Steve Watts

We had no stock before last Christmas either, but that was down to the supplier and kit manufacturer.  Thankfully we've changed that so shouldn't see such an issue this year... 

Oh...wait....sorry, as you were.

1 hour ago, MarcusX said:

Perhaps it's not trendy but people are more comfortable about talking about their issues and don't see it as negatively as many used to? That's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I was about to reply to your first comment above suggesting it came across as ignorant towards how hard it actually is to get a diagnosis.

I was then going to revoke the ignorant comment as it's clear you do realise how hard it is to get a diagnosis, then I read your last line. There are not "big numbers" that identify as a cat FFS 

There are big numbers.....there is a total of 1 people who identify as a cat.  Now I'm sure you'd agree that is a big number I've used there!

On 30/11/2023 at 07:36, LondonBristolian said:

The point where a bunch of our fans started bullying a young kid was the low point for me. 

The kid in red? I was stood next to the idiots who started the "Who's the fatty in the red".  I called the ringleader out for it. "You can't be shouting that a kid. FFS"  The response was "it's just ******* banter mate lighten up".  They were knobs for most of the match with one of them shoving a steward when he approached them to stop them vaping.  They clearly have an issue with stewarding as he went down to the front and nothing more was done.  

On 30/11/2023 at 07:36, LondonBristolian said:

The point where a bunch of our fans started bullying a young kid was the low point for me. 

The kid in red?

3 hours ago, Ghost Rider said:

The tactic that won us the game against a team that had lost 1 in 12 you mean? Imagine getting offended by a win. 

Of course I wasn't offended, ya wally!  T'was just playing with the words.  However I do disagree that that specific tactic won us the game.  The first 30 mins we would receive the ball and almost immediately turn to face our own goal.  We won the game when we started taking it to them.  Started the second half in much the same way as we started the first and we lost a 2 goal lead within 7 mins.  Their equaliser was a fantastic example.  Playing the ball about the defence thereby inviting pressure, Tanner received the ball, looked one way (backwards) and was dispossessed.  When we took the game to Boro again we won it. Anyway, that's for another thread.

I would imagine that the "taking one for the team" offences would be the type of thing that would be covered by a sin bin. Pulling a shirt to stop a breakaway when too many men have been committed forwards for example.

26 minutes ago, Super said:

What's a specific tactical offence? 

Too much backwards passing?  I was offended by that specific tactic on Saturday....

8 minutes ago, iamalagerdrinker said:

To be fair the kits are reasonably well stocked online at the moment. The store in general online is poor though and needs addressing / an overhaul of new and good merchandise. They've done reasonably okay putting some new Christmas stuff online but then missing out on simple stuff like a 2024 calendar for example.  We're almost into December and don't have the option to buy any of the players training gear, you can buy a polo top but that's it.. Again I know it's not a massive issue to most people but it's really not hard to get it right. Some of the lifestyle clothing has been on there well over a year and was rubbish when it went up and it's rubbish now (Sizing, designs, material) I'm not sure who would be responsible for this. But would be nice for someone to address this. 

Kids sizes are all over the place.  The sizing is weird as hell.  7-8. 8-9,9-10,10-11, 12-13, 13-14....  Where's the 11-12 range?  Just randomly miss it out, why don't you!  And have a guess where my lad fits into that sizing range! 

It's possible that in store stock may be better. but as I've always got my lad with me it'd kinda ruin the surprise on Christmas Day.  It just seems to be a same person, different hat situation.   Last season I struggled to get stuff for Christmas, and now am looking at a repeat of the same this year.  Circumstances stopped me from getting it in early this year, but I'll have to start getting stuff whenever it comes out next season to avoid more of the same.

So bloody frustrating, as Christmas should be a massive influx of money for the club and every year it's the same!  

If someone could raise kit suppliers that'd be grand.  We left Hummel because of supply issues and now we find ourselves with a massive shortage of stock in the run up to Christmas, especially online.  What is being done about that? (An explanation of the thinking behind the Splat would also be great!)

