Official Football Thread

[Hughesy 254]

We've hit a new low, our fans are literally fighting each other in the stands. Some people just cant handle the truth that the current standard and the manager refusal to change tactics isn't acceptable.... 

Small bit of the fight, watch the guy tumble down lol
https://twitter.com/hEaLeR_CTFC/status/832993245068091392

[Hughesy 254]

Nah, winning 3-0 with 2 mins to go, drew 3-3.....

Screw Arsenal fan TV, I'm going to start Yeovil fan TV :joy:

[Hughesy 254]

Just realised I was 2 correct scores from winning 250k on Super six  :s I'll never get that close again. 

[Lukedfrt 91]

Ouch, that is close! The best i've ever had is 2 correct scores :lol: It's so damn tough 

[Hughesy 254]

It's so much worse when you get that close. Mind you if I won that much money, I'd probably get over excited, have a heart attack and die :joy:

[f1since08 60]

I'm a bad fan for saying it, but I really hope we go down today. I want us 4-0 down at half time so that we can hound Moyes out for as long as possible.

[Jiggy 5]

So then it sucks when you lose through a last minute goal instead?

[f1since08 60]

Jiggy said:

So then it sucks when you lose through a last minute goal instead?

And the fact that Southampton missed a penalty which would have saved us for a week in their last minute.

[Hughesy 254]

Would've just prolonged the inevitable though. 

[Jiggy 5]

fIsince08 said:

Jiggy said:

So then it sucks when you lose through a last minute goal instead?

And the fact that Southampton missed a penalty which would have saved us for a week in their last minute.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, we got killed by Tottenham today, so if you're up for a suicide pact, just hit me up.

[f1since08 60]

Jiggy said:

fIsince08 said:

Jiggy said:

So then it sucks when you lose through a last minute goal instead?

And the fact that Southampton missed a penalty which would have saved us for a week in their last minute.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, we got killed by Tottenham today, so if you're up for a suicide pact, just hit me up.

Stadium of Light in a fortnight, joined by David Moyes and Arsene Wenger?

[Hughesy 254]

Yea but Wenger would bottle it at the last minute. 

[EUfkdup 0]

You can accuse Wenger of many things but a bottler is not one of them. I mean, he's willing to sign a new contract and go through another year of discontented fans and failure.  

Arsenal have finally become Liverpool.

[Hughesy 254]

Are you serious? Surely you are being sarcastic, if not... :joy:

[Jiggy 5]

I get what he's saying. His idea of being a bottler is having a weak personality, letting other people affect you. Wenger has anything but a weak personality and can't be fazed by any level of criticism, it seems. So as a man, Wenger isn't a bottler.

However, his teams, that's a different story. Even then you could say that they at least delivered on the bare mininum, but yeah, I just decided I don't really want to talk about Arsenal. It's a depressing subject.

So in short, yes and no.

Also wanted to make a joke that Wenger is the type to try to kill himself with something that's actually not lethal and that he would carry on over and over again with the same method out of sheer stubbornness. But that's probably a bit too grim.

[Hughesy 254]

Every time Wenger is under pressure he fails, that is the definition of a bottler. 

[Jiggy 5]

I feel like you're missing the point.    

[Hughesy 254]

I'm not missing the point, you two are as that's the definition. He signs the players, he trains the players, he tells them how to play. Every year it's the same, get to Christmas and he can't handle the pressure. Him wanting to stay doesn't mean anything, he gets a great wage and is comfortable. Every year the team bottles it, and that is down to the manager. 

[EUfkdup 0]

Oxford dictionary: Bottler - a person with little mental strength or resilience. That's the definition. 

Wenger has both of those traits regardless of whether it's money driven or not. The problems with the team are mainly through his other character flaws such as his stubbornness and arrogance. Well, that and the fact the players themselves are bottlers. 

[Hughesy 254]

@fIsince08 LOL
https://twitter.com/paddypower/status/860429794147696641

[f1since08 60]

Literally me when I read it.              

[Jiggy 5]

Hughesy said:

I'm not missing the point, you two are as that's the definition. He signs the players, he trains the players, he tells them how to play. Every year it's the same, get to Christmas and he can't handle the pressure. Him wanting to stay doesn't mean anything, he gets a great wage and is comfortable. Every year the team bottles it, and that is down to the manager. 

Definitely missing the point.

[Hughesy 254]

How so? It's not my fault you don't understand the word I used.... 

[Jiggy 5]

Hughesy said:

How so? It's not my fault you don't understand the word I used.... 

You know, that's an ironic statement to make when someone gives you the definition of a word, explains how his stance is based on that definition and you still don't get his point and read over what he's saying.

The point is that Wenger as a man is not a bottler, because he is not fragile mentally. He rarely responds to heavy criticism in an erratic manner. Wenger as a manager is responsible for teams that bottles a title campaign. That does not make him a bottler as an individual. Same way Mourinho's teams are known for deliver in crunch time, but I would not look at Mourinho as a person as the beacon of mental strength at the same time, because of the way he lets so many stuff get to him and provoke a reaction out of him.

That's the point EUfkdup is trying to make here. And it doesn't mean Wenger isn't responsible. But being responsible =/= being a bottler in his sense of the word. And seeing how he backs it up with a definition, I think he makes a valid point.


To put it in an analogy, if Wenger tried to kill himself on his own, he would succeed. He would not bottle his own suicide. If Wenger managed a team of people who would all try to kill themselves, they would just end up as quadriplegics in hospitals with broken necks, but they would still be alive. The group of people Wenger is responsible for, bottled their own suicide.

tl;dr: He isn't a bottler, but he breeds bottlers.

In the end, I still ended up making it grim....

[f1since08 60]

We've actually managed to field the worst PL team of all time today. Fully expecting a cricket score as O'Shea, Lescott and Billy Jones are our centre backs for the day...