It's FRIDAY and hereeeeeeee's HARTTTTTTTTY !!!!!!

[hans kraay fan club]

Is it the Pulitzer award ceremony?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I grew up thinking that Muppets were real and not puppets. Seemingly, I was misguided.

 

[vegster]

I'm currently sitting in a room with the very man himself; with about 398 others...

398 others ? One is bad enough, I do hope they are not cloning him.

 

[Buzzer]

I'm currently sitting in a room with the very man himself; with about 398 others...

 

[LamieRobertson]

Well support the club then.

that would be novel

 

[greyseagull]

Which one am I?

 

[Box of Frogs]

Which one am I?

In the balcony on the left.

 

[Giraffe]

We weren't brilliant the last two seasons and we sneaked into the playoffs, we have been poor this season, but I can't recall many teams (apart from 'Boro) looking a lot better than us.

Point of order, I don't agree that we weren't brilliant in that first play off season. Poyet had us playing some superb stuff, arguably the best I a be seen us play in my whole supporting life. He second half of the season once Ulloa arrived were pulsating and we had a team that I believe could have stayed in the premiership had we gone up. It's no surprise that many of that team are now playing in the premiership.

Last season I agree, we were average and lucky to make the play offs, but don't use the same brush to paint Poyet's team. We were magnificent right up to that play off game with Palace.

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

People are taking that column far too seriously. Look at this: "While the torrent of faceless personal abuse over the internet continues... "

Now come on, Harty, that style of spoof journalism does ring a few bells. "A torrent of persional abuse from thousands of fans (Sid and Doris Bonkers) was heaped last night on the heads of one-legged custodian Wally Foot and tight-lipped manager Ron Knee (59)."

As for "I’ve been asked by many people close to me in the last week why I’ve continued to pursue this issue," quite what 'this issue' might be remains anyone's guess. It's buried, as it were. But we can have no doubt that it must be a Big Issue. (whose circulation and cover price, incidentally, must comfortably exceed even those of the Worthing Herald.)

Can't wait for next week's instalment.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Anyone reading that straight off without knowing the background would be drawn to the conclusion that what happened with Archer is happening again under Bloom (or at least something similar). Whether Harty thinks that or not, that's what a new reader would make of it.

This board has been awash with stories about what is wrong at The Amex ever since we moved in. You name it, there's been a thread about it (within reason). Look at any other club, higher or lower, and there are people saying the same about their team. Nobody in sport is really happy with where their team is - possibly with the exception of those at the top of the leagues. All sport is full of teams having good or bad seasons and that's why we love it - nobody can predict where it will end up (unless you're a Blackpool fan). Sure we've gone backwards this year, but that was mainly because we went so far forward the last two years. I don't think this has anything to do with Bloom losing the plot - more that we're in a trough at the moment as the players aren't delivering what they're capable of. We will improve though.

Well said. I think an expression often used would be "having a bad patch".

And if there was anything seriously wrong, I would trust Mr Bloom quietly and efficiently to sort it out. He's no mug.... To say the least.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Anyone reading that straight off without knowing the background would be drawn to the conclusion that what happened with Archer is happening again under Bloom (or at least something similar). Whether Harty thinks that or not, that's what a new reader would make of it.

Some context needs to be put round that. I think you are right in that statement. I also think nothing of the kind is occurring, in fact we have the best owner we have ever had. However we are talking about a writer who was repeatedly lied to and threatened by the club he loved. I don't know if you did but I stood at repeated BISA meetings in the 90s and watched Greg Stanley lie through his teeth to us.

If you now take the bottom line figures, that we are a point off relegation, that we are a selling club and that we are losing 12 million a year according to Paul Barber, and then TB comes out in the media and fans' forums saying everything is fine, you can see where Harty is coming from. The difference this time is that we are adding physical assets to the club, not stripping them.

The articles may be paranoid but sometime paranoia pays. This is all Stanley, Archer and Bellottis fault again.

 

[greyseagull]

In the balcony on the left.

Bloody hell, if I didn't feel old before then I do now. I used to call my dad one of those characters and now the day has arrived when it's my turn - cheers!

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

This is a very good point. I feel very despondent about the albion at the moment but I cant articulate why without sounding like an ungrateful whining imbecile

I dont enjoy the football now but that's cos I've been spoilt watching the Poyet era

I feel an irrational ear fizzing whenever I read an email or column from Paul Barber but I'm sure there are those on here who will say that's because I'm harking back to the bad old days of football ceo behaviour

I see the spin coming out of club mouthpieces about people I know and like and wonder when we moved into that era

So maybe I will just need to accept that I'm a dinosaur and let the world move on while I March toward extinction

You and me both !

 

[Giraffe]

Personally think the football is not the main problem.

My main concern is that fans feel like they are being screwed for every penny and at some point, and it seems to be happening this season, they are going to vote with their feet.

You can't have a premier league pricing and marketing strategy but deliver championship football and still expect people to come. It's like ASDA doubling their prices but still churning out average food.

 

[twickers]

It's called having the last word, or lazy journalism in the absence of being bothered to write anything new or news worthy.

 

[Surf's Up]

People will put up with high prices and come to matches while the team is doing well as the last two years have proved. I know theres been lots of moans etc but people still came. Now the progress on the pitch has been thrown into reverse by some, IMHO, poor footballing decisions by Tony Bloom (ie sell our best players, buy in lesser quality players, fail to keep Poyet and Garcia, fail to get rid of Jones and finally appointing a marquee name with an absolutely crap managerial record) and people are voting with their feet and find it insulting to pay high prices to watch a team accelerating down to hell in a handcart!

 

[Buzzer]

Bloody hell, if I didn't feel old before then I do now. I used to call my dad one of those characters and now the day has arrived when it's my turn - cheers!

Ha! No offence intended, matey.

 

[Kevlar]

We've got the budget of a slightly above average club this season, and we've underperformed a bit.

The last two seasons we had the budget of a slightly above average club in this division, and we overperformed a bit.

We weren't brilliant the last two seasons and we sneaked into the playoffs, we have been poor this season, but I can't recall many teams (apart from 'Boro) looking a lot better than us.

agree with all that but would add
our new inexperienced manager experimented with a strange system
which proved to be a handicap.
hopefully a thing of the past

also we got a gem with ulloa
as for the vague feeling of something being wrong
I get that with most things
with football it is easier to pin point
the players get paid a ridiculous amount of money to fulfill many
a school boys ambition.
with the management speak easier still to pin point
It is bullshit which takes you for a fool

 

[Kevlar]

one more thought on dissatisfied football supporters
it is all about your team
the result is down to your teams recruitment ,players manger etc
opponents abilities seem irrelevant
the international fans why are England so crap?
do the players care ?
does the manger know what he is doing?
as though those Germans and Spanish players abilities are irrelevant
to why than win big tournaments and not england

 

[Seagulls Downunder]

I feel slightly uneasy that Tony Bloom spends so much time in Australia, although we are reassured that Barber in in charge. Has Paul Barber said 'trust me'? I know in these days of the internet & Skype that communications are almost instant, but are all communications getting through?

Are you sure about that ? it's not as much as you obviously think it is.