This. Very much this. Although I did stay after the Blackpool game because Karagounis deserved an ovation after all the effort he showed for us.Like most of the fans I stayed at the end to cheer the team when we lost 3-1 to Sunderland. Did the same when we lost 2-1 to Swansea. Because in each of those games the team put up a fight.
Against Southampton when we drew 1-1, against Blackpool when we drew 1-1 and on Saturday when we again drew 1-1, I headed straight for the exit when the final whistle went. Because in each of those games the team showed no spirit at all.
This. Very much this. Although I did stay after the Blackpool game because Karagounis deserved an ovation after all the effort he showed for us.
It is all about effort, and the Southampton and Wigan games we just looked so lethargic. Fans feel the pain, but if the team tries hard we can appreciate that. It's when we don't get the result and the team hasn't seemed to try, that's when the fans boo.
the whole thread was clearly read prior to me consciously deciding to add my concise / to the point opinion
obviously your opinion differs, fair enough
cheers for the demeaning pat on the back
eloquent up until the last six words
Wow. Amazing what perceptions can be drawn out of a single interview.
Was that referring to myself or Madness?
To paraphrase the saying, one is an accident , two a coincidence but five is indictable. I am of course referring to Jol’s bust up with Riise.
JAR needed to be dropped and if he had a problem then Jol was correct to put him right. However. there are ways and there are ways. JAR is just the latest in a list of players who have fallen foul of the manager and my concern is the extreme and apparently irretrievable nature of the outcome.
If it was an isolated incident I might tend to say, ‘fair enough’ But it’s not. As I say, JAR is not the first - there are at least four before him. So this is clearly Jol’s way, his style of man-management. And I’m not at all sure that that is ’fair enough’.
In particularly the effect it may have in the dressing room. If a player is disruptive then facing up to them and getting rid quickly is the best solution. Obviously I don’t know what was said or what actually happened in this case. Nor do I know where loyalties within the squad lie. However, dividing lines being drawn or any kind of loss of team spirit is the last thing we want at the moment. Jol needs to look beyond his personal ego at times - he might see it as ‘his team’ but it’s not ’his football club’.
Who are the four? Etuhu (not good enough for our first team), Zamora... Dempsey (had to go after being so blatantly tapped up) and AJ (not half as good as he thinks he is)?
Let's be honest Bobby Zamora is the moodiest footballer in the game at the moment; it's actually something of a relief to not have to defend him anymore.
I remember Jol saying in an interview when asked regarding his relationship with Zamora was that he defended his approach and appreciated the fact that there would often be players who disagreed with his man-management style, so Jol has realised there is a problem.
But you often hear managers making the observation that players who aren't getting picked don't like the manager. Jol saying that some people don't like the way he does things isn't the same as him saying that he sees it as a problem.
Apologies, my comment wasn't worded correctly. I meant to say that Jol's admission means these incoming reports of JAR's fallout with the manager means there could be some truth in them.