Hartlepool United v Torquay United - 1/3/14

[Dave_Pougher]

Deary me

Another bellend arrives to have a pop at the person who saved the club[/quote]

Why do you feel the need to insult people constantly for viewing their opinions on an open forum?[/quote]

It's cool... I readily accept that some people in all walks of life are incapable of holding a reasoned, intelligent debate and therefore resort to the lowest common denominator - insults and name calling.[/quote]

Ok, I accept that but this ROARing guy constantly does it, gets berated for it goes away for a while, then comes back and does it again he must get a sick kick from it. I've offered to meet him to explain the errors of his ways but it seems his roar is worse than his bite

[aldershotgull]

Deary me

Another bellend arrives to have a pop at the person who saved the club

Why do you feel the need to insult people constantly for viewing their opinions on an open forum?[/quote]

It's cool... I readily accept that some people in all walks of life are incapable of holding a reasoned, intelligent debate and therefore resort to the lowest common denominator - insults and name calling.[/quote]

Ok, I accept that but this ROARing guy constantly does it, gets berated for it goes away for a while, then comes back and does it again he must get a sick kick from it. I've offered to meet him to explain the errors of his ways but it seems his roar is worse than his bite[/quote]

Lol, appreciate the heads up. Lets move on, life's too short

[Gloomy Gull]

With a pathetic 30 points, needing to win the next three in order to get out of the bottom two, assuming teams above collect no points, a minus goal difference of - 20, scoring fewer goals than matches played and only 13 games to play this all leads to inevitable relegation.
So rather than watch Jeff Stelling gloating over his Hartlepool side on Gillette Soccer Saturday I went off to watch a local team, Aldershot to catch up with Conference football. Just over 1,900 turned up to watch a comedy of errors - four goals from set pieces, three from corners (two to the visitors Lincoln City) and one from a free kick. By the end Lincoln ran out winners 3-2 with Aldershot looking odds on for a second relegation to Conference South.
Mind you they had Joe Oastler at centre half who was probably at fault for two of Lincoln's goals along with Craig Stanley in mid-field who was a shadow of the player he once was.
With our current goal shy forwards and our generous porous defence we would be struggling in the Conference on this evidence.
What I can't understand is why we don't attack, attack, attack. As I've posted recently I could live with losing 3-4 but please no more pussy-footing around with square/backward passes and losing 0-1/0-2 etc.

Would that be the same Aldershot who could not find a conference player in Danny Stevens ? The same Danny Stevens our management team considered good enough for a contract (I know it's short term and he is cheap) and a starting place in a struggling L2 team???? Hmmmmmm!

[A Realist]

For all the acceptance by some that our players are just crap. Take a look at the Hartlepool side that played us yesterday and then tell me that our squad is much (if any) worse.

For all those that bemoaned the fact that we seemed to have a few shots on target but didn't score yet Hartlepool had 3 or so and scored 3 then take a look at the types of chances they were. Pretty much easy. Our meanwhile were from distance, blocked or poor finishing. You can't just look at the stats and say we were unlucky again. We didn't create anything really IMO that would constitute a clear goalscoring opportunity.

First half we looked quite assured and had lots of good possession but like so many games already this season we had no ideas of what to do with it when we had it and we eventually petered out. We have scored twice or more on only two occasions in 4 months and only once come from behind to win all season and that was at Northampton in August! Therefore we have to take the lead and hang on and that is where our points will come from. Go behind and it's a draw at best. That is why we aren't good enough to stay up.

We have no worse players than many of the teams in league 2 yet we are worst on the pitch and in the league by a country mile. No point in pointing the finger, that is the situation so we have to face the consequences.

