Gus furious over not playing Boxing day

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

First time I've agreed with Poyet in ages- it's f***ing micky mouse.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It's all about Leeds, Gus, don't distract yourself.

Gus has to do an interview every week, and Naylor has to produce an article every day. It was probably one question thrown in with loads of others and Naylor decided to make a whole article out of it. I feel fairly certain that Gus is working on the training ground, and wants to turn this around more than anyone.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I think the club have messed up really, somebody on the operations side has neglected to consider the Boxing Day transport and has also forgotten to talk to the University about open days etc. Its minor in the grand scheme, but important enough to have attention from our new management team. Fans are the ones paying the price.

What price are we paying? The game still goes ahead, doesn't it? It's just at a different time. Maybe more people will go now it is NOT taking place on Boxing day?

I agree that changes because of University days, and things like Mill Road being needed for P&R for shopping on Saturdays leading up to Christmas are annoying, though. I guess in time we will see whether these are things that can be overcome, or just part of the price we have to pay for the stadium being where it is.

 

[Seasidesage]

Of course he should answer questions about anything. I've not seen the article, but I'd really like to see a post saying there's an interview with Gus giving his thoughts on what's gone wrong and what he's going to do about it. I've listed to each pre and post match interview over the past weeks and can honestly say I've no idea what he's done or going to do to improve our performances - that's what I was getting at.

Maybe I'm just missing the nuances

Even the worst Manager is surely going to be working on his sides weaknesses? If not he may as well give them the rest of the week off! What I would doubt that he would do is increase the pressure on his players by talking about this in the press. He will be as concerned as anyone about this slump. After all, it's his job and reputation on the line, isn't it?

I still think we need another forward, but Gus has done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt for awhile IMO

 

[bhadebenhams]

It's too late, we all know that Dick Knight is manipulating things since he sacked Dean Wilkins (SEVENTH IN LEAGUE ONE).

Set your Sat Navs for Braintree Town and Telford, Poyett will have us in the Blue Square before you can say 'overloaded midfield'.

 

[Poyetry In Motion]

Honestly don't think he could answer that question. The peaks arrive ( 5 straight wins )knocking it about, scoring for fun, looking terrific. Then, without warning, the wheels fall off and Gus seems powerless to do anything about it.
Theory One.....he doesn't know his best side or formation and continually tinkers, trying to come up with the ideal. Players are unsettled and knocked out of their stride. Some seem to have pretty fragile confidence and it doesn't take too much to dent it.
Theory Two....Gus is not a brilliant ' dressing room ' manager ( e.g Mullery ) We start a lot of games too flat, knocking the ball about in second gear. The opposition grab the bull by the horns, we go a goal down, struggle starts. Most fans want to see us come out the traps quickly, pressing the oppo and creating chances. This..." lets take our time, be patient and build slowly " tactic is hugely frustrating. We clearly cannot chase games.
Theory Three...This peak and trough performance scenario only reflects Gus's own personality. Upbeat and positive and flying one minute. Puzzled, unsure and indecisive the next.
I know this thread started about Boxing Day ( and I agree with Gus about that ) but I am more concerned about the present and cannot put my finger precisely on what is going wrong.

Just as I start to think that half the posters on NSC are fickle, impatient and nothing more than a bunch a moaning negative bastards, due to our current form ... you turn up with an intelligent analysis of the current situation. Fair play to you

 

[LamieRobertson]

Not too different from recent performances then Gus?... Which you should be concentrating more on I'd think...

i'm sure he can multitask

 

[amexee]

Joke and Embarrassing, pretty much sums up last Boxing days trip to Reading. At least it will cost less this year.

 

[Zebedee]

i'm sure he can multitask

Just think where we would be in the table if he couldn't?

 

[One Love]

Honestly don't think he could answer that question. The peaks arrive ( 5 straight wins )knocking it about, scoring for fun, looking terrific. Then, without warning, the wheels fall off and Gus seems powerless to do anything about it.
Theory One.....he doesn't know his best side or formation and continually tinkers, trying to come up with the ideal. Players are unsettled and knocked out of their stride. Some seem to have pretty fragile confidence and it doesn't take too much to dent it.
Theory Two....Gus is not a brilliant ' dressing room ' manager ( e.g Mullery ) We start a lot of games too flat, knocking the ball about in second gear. The opposition grab the bull by the horns, we go a goal down, struggle starts. Most fans want to see us come out the traps quickly, pressing the oppo and creating chances. This..." lets take our time, be patient and build slowly " tactic is hugely frustrating. We clearly cannot chase games.
Theory Three...This peak and trough performance scenario only reflects Gus's own personality. Upbeat and positive and flying one minute. Puzzled, unsure and indecisive the next.
I know this thread started about Boxing Day ( and I agree with Gus about that ) but I am more concerned about the present and cannot put my finger precisely on what is going wrong.