On 26/11/2023 at 09:17, Sheltons Army said:

Has to be up there with one of the most ridiculous (Attention seeking ?) posts in many a year 

I assume you are , making m  a bit of an embarrassing attempt , at stupid trolling , 

What’s he done ? , got an ironing mark on a pair of shorts ?

 

This is it, 100%.  And as always certain poster/s drop in and provide their pearls of "wisdom"!

On 19/11/2023 at 12:22, pongo88 said:

We just need someone to link it to return flights to Hartlepool, travel to and from Parson Street station and black bins 

It's bizarre enough that it could've been an NTTDS thread to be honest!

On 21/11/2023 at 16:30, KendrickDNB said:

How has nobody mentioned Diony

Because we were talking about footballers and he doesn't qualify as such....

On 21/11/2023 at 18:34, RicksterJ said:

 Undoubtedly the worst I have ever seen, but somehow wasn’t unpopular

Bas was in the so bad he was good category

13 hours ago, spudski said:

Cheers Dave, appreciated. 

What crossed my mind with the comments re it being offensive etc, and how it's remarkable there are people willing to referee these days, it just goes to show how much more sensitive we are these days. 

I'm not saying it's right, but when growing up as a teenager playing youth football and then into men's football, this would have been seen as tame. 

Times have changed. 

I don't think it shows how sensitive we've become at all. Enlightened, maybe, but not sensitive. We're living in an age now where people are happy to call out shit like that for what it is. Bullying and massively disrespectful. 

There's just no need for it. Obviously there are also still plenty of throwbacks who like to throw the word snowflake around to anyone who would want to call out people for being dicks. Many of these hark back to the seventies as the "good old days". I was born at the tail end so don't remember any of the decade and am told that the 80's were far tamer than the seventies. If that's the case I'm glad to have been born at the end of the decade!

Times have indeed changed, and mostly for the better. Society is more tolerant, but that's countered by social media giving a global voice to all and as always, the negative shout louder.

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

D is for the dunderheads who seem to think we have a conspiracy against their particular team

Thought this might refer to us and our penalty conspiracy but it doesn't line up with when we were sponsored by that random betting firm!

But seriously.....

As a coach at grassroots level, I get really disappointed to see the stuff that goes on, and some of that comes from the opposition coaches!  @Silvio Dante and I teach the kids to respect the referee and hush them up if they start moaning at them.  Naturally we call for decisions, but that's it.  If it's not given it's not given.  No amount of bitching is going to change their minds.  Many of these referees are kids themselves and the stick they get is awful, especially given their age.  As other coaches on here will know, parents tend to mysteriously get a phone call when we head in their general direction with a flag, leaving us to run the line.  This exposes us to the parents of both teams for one half.  Several times I've turned around to parents to tell them to get off the referees back unless they want to pick up a whistle themselves, but that shouldn't be necessary.

One match this season, the opposition players (under 12's, mind!) were bitching and moaning all through the match, but you could see exactly where they were getting it from as the coaches were doing the same, often straying 5/10 yards onto the pitch to remonstrate a decision.  Change needs to happen across all levels and all types of participant though whether it be coaches, players or spectators.

As an addendum and bit of advice to other coaches, we seem to have finally cracked the flag duties problem, by asking for two volunteers to do a half each on rotation.  When they know they can concentrate on what their kids are doing for half the match it makes them far more agreeable to doing it every few matches. The hypocrisy is not lost on me though that Silv & I can't solely focus on our own kids at all because we're keeping an eye of all of their kids as a team, but we'll take the win where we can!

50 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Maybe off a backpass?

Ffs Dave.... don't come at me with logic!

Still struggling with the concept of pillars in a 21st century built stand! 

The craziness being that if the offence happened a yard further forward it wouldn't even have been a foul as we all know there's no way we're being given a penalty unless he's shanked by every member of the opposing team, including the coaching staff! 