We take on Fleetwood next who haven't won for nine games in all comps, they play Newport away on Tuesday but what's the betting they kick start their season with an easy win at our place like a lot of other teams have done? Chesterfield had not won in 7 before they came to Plainmoor and guess what? Northampton couldn't really buy a win but came to Plainmoor and guess what? Now they have won 3 and drawn 1 of their last 5. Wycombe beat us 3-2 at their place then went 9 without a win. Mansfield came to us and got a point then went 10 without a win including 8 losses. Hartlepool came to us with no wins, just 1 point and hadn't even scored a goal yet they left with a point. I could go on but you get the picture. We are like the footballing equivalent of gift aid and we are essentially a joke.

Why would anyone continue to pay money to watch an unfunny comedy show. I may as well just buy a Chubby Brown DVD and save myself loads of cash.

Sure if the players can prove that they are willing to give this a go then I'm happy to offer my support again this season. We don't care if they lose, why can't they understand this? So long as they have thrown the kitchen sink then it's all we can ask. So far this season it sadly looks as if there has been some sort of underworld betting conspiracy because the only thing we have thrown is games of football.

I'm not sure what would constitute a clear scoring chance to you if you think that mate. Benyon had a unchallenged shot from almost the penalty spot which he fired straight at the keeper who put it over the bar. He also had a chance inside the box early second half which he delayed so much that he let a defender get back and block. Showumni had a header from the 6 yard line in the centre of the goal which missed by miles and Pearce had a very similar one which he put past. At least 3 of those were gilt edged chances. The stats are telling, though they dont suggest bad luck. They let you know that if you miss sitters and defend as poorly as yesterday you will get nothing from the game.

[AustrianAndyGull]

There was one chance that I guess you can call a sitter I concede, the first half chance.

Other than that.

Like I said.

Benyon had a good chance second half but like you say he faffed around with it and never looked like scoring allowing the defender to get across and block the shot. How is that a clear goal scoring opportunity if the shot doesn't even reach the goal?

Showunmi did have a header but it wasn't a nailed on scoring opportunity either. They were chances but none which I expected any of them to put away.

[AustrianAndyGull]

We lost, played crap, couldn't keep the ball out of our net and couldn't get one in theirs so it's all academic what each of us determines a clear goalscoring opportunity. If others disagree with my view on the game then that's perfectly fine. The end was result is the same as it has always been when someone has disagreed with me. I don't make things up to suit. That is what I saw and I concede I may have missed the odd thing but even if I had seen the odd things that I missed nothing has changed.

[Graiser]

Perhaps they will pay back some of their £17 million with their promotion winnings ! Fair play no way

We have made plenty of crap decisions but have never got into that kind of state and then just carry on as if nothing has happened. They certainly have profited from having a never paid for decent pitch to play on !!

We have to pay back monies for the next few years, admittedly not all but that's the administration and FA rules

[ferrarilover]

Why do you feel the need to insult people constantly for viewing their opinions on an open forum?

I think gays should be sent to concentration camps and gassed with Zyklon B.

Oh, sorry just airing my opinion on open forum, please don't feel the need to insult me or anything...

The reason people go in off the deep end at comments like the one you've referenced is because they are stupider than anything else on Earth. To suggest Thea doesn't care because she wasn't the life and soul of the party after watching her team get hammered 3-0 and virtually consigned to watching her million pound investment turned to dust is right up there with suggesting that black people should be put to work in cotton fields and that Jews should be gassed in the shower. It's so stupid that derision and insult by return is the only thing it deserves. Suggesting that We should have played Showunmi in the midfield and given Stockley 90 minutes at the expense of Danny Stevens is an opinion. It's reasonable, it's clear to see where the logic lies and it's not a thing based in tangible fact. It's a perfect opinion and one which would begin a respectful exchange of view and counter view (until Tezza turned up). Suggesting that Thea doesn't care about her late husband's legacy (especially for the flimsy reason stated) is crass, disrespectful, ridiculous, idiotic, unfair and plainly, plainly incorrect. Thus, it is dispatched with the scorn and derision it deserved.

