Thanks for this @wwfcblue, the pitch looks dreadful. Who remembers the last time we made the semi final of this competition, on a dreadful pitch away at Coventry and a tame defeat?
It’s probably not one for GMac because of that and we will need someone up top who can win headers. So Vokes or Wheeler should start. I think Vokes over Kone will be the call.
There were a fair few last year but I think people are beginning to acknowledge that he is by no means the force he was and, partly for that reason, I’ve seen no reason to comment.
I have a lot of respect for @eric_plant. He is unswerving in his allegiance to Big Sam and I see no point in upsetting the applecart by continuing to express reservations that are very well known.
The substantial increase in the number of disapproving thumbs over the last 4-6 months must be attributable to other factors.
Because I have become very slow - I’ve been slow throughout my life but old age has aggravated the condition - I literally take hours searching for and tapping out (single-fingered) information that I hope will be of interest. That’s what makes implied criticism even harder to take.
But I mustn’t get maudlin. It’s not good for the mental health.
Yes, I saw some of the match against Sutton at the weekend but the real challenge will be the 6 or 7 hours of heavy rain there (assuming it materialises) which is forecast for tomorrow morning.
1) I doubt very much that anyone cares about other posters' thumb counts. Or that they even look at them. I've just had a quick look at your stats and you have a posts/thumb down ratio of around 11%. Mine is 20% and if I can sleep easily at night then so can you.
2) How people present themselves on forums and who they are in real life are usually very different things. You aren't getting downvoted, 'Micra the forum poster' is getting downvoted, so don't take it personally. We are all here for our love of a small football team and the thumbs stuff is just a bit of fun on the side.
@micra is, as Phil and Matt say to each other when they do that trendy modern handshake thing, “Top Man”. Long may your posts continue, Sir.
We all see players differently, it’s half the fun (except maybe Josh, who I’ve never seen a bad word about). I agree with @eric_plant that Vokesy is still a huge influence on the pitch, and at the same time I agree with @micra that his stats would suggest he’s not as prolific as he has been. I still love big Sam as a 100% committed player and club man, who does a huge amount of work in the community as well as being a leading player on the pitch. Just like with Bayo, I will be very sad when the time comes that he’s not around anymore. However, once a Wanderer, always a Wanderer... and I’m not ready to write him off just yet!
@micra , Some people who post on this forum know each other in real life some do not. For those we don't know, I imagine most of us try to form a mental picture of what that poster may be in real life. You, I see as an amiable old boy, calm, rational, gentle, not seeking confrontation, able to convey your opinions, one of life's good guys, arguably in our little forum community the "goodest" guy of them all. One day, hopefully not for many years, the forum will lose you. It will be much the worse for that day when it comes.
A football club can be part of an individuals identity and when life's challenges mean you cannot be part of it so much in real life, I know from my experience this forum and its predecessor can be a bit of a lifeline which can mean you take it a little more seriously than it perhaps deserves. Try not to, mate, from my experience.
In terms of the thumbs down, I think I remember maybe last summer some lighthearted joshing which triggered some downvoting of a post of yours in fun. I suspect some of those who follow the (to me weird) practice of clicking on those icons are perhaps carrying on the joke a little too long. One of the issues with online is that you can't read body language of those you are talking to and hence it is very easy to misread what you think is mutual joking without appreciating that the other party no longer gets the joke and is starting to get hurt. Hopefully that message has been learnt by many in your case.
There will be occasions of course when your view is out of kilter with the majority and if these infernal "thumbs" exist on the forum, then I suppose it is valid to use them. In those cases they are judging @micra opinion on that matter, not @micra the man.
And of course online can be a place where those of us unhappy with their lives can work out our inadequacies by bullying others from behind the safety of an anonymous keyboard. Our forum doesn't seem to have many of those but there are one or two. Honestly best to try understand them and empathasise that their lives have become so hard that this has become their rather sad coping mechanism.
You are a good guy, @micra . You are right to express your hurt as a result of this matter rather than trying to bury it deep or be forced to walk away. With respect if you are interpreting the downvoting as being critical of you and suggesting you are not welcome, I think you have misinterpreted the mood. I am sure most would agree you are a very important and very welcome part of our community
In passing I hadn't checked my stats before and am a little disappointed to note that i am still 60 odd votes away from reaching my 1000 downvotes despite starting posting on this forum roughly at the moment that we finally appointed a likeable professional talented Londoner as our manager after suffering that Irish oaf O'Neill for far to many seasons. Never did understand why when he f*cked up that Conference promotion opportunity, the club didn't get rid of him then and seek to bring in a competent manager like say Roy McDonough at the time. I wonder where we would be now if only the club had had the courage to do so.