On 05/11/2023 at 09:12, cityexile said:

I think the position of ‘is there a covering defender’ comes in to it in terms of is there another defender than conceivably get a tackle in to stop the goal scoring opportunity. The last defender, is so far from the ball there is no way he is stopping the goal scoring chance. He could block the effort, but so could a goalie. 

That's the inconsistency that bugs me.  If a defender brings a player down with the keeper still in position it's a red.  If a keeper brings a player down but there's a covering defender it tends not to be, in my experience. (Though I may be imagining things there)

On 14/11/2023 at 20:07, Davefevs said:

Haha, in which case my understanding prior to reading the rules was right then.  The FA page is incredibly ambiguous then!

From:

https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-12---fouls-and-misconduct

Have you got anything that explains it with total clarity?

I like the second highlighted paragraph.  Denied by a handball offence wherever it occurs (except a goalkeeper within their penalty area)....why the bit in brackets when referring to handball offences?!?  Clearly if the keeper is in the area there is no offence if he handles it!  It's like they go out of their way to make things ambiguous!

Do the questions need to be submitted beforehand? (In crayons, obviously)

I'd love to hear the reason behind the splat, especially as the template was on page 1 of Google images. Seems both pointless and lazy.

3 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

It looks like some team are in two divisions? Norwich for example, they also have a reserve side so it's not that.

 

And I can find no record of this anywhere to offer an explanation!

11 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

We need to find a way to get Tommy and Nakhi together. Sykes/Pring as wing backs. 

Well the answer to that conundrum is to get Nakhi fit.  He (especially) and Williams  are both big misses for us at the moment.   I've said it before, but a front three of Wells, Bell and Conway would be a defenders nightmare.

8 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

3 hours to travel between two places 25 miles apart. God bless British public transport. 

And therein lies my problem... There's no way I make it into work the following day!

3 hours ago, CodeRed said:

Do you need to stay in Wigan? How about a hotel convenient to Ewood PK, then get a train to work from Blackburn to Wigan in the morning when trains are more plentiful. ie there is a train leaving B'burn at 7.23 getting to Wigan at 8.13 change Preston.

Or stay in Preston - bus/train to Blackburn & back for the match - easy direct train to Wigan in the morning.

 

 

I do. Work use one hotel and one hotel only, so sadly my only three options are a taxi at £40 plus, getting back to the hotel 3.5 his after the match ends, or finding someone who's driving and doesn't mind dropping me off on the way home. 

The first two are non starters, so it's a case of "Help me OTIB Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope"!

5 hours ago, BarnzFM said:

Could you have just 11 players, a sub keeper and Paul Warhurst type player that covers the rest of the positions? 

The original DMARLC on champ man!

12 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Naismith can also play in CM.

Irrespective I'd say we are a creative or ball carrying CM light and you also need 4 genuine CBs over a long hard season IMO.

(Debates too about GK, whether someone needs to be in to truly push and compete with O'Leary).

It's a whole other debate entirely, but for me Naismith can only play in midfield.  He gives me Mad Frankie jitters when he plays at the back!

1 hour ago, Selred said:

Retro feel. Nice, would be tempted.

Although a throwback to this would guarantee a purchase from me....

On 09/11/2023 at 06:32, Taunton_BCFC said:

No championship has had that tho so I’m guessing segregation is slightly different in the championship than prem? Or % they have to give is different 

I actually did look at that earlier when chatting about something else.  The requirement is only 2,000.  That reduces to 10% if the capacity is lower than 20k.

I've got to make an office visit in December to sunny Wigan (I get all the glamourous trips!)...  I always travel up the day before, which just so happens to be the day we face Blackburn away.  I was thinking of going to Ewood Park given it's only a short train ride from Wigan, but it looks as though there are no trains that would get me back there after the match.

Is anyone driving up who would be willing to drop me back to Wigan on the way home after the match at all?  Will obviously chuck some money in for the motion lotion.