Very good post.

Also how come we keep hearing from Gus that the opposition are approaching the game with us in a different manner to spoil our game but when was the last time we did that to the opposition? We just roll out the same, week in, week out, with a few minor changes in personnel.

 

[drew]

Obviously you guys havant be going to football long enough to know the importance of Boxing Day football .

Why is it you consider it 'important' as opposed to just being a nice tradition? 'Important' seems to be overstating it a bit.

Oh I think they have. It IS a bit of a joke I agree, but I've been going to football since 1965 and even I think the lack of a Boxing Day game shouldn't be Poyet's biggest concern right now. I grant you it's 'traditional', but then so is playing at 3 o'clock on a Saturday. I'd have more sympathy with Poyet if he was also complaining about how ridiculous it is to be playing football at 8 o'clock on a Friday night.

Agree

I think the club have messed up really, somebody on the operations side has neglected to consider the Boxing Day transport and has also forgotten to talk to the University about open days etc. Its minor in the grand scheme, but important enough to have attention from our new management team. Fans are the ones paying the price.

The club are working with the situation they have. Would it have been better not to agree to change fixtures/kick off times due to the open days etc at the planning stage and therefore not get the universities on side. We might not have the Stadium if we pissed off all our partners in the process. Also, what extra price are you paying for them switching kick-off times or games. If you have a season ticket, you still get to see 23 games! When you agree to renew your season, you haven't a clue which games are going to be played and at what times.

Exactly this. Sad but true, from the second the fixtures were released I was convinced this would be changed. It would have been easier if they had just switched the Millwall games, play at the Den on Boxing Day and home on 22 September.

Maybe in the future the club can get something sorted with Southern, the Bus company etc, but this ground was always about public transport, right from the off, without it, the ground doesn't work. The attempts to get hundreds of bus and rail staff to work on their boxing day, to open stations, to man signaling facilities, was unsuccessful this year, and it might be a while before they are successful, but it really is not embarrassing, it is not the clubs fault. Can you imagine the carnage if it had gone ahead, with no buses, no P&R, no trains? Now that would have made us a laughing stock.

(All IMO of course, others may think otherwise)

Agree with this. Seems some people are prepared to make a mountain out of a molehill just so they don't spend boxing day with their families etc!!!!!!!

As regards Poyet, hopefully his misguided comments are not a sign of him feeling the strain. Criticising the arrangements for boxing day is a criticism of the backroom management and I doubt, as the matter is out of their hands, they will be happy about that. Perhaps Paul Barber and others should be quoted in the Argus about the run of form the team are in at the moment. I suspect GP wouldn't be too happy about that.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

The way I read the article on the Argus website, it looks like he has been asked to put pressure on those that can make a Boxing Day home fixture happen by the club (possibly with a little bit of help from an Andy Naylor back page splash?).

A couple of quotes hint at that, for me:

"Albion consulted local police, fire and ambulance services, as well as the Football League, over the change but Poyet is unimpressed."

and

"If it suits the fans everyone would say we should play, if it doesn’t suit the bus drivers or trains or what ever it is we cannot play."

The club obviously tried to switch the game, but weren't able to. Potentially setting their stall out now, while the matter is still fresh, to try and overcome the problem the next time it arises, in my opinion. As such, I don't think people should be getting their knickers in a twist thinking that he is concentrating more on a football match on Boxing Day, rather than sorting the team out.

 

[8ace]

Well said Poyet

 

[Uter]

Honestly don't think he could answer that question. The peaks arrive ( 5 straight wins )knocking it about, scoring for fun, looking terrific. Then, without warning, the wheels fall off and Gus seems powerless to do anything about it.
Theory One.....he doesn't know his best side or formation and continually tinkers, trying to come up with the ideal. Players are unsettled and knocked out of their stride. Some seem to have pretty fragile confidence and it doesn't take too much to dent it.
Theory Two....Gus is not a brilliant ' dressing room ' manager ( e.g Mullery ) We start a lot of games too flat, knocking the ball about in second gear. The opposition grab the bull by the horns, we go a goal down, struggle starts. Most fans want to see us come out the traps quickly, pressing the oppo and creating chances. This..." lets take our time, be patient and build slowly " tactic is hugely frustrating. We clearly cannot chase games.
Theory Three...This peak and trough performance scenario only reflects Gus's own personality. Upbeat and positive and flying one minute. Puzzled, unsure and indecisive the next.
I know this thread started about Boxing Day ( and I agree with Gus about that ) but I am more concerned about the present and cannot put my finger precisely on what is going wrong.

Theory Four. Form is an illusion. Sequence of results can be explained by the significance chance plays in determining results, especially when the relative strengths of the opposition are taken into account. When assessing the strength of a team, supporters give far too much weight to the significance of the most recent results.

 

[drew]

The way I read the article on the Argus website, it looks like he has been asked to put pressure on those that can make a Boxing Day home fixture happen by the club (possibly with a little bit of help from an Andy Naylor back page splash?).

A couple of quotes hint at that, for me:

"Albion consulted local police, fire and ambulance services, as well as the Football League, over the change but Poyet is unimpressed."

and

"If it suits the fans everyone would say we should play, if it doesn’t suit the bus drivers or trains or what ever it is we cannot play."

The club obviously tried to switch the game, but weren't able to. Potentially setting their stall out now, while the matter is still fresh, to try and overcome the problem the next time it arises, in my opinion. As such, I don't think people should be getting their knickers in a twist thinking that he is concentrating more on a football match on Boxing Day, rather than sorting the team out.

Exactly how did you extrapolate that theory from the article on the website. Why would he be asked to put pressure on people when the fixture has only recently been changed after apparent negotiations? Who do you think these people are that can now make it happen and who asked him to apply pressure? Are you suggesting the club didn't do enough to persuade Southern to run a train service just for this one football match or talk to the bus/coach companies to run the park and rides etc. They could've have thrown money at but then fans would complain if the cost was passed to us.

Had we maintained our early season form I suspect GP would not even have got involved with the debate.

 

[drew]

duplicate

 

[El Presidente]

If they can get 76,000 to Old Trafford on Boxing Day with no public transport then 25,000 to the Amex should be feasible.

If I was running a coach company I could have had a FIELD DAY offering transport to fans at a reasonable price.

It is a poor decision by the club, we have been at the Amex for over a year, and this should have been planned some time ago.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Exactly this. Sad but true, from the second the fixtures were released I was convinced this would be changed. It would have been easier if they had just switched the Millwall games, play at the Den on Boxing Day and home on 22 September.

Maybe in the future the club can get something sorted with Southern, the Bus company etc, but this ground was always about public transport, right from the off, without it, the ground doesn't work. The attempts to get hundreds of bus and rail staff to work on their boxing day, to open stations, to man signaling facilities, was unsuccessful this year, and it might be a while before they are successful, but it really is not embarrassing, it is not the clubs fault. Can you imagine the carnage if it had gone ahead, with no buses, no P&R, no trains? Now that would have made us a laughing stock.

(All IMO of course, others may think otherwise)

I know the point of this thread wasn't to go back over the Millwall issue, but surely transport has always been limited on Boxing Day, and no stadium is THAT easy for everyone to get to without it (even if ours is particularly bad). Surely you get an upgraded P+R/special bus service running (which comes at a premium but should be doable given its using private companies, other places/clubs manage), and you negotiate with the unis to open up loads of parking bearing in mind they will be like ghost towns. And beyond that people have to sort themselves out.

Anyways, back to the point - Gus was clearly answering a question and it probably took 30 seconds out of his press conference.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Exactly how did you extrapolate that theory from the article on the website. Why would he be asked to put pressure on people when the fixture has only recently been changed after apparent negotiations? Who do you think these people are that can now make it happen and who asked him to apply pressure? Are you suggesting the club didn't do enough to persuade Southern to run a train service just for this one football match or talk to the bus/coach companies to run the park and rides etc. They could've have thrown money at but then fans would complain if the cost was passed to us.

Had we maintained our early season form I suspect GP would not even have got involved with the debate.

Exactly how did you extrapolate that theory from the article on the website. Based on the quotes, and knowing how PR and journalism can work to put pressure on people, I've suggested that could be a possible reason for the article.

Why would he be asked to put pressure on people when the fixture has only recently been changed after apparent negotiations? The fixture has only publicly been changed, but I'm guessing – as has been mentioned above – that the club knew that they would not be able to move it a while back, due to the actions of bus drivers, council, etc.

Who do you think these people are that can now make it happen and who asked him to apply pressure? I think the people that run the buses and trains, as well as the AMEX stewards and staff can make it happen. Maybe Paul Barber or Tony Bloom has asked him to highlight it? Or maybe it comes from the PR department, as I suggested before.

Are you suggesting the club didn't do enough to persuade Southern to run a train service just for this one football match or talk to the bus/coach companies to run the park and rides etc. No I'm not suggesting that at all. What I AM saying, though, is that whatever conversations were had between the different parties didn't result in a positive outcome for Boxing Day football - something the club realises the fans want. In that respect, I think they are trying to ensure it happens in the future, and getting a big page story in the run-up to Christmas is a good start.

Now after all your questions, let me ask you one: "Had we maintained our early season form I suspect GP would not even have got involved with the debate." What the fcuk has that got to do with anything?

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Theory Four. Form is an illusion. Sequence of results can be explained by the significance chance plays in determining results, especially when the relative strengths of the opposition are taken into account. When assessing the strength of a team, supporters give far too much weight to the significance of the most recent results.

Interesting. Will add that to my other three theories. Any more out there? ( Sensible suggestions only, please )