Slade

As a ST holder I was a rare absentee yesterday but the worrying thing is I did not really miss it. I have not felt like that since Buckly's failed return and I then stopped going for a while. I fell out of love with GTFC and the football. After reading the just back comments I fear many may feel the same. Certainly the non season ticket holders will drift away if the product continues to be poor. Having said that football is all about winning and if the team wins the quality of play is glossed over. If we were in the top six the complaints about the so called Sladeball would disappear.

What level of payment comes in to the club from TV deals or from the EFL?, and is any related to where you finish in the table? (assuming not promoted or relegated)

3 points from a win was supposed to discourage negative football but I think defensive organisation and fitness has improved since the 1980s and football is starting to get boring again a lot of the time. I reckon we'd be better going back to 2 points to a win as standard and have 3 points for a win by 2 or more goals. Nearly everyone goes to football to see a) their team win, b) their team score (the more the better!). If the opposition score as well it's not intrinsically bad as long as your own team continues to press for more goals.

I think extra points for threshold scores would help, like the bonus points available in rugby for additional trys

Certainly "not losing" has replaced winning as the mantra at many levels of football.

One thing all teams are in general compared to 20 years ago is fitter, and at lower levels they are athletes first and skilful players second.

Would some of the great players with trickery we used to enjoy watching for Town get the same time and space today?

Not footy I know, and I'm not a tennis fan, but I heard a phone in during Wimbledon when someone asked John McEnroe why they don't get the teenage sensations like he and Becker were?  His answer was simply that all the top players spend so much time in the gym and on fitness training these days that anyone under 20 just cant compete physically long enough to even get the opportunity for their skill to kick in during a long match.

It's the same with Golf too  

I have a season ticket - in many ways thank God cos I travel 30-35 miles and I honestly don't think I could be enthused to phone up mid week and get my £18 early bird.
As previous poster said don't mind being mid table as long as I see some exciting stuff

Went yesterday expecting a drab game and I got it

There was a great post a few weeks back that has stuck in my mind - modern day L2 footballers (and some higher up) are physical specimens/athletes first and footballers second

I cannot for the life of me see much technical ability in Jamaille Matt - and he's from a L1 club!
His technique is woeful

Says it all for me when Sam Jones and Jamie Osbourne were picked up from non league partly (I assume) as they didn't make it first time around? Very good technical ability IMO

The way we play is down to Slade's philosophy and the general attitude of 'must get results now' - that is a lot to do with the short life of a manager when success isn't instant
So, be strong at the back, hoof it forward, play off the big fella and take it from there... if it works then fine but if not it is dire.

But if a manager believes in passing footy they will surely play that style, Sir Alan came to GTFC on back of successive relegations; we then nosedived to fourth bottom in L2 (I know cos it was first time I went to USA and read the depressing stat in NYT!).

The rest is history as they say... was he given more time or was it his insistence on passing football?

Finally, am I wearing rose-tinted specs, or are footballers these days way less technically gifted than in recent years?

I'm sure they are

They're not less technically gifted, they're getting far less space and far less time than players did even 15 years ago, let alone the early 90's and 80's. Like you said, all players are now athletes and generally organisation has improved meaning you get virtually no time on the ball. All of our players can pick a pass when given time and space (look at Summerfield last week) but it's a lot harder when you've got a split second before someone is on you.

Which is why you have to create your own space, and gain that extra second. If you watch us, we're so rigid it's easy to close us down and mark our players out of the game, hence the hoof. We need players like Dembele and jones to be given more freedom, which then creates the space to play. It is possible to do it at this level, doncaster and portsmouth tore us a new one doing it.

Genuine question; how long a contract does Slade have.
Someone claiming yesterday he has a 4 year deal and that was why he agreed to come?

If so, then we better get used to the 'style' and hope eventually he can his players in to play effectively

Quoted from Cloudy

Genuine question; how long a contract does Slade have.
Someone claiming yesterday he has a 4 year deal and that was why he agreed to come?

If so, then we better get used to the 'style' and hope eventually he can his players in to play effectively

Don't ask mr. F that he gets quite touchy