I thought speculation is guessing based on little to no evidence.
So "he's going to be awesome", or "he's going to be shark" are speculating about the transfer we just made, a.k.a. transfer speculation.
I thought speculation is guessing based on little to no evidence.
So "he's going to be awesome", or "he's going to be shark" are speculating about the transfer we just made, a.k.a. transfer speculation.
transfer speculum
Some of our support, in a nutshell:
"Oh God. We need a striker. Why the hell won't we sign a striker. Why?"
We sign a striker as an injury replacement, on a short term loan
"Never heard of him. He must be useless. He didn't play for Barcelona and score 170 goals in the Champions League. Rubbish signing"
Such a load of crap, Jag. No one is saying that.
It's perfectly reasonable to be skeptical of a U21 player from Birmingham coming here on loan.
Seems like a few here are making up stories in their head. Perhaps the Facebook comments reflect these realities; but they're all a bunch of crazies anyway.
a.haak
we're all fallen people in a fallen world
"At the end of the drive the lawmen arrive...
I'll take my chance because luck is on my side or something...
Her name is Rio, she don't need to understand...
Oh Rio, Rio, hear them shout across the land..."
Some of our support, in a nutshell:
"Oh God. We need a striker. Why the hell won't we sign a striker. Why?"
We sign a striker as an injury replacement, on a short term loan
"Never heard of him. He must be useless. He didn't play for Barcelona and score 170 goals in the Champions League. Rubbish signing"
Grumpy old bastard alert
"Mental strength is as important as any quality a footballer needs, I think that's probably the biggest part in sport ... every single second you are assigned to a club counts. It all matters no matter how small you think something might be. In the whole scheme of things it all matters. Every single training session, every second on the pitch, every conversation with a coach, it all comes down to something in the end."
Alex Jones talking to the Birminham Mail, 24 May 2015
"At the end of the drive the lawmen arrive...
I'll take my chance because luck is on my side or something...
Her name is Rio, she don't need to understand...
Oh Rio, Rio, hear them shout across the land..."
Some of our support, in a nutshell:
"Oh God. We need a striker. Why the hell won't we sign a striker. Why?"
We sign a striker as an injury replacement, on a short term loan
"Never heard of him. He must be useless. He didn't play for Barcelona and score 170 goals in the Champions League. Rubbish signing"
I'm looking through the thread trying to find you being "attacked" but am struggling, can you please enlighten?
I can see where you are criticizing people for having opinions on a person changing based on that persons actions, what seems like a weird viewpoint to me as that's fairly normal. Unless you think when you have an opinion of someone int he team, no matter what they do you must hold that same original opinion.
And I can see you insulting people, calling them plastic fans etc. but not quoting offending posts to make your point. But I'm not seeing the attacking on you.
Can you please advise where you are being attacked after your post where you insult people?
Signing of free transfers.
Injury replacements.
Guest stints.
Aren't these all applicable after the window closes?
Some of our support, in a nutshell:
"Oh God. We need a striker. Why the hell won't we sign a striker. Why?"
We sign a striker as an injury replacement, on a short term loan
"Never heard of him. He must be useless. He didn't play for Barcelona and score 170 goals in the Champions League. Rubbish signing"
I'm looking through the thread trying to find you being "attacked" but am struggling, can you please enlighten?
I can see where you are criticizing people for having opinions on a person changing based on that persons actions, what seems like a weird viewpoint to me as that's fairly normal. Unless you think when you have an opinion of someone int he team, no matter what they do you must hold that same original opinion.
And I can see you insulting people, calling them plastic fans etc. but not quoting offending posts to make your point. But I'm not seeing the attacking on you.
Can you please advise where you are being attacked after your post where you insult people?
it's funny cos if Alex turns out to be good, all we'll hear is how stupid people are for doubting the club....it's how you win forum battles - don't have an opinion until after something happens, then claim you knew it all along. Yet a person changing their mind when applicable seems more intelligent than not.
