By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
It is the national media in a nutshell; same with politics. They've platformed Farage for decades and allowed unchallenged lies to become truths; the self-destruction of Brexit was seemingly not enough so they've continued to platform him until it seems like he might get near no.10, and suddenly "oh, we better highlight some of his unlawful incomes and russian backing"...
I dunno what the solution is, though, as here in Czechia the media are on the whole pretty good, lots of independent outlets, balanced and reporting facts neutrally; but the oligarch who holds the country in his grip uses his social media channels to appeal to an electoral base large enough to perpetuate his avoidance of prison (through political immunity).
It is the same sad picture right across Europe, though; in Germany the AFD are on the rise, for example.
I think the traditional media channels are facing immense pressure from social media, and many of them use gotchas, traps, controversy, conflict, sensationalism, etc. whenever possible to try to get eyes/ears onto their medium, to try to stay alive. The problem is, we, the citizens of the world, are suffering the consequences as the lines between truth and propaganda are getting so blurred; for many of us, it is at times indistinguishable.
Anyway, back onto football, what a game - England are definitely Rochdale of last season: grit, determination, fight, getting it over the line. The manager wants us to play better; I agree, but I am not sure how much more we can add. We got 'Arry & Jude who are world-class (Rice not far behind), then a mishmash of inconsistent, above-average, inexperienced, or crocks.
On the sum of talent, I would say semifinal is us, BUT, as we saw with the Dale last season, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and I think this England team/squad have the group (whole) attributes in spades.
It aint gonna be pretty, but I think with a bit of luck going our way, we can claw our way over the line (the French being the most final-like of final bosses to be defeated).
Exactly, if it were not for Sir Gareth, England would have continued on the impotent let-down course it had been on. He came in and made it nice to play for England again; made it a place where players wanted to go. It is widely discussed by former England players how different the environments were and how it was a key factor in starting to realise English potential.
He was exactly what the leader of a national team should be: eloquent, respectful, and inspiring true pride in the flag (rather than hoisting it up lamposts).
Unfortunately, his tactical skills and performance under pressure let him down, and sadly he either never requested or he was not provided with some assistance to bolster this side of things.
It was identical with Jimmy Mc for me; it was clear from his 1st interview that he was exactly what was needed to reset the 'toxic'/losing environment at Dale, reconnect the fans, give the club pride again - it was predominantly what he talked about. BUT, as we all saw in year 2, he had big weaknesses, and either he, by request or the club by offer, added to his team, which completed the puzzle, and away we flew.
Had Southgate had this 'old sage'/braver character around him, I am certain those semi final/final flops would have been different.
I like Tuchl a lot, but his selection of several crocks in the squad shows that all managers have weaknesses and falabilities; like us all, they are human.
I hope none of you got up at 4 am this morning to watch Česko flap and flounder against Korea. Crikey bobs, it was a prime example of why this new extended version is tripe!
Bloody hell mate, I was McNulty's biggest cheerleader from his 1st ever interview, and even I was going under mentally at 2 - 0 down, started to doubt it was gonna happen: same old Rochdale coming back to bite us - it's just never us is it?! It's human nature.
Don't beat yourself up, buddy. I reckon we've got many more days like Sunday ahead of us - we have broken away from those shackles of 'failed' history, a new animal - a lean, mean, never giving up machine.
Take it on the chin with your mates and if they rib you too much then it might be a 'click' chat rather than a 'friends' group.
At least you had the balls to come out and actually quantify and stand by your opinion, rather than trying to be all clever - 'suggestive' and 'undecided' - fair play for that.
And, fair play for coming back and holding your hands up, as you now feel that way and walking it back.
Hear hear, tonight is the biggest game of the season so far; a win would really put York under it and give us that little bit of space to vent some pressure into.
We're already setting up shop at the Czech Dale fanclub headquarters, just hope we score any/all goals before the junior member falls asleep so I can roar the lads on.
