We HAVE got a fixture heavy season with the uefa I'll grant you but I think playing a 'reserve' side in nearly every non-premier game is a bit sad, really...it's not what the football club was created for is it?

It most probably did have something to do with it, although I remember Alladryce saying the players were tired and I remember watching the players and thinking they had nothing left. I also remember posters off here moaning that we hadn't signed anymore bodies in the transfer window, when we should of because how tired the players were.

 

Maybe they are tired - in that season, we played 53 games between 13th August and 7th May

 

In season 77-78 (promotion to Div 1) we played 49 games between 20th Aug & 29th April. That's 4 more games in the UEFA season in 2 fewer weeks. And in the olden days they played in heavier boots, strips and used proper leather balls. And got brain damage.

 

I also reckon we played mostly the same team for that 77-78 season (I can't be arsed looking out the programmes etc. but I recall last time I looked, it was a pretty settled team).

 

So what is it that makes it so much harder for the players these days? Anyone know?

So what is it that makes it so much harder for the players these days? Anyone know?

it's because they are all soft ćunts nowadays

i don't know anybody is arguing its any harder

 

just that now efforts are made to turn out players who are at peak fitness, rather than pumped up with cortisone

i don't know anybody is arguing its any harder

 

just that now efforts are made to turn out players who are at peak fitness, rather than pumped up with cortisone

 

Are you saying Allardyce was on cortisone and that's why he's fat?

How are Hunt, both O'briens, Guthrie, Stelios and Diouf a complete scratch 11?

 

Coz Hunt's missed quite a few games this season, Joey O'B has hardly played for 18 months, Andy O'B & Guthrie only came last summer, Stelios has hardly played this season ......... oh, and none of them had played with the other 5 on the pitch nor with most of the subs.

And they played like it.

Or maybe that's supposed to make them a 'team'.

Looked scratch enough to me.

Edited January 7, 200818 yr by Rembrandt

i don't know anybody is arguing its any harder

 

If we had the data to compare the average number of kilometres a player covered in a match in the 70s, with the average distance covered today, what do you think they would show?

 

 

I'm not sure boots have come all that far since these to make a significant difference either:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1970s-Adidas...2QQcmdZViewItem

The Cup Went Downhill When United Pulled Out Of It In 2000

Edited January 7, 200818 yr by Mark-BWFC

Is that the title of book?

way I see it, Megson didn't have much choice but to play that team the other day

 

with Alladyce leaving and the Lee bringing in a lot of dross, we've gone back a few seasons

 

wasn't that long ago we were playing reserve sides and getting d?cked off Spurs, losing to Tranmere, etc

 

Megson has come into this job and has one thing on his mind, keep us up

 

so that means play best side in the Premier League, which has meant we remain unbeaten at home in the league

 

but that won't last, or at least the squad won't - injuries and that mean he'll have to change the squad at sometime, and being relatively new to the club he needs to get to know which players he can rely on and bring into the side when it matters - hence using UEFA cup and the Sheff U game to find out - it hasn't cost us so far in UEFA, suits me anyway

 

aye, we were w?nk but best it happen in the FA cup than the Premier League, or even against Madrid

 

hopefully, we stay up, Megson brings in better players than we have and we move on and in a year or two we can compete in more competitions

 

we didn't get into the Carling Cup final or have decent cup runs till Alladyce had built a squad capable and we're now having to start again

 

I'll defend the selection, but not the fact we were t?rd

 

but for the team selection / attendance arguement - as usual, it grates to hear people say they won't come now or in future because we're not taking the competition seriously, let's not forget two years ago we mustered 12k fans against West Ham and put out a strong side, 16k v Fulham the year before and I won't mention the Carling Cup semi

 

so, for me, Megson will hopefully take this competition seriously when he can afford to do so, but I still doubt anyone would turn up to watch

also, with regards the FA Cup bubble bursting

 

interesting to note that since Wimbledon won it (now 20 years ago!!!) only twice has a team outside the "big four" won it

 

http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/His...pStatistics.htm

 

a similar pattern is now emerging in the Carling Cup as well

 

http://www.sportingchronicle.com/leaguecup.html

 

interesting

also, with regards the FA Cup bubble bursting

 

interesting to note that since Wimbledon won it (now 20 years ago!!!) only twice has a team outside the "big four" won it

 

http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/His...pStatistics.htm

 

a similar pattern is now emerging in the Carling Cup as well

 

http://www.sportingchronicle.com/leaguecup.html

 

interesting

 

 

Zico

 

Spot on , football in England is now like football in Scotland from an interest point of view (except we have 4 teams who can win trophies , not 2)

 

Also more of a general point on this thread, football is no longer a sport but a business & therefore boardrooms don't care if there are only 8000 fans on the ground for FA Cup games as long as they get the ?50 million or so from Sky for being in the premiership the following season

 

Sport becoming a business has taken all the 'romance' out of the game & this will never change unless people stop watching / paying to watch football on TV at which point all the owners of the clubs will sell up fast & the game will return to its roots.

All this talk about players being "tired" does my fooking head in, they don't start training until 10 and are finished by 12 with the rest of the day to put up their tired little feet. Once the players are fit they stay fit so the 2 hours a day is not exactly hard work. The club again is thinking small time if they think we as supporters don't want to see us having a good cup run, whether it be in the UEFA, FA or Carling cups they haven't got a fooking clue about the bread and butter supporter and need a good reality check. I've been to all 3 UEFA cup away games, and going to the 4th in Feb, at the cost of thousands of pounds and i'm absolutely pissed off and disgusted in the way the club treat these competitions. I for 1 didn't go on Saturday because i knew what the clubs approach would be to it, so why the fook should i bother when they don't and i refuse to pay the ?10/?15 admission fee when i can go and watch the reserves for fook all during the week.

Zico

 

Spot on , football in England is now like football in Scotland from an interest point of view (except we have 4 teams who can win trophies , not 2)

Don't agree. The cup is taken far more seriously in Scotland, you simply dont see weakened sides being put out in the cups. Last ten years has seen four different winners, and 9 different runners up - exactly the same as England. Even the ugly sisters usually put out fairly decent sides unless they pull a 2nd/3rd division side.

Don't agree. The cup is taken far more seriously in Scotland, you simply dont see weakened sides being put out in the cups. Last ten years has seen four different winners, and 9 different runners up - exactly the same as England. Even the ugly sisters usually put out fairly decent sides unless they pull a 2nd/3rd division side.

 

Indeed

 

There have always been better sides than others but the whole point is that on any day the weaker teams can win a cup tie, it's the whole idea of a 'cup' competition

 

But they sure won't if they don't even try

Coz Hunt's missed quite a few games this season, Joey O'B has hardly played for 18 months, Andy O'B & Guthrie only came last summer, Stelios has hardly played this season ......... oh, and none of them had played with the other 5 on the pitch nor with most of the subs.

And they played like it.

Or maybe that's supposed to make them a 'team'.

Looked scratch enough to me.

 

Any chance you can tell me the 11 you would b happy with then? thanks