Relegation Battles

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Relegation Battles
Tweet Topic Started: Mar 21 2016, 11:21 PM (1,706 Views)
Cobardon	Mar 21 2016, 11:21 PM Post #1
Uncle Smurf Posts: 1,768 Group: Members Member #16 Joined: September 12, 2010	Just wondering if anyone else is enjoying the battle to beat the drop as much as I am? The pit in your stomach when you near another pointless defeat (both meanings accepted), the elation of inching closer to the team above you with a stuffy win over another poor team, the grim stoicism of knowing that we haven't a prayer but still somehow retain the hope? It's all good. Perhaps it's just me, perhaps it's our culturally Presbyterian self-loathing or something, but I rather like the feeling of my team being down at the bottom and grimly fighting for their life, in a brutal and probably joyless way. The gallows humour, the collected misery and the stowing away of crumbs of joy from meagre pickings is something to cherish. I'm not saying it's better than winning trophies and going on winning runs watching scintillating silky football, but it's not the opposite either. If you only have the good times then they aren't as good, are they? Remember this as we struggle, fellow Arabs: we will come good again.



Naebody	Mar 22 2016, 09:44 AM Post #2
Twat Posts: 5,210 Group: Members Member #20 Joined: September 13, 2010	Yep. Football has quite a lot in common with a soap opera, and relegation's a really good storyline. It's been an excellent season, narratively speaking. Probably our strongest plot since 1994. Also, now that I've accepted it, I quite enjoy that we're rubbish. It's more fun to watch a team that's bad than mediocre. I dragged one of those non-drummer types along to watch the derby. Usually, for cup finals and the like, bringing a person disinterested in football is just kind-of awkward: they're only humouring the situation and pretending to care about whether one team plays better than the other team, which makes me feel silly about caring intensely. But when we're terrible, there's entertainment to be found in our haplessness. It's properly funny when Dow falls over his own feet, and when McKay sets out to run up the wing but forgets the ball. It's slapstick. We giggled like Big Sur hippies through the entire 90 minutes.



vvhatsthatonyourback	Mar 22 2016, 10:57 AM Post #3
wild eyed Posts: 1,441 Group: Members Member #131 Joined: January 27, 2014	The most intense I've ever felt football was in those couple of utterly dire seasons we had around the millennium, which seemed to coincide with the start of this forum's precursor. The anguish as people looked for promise in David McCracken. The frustration at Danny Griffin's inability to influence a game. Tassos Venetis looking classy whilst being shite. Charlie Miller being a c*nt and being applauded by United fans for it. Happy miserable days.



Setenza	Mar 22 2016, 11:46 PM Post #4
Knitting with only one needle Posts: 6,057 Group: Admin Member #7 Joined: September 10, 2010	Can't say I'm enjoying it as such, maybe if we we've a decent chance going into the last 3 games. Otherwise if's just watching poor football knowing it's all bit pointless. There's not enough to get behind for me right now, other than just to support for the sake of support. Next season should be fun though. Almost worth going doing for the excitement of trying to win and come back up with a refreshed team and outlook.



vvhatsthatonyourback	Mar 23 2016, 09:54 AM Post #5
wild eyed Posts: 1,441 Group: Members Member #131 Joined: January 27, 2014	Maybe I'm mad, but I've only really enjoyed watching United when we were good, and am too young to have really appreciated the early 80's. So, the numerous lost finals in the late 80's. Oh how I enjoyed that. That half season under Tommy, the spell when we had Robertson, Gauld, Armstrong, GMS, Ciftci on fire. At a push, Levein's spell in charge, where we weren't exactly good, but we were getting better and clearly going in the right direction and set the foundations for the cup win and the Gauld et al streak.. Is that it? Oh Craig, why did you leave us?



Conan the Destroyer	Mar 23 2016, 11:00 AM Post #6
I prefer it when we're pish Posts: 3,265 Group: Members Member #6 Joined: September 10, 2010	He got the Scotland job, do you not remember? And he made a total arse of it, as we told him he would. GOOD.



Morvant's Finest	Mar 23 2016, 01:32 PM Post #7
Tommy McLean Posts: 2,106 Group: Members Member #37 Joined: January 13, 2011	It certainly makes every game seem vitally important to us fans, which I suppose is the polar opposite of Hearts fans right now, with their team marooned in 3rd place, 9 points from Aberdeen and 13 St Johnstone. And the players and club won't be able to sleep walk through the final 5 games like they usually do (well let's hope not anyway)...



Morvant's Finest	Mar 23 2016, 01:35 PM Post #8
Tommy McLean Posts: 2,106 Group: Members Member #37 Joined: January 13, 2011	Conan the Destroyer Mar 23 2016, 11:00 AM He got the Scotland job, do you not remember? And he made a total arse of it, as we told him he would. GOOD. And by co-incidence that game's in the news again: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35308793 Quote: After the earlier withdrawals of Naismith and Steven Whittaker, Darren Fletcher and Alan Hutton are the only survivors from the last time Scotland played in Prague, a 1-0 Euro 2012 qualifying defeat notable for the 4-6-0 formation employed by then boss Craig Levein.



vvhatsthatonyourback	Mar 23 2016, 01:49 PM Post #9
wild eyed Posts: 1,441 Group: Members Member #131 Joined: January 27, 2014	Conan the Destroyer Mar 23 2016, 11:00 AM He got the Scotland job, do you not remember? Scotland? Really? Scotland mens' football team? My goodness!



Conan the Destroyer	Mar 23 2016, 03:02 PM Post #10
I prefer it when we're pish Posts: 3,265 Group: Members Member #6 Joined: September 10, 2010	What a waste of pixels.



litljortindan2	Mar 23 2016, 04:53 PM Post #11
Ian McCall Posts: 742 Group: Members Member #55 Joined: October 6, 2011	The run in makes me feel a certain nostalