to the people that question saunders

[Akinfenwa]

I said a lot. I don't mind people doing it occasionally. It's a fact that anyone that uses that phrase excessively is not the sharpest tool in the box.

I know. SO'D used to say 'you know' more often than I've noticed Saunders say it. And SO'D was an intelligent bloke.

[dickos1]

Did you ever listen to O'Driscoll's interviews?

I said a lot. I don't mind people doing it occasionally. It's a fact that anyone that uses that phrase excessively is not the sharpest tool in the box.

Another one of madmicks wonderful \"facts\"

[sedwardsdrfc]

must say DS does say \"i never\" sometimes when it dont quite fit. but SOD's interviews we always awful. i mean impossibaly dull, no wonder we played with little passion or heart how many times did we come out at half time looking like we've just woken up, after a good first half

[Lesonthewest]

Flawed football fan/forum logic...

We were losing every week under SOD - it wasn't SOD's fault.
We're losing under Saunders - it's Saunders' fault.

Losing every week under SOD - Lot's of injuries, lot's of bad luck
Losing every week under Saunders - Still too early to say

And a style that wasn't getting us anywhere, yet he was unwilling to change. Same problems every game, not as good a football as people made out, and poor negative substitutions. Too loyal to shite/crocked players. Failure to resolve problems that stuck out like a sore thumb (GK, defence.) There was a lot more going wrong under SOD that was within his control than people are willing to admit IMO.

In my personal opinion he wasn't backed enough during the summer, we needed to push on & back him, sadly it never happened, the board did their best obviously but I personally feel Sean got fed up with making a silk purse out of a sows ear, however much the wage bill, Sharp excluded of course. Maybe we need to look further than the previous managers tenure. Yes he made mistakes & signed some shite, but he also made ordinary players help us survive in the Championship until now. For that, I will be forever grateful. Hopefully, & deservedly O'Driscoll will get a job his obvious talents deserve.

[Chris Black come back]

Stitch in time and all that.

IF we had splashed out and signed Jason Shackell.
IF we had splashed out and signed Joe Murphy.
IF we had splashed out and signed David Healy.
IF we had splashed out and signed Neil Kilkenny.

[Chris Black come back]

That wouldn't have been a half bad team.


Murphy

Jimmy-Friend-Shackell-Spurr

Copps-Stock-Oster-Kilkenny

Sharp-Healy

[Chris Black come back]

Subs: Sully, Hird, Bennett, Mason, Hayter

[WhiteyBFC]

In response to 'benaldo' really..
.
Are you being serious with your sour grapes comment?
After witnessing the derby game just gone, and the diametrically opposed squads, tactics and managers, you earnestly believe that my summary of Beye and Goulon etc as \"not top players\" is sour grapes?
Wow.
You then referenced Diouf and Sharp which I didnt. I firmly believe/accept that those two lads and your keeper, are indeed top players at this level. But I was quoting Saunders' belief that the proper top players dont make mistakes every week. Proper top players IMO are rarely found in the 2nd tier. There may be a few yes. Or potential top players. The likes of Lallana, Nolan, Robson, Clyne, Mackail-Smith and our Jacob for instance.
I am sorry, but Habib Beye is not a top player anymore, if he was at all is questionable. He played with Nasri and Ribery in a decent Marseille side. UEFA Cup blah blah.
I get sick of reading you all trying to justify their ability on their wikipedia stats etc.
Its like going back 10 years and reading Claret supporters claiming that Gazza is a top player at the end of his career because he played at a world cup, POTY, and went to Lazio, won titles and awards at Rangers and so on.. You are kidding yourselves. Not all of you though. Some of you clearly get it, and unfortunately you are deemed a negative nelly.
So benny boy, I will deny your accusation of grapes that are sour.
I think Diouf (apart from being an arse) is a great signing. Ikeme also. And I reckon Goulon has sumat to prove, and isnt a veteran like the rest. And yes you have Billy.
I would have him up top at Oakwell playing with Davies and Haynes. Yes please.
Id like to say Id have Ikeme but Steele is better, and Carl is too good to be a number two. That is a signing I understood. Great loan move for you and the lad.
Id also take Diouf. I see him as being a much better fit in our system tbh. He was gash against us. But not for lack of trying. Our manager - Bolton boy Keith - spoke in glowing terms of El-Hadji before the derby game. He saw him loads of times at Bolton.
I see him as very similar though to Ricardo Vaz Te. Maybe not a few year ago, Diouf has been world-standard. But Vaz Te outshone him the other week, and did for Leeds last week.
But when he arrived he was a lazy, frustrating showboater. But Keefy has worked wonders with him. He looks the player he was when he burst on the scene at Bolton with . . . . Diouf. And who was his mate at the Reebok? Diouf..
I think its irrelevant anyway. Diouf will be out for 6 or 7 games and maybe it will be too late by the time he returns.
So dont get me twisted, I rate half of these shop windows. But Diatta, Goulon, Chimbonda, Ilunga and Fortune wouldnt get in our best XI. Sorry.
Diouf would wide left maybe, and Sharp up top.
Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves - any day of the week. We had your strategy last year (scaled down version) so I am able to judge.
Good luck setdi!

[dickos1]

Of the players you seem to know aren't good enough, remind me how many you have seen play at this level? To my knowledge only diouf and llunga played against you so go only knows how you can pass comment on goulon, fortune, beye, diatta, chimbonda. When you've never seen them play at this level. They may not be good enough for premier league but I very much doubt any of your players would walk into a premier league side either!!

[madmick50]

Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves - any day of the week.

The more I read your wise words the more I think maybe it is time to commit sacrilege and switch my allegiance to Barnsley until we become a proper football club again!

[silent majority]

Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves - any day of the week.

The more I read your wise words the more I think maybe it is time to commit sacrilege and switch my allegiance to Barnsley until we become a proper football club again!

Please do, and spare us all this monotonous grief.

[benaldo]

In response to 'benaldo' really..
.
Are you being serious with your sour grapes comment?
After witnessing the derby game just gone, and the diametrically opposed squads, tactics and managers, you earnestly believe that my summary of Beye and Goulon etc as \"not top players\" is sour grapes?
Wow.
You then referenced Diouf and Sharp which I didnt. I firmly believe/accept that those two lads and your keeper, are indeed top players at this level. But I was quoting Saunders' belief that the proper top players dont make mistakes every week. Proper top players IMO are rarely found in the 2nd tier. There may be a few yes. Or potential top players. The likes of Lallana, Nolan, Robson, Clyne, Mackail-Smith and our Jacob for instance.
I am sorry, but Habib Beye is not a top player anymore, if he was at all is questionable. He played with Nasri and Ribery in a decent Marseille side. UEFA Cup blah blah.
I get sick of reading you all trying to justify their ability on their wikipedia stats etc.
Its like going back 10 years and reading Claret supporters claiming that Gazza is a top player at the end of his career because he played at a world cup, POTY, and went to Lazio, won titles and awards at Rangers and so on.. You are kidding yourselves. Not all of you though. Some of you clearly get it, and unfortunately you are deemed a negative nelly.
So benny boy, I will deny your accusation of grapes that are sour.
I think Diouf (apart from being an arse) is a great signing. Ikeme also. And I reckon Goulon has sumat to prove, and isnt a veteran like the rest. And yes you have Billy.
I would have him up top at Oakwell playing with Davies and Haynes. Yes please.
Id like to say Id have Ikeme but Steele is better, and Carl is too good to be a number two. That is a signing I understood. Great loan move for you and the lad.
Id also take Diouf. I see him as being a much better fit in our system tbh. He was gash against us. But not for lack of trying. Our manager - Bolton boy Keith - spoke in glowing terms of El-Hadji before the derby game. He saw him loads of times at Bolton.
I see him as very similar though to Ricardo Vaz Te. Maybe not a few year ago, Diouf has been world-standard. But Vaz Te outshone him the other week, and did for Leeds last week.
But when he arrived he was a lazy, frustrating showboater. But Keefy has worked wonders with him. He looks the player he was when he burst on the scene at Bolton with . . . . Diouf. And who was his mate at the Reebok? Diouf..
I think its irrelevant anyway. Diouf will be out for 6 or 7 games and maybe it will be too late by the time he returns.
So dont get me twisted, I rate half of these shop windows. But Diatta, Goulon, Chimbonda, Ilunga and Fortune wouldnt get in our best XI. Sorry.
Diouf would wide left maybe, and Sharp up top.
Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves - any day of the week. We had your strategy last year (scaled down version) so I am able to judge.
Good luck setdi!

So, let me get this right, first you say that Rovers don't have any \"Top players\", then all of a sudden DIouf, Ikeme, Goulon and Sharp are all top players at this standard?

I just don't get it..... BUt I think you are missing an even more important point (And not a wikipedia search in sight), Rovers DON'T have any other choice. We have less money now than we've probably ever had - JR shut the bar at the start of the season - and these \"Stars\" are all we've got. Personally I don't think Diouf or Sharp or Ikeme or even Fortune are the worst players known to man, in fact I wouldn't mind betting Tarn would love any/all of them? Beye had an absolutely amazing game on saturday, probably the best defensive display at the KM in many a year, then gave a penalty away on tuesday that was so soft you could sleep on it on a moving pit truck! Just as one good game doesn't make a great player, neither does one bad game as you know. OK, so Beye isn't young, or winning the world cup, but he's much better than anything we've currently got that's for sure!

I think you are confusing the fact that Rovers have had such a poor set of poorly performing players for over a year now that if a 46 year old dead cow turned up with a wikipedia record of 4 world cup meadals Rovers would put it in the starting 11. Forgive us for getting excited about what are factually really good players in Diouf, Goulon, Ikeme, Fortune, it's nothing less than we deserve considering. And I still stand by my accusation of \"sour grapes\", but perhaps jealousy is a better word. Tarn would have nearly half of our starting 11 like a shot. So we can't get them to fire yet, but when they do, the performance you saw at oakwell will be a thing of the past...by a long, long, way.

[vaya]

Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves - any day of the week.

The more I read your wise words the more I think maybe it is time to commit sacrilege and switch my allegiance to Barnsley until we become a proper football club again!

Please do, and spare us all this monotonous grief.

Two secs and I'll get the timetable for the X19.

[vaya]

Give me my team-spirit nobodies playing for the shirt - not themselves

Nice in principle, but I doubt very much they're playing for the shirt - try stopping paying them and see what happens.

In fact, try paying them £2k a week and see if they stick around. It's be interesting to see who'd have the better team spirit then.

[madmick50]

In fact, try paying them £2k a week and see if they stick around. It's be interesting to see who'd have the better team spirit then.

I think you'll find that the clubs we are getting these players from are making their wages up to considerably more than £2k. I wish you would be more like me and only deal in facts and stop trying to twist things to suit your arguments.

[dickos1]

I'm still awaiting your first fact Mick. What's it matter what another club is paying them anyway? By the way do you think Barnsley are paying Nile rangers full allowance?

[Filo]

By the way do you think Barnsley are paying Nile rangers full allowance?

I think that question can be levelled at our resident stalker from Barnsley, who was quick to tell us how morally wrong it was for us to pay a fraction of Illunga`s wages

[vaya]

In fact, try paying them £2k a week and see if they stick around. It's be interesting to see who'd have the better team spirit then.

I think you'll find that the clubs we are getting these players from are making their wages up to considerably more than £2k. I wish you would be more like me and only deal in facts and stop trying to twist things to suit your arguments.

Truely the master of mirth. It's only a matter of time before you accuse JR of being a lizard man, as you've never seen both him and an iguana in the same room at the same time.

I understood that we're paying those on short-term contracts (not the loanees) a maximum of £2k a week.

[madmick50]

I'm still awaiting your first fact Mick. What's it matter what another club is paying them anyway

I think you'll find many facts peppered throughout my posts! You just need to look a bit harder. I don't mind what other clubs are paying. It was Vaya trying to make out that the new players are only getting £2k.

[benaldo]

[attachment=912]icke_bollox.jpg[/attachment]

It was Vaya and the \"lizard men\" reference that made me think of this.

[dickos1]

Give me a list of facts then that back up your arguments, because there isn't a chance I'm going through the drivel! But I don't think you can produce anything that's factual to back up what ur saying!

[madmick50]

Give me a list of facts then that back up your arguments

I would do, but I've decided to try to cut down on the repetitive nature of my posts.

I would do, but I've decided to try to cut down on the repetitive nature of my posts.

I would do, but I've decided to try to cut down on the repetitive nature of my posts.

etc etc

[vaya]

I'm still awaiting your first fact Mick. What's it matter what another club is paying them anyway

I think you'll find many facts peppered throughout my posts! You just need to look a bit harder. I don't mind what other clubs are paying. It was Vaya trying to make out that the new players are only getting £2k.

There's no denying your posts are peppered with facts (often ad infinitum) hardly any of them tend to be accurate though.

By all means if you have concerns about what's going on, express them. That's the point of a forum Just don't bore everyone to tears doing it, and don't make things up.