Thea was likely extremely upset that her team had just lost a football match. She was also likely upset that she had a 380 mile trip home. She was extremely tired, having returned from a trip to London at 0300 on Thursday, she spent the day at the club (as well as tending to her other interests). She then took on a maternal role and spent the evening (until gone 2300) at the Live At Plainmoor quiz, where she chaperoned a young relative or two. She then went home, got up extremely early and travelled 380 miles to Hartlepool where, against all her instincts, she mingled with strangers, exchanged chit chat about football, finance and other subjects which do not come easily to a hugely private lady who, until a stroke of fortune, had absolutely nothing to do with such a world. She was then accosted by a group of young men, strangers to her, and you're upset because she didn't feel like chatting about the weather? She's a sixty year old woman for Christ's sake.

Doesn't **** sound like she cares much, does it?

Matt.

[aldershotgull]

Typical Matt through and through. Whether on here or on Twitter, if someone disagrees with you, they are immediately wrong and must be insulted.

At the end of the day, my opinion is based on what I saw. Opinions are based on the perception someone has of a situation or circumstance and therefore that makes them no more right or wrong than anyone elses. Everyone has the right to form their own opinion. When you see someone smile and say lets go home loud enough for those around her to hear then an opinion was formed by people that she doesn't care about what just happened. Coupled with the fact that everyone else came out and apologised whilst she did not even try to make conversation meant the feeling was further compounded. You say I am disrespectful but then Thea could not even acknowledge the fans that put money into her investment. I do not care if Thea is shy or not, she is the owner of OUR club and it would not have hurt her to spend 1 minute thanking the fans who had stayed behind for making the trip. Everyone else had the guts to do it regardless of the response they may or may not have received.

What is unacceptable in all this Matt is your treatment of fellow fans. Your attitude is crass and frankly, appalling. No comment deserves derision and insult as the only response. This is a typical response from someone who is a bully. You think it is OK to put others down because they dared to think differently to you or speak their minds - how dare I. Instead of being rude, why not try a fair and reasoned response which may just endear you to the OP and the forum and may garner a better response out of people. Forums such as this one exists for all fans to talk and express their opinions and as such, no-one should have to put up with the language and ferocity of certain comments that appeared last night.

[hector]

It is not really worth trying to enlighten you Mr Hector, as you refuse to be 'enlightened'.

So the last 5 games (used by many in the betting industry and forecasters) is now cherry picking.

I suppose at least we are both mature enough not to throw insults at each other. Well maybe other than you saying I am barking, but perhaps it was a wind up and not really meant.

Mr Wilder (a very experienced football man with more knowledge of the game than you can ever hope to have) chose Mr Knill to assist him in a very difficult task. All of the evidence so far points to them succeeding in that task.

I can only return to my comment in a previous post and the ancient Devon proverb. There are none so blind as those that will not see.

Matron .... Hector's been drinking his shaving water again!

So you choose 5 games - which, in any case, hardly illustrate any support for your argument that Knill is any use - to overlook the entire appalling record he had at this club. Would you judge a film by the last 5 minutes of it you happened to watch? No, you would judge it on its entirety. You keep throwing up this 'ancient proverb' but that is the irony...you see what you want to see, based on a tiny fraction of Knill's entire, sorry record here.

I have asked you once, so I will ask you again - please explain how a win percentage of less than 19% is any good? Please explain which of Knill's signings worked out? Just explain, what he actually did for TUFC that makes his departure (from your point of view) regrettable?

It is interesting that you offer his role as an assistant manager, as evidence of his success. Is none of it down to Chris Wilder? You know, that manager who had success at Halifax and Oxford before he took on Northampton. Afterall, as manager, it would be him making the decisions, not Alan Knill. You only have to look at Rotherham, Scunthorpe and Torquay to see what happens when it is Alan Knill making the decisions.

It appears that you have backed yourself into a corner in your, frankly, bizarre defence of our worst manager of recent times, that you have to make up 'facts' to prove it.

