winning when you play badly

[ManxRam]

Winning guarantees 3pts, playing well doesn't guarantee a thing.

Winning often becomes a mentality that gives the players additional belief in their abilities.

Results count.

Next two games a good marker as to where we are. One win better than two draws or would keeping the unbeaten run going give further confidence?

[MadAmster]

If we are to lose one of the next 2 then I want that to be this Saturday at Norwich rather than the Tuesday after at Bellend Road against the DYS.

[Andy_Faber]

If we are to lose one of the next 2 then I want that to be this Saturday at Norwich rather than the Tuesday after at Bellend Road against the DYS.

Agreed, old grievances run deep

[MadAmster]

Mine goes to a couple of occasions.

1. A trip to Bellend Road at the tender age of 17 with my best mate and our GFs. We were stood in the opposite end to the Gelderd. Sensible we thought. Then about 10 minutes brfore the end, a group of about 30 had come into the stand and shouted there's the "not nice people"... get em! They were away to our left so we headed right, across crowded terracing, all hostile, no Rams in that end that day. Had to bundle a couple out od the way as we didn't fancy the odds. Once outside we sent the GFs off running towards the station. We gave then as big a start as we dared. The plan being to leg it after them and, if we looked like getting caught my the baying mob, we would turn round and wade in, take a beating in order to make sure the girls didn't get caught. We caught the girls up about 100 yards shy of the station. Station forecourt full of DYS, the girls got through, we took a few hits on the way through and might have thrown a couple too. back on the platform, we were safe. Not an experience I wanted to repeat any time but we were unscathed.

2. 1980s, 10 to 12 years later, Ley Stand. A dozen of us up there. Somehow there was a group of as many DYS in there. How they got tickets? God knows. They were pushing folk from before the kick off, in people's faces. They were spitting on people. Quite a few people told both the stewards and the police (who could see it anyway) but they did nothing. One of our number asked the police to step in, they didn't. he then said if you don't we will as this is unacceptable. Go ahead was the response. That "one of our number" then approached the DYS, asked them to stop, they got anti, we had his back so he clocked the biggest mouth, just the once, and put him on his back. They got the message. They behaved after that.

They are simply not nice people. I think I have reason to be aggrieved.

[Romanis]

Too many hooligans' at too many grounds. Or rather the chav mentality of a loutish younger generation. It was rampant then, how is it today at the average away ground?

[ManxRam]

We all f***ing hate Leeds

[roger_ramjet]

Too many hooligans' at too many grounds. Or rather the chav mentality of a loutish younger generation. It was rampant then, how is it today at the average away ground?

I think the chav mentality is unquestionably still there, but its not fair to characterise it as being a younger generation thing. I was at Millwall a while ago and, far from being young, the scariest thugs in their "support" fitted the following description:

40 to 50 years of age
Absence of hair
Substantial numbers of visible tattoos
Arms that were not able to hang parallel to the body but rather which hung in a curve away from it
A curious strutting waddle
Drunk

In fact the same guys that were the ones that were doing all the damage 20 to 30 years ago (if not more). the younger generation seem largely uninterested in mindless violence, but that generation of thug have yet to retire from active service, and have just got worse with experience. Until this generation die off the issue at football grounds will not go away, although I believe it to be on the decline.

[Romanis]

I think the chav mentality is unquestionably still there, but its not fair to characterise it as being a younger generation thing. I was at Millwall a while ago and, far from being young, the scariest thugs in their "support" fitted the following description:

40 to 50 years of age
Absence of hair
Substantial numbers of visible tattoos
Arms that were not able to hang parallel to the body but rather which hung in a curve away from it
A curious strutting waddle
Pissed

In fact the same guys that were the ones that were doing all the damage 20 to 30 years ago (if not more). the younger generation seem largely uninterested in mindless violence, but that generation of thug have yet to retire from active service, and have just got worse with experience. Until this generation die off the issue at football grounds will not go away, although I believe it to be on the decline.

You're right sir. It was that generation that I was referring to. I have overlooked the fact that they have aged having been away very long, I had instead kept that past memory as the present. And believed the young today took after them, those of that ilk.

Too much stereotyping on my part but nevertheless, I shall join in abundant hope that they truly decline by age and remorse, if any.

[ramAnag]

We went up winning 1-0 under BD everyone thought he was a genius

I didn't...always thought he was a prat. It was just confirmed at Wembley and subsequently.

Completely agree with Roger on the hooligan stereotype, except I think they might be even older...45 to 60+ even...members of the 'skinhead/bootboy' generation are well into their sixties now.

[swaledale]

Indeed, he did act the prat, but his teams were hard to beat and won often when the odds were against them, the 2007 playoff final being a prime example.

I'd settle happily for the team digging deep and grinding out results, one of Rowetts first comments was that there too many footballers in the squad and not many who were prepared to do the dirty work, play ugly be hard to beat. Obviously a team needs to have a blend but in this division, being a good technical footballer is not enough, as some of our premiership loan players have often demonstrated in the past.