"Mental strength is as important as any quality a footballer needs, I think that's probably the biggest part in sport ... every single second you are assigned to a club counts. It all matters no matter how small you think something might be. In the whole scheme of things it all matters. Every single training session, every second on the pitch, every conversation with a coach, it all comes down to something in the end."
Alex Jones talking to the Birminham Mail, 24 May 2015
Sounds good, very focused. Hope he can keep that focus. With 21 you get more mature and you can say those things. I respect everyone at that age who play pro football and makes the move away from friends an family. Nobody knows if he can delivers something good for us. All we can do is make him feel welcome and hope he have a good time off and on the pitch and get some goals as a result.
"Mental strength is as important as any quality a footballer needs, I think that's probably the biggest part in sport ... every single second you are assigned to a club counts. It all matters no matter how small you think something might be. In the whole scheme of things it all matters. Every single training session, every second on the pitch, every conversation with a coach, it all comes down to something in the end."
Alex Jones talking to the Birminham Mail, 24 May 2015
Sounds good, very focused. Hope he can keep that focus. With 21 you get more mature and you can say those things. I respect everyone at that age who play pro football and makes the move away from friends an family. Nobody knows if he can delivers something good for us. All we can do is make him feel welcome and hope he have a good time off and on the pitch and get some goals as a result.
Hell yea, and even if he doesn't stand out in the club, if he leaves praising the club and just saying it didn't fit his style that's got to help us in the future with signings.
"Mental strength is as important as any quality a footballer needs, I think that's probably the biggest part in sport ... every single second you are assigned to a club counts. It all matters no matter how small you think something might be. In the whole scheme of things it all matters. Every single training session, every second on the pitch, every conversation with a coach, it all comes down to something in the end."
Alex Jones talking to the Birminham Mail, 24 May 2015
What a well-spoken young man.
Yawn. Bit touchy there, chaps? Have a cup of tea and relax.
I said "some of our support', but if the cap fits. I think the kind of thing I'm talking about is quite obvious in the quoted posts at the top of this page. Right, you can go back to being defensive now.
Oh, and speculation isn't complaining about signings we've made. It's discussing signings we might make. Just saying.
The problem in this thread is that many posters are making specific posts criticisng specific actions which the club has taken. I have not seen one specific post criticising the signing of Alex Jones, yet you acted as though that was the crux of the discussion. If you have seen specific posts doing so then you should quote them. The problem is that rather than respond to the specific criticisms being made, all the criticisms have just been conflated together. People like Jeff and yourself have said that members are displaying opinions which if you actually read the specific posts you would find that those opinions are not actually held. Basically, it is difficult to have a discussion when the other side has no genuine interest in actually discussing the points you made.
Chopah over the last few pages did an excellent job of responding to el grapadrua. The two had a nuanced conversation where they both made a genuine attempt to understand where the other was coming from.
As to your point about some of the posts near the top of this page, I do not understand. It seemed you had pressed the this button to those posts.
"Mental strength is as important as any quality a footballer needs, I think that's probably the biggest part in sport ... every single second you are assigned to a club counts. It all matters no matter how small you think something might be. In the whole scheme of things it all matters. Every single training session, every second on the pitch, every conversation with a coach, it all comes down to something in the end."
Alex Jones talking to the Birminham Mail, 24 May 2015
What a well-spoken young man.
Yeah I was surprised when he referred to Ernie as Mr Merrick in his interview rather than the coach or the gaffer.
Yawn. Bit touchy there, chaps? Have a cup of tea and relax.
I said "some of our support', but if the cap fits. I think the kind of thing I'm talking about is quite obvious in the quoted posts at the top of this page. Right, you can go back to being defensive now.
Oh, and speculation isn't complaining about signings we've made. It's discussing signings we might make. Just saying.
