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Post by yes-mate on Jul 2, 2008 20:07:55 GMT
parkin is the pacey 1 among them
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Post by LL Cool Dave on Jul 2, 2008 21:18:44 GMT
Good idea in my opinion, especially for the first year, it will give us time to adjust to the faster pace of the premiership and higher fitness levels.
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Post by Parksy on Jul 2, 2008 21:41:31 GMT
Well if these common-taters would like to whinge about it then they should remember how they used to eulogize over the quirks of certain pitches. For example, Barnet's ground always had the slope (6ft? difference from one end to the other), Loftus Road had hardly any room for nets behind the goal let alone space to take a corner, Stamford Bridge had several acres between the end terraces and the goal.
Also, in Cricket the groundsman always prepares the pitch in favour of the home side and this is acceptable practice. So what is the difference?
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Post by bigbren on Jul 2, 2008 21:52:29 GMT
Am I the only one feeling slightly depressed by this news??
A season of 'the New Wimbledon' taunts awaits us!!
We have been and will be much more than that but it won't matter to every single pundit and lazy journo.
I want to survive this year, but survival at any cost?? What next....make 'em get changed on the car park, fire alarms during the night at the hotel, a nice 'welcome to Hell' sign a la Galatasary??
Why couldn't we just win by being better than the opposition? We don't have to beat everybody to stay up, and we should be aspiring to being better than Bolton, Hull, WBA, Fulham, Wigan etc anyway.
bb
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thegolddisc
Academy Starlet
Awarded to our heroes
Posts: 132
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Post by thegolddisc on Jul 3, 2008 0:50:00 GMT
A season of 'the New Wimbledon' taunts awaits us!! If you remember A very successful and well respected manager aimed that at us just before he got sacked oh yes it was Bryan Robson... Who cares what the pundits, Journo's and other suppporters think about us... They have written us off already and hate us So F*** every single one of them as long as we do what we have to do... I Don't give a flying F*** if the pope complains Let s do it let's stay there and then move on  |
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Post by bossthemidfield on Jul 3, 2008 8:50:07 GMT
^^^^^well said that man^^^^^
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Post by banburypotter on Jul 3, 2008 8:56:14 GMT
well said thegolddisc,
we need to concentrate on supporting our lads home and away and the results will come.
this should be a good season as a fan as there are no massive expectations other than to be in the prem next may.
lets enjoy the ride lads and just ignore all the doom mongers who think they know best.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2008 9:22:22 GMT
My initial reaction to this was 'Shit, another reason to have a dig at Stoke then next season!' But now I just think 'so what?!' Whoever comes to the Brit next year, if they're good enough to beat us, they'll do it irrespective of what dimensions the pitch will have. If by making the pitch so narrow will hinder the opposition's 'natural game' and they end up losing points because of it, then so what? It just means more points for Stoke, and the aim of the game is to stay up.
And as for the "Who cares what the pundits, Journo's and other suppporters think about us... ", judging by a lot of people's reactions on this MB to reports in the media during last season, it seems as though there are a number of people here that care!
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Post by jarhead on Jul 3, 2008 9:58:07 GMT
And those lucky enough to pay around the £35 on the day will get such entertainment they will rush back!!!...Not!
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Post by mikeyb99 on Jul 3, 2008 11:10:38 GMT
I just can't see negative tactics like this paying-off - they never do.
Negative football doesn't win games, Pulis still seemingly doesn't understand this. Let's not forget Arsenal played their best football on the tight Highbury pitch either, so its likely we'll be outplayed just as comprehensively anyway.
Has anyone found out what last seasons pitch size was? Are we actually shrinking it for this season?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2008 11:24:02 GMT
I just can't see negative tactics like this paying-off - they never do. Negative football doesn't win games, Pulis still seemingly doesn't understand this. Let's not forget Arsenal played their best football on the tight Highbury pitch either, so its likely we'll be outplayed just as comprehensively anyway. Has anyone found out what last seasons pitch size was? Are we actually shrinking it for this season? Kind of see what you're getting at mikey, but the pitch at the Emirates really isn't much bigger than what Arsenal had at Highbury. Last season's pitch dimensions were 115 x 75, a similar size to the pitches at Goodison, Villa Park and Ewood Park. |
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Post by Dr Oetcake on Jul 3, 2008 12:27:23 GMT
and all games will be played using a "fido hotshot" ball!