[ferrarilover]

There is no fair or reasoned response to someone who makes a judgement that the owner of a football club doesn't care about it or its supporters because of a single, two second encounter where she wasn't banging out show tunes and dancing in the aisles.

I shout at morons (you, for the avoidance of doubt) when it is appropriate because it is not worth my time to form a cogent repost. My attitude is a reflection of that which is presented to me. Make a sensible point based on something more solid than an elderly person not being the life and soul of the party after losing a million quid in an hour and a half and you'll find me surprisingly accommodating in my replies. Make **** stupid snap decisions about people based on next to nothing and prepare for scorn. You'll notice that I've not responded similarly to anything else you've written. I wonder why that is...

Matt.

[aldershotgull]

So you choose 5 games - which, in any case, hardly illustrate any support for your argument that Knill is any use - to overlook the entire appalling record he had at this club. Would you judge a film by the last 5 minutes of it you happened to watch? No, you would judge it on its entirety. You keep throwing up this 'ancient proverb' but that is the irony...you see what you want to see, based on a tiny fraction of Knill's entire, sorry record here.

I have asked you once, so I will ask you again - please explain how a win percentage of less than 19% is any good? Please explain which of Knill's signings worked out? Just explain, what he actually did for TUFC that makes his departure (from your point of view) regrettable?

It is interesting that you offer his role as an assistant manager, as evidence of his success. Is none of it down to Chris Wilder? You know, that manager who had success at Halifax and Oxford before he took on Northampton. Afterall, as manager, it would be him making the decisions, not Alan Knill. You only have to look at Rotherham, scunthorpe and Torquay to see what happens when it is Alan Knill making the decisions.

It appears that you have backed yourself into a corner in your, frankly, bizarre defence of our worst manager of recent times, that you have to make up 'facts' to prove it.

[aldershotgull]

There is no fair or reasoned response to someone who makes a judgement that the owner of a football club doesn't care about it or its supporters because of a single, two second encounter where she wasn't banging out show tunes and dancing in the aisles.

I shout at morons (you, for the avoidance of doubt) when it is appropriate because it is not worth my time to form a cogent repost. My attitude is a reflection of that which is presented to me. Make a sensible point based on something more solid than an elderly person not being the life and soul of the party after losing a million quid in an hour and a half and you'll find me surprisingly accommodating in my replies. Make f**king stupid snap decisions about people based on next to nothing and prepare for scorn. You'll notice that I've not responded similarly to anything else you've written. I wonder why that is...

Matt.

So by your own admission you shout at people when it is not worth your time to form a cogent repost? The question then must be asked - why bother responding at all? Why waste your time at all, Matt? By shouting at people you do not help matters, you cause more issues.

[ferrarilover]

No I don't, I get across my point without having to type all that shit about Thea's busy schedule. Generally, you idiots have the good sense to see that other people (me) know much more than you about things, so you pipe down once you're told off. You're clearly one of the supercharged, limited edition retards who still won't accept what they're being told even third or forth time round. Still... Thea cares. She wasn't quiet and reserved because she doesn't care. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The reasons behind her apparently lack of interest in waxing lyrical with you (whoever the **** you might be) after the game have been clearly explained to you. If you're still arguing, you either read them and ignored them, or you didn't read them. If it's the super special third way, that you didn't understand them as I had written them, then please say so now, so that I can mock you for being a simpleton and then attempt to explain in very short sentences, that which I have already made perfectly clear to anyone over the age of six years.

Matt.

[aldershotgull]

Oh i read and understood i just decided that someone such as yourself should not be allowed to get away with your bullying. You are a criminal lawyer. You should know better. Oh and by the way, i'm 30 not 3 and so you don't get to "tell me off" ok? If you dont like what I put the deal with it. I stand by it, i will not retract it and nothing you say will change that. I suggest you go your way, i will go mine and thats the end of it.