The problem in this thread is that many posters are making specific posts criticisng specific actions which the club has taken. I have not seen one specific post criticising the signing of Alex Jones, yet you acted as though that was the crux of the discussion. If you have seen specific posts doing so then you should quote them. The problem is that rather than respond to the specific criticisms being made, all the criticisms have just been conflated together. People like Jeff and yourself have said that members are displaying opinions which if you actually read the specific posts you would find that those opinions are not actually held. Basically, it is difficult to have a discussion when the other side has no genuine interest in actually discussing the points you made.
Chopah over the last few pages did an excellent job of responding to el grapadrua. The two had a nuanced conversation where they both made a genuine attempt to understand where the other was coming from.
As to your point about some of the posts near the top of this page, I do not understand. It seemed you had pressed the this button to those posts.
I "liked" a response to the two fairly negative posts which I referred to. Maybe it's just me who sees a post which starts "Hate to say this but if he was actually any good....." as a negative. My apologies. Anyway, you lads carry on.
Apparently I'm apathetic, but I couldn't care less.
"Being a Partick Thistle fan sets you apart. It means youre a free thinker. It also means your team has no money." Tim Luckhurst, The Independent, 4th December 2003
There's a lot of angst floating around here at the moment, but honestly, if there ever was a time to justify a little angst it would be when your club is a/ unwanted by the league it's in b/ has no license beyond the end of the season c/ playing like shark d/ headed towards the bottom of the table e/ riddled by injuries and suspensions.
Jones looks a handy signing, but not enough to outweigh the points above. If people are angsty, I get it, and in fact get a weird sense of comfort out of the fact that other people are just as upset about it.
tl;dr At other times the levels of angst in here have been unwarranted, at the moment I think they're totally justified.
Yawn. Bit touchy there, chaps? Have a cup of tea and relax.
I said "some of our support', but if the cap fits. I think the kind of thing I'm talking about is quite obvious in the quoted posts at the top of this page. Right, you can go back to being defensive now.
Oh, and speculation isn't complaining about signings we've made. It's discussing signings we might make. Just saying.
The problem in this thread is that many posters are making specific posts criticisng specific actions which the club has taken. I have not seen one specific post criticising the signing of Alex Jones, yet you acted as though that was the crux of the discussion. If you have seen specific posts doing so then you should quote them. The problem is that rather than respond to the specific criticisms being made, all the criticisms have just been conflated together. People like Jeff and yourself have said that members are displaying opinions which if you actually read the specific posts you would find that those opinions are not actually held. Basically, it is difficult to have a discussion when the other side has no genuine interest in actually discussing the points you made.
Chopah over the last few pages did an excellent job of responding to el grapadrua. The two had a nuanced conversation where they both made a genuine attempt to understand where the other was coming from.
As to your point about some of the posts near the top of this page, I do not understand. It seemed you had pressed the this button to those posts.
I "liked" a response to the two fairly negative posts which I referred to. Maybe it's just me who sees a post which starts "Hate to say this but if he was actually any good....." as a negative. My apologies. Anyway, you lads carry on.
Sorry, that post was on the previous page, my mistake. Well, Marto has made a direct claim there. Why don't you just say why you disagree with Marto's claim? I'm sure Marto would reply to any criticisms of negativity by saying that he is just calling it as he sees it. I hope that on this forum a posters opinion isn't just always dismissed as negative. A poster can genuinely think a football player is not good enough for the required level, without being negative. I remember when I suggested the Phoenix sign Chris Killen and Rory Fallon, that was a very negative time for the forum!
Yeah I was surprised when he referred to Ernie as Mr Merrick in his interview rather than the coach or the gaffer.
Or "manky Scots git".
everyone needs to take a fudgeing chill pill.
Talk about Alex can go in his thread. Talk about chants can go in the chant thread. Talk about players to keep can go in the contracting thread.
Any additional speculation about other players can stay here.
Keep on topic or i'll start hitting delete.
Back at Leverkusen with loan to Stuttgart terminated. Links with Ernie and 'Nix supposedly tried to sign him when he was still at Roar. Not going to supplant any of the first team regulars at Leverkusen. Loan until the end of the season #metrics and such a fan favourite of many here
Think News would explode.