Back on topic - tonight's match will go to penalties if level after 90 minutes.
I would hope that MB has had them practising, and has a clear idea of which 5 players need to be on the field at the final whistle to take the spot kicks. Leahy, McCleary, Sadlier, Butcher and Scowen would be a good choice.
Others will need to step up if the penalties continue to sudden death, and we could see it reaching 10-10 with Max taking the final kick - what could possibly go wrong?
Perhaps bouncing off an @LX1 middle of the night post, “four in the morning, crashed out, yawning” comes to mind, isn’t too wise? But given the high jacking of this thread as to the relative merits of Big Sam, in the interest of squaring the circle, one thing is irrefutable, he has had a magnificent career as a top performing and earning pro. So he may well be one of those very comfortable residents in Marlow accepting his financial adviser’s advice that this years £20k ISA allowance should be signed off pronto. And who could blame him.
Oh and to keep Bargie calm, back to the game in hand! - a brace from Voakes tonight to take us to Wembley, with @micra giving him his mom vote, will top off a great night.
In support of @micra I am going to go through this topic and thumb down every non-Micra comment just so all of the thumb up & thumb downs average out. It's nothing personal to any of the posters on this topic!
There has to be a serious possibility this match gets cancelled surely ? With the weather as it is and the state of the pitch already. If so I'd hope a fairly early call so people who are travelling don't get too far.
Comments
@micra how many of the downvotes are posts about Sam Vokes?
Blackpool have been poor, no real urgency. And that 3rd goal seals the deal.
We know we can beat Peterborough, just need to beat Bradford first.
Thanks for this @wwfcblue, the pitch looks dreadful. Who remembers the last time we made the semi final of this competition, on a dreadful pitch away at Coventry and a tame defeat?
It’s probably not one for GMac because of that and we will need someone up top who can win headers. So Vokes or Wheeler should start. I think Vokes over Kone will be the call.
You know I love you @micra
Expect no mercy tomorrow. Because none shall be given.
I hadn't remembered it until you just mentioned it! What an underwhelming night that was.
Sorry
Pitch looks very bad but not *terrible*? https://youtu.be/l7UagfLPJbg?feature=shared
Deed I do !!
There were a fair few last year but I think people are beginning to acknowledge that he is by no means the force he was and, partly for that reason, I’ve seen no reason to comment.
I have a lot of respect for @eric_plant. He is unswerving in his allegiance to Big Sam and I see no point in upsetting the applecart by continuing to express reservations that are very well known.
The substantial increase in the number of disapproving thumbs over the last 4-6 months must be attributable to other factors.
Because I have become very slow - I’ve been slow throughout my life but old age has aggravated the condition - I literally take hours searching for and tapping out (single-fingered) information that I hope will be of interest. That’s what makes implied criticism even harder to take.
But I mustn’t get maudlin. It’s not good for the mental health.
Yes, I saw some of the match against Sutton at the weekend but the real challenge will be the 6 or 7 hours of heavy rain there (assuming it materialises) which is forecast for tomorrow morning.
How do we re-work the 'ribbon' song, given a potential final would be in April?
'In the slightly stressful month of April when we do our tax returns and Marlow residents consider maximising their tax free ISA allowances?'
not so merry
That pitch has the most bear patches of turf on it that I've ever seen. How the mighty have fallen from their time in the Premier League
1) I doubt very much that anyone cares about other posters' thumb counts. Or that they even look at them. I've just had a quick look at your stats and you have a posts/thumb down ratio of around 11%. Mine is 20% and if I can sleep easily at night then so can you.
2) How people present themselves on forums and who they are in real life are usually very different things. You aren't getting downvoted, 'Micra the forum poster' is getting downvoted, so don't take it personally. We are all here for our love of a small football team and the thumbs stuff is just a bit of fun on the side.
@micra is, as Phil and Matt say to each other when they do that trendy modern handshake thing, “Top Man”. Long may your posts continue, Sir.
We all see players differently, it’s half the fun (except maybe Josh, who I’ve never seen a bad word about). I agree with @eric_plant that Vokesy is still a huge influence on the pitch, and at the same time I agree with @micra that his stats would suggest he’s not as prolific as he has been. I still love big Sam as a 100% committed player and club man, who does a huge amount of work in the community as well as being a leading player on the pitch. Just like with Bayo, I will be very sad when the time comes that he’s not around anymore. However, once a Wanderer, always a Wanderer... and I’m not ready to write him off just yet!
