Post by Dave on Sept 4, 2009 16:27:13 GMT
I will do this a bit earlier than I normally do, as I have to go for a rare pint tonight and try and get a lifetime friend to see his world and his life is not over and it could be just about to begin.
Another remarkable achievement this week on the TFF as we sponsored our first ever player at Torquay United, the only reason we have been able to do this is because we have such a great community on this forum.
What ever the TFF has tired to do, be it to help and show support as was the case with Lewis our Wembley mascot, the members on here have always came up trumps and made everything happen.
I became aware in the week of a conversation that took place between one person and someone high up at the club, the end result was they both agreed that the TFF was a wonderful forum and one that had such an amazing amount of people who really knew so much about the club and its history and they both wondered if any other club had a forum that was as good as this one is.
I have said before its you the members who make such great posts and wonderful contributions that make the TFF what it is and long may it continue to set the high standards that it does.
What can I say about this week’s winner?
Well he nearly always gets votes each week for his posts and has been so close to winning many times, but this week he beat last weeks winner by one point in the end.
Some may feel he may at time seem a bit negative, but he always makes his points so well and I have never seen him be rude or insulting to any other member, just because they may not agree with him.
He has made some cracking threads and I enjoy reading his posts and would like to thank him for all his contributions on the forum.
This week’s winner is Alpinejoe, very well done and fully deserved.
A few posts made by Alpinejoe this week
Post 1
Much as I enjoy reading the occasional bit of Merse bashing ;D........I have to say that when reading the initial post I got the impression that he was totally unaware of the tragic events on the Avon bridge that helped delay the journey. I certainly knew nothing about it myself until I read about the incident in a Sunday newspaper.
I'm certain that everyone, including Merse, is saddened to hear that someone is so desperately unhappy in life that suicide is preferable, but his general point about the importance of a professional approach to all our preparations, particularly transportation is a valid & interesting one.
We don't have to go back many decades to find England cricketers put in the cheap seats for a flight to Australia while the Committee members got the luxury & comfort of the expensive section.
I remember Tony Jacklin shaking things up when he took over the European Ryder Cup team & the fuss that was made at the time (1983) when he flew the team to the States on Concorde
"The difference is that the American punters are now interested. For this to happen, the USA had to start losing matches and for this in turn to occur Tony Jacklin had to be appointed skipper.
When Jacko accepted the job for the 1983 match in Florida he did so on condition that he had sole charge, that the players were placed in the centre of everything, that uniforms and bags and hotel accommodations were of the highest standard. Jacklin's team did not fly Economy to America in 1983, they flew by Concorde.
Tony's determination to upgrade everything changed the way the players thought about themselves. Instead of second-class citizens they started to puff out their chests and to believe that the mighty Americans could be beaten"
The importance of getting these things right is often overlooked by fans who give little thought to how the preparations leading up to any match, but particulary an away fixture can effect the performance.
Merse, due to his line of work will have a greater insight into this than most of us and I enjoyed reading about his particular contingency plans...right down to the emergency underpants
Being a football forum the impact that delays or poor planning have on the football team was clearly the discussion point, but whether mentioned or not, I'm certain every member of the forum was saddened to hear of the tragic event that occurred on Avon Bridge last Friday.
p.s I never thought I'd be typing the word 'underpants into the site's search facility, but for those of you wondering where Merse's spare pants fit into the grand scheme of things, they get a mention in the Bradford v Torquay thread in the Match Day section, & not in this one.
Post 2
Merse
I don't think people are too bothered whether he was withdrawing weight or diving, it's whether he was brought down by the goalkeeper or not. My personal view is that he went down out of choice & not involuntarily as a result of being tripped by the keeper, whether his method of choice was this weight withdrawal method or a forward roll I know not.
The key point for me is as you rightly say 'only Eduardo knows that' & that is why I have advocated taking penalty decisions away from Referees & giving them to players!
Currently it's a case of players seeing if they can con the refs into giving incorrect decisions & the Refs getting a big share of the blame if the player has fooled them.
Instead put the whole of the responsibility on the player & see if he has the balls to award the penalty himself in the knowledge he has not been fouled. Directly cheating your fellow players rather than trying to hoodwink an official would feel a bit different I'm sure.
If one side decides to cheat the other side can just have one of their men fall over in the penalty area & claim a penalty for themselves,thereby reducing the game to farce & fairly quickly forcing the players to agree on a code of conduct where they realise the game can't go on unless both sides act honourably. Hopefully we would eventually get to a situation similar to golf where a cheating participant incurs the wrath of all his fellow players.
Merse
The closest I've seen to my own prefered solution. I've always advocated a small section of a ground being designated as a 'fighting terrace' to cater for those fans who enjoy a punch up when they go to a game. I do think there would be less inconvenince to the public & far less likelihood of trouble outside of grounds if hooligans knew they could quite happily bash each others brains out undisturbed for 90 minutes.
I think a lot of the fighting on trains , in shopping centres, in the pubs etc would stop if facilities were laid on at the ground, and surely much safer for the general public as well if the fighters could bash each other about in their own little area away from those supporters who wish to watch the game in peace.
