A fantastic Scottish performance eventually saw off a better Irish side in a dramatic opening 6 Nations game in Edinburgh. I have been suffering for 17 years watching heroic failure far too often amidst some more routine wins and a few huge disappointments. When we have won the odd much unexpectedly, it's often been a dead rubber like at the end of the tournament. Yesterday's opening day win was only our third since the 6 Nations began in 2000.
It was a great match too as Scotland raced into a three try lead in the first -half and then saw Ireland fight-back in the second to go 22-21 ahead before Scotland reasserted themselves and skipper Greg Laidlaw nailed two penalties to seal the match at the death. It makes our game in Paris that much more interesting and I am having a sneaky peak at a late appearance (I know it will all go horribly wrong if I am there).
I love Edinburgh as it's a buzzing city at night with a huge array of decent old town pubs and bars as well some great food. Rugby internationals also bring so many foreigners to the match. Again yesterday, there were plenty of French and Italian fans there for the weekend, even if their national sides were in action elsewhere this weekend.
I saw we were one-up at half-time but threw it away at the finish. Doesn't look like I missed much. We can't compete in this league without an out-and-out striker and our over-reliance on Magennis is glaring. Thirty minutes for our first attempt at goal? Looking to shut-up shop after an hour and a slew of tactically inept substitutions?
That brings me to Karl Robinson. I was disappointed to see him used as part of the Club's new PR offensive last week. A plum Times interview with resident Henry Winter was obviously arranged in the background by Rubbersoles/Pitch PR and a few days before publication, a hastily arranged meeting with four fans at a secret pub venue was organised for Thursday evening. The Times piece wasn't mentioned of course but the meeting 'with fans' enabled Robinson to reference it. He had previously turned down an offer to attend the Bromley Branch's supporters meeting on the same night because he was 'already engaged' although he probably forgot about that.
My fellow-Blogger, Phil, captures the sentiment perfectly here. Sorry Karl, but you have made your position crystal clear now and handing a list of supporters complaints over to those upstairs isn't going to make an iota's difference - they are patently aware of what they have done and why they have done it. Katrien may have told you she is very sorry and regrets some of her bigger gaffes but she hasn't had the decency to acknowledge any of them publicly and, yes, she has said "we have learnt from our mistakes" but she hasn't said sorry once for anything specific and even as recently as the Jim White interview she was spinning every single accusation. She is arrogant, pure and simple, and it shows she can't learn fully from her mistakes because she can't acknowledge she has been wrong or has denied obvious truths in front of supporters.
Personally, I think Robinson speaks in cliches for much of the time and says things that simply aren't true because he thinks they sound good. Telling Winter he'd "cleared out four or five..deadwoods in the window, who were wallowing in self-pity" is a good example. He did no such thing unless you count Fox, Ajose and Lookman in addition to Ba.
What I think Robinson has done with all of his media talk and by allowing himself to be used in a very obvious way, is to put himself under potentially far more pressure than he needed to. If he doesn't turn the results substantially, he is going to get burned quickly by the majority of the clubs remaining fans who will see through what he's been promising.
Not a great time of year to be messing up what with season ticket renewals due out......
It was a great match too as Scotland raced into a three try lead in the first -half and then saw Ireland fight-back in the second to go 22-21 ahead before Scotland reasserted themselves and skipper Greg Laidlaw nailed two penalties to seal the match at the death. It makes our game in Paris that much more interesting and I am having a sneaky peak at a late appearance (I know it will all go horribly wrong if I am there).
I love Edinburgh as it's a buzzing city at night with a huge array of decent old town pubs and bars as well some great food. Rugby internationals also bring so many foreigners to the match. Again yesterday, there were plenty of French and Italian fans there for the weekend, even if their national sides were in action elsewhere this weekend.
I saw we were one-up at half-time but threw it away at the finish. Doesn't look like I missed much. We can't compete in this league without an out-and-out striker and our over-reliance on Magennis is glaring. Thirty minutes for our first attempt at goal? Looking to shut-up shop after an hour and a slew of tactically inept substitutions?
That brings me to Karl Robinson. I was disappointed to see him used as part of the Club's new PR offensive last week. A plum Times interview with resident Henry Winter was obviously arranged in the background by Rubbersoles/Pitch PR and a few days before publication, a hastily arranged meeting with four fans at a secret pub venue was organised for Thursday evening. The Times piece wasn't mentioned of course but the meeting 'with fans' enabled Robinson to reference it. He had previously turned down an offer to attend the Bromley Branch's supporters meeting on the same night because he was 'already engaged' although he probably forgot about that.
My fellow-Blogger, Phil, captures the sentiment perfectly here. Sorry Karl, but you have made your position crystal clear now and handing a list of supporters complaints over to those upstairs isn't going to make an iota's difference - they are patently aware of what they have done and why they have done it. Katrien may have told you she is very sorry and regrets some of her bigger gaffes but she hasn't had the decency to acknowledge any of them publicly and, yes, she has said "we have learnt from our mistakes" but she hasn't said sorry once for anything specific and even as recently as the Jim White interview she was spinning every single accusation. She is arrogant, pure and simple, and it shows she can't learn fully from her mistakes because she can't acknowledge she has been wrong or has denied obvious truths in front of supporters.
Personally, I think Robinson speaks in cliches for much of the time and says things that simply aren't true because he thinks they sound good. Telling Winter he'd "cleared out four or five..deadwoods in the window, who were wallowing in self-pity" is a good example. He did no such thing unless you count Fox, Ajose and Lookman in addition to Ba.
What I think Robinson has done with all of his media talk and by allowing himself to be used in a very obvious way, is to put himself under potentially far more pressure than he needed to. If he doesn't turn the results substantially, he is going to get burned quickly by the majority of the clubs remaining fans who will see through what he's been promising.
Not a great time of year to be messing up what with season ticket renewals due out......
As soon as I read about how the protests affect the players, although their macho nature won't allow them to admit it, and how those protests might encourage Roland to dig his heels in, I knew that he was being used as a regime mouthpiece pure and simple. This combine with his hammer up anger on deadline day, demonstrates a complete lack of sincerity from the manager. If I wasn't already doing so, I think I might begin to disbelieve every utterance from the scouse git.
ReplyDeleteGood choice with the Scotland game mate, though it probably wasnt a tough call at the moment.Think people got a bit carried away with the Bolton game even allowing for the great result it was with ten men as Charlton dont often back it up hese days.As for Robinson we should not be surprised. What self respecting manager would work for these parasites,they are not for changing and i am surprised that some people can cut them any slack whatsoever.Can only hope they are gone sooner rather than later so we ca all get back to supporting the club and Team.Also trips to see Las Palmas are hurting the pocket, Dave The Train
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