Played awful football, I'd rather have stayed down and played decent stuff than watch that garbage every week. Got the end of season DVD from that year, it's still on my shelf unopened
Football fans can be very hard to please. I can’t think of many managers who’ve lost their jobs for ‘awful football’ if it produces results but they do get sacked if they are losing most weeks.
Not going to argue with you Micra as I think you’re one of the most sensible and realistic posters on here.
It just amuses me that fans can be so fickle. Having just watched Everton get an undeserved point at Anfield their fans are a perfect example. They grew tired of David Moyes because they wanted more adventurous football so brought in Roberto Martinez. He was popular only as long as they were winning then they were on his case when results went pear shaped. Same thing happened under Ronald Koeman and now they have Allardyce whose style is very similar to Moyes!
Claude Puel at Southampton would be an example of a manager whose style was considered boring, and who was sacked following a relatively successful season
I agree both that promotion was a great achievement which shouldn’t be underestimated...and that the way in which we achieved it was about the least satisfying imaginable, short of say the team above you going into administration on final day (being docked points) and hence going up by default.
On the flip side, I also recall getting frustrated by the Gormania era, the endless amount of sideways passing, and how teams had us figured out for a long stretch of the time. To my mind, the best teams are ones that mix it up, i.e. can play it on the deck when it counts, but also have the defensive solidity and physicality to grind out the results when they have to.
At best, Ainsworth’s teams can do this, but I’m not sure how often we hit “at best” - and that’s a genuine question not a sarcastic comment, I haven’t been an STH for a few seasons now (just due to personal circumstances, nothing to do with the team) so I don’t know. The comments on here seem to indicate that we err on the side of the hoof a fair amount but I guess Akinfenwa is the player that works with that style, and whilst he’s still scoring, hard to see that changing.
One of the interesting aspects of the second half of the season, if he is retained, will be to see how Josh Umerah shapes up (literally perhaps!) as a potential successor to Bayo.
Thanks LX1, I was beginning to think I was a lone voice on here. I’d certainly take a few scrappy 1-0 wins between now and next May if it meant us winning promotion.
@Chris said:
I don’t think many people wouldn’t, and I don’t think ‘a few scrappy wins’ reflects the grinding monotony of Peter Taylor’s approach.
Struggled with the double negative, Chris, but, after sorting it out (!), I agree that many people would probably accept a few scrappy 1-0 wins if it led to promotion.
@micra said:
Struggled with the double negative, Chris, but, after sorting it out (!), I agree that many people would probably accept a few scrappy 1-0 wins if it led to promotion.
I think the key word there is "few". When it becomes the majority, that's when attending becomes a chore.
@micra Without intending to be pedantic (and failing abjectly), Chris's statement is not to my mind a double negative. "I don't not think..." would be a double negative.
Peter Taylor's tactics being a double negative you mean @arnos_grove ? If we win 1 -0 after bombarding the goal against a stalwart defence and their keeper having a blinder...I'm happy. If we get a goal in the fifth minute and spend 85 defending it...not so much.
@Right_in_the_Middle said:
It's the don't and wouldn't that is the double negative isn't it??
Absolutely. I dislike, pedantically perhaps, “I don’t think”. No one wants to know what anyone doesn’t think, surely? If Chris had said “I think many people would accept a few scrappy 1-0 wins.....” all would have been instantly clear.
I agree it might be worded differently so as to be a little easier on the mind, but I rather like that sort of stylistic reference to a previous comment myself and am thus somewhat indulgent of it! In point of fact, I think it may very well qualify as a double negative since, from the little I see about such things, the phrase refers simply to a phrase or sentence containing two negatives, without necessarily implying any negative (pun intended) connotations on authorial (should be a word even if it isn't) competence.
Comments
Exactly ten according to Wikipedia.
Should make an interesting night if this points are put to him in person in February
Probably played a lot more for the prison team!
Played awful football, I'd rather have stayed down and played decent stuff than watch that garbage every week. Got the end of season DVD from that year, it's still on my shelf unopened
Football fans can be very hard to please. I can’t think of many managers who’ve lost their jobs for ‘awful football’ if it produces results but they do get sacked if they are losing most weeks.