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Post by jimisastokie on Jul 3, 2008 20:55:04 GMT
i think we will see alot of hoofball next season then....
it will be like tennis for people in the west stand and seddon..
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Post by Homzy on Jul 3, 2008 21:11:40 GMT
Only just read this thread and can't actually believe some of the comments!
A smaller pitch doesn't mean it's impossible to play good football! I thought the sexy way to play was with loads of short passes anyway so why do we need a wide pitch to do that?!
I'm absolutely delighted we've done this. We will be among the league's most dangerous (seriously) at set pieces this season and this move obviously aids us in that department.
But another key feature about how we play is how narrow we set up. The full-backs sit very close to the centre-halves and our wide midfielders are generally given the job of marking the opposition's wingers. This does mean there are often a lot of gaps in the wide areas when our wingers are caught too far forward, but narrowing the pitch means there will be the least amount of space to exploit possible.
Also, I very much doubt we'll have an out-an-out winger in the squad next season. Lawrence is far from a touchline hugger and McCulloch won't be on the left either - he'll be the new Cresswell.
And one more point to those worrying about what pundits will say about it. Do you seriously think they'll heap us in praise if we have the widest pitch in the Prem? Of course they won't...so we might as well put up with the stick and win some games.
It will make life even tougher for us away from home but you'd be amazed at how few away games the teams at the bottom win anyway - Fulham who just survived only won three I think and two of them were in the last month! Eight home wins would give us a bloody good chance of survival and this gives us the best possible chance of getting them.
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Post by FullerMagic on Jul 3, 2008 21:32:38 GMT
You can see the thinking behind it for all the reasons you suggest, but there's something about its calculated attempts to play up the uglier, more functional aspects of the game, and crush width and space which makes you shrug your shoulders a bit.
But there you go. Not worth crying about, and if it helps us bash
up a few big clubs and bring things more into our favour, I suppose no-one will give a monkeys.
I don't think the dimension disparities between our league minumum and the biggest pitches will prove to be as vast as the stats in the article mentioned, but the fact we have actively chosen to play on a pitch so small will be commented on throughout the season, and laboured on by the smug national writers, eager to have their stereotypes confirmed.
As for McCulloch, do you still think he'll come?
Despite the fact it's a link nearly as persistent as Fulop, Gardner and Austin, the noises from Smith and McCulloch in the past 2-3 days both seemed to indicate it was far from a done deal.
Although it'd be strange for a link to be quite as long-running if we'd got so little encouragement behind the scenes?
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Post by fentonstokie on Jul 3, 2008 21:37:24 GMT
Well said liverpoolstokie.
And as for the pundits and media having ago so what. I get the feeling our Tone likes it that way and uses it to motivate the players.
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Post by Homzy on Jul 3, 2008 21:40:25 GMT
I know exactly what you're saying FM and I can see why it splits opinion - some (I've got to say like me) think it's brilliant that we're trying to become this military style team that everyone's going to hate playing, while others wish we could beat teams without bending the rules to our advantage!
As for McCulloch, it's VERY rare for Pulis to comment on a potential signing so he must be confident. Also, despite claims to the contrary, it would seem that he will be a peripheral figure if he stays at Ibrox.
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Post by Titan Uranus on Jul 3, 2008 21:56:08 GMT
It's pretty obvious that by this blatant narrowing and shortening of the rules that we are not going to be attempting to play much football this season.
Not being funny like, but don't you think that this will send out the wrong message to any prospective employees of the Club?
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Post by Homzy on Jul 3, 2008 21:58:45 GMT
No, I don't honestly believe that your average footballer gives a flying one about the size of the pitch his new club will be playing on.
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Post by Titan Uranus on Jul 3, 2008 22:00:00 GMT
ok, thanks.
just wondered.
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