I've asked my Gemini, and he came back with (point 3 underlines why the Gaffer is doing so - all about ringing out every last advantage possible):
"To analyse this, we have to look at Probability vs. Utility.
1. The Probability of the "Disaster Scenario" Statistically, the chance of a goalkeeper being forced off (red card or injury) is approximately once every 35 to 40 matches.
The Danger: If it happens in the 10th minute, you play 80 minutes with an outfielder in net. You almost certainly lose the game and possibly take a massive hit to your Goal Difference.
The Reality: For Rochdale, as you noted, it hasn’t happened in years. If you go an entire 46-game season without a keeper injury, a sub keeper has provided zero value for 4,140 minutes of football.
2. The Utility of the "Extra Outfield Option" This is where the benefit is extrapolated. By leaving out a keeper, McNulty gets a 7th outfield option on the bench.
Tactical Flexibility: In a 5-sub system, having 7 outfielders means you can swap 50% of your starting outfield 10.
Specialisation: Instead of just a "defender" and a "midfielder," you can carry a "defensive specialist," a "creative spark," a "speed merchant," and a "target man."
The Benefit: We’ve seen this season (like with the 4th/5th sub goals from Henderson and Amantchi) that Dale often wins games in the final 15 minutes. Having that extra attacking profile on the bench—who wouldn't be there if a keeper took the spot—directly leads to points.
3. Extrapolating the Value (The "Points-at-Risk" Model) If we look at a 46-game season:
The "Extra Outfield" Gain: If having that 7th outfield option helps turn just two draws into wins or one loss into a draw, that is a 3 to 4 point gain over the season.
The "No Keeper" Loss: If the disaster happens once, you likely lose 3 points in that specific game.
The Math: If the disaster happens once a year, but the extra sub wins you two games, the gamble has a +3 point net profit.
4. Why it works for Rochdale specifically Ball Retention: Dale plays a high-possession, technical game under McNulty. By keeping the ball, you lower the number of high-speed collisions your keeper is involved in, statistically lowering his injury risk.
The "Emergency" Plan: Most teams who do this have an outfield player (often a tall defender or a former youth keeper) who trains in net once a week "just in case."
The Verdict McNulty is playing the "Accumulated Gains" game. He is betting that the marginal advantage of having one more tactical tool on the bench in every game outweighs the catastrophic cost of a keeper crisis in one game.
In a title race with York City that might be decided by a single point, that extra attacking sub could be the difference between League Two and another year in the National League."
Edit: I further asked him how long since a Dale in-game keeper change and he came back with:
"The Last Notable Instance: Josh Lillis (2018/19) The last time a keeper was forced off during a competitive match was during the 2018/19 League One season.
The Game: Rochdale vs. Blackpool (August 2018).
The Event: First-choice keeper Josh Lillis suffered a knee injury in the first half.
The Sub: Brendan Moore came on in the 43rd minute.
Since that moment, Dale have gone nearly seven full seasons without a goalkeeper being forced off mid-game due to injury or a red card."
Was made clear in the most recent forum that they're not worried at all about it. General concensus is one of the regular outfield team is a"dab hand" in goal.
No laughter from me; it is a thought I've had since the takeover. Try to get him back at Dale as a local success, a talisman to build the local community club around in its rebirth infancy.
A huge factor in this is the gaffer: it's clear the players will run through a brick wall for him and are totally on board with the project - it will have a magnetic effect on them staying here and "finishing what we started".
It was evident the last time we had a bright star manager who gets Rochdale - the players we were able to sign and their subsequent performance levels, were above our means - based on the manager's 'pull'.
The difference now is we are not a selling club; or if we are to sell a player, we are financially able, for the 1st time in my known history of the club, able to dictate/hold out for the real value of the player.
I'm even relaxed about the possibility of the gaffer leaving - the way he carries himself, his openness, honesty and how he speaks about the club; it's gonna take a really special offer/club to turn his head before we have reached our ceiling.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
