm not asking Wes to boot it long , isn't he just as capable as Egan at passing to a free player in our own half ?

It's not about that.

Egan standing next to Wes, effectively gets the ball moving while the opposing teams attacker has to be on the edge of the box at a minimum.
Think about it, if Egan was to be stood at the edge of our box and Wes passed to him, an attacker could be marking him. Or if the attacker isn't marking Egan, they've got far less distance to cover to close him down, also meaning the next pass from Egan is rushed/forced.
All the other team has to do is cover the other easy passes Wes may have and he's forced to go long, effectively surrendering possession unless we've got McBurnie up top or if Billy wins a foul from an over-zealous centre back.

Take notice on our next goal kick Friday.
The ball ends up with Egan on the edge of our 6 yard box, Egan looks up and carries it forward slightly, waiting for the attacking player to either move away from one of the other centre backs or Norwood, meaning that's where Egan needs to give it.
So much of us progressing forwards relies on Norwood, he makes us tick and gets 90% of our moves up the pitch started.

This method obviously relies heavily on Egan being able to pay simple passes quickly and accurately. It isn't foolproof as seen by QPR away not so long ago. If the first pass messes up, we're under the cosh. It's better than the alternative though, a hopeless punt upfield for the opposing centre backs to win the header and more than likely hand over possession.

 

[Charlieblade]

I don’t know what you are suggesting

You know very little about football, that’s for sure.

You are an expert on your seventh birthday, because Blue Peter said so!

Kindly restrict your observations to this ‘known’ level of expertise on the said subject.