They don’t necessarily lose their jobs but they do lose fans.
Not going to argue with you Micra as I think you’re one of the most sensible and realistic posters on here.
It just amuses me that fans can be so fickle. Having just watched Everton get an undeserved point at Anfield their fans are a perfect example. They grew tired of David Moyes because they wanted more adventurous football so brought in Roberto Martinez. He was popular only as long as they were winning then they were on his case when results went pear shaped. Same thing happened under Ronald Koeman and now they have Allardyce whose style is very similar to Moyes!
Claude Puel at Southampton would be an example of a manager whose style was considered boring, and who was sacked following a relatively successful season
Good point Eric but I’m sure you’ll agree that the exception proves the rule.
I'm not entirely sure who is arguing otherwise
Thanks for the kind words @glasshalffull. Much appreciated.
I agree both that promotion was a great achievement which shouldn’t be underestimated...and that the way in which we achieved it was about the least satisfying imaginable, short of say the team above you going into administration on final day (being docked points) and hence going up by default.
On the flip side, I also recall getting frustrated by the Gormania era, the endless amount of sideways passing, and how teams had us figured out for a long stretch of the time. To my mind, the best teams are ones that mix it up, i.e. can play it on the deck when it counts, but also have the defensive solidity and physicality to grind out the results when they have to.
At best, Ainsworth’s teams can do this, but I’m not sure how often we hit “at best” - and that’s a genuine question not a sarcastic comment, I haven’t been an STH for a few seasons now (just due to personal circumstances, nothing to do with the team) so I don’t know. The comments on here seem to indicate that we err on the side of the hoof a fair amount but I guess Akinfenwa is the player that works with that style, and whilst he’s still scoring, hard to see that changing.
I think we played that way most of the time before Akinfenwa, we're just better at it now with him up front.
One of the interesting aspects of the second half of the season, if he is retained, will be to see how Josh Umerah shapes up (literally perhaps!) as a potential successor to Bayo.
Its gone very quiet on Mr Umerah !!
Good post @PBo. I am more in line with @glasshalffull on this. It wasn't great to watch but we won promotion. Would take that now
Thanks LX1, I was beginning to think I was a lone voice on here. I’d certainly take a few scrappy 1-0 wins between now and next May if it meant us winning promotion.
I don’t think many people wouldn’t, and I don’t think ‘a few scrappy wins’ reflects the grinding monotony of Peter Taylor’s approach.
Struggled with the double negative, Chris, but, after sorting it out (!), I agree that many people would probably accept a few scrappy 1-0 wins if it led to promotion.
I think the key word there is "few". When it becomes the majority, that's when attending becomes a chore.
@micra Without intending to be pedantic (and failing abjectly), Chris's statement is not to my mind a double negative. "I don't not think..." would be a double negative.
It's the don't and wouldn't that is the double negative isn't it??
This conversation is in danger of going a bit Peter Taylor!
Peter Taylor's tactics being a double negative you mean @arnos_grove ? If we win 1 -0 after bombarding the goal against a stalwart defence and their keeper having a blinder...I'm happy. If we get a goal in the fifth minute and spend 85 defending it...not so much.
What @Wendoverman said.
Absolutely. I dislike, pedantically perhaps, “I don’t think”. No one wants to know what anyone doesn’t think, surely? If Chris had said “I think many people would accept a few scrappy 1-0 wins.....” all would have been instantly clear.
Tediously analytical? Apologies for being the catalyst.
I agree it might be worded differently so as to be a little easier on the mind, but I rather like that sort of stylistic reference to a previous comment myself and am thus somewhat indulgent of it! In point of fact, I think it may very well qualify as a double negative since, from the little I see about such things, the phrase refers simply to a phrase or sentence containing two negatives, without necessarily implying any negative (pun intended) connotations on authorial (should be a word even if it isn't) competence.
@micra I don’t think no one wants to know what someone doesn’t think, no?
@HCblue : Phew!
@Chris : Exactly.