Another remarkable achievement this week on the TFF as we sponsored our first ever player at Torquay United, the only reason we have been able to do this is because we have such a great community on this forum.
What ever the TFF has tired to do, be it to help and show support as was the case with Lewis our Wembley mascot, the members on here have always came up trumps and made everything happen.
I became aware in the week of a conversation that took place between one person and someone high up at the club, the end result was they both agreed that the TFF was a wonderful forum and one that had such an amazing amount of people who really knew so much about the club and its history and they both wondered if any other club had a forum that was as good as this one is.
I have said before its you the members who make such great posts and wonderful contributions that make the TFF what it is and long may it continue to set the high standards that it does.
What can I say about this week’s winner?
Well he nearly always gets votes each week for his posts and has been so close to winning many times, but this week he beat last weeks winner by one point in the end.
Some may feel he may at time seem a bit negative, but he always makes his points so well and I have never seen him be rude or insulting to any other member, just because they may not agree with him.
He has made some cracking threads and I enjoy reading his posts and would like to thank him for all his contributions on the forum.
This week’s winner is Alpinejoe, very well done and fully deserved.
A few posts made by Alpinejoe this week
Post 1
Much as I enjoy reading the occasional bit of Merse bashing ;D........I have to say that when reading the initial post I got the impression that he was totally unaware of the tragic events on the Avon bridge that helped delay the journey. I certainly knew nothing about it myself until I read about the incident in a Sunday newspaper.
I'm certain that everyone, including Merse, is saddened to hear that someone is so desperately unhappy in life that suicide is preferable, but his general point about the importance of a professional approach to all our preparations, particularly transportation is a valid & interesting one.
We don't have to go back many decades to find England cricketers put in the cheap seats for a flight to Australia while the Committee members got the luxury & comfort of the expensive section.
I remember Tony Jacklin shaking things up when he took over the European Ryder Cup team & the fuss that was made at the time (1983) when he flew the team to the States on Concorde
"The difference is that the American punters are now interested. For this to happen, the USA had to start losing matches and for this in turn to occur Tony Jacklin had to be appointed skipper.
When Jacko accepted the job for the 1983 match in Florida he did so on condition that he had sole charge, that the players were placed in the centre of everything, that uniforms and bags and hotel accommodations were of the highest standard. Jacklin's team did not fly Economy to America in 1983, they flew by Concorde.
Tony's determination to upgrade everything changed the way the players thought about themselves. Instead of second-class citizens they started to puff out their chests and to believe that the mighty Americans could be beaten"
The importance of getting these things right is often overlooked by fans who give little thought to how the preparations leading up to any match, but particulary an away fixture can effect the performance.
Merse, due to his line of work will have a greater insight into this than most of us and I enjoyed reading about his particular contingency plans...right down to the emergency underpants
Being a football forum the impact that delays or poor planning have on the football team was clearly the discussion point, but whether mentioned or not, I'm certain every member of the forum was saddened to hear of the tragic event that occurred on Avon Bridge last Friday.
p.s I never thought I'd be typing the word 'underpants into the site's search facility, but for those of you wondering where Merse's spare pants fit into the grand scheme of things, they get a mention in the Bradford v Torquay thread in the Match Day section, & not in this one.
Post 2
Merse
Did he dive or did he withdraw the weight of his legs with that serious injury he incurred last season at the back of his mind? Only Eduardo knows that
I don't think people are too bothered whether he was withdrawing weight or diving, it's whether he was brought down by the goalkeeper or not. My personal view is that he went down out of choice & not involuntarily as a result of being tripped by the keeper, whether his method of choice was this weight withdrawal method or a forward roll I know not.
The key point for me is as you rightly say 'only Eduardo knows that' & that is why I have advocated taking penalty decisions away from Referees & giving them to players!
Currently it's a case of players seeing if they can con the refs into giving incorrect decisions & the Refs getting a big share of the blame if the player has fooled them.
Instead put the whole of the responsibility on the player & see if he has the balls to award the penalty himself in the knowledge he has not been fouled. Directly cheating your fellow players rather than trying to hoodwink an official would feel a bit different I'm sure.
If one side decides to cheat the other side can just have one of their men fall over in the penalty area & claim a penalty for themselves,thereby reducing the game to farce & fairly quickly forcing the players to agree on a code of conduct where they realise the game can't go on unless both sides act honourably. Hopefully we would eventually get to a situation similar to golf where a cheating participant incurs the wrath of all his fellow players.
Merse
Let them play each other at "Green Street" EVERY weekend in a locked arena ~ fans against fans (no need for footballs)
The closest I've seen to my own prefered solution. I've always advocated a small section of a ground being designated as a 'fighting terrace' to cater for those fans who enjoy a punch up when they go to a game. I do think there would be less inconvenince to the public & far less likelihood of trouble outside of grounds if hooligans knew they could quite happily bash each others brains out undisturbed for 90 minutes.
I think a lot of the fighting on trains , in shopping centres, in the pubs etc would stop if facilities were laid on at the ground, and surely much safer for the general public as well if the fighters could bash each other about in their own little area away from those supporters who wish to watch the game in peace.
Well done Joe, it's good fun debating with you!