Current rainfall measurements taken from a local (Bradford) meto station. Rain started at 5am it seems.
@micra , Some people who post on this forum know each other in real life some do not. For those we don't know, I imagine most of us try to form a mental picture of what that poster may be in real life. You, I see as an amiable old boy, calm, rational, gentle, not seeking confrontation, able to convey your opinions, one of life's good guys, arguably in our little forum community the "goodest" guy of them all. One day, hopefully not for many years, the forum will lose you. It will be much the worse for that day when it comes.
A football club can be part of an individuals identity and when life's challenges mean you cannot be part of it so much in real life, I know from my experience this forum and its predecessor can be a bit of a lifeline which can mean you take it a little more seriously than it perhaps deserves. Try not to, mate, from my experience.
In terms of the thumbs down, I think I remember maybe last summer some lighthearted joshing which triggered some downvoting of a post of yours in fun. I suspect some of those who follow the (to me weird) practice of clicking on those icons are perhaps carrying on the joke a little too long. One of the issues with online is that you can't read body language of those you are talking to and hence it is very easy to misread what you think is mutual joking without appreciating that the other party no longer gets the joke and is starting to get hurt. Hopefully that message has been learnt by many in your case.
There will be occasions of course when your view is out of kilter with the majority and if these infernal "thumbs" exist on the forum, then I suppose it is valid to use them. In those cases they are judging @micra opinion on that matter, not @micra the man.
And of course online can be a place where those of us unhappy with their lives can work out our inadequacies by bullying others from behind the safety of an anonymous keyboard. Our forum doesn't seem to have many of those but there are one or two. Honestly best to try understand them and empathasise that their lives have become so hard that this has become their rather sad coping mechanism.
You are a good guy, @micra . You are right to express your hurt as a result of this matter rather than trying to bury it deep or be forced to walk away. With respect if you are interpreting the downvoting as being critical of you and suggesting you are not welcome, I think you have misinterpreted the mood. I am sure most would agree you are a very important and very welcome part of our community
In passing I hadn't checked my stats before and am a little disappointed to note that i am still 60 odd votes away from reaching my 1000 downvotes despite starting posting on this forum roughly at the moment that we finally appointed a likeable professional talented Londoner as our manager after suffering that Irish oaf O'Neill for far to many seasons. Never did understand why when he f*cked up that Conference promotion opportunity, the club didn't get rid of him then and seek to bring in a competent manager like say Roy McDonough at the time. I wonder where we would be now if only the club had had the courage to do so.
Back on topic - tonight's match will go to penalties if level after 90 minutes.
I would hope that MB has had them practising, and has a clear idea of which 5 players need to be on the field at the final whistle to take the spot kicks. Leahy, McCleary, Sadlier, Butcher and Scowen would be a good choice.
Others will need to step up if the penalties continue to sudden death, and we could see it reaching 10-10 with Max taking the final kick - what could possibly go wrong?
Is this a parody account?
Weather update . Been raining heavily since before 6.00 this morning in Bingley, 4 miles from Bradford.
Yawn.
Perhaps bouncing off an @LX1 middle of the night post, “four in the morning, crashed out, yawning” comes to mind, isn’t too wise? But given the high jacking of this thread as to the relative merits of Big Sam, in the interest of squaring the circle, one thing is irrefutable, he has had a magnificent career as a top performing and earning pro. So he may well be one of those very comfortable residents in Marlow accepting his financial adviser’s advice that this years £20k ISA allowance should be signed off pronto. And who could blame him.
Oh and to keep Bargie calm, back to the game in hand! - a brace from Voakes tonight to take us to Wembley, with @micra giving him his mom vote, will top off a great night.
In support of @micra I am going to go through this topic and thumb down every non-Micra comment just so all of the thumb up & thumb downs average out. It's nothing personal to any of the posters on this topic!
There has to be a serious possibility this match gets cancelled surely ? With the weather as it is and the state of the pitch already. If so I'd hope a fairly early call so people who are travelling don't get too far.
Damn my cunning plan seems to have been foiled. Up the Tories and down with Parking Companies.....
Local forecast is rain until 1.00 then dry
Bastards.
Final try. I give notice that I will sue anyone who upvotes this post.