Was it Ricki who tried to get him? He was over for a trial and look IIRC
Think News would explode.
Was it Ricki who tried to get him? He was over for a trial and look IIRC
Yeah, 2009:
In Ernie's defence, in a league with squad rules as tight as they are how could he have anticipated Sigmund not playing as much as he has, with only 23 players you can't really afford to have 4 centre backs. Fox was the like for like replacement for boxall. If Siggie hadn't been out as much as he has then the back four would have been much more stable. I think in the back of Ernie's mind there would have been the thought to replace Siggy after this season but I think he gambled on him being good for one more year.
Upfront well just got the wrong guy, it happens at bigger clubs than us, recruitment isn't an exact science. Even Alex Ferguson had some duds, remember Bebe?
For me he has managed to get more out of the existing players in general, has brought through some youth and needs the licence thing sorted so he can go to the market and have a look for a new CB, ST and potentially another fullback.
Having said that, going into the season with 2 aging centre backs in their mid-30s, and a young kid back-up, was risky. To suggest that it was unforeseeable that one of them could go down (or even simply underperform) is cutting the cloth too fine.
Having said that, he can't really be criticised for the Sarpong signing - it was really an unfortunate situation where a lot of little things combined together to make it a fizzer. But it was a worth a try - just didn't work out. Not the first time nor the last that something like that will happen to a football club.
Pretty much all of the fan pre-season predictions have come true. Sarpong not a goal scorer, very light defensively given the age of our back 4, full back a real weakness, inexperienced cover generally. It happens but it's not like it has come out of the blue so fair to ask questions about who made those decisions. Pretty clear we've rung all we can out of this group of players.
Biggest disappointment from me is lack of impact from the young players given the opportunities and the investment in the academy. Still young of course but hoped someone who step up and look like they could be a first team player sooner rather than later.
Jones is clearly a gamble, relatively risk free to the end of the season to take a look at him but I still would prefer us to be looking at guys with more experience for our overseas slots. Suspect he will be another A-Rod - decent technically but lacking that toughness to drag us through games on his own
Normo's coming home
Any idea how big/small he is?
Ernie in an interview says he's 6 foot and good at hanging off the shoulders of centre-backs.
Interview with the lad when he signed for Birmingham:
Jones' hat trick for Birmingham City u-21's vs. Oxford Utd u-21's a few weeks ago:
Big Pete 65, Christchurch
What's the problem, everyone is entitled to there opinion, and it's just a discussion
Seriously hope the new lad does well - but how has Ben Harris not be given an opportunity? 8 from 8 at ASB - looks the real deal and has a bit of X-Factor about him..?
Apparently Harris only trains once a week because his body is shot. Not really what you're looking for in an A-league player.
I can't wait until midnight so I can lock this thread.
The windows closed. You can lock this thread now. Please
Angrier but more cuddly than a Honey Badger
I can't wait until midnight so I can lock this thread.
The windows closed. You can lock this thread now. Please
why not just not read it?
What a pathetic brainless discussion the majority of the last 3-4 pages has been.
Also, what did people expect?
I cant speak for everyone but I was expecting Suarez or Messi.
People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can't trust people.
Not just Hard News that would explode if we signed Kruse.
Seriously hope the new lad does well - but how has Ben Harris not be given an opportunity? 8 from 8 at ASB - looks the real deal and has a bit of X-Factor about him..?
Lea'alafa has gone off the boil from what I have seen of his latter games after such a bright start so has come back to the pack. I think the only one worthy of a look is de Vries possibly and see how he would go but he would be training pitch fodder I suspect and with Rogerson a project and Stephens destined for a contract, would we sign more fodder? Probably not.
I don't think there is anything in the ASBP that is worth signing that would improve the team. Plenty of guys you would give a go but would probably be not much more than training pitch fodder. If we are to lift standards, I would not think this is the avenue to go down although I respect we do have to fill a team and sign some Kiwis. Its just which ones are the ones to sign that improve the team.
Grumpy old bastard alert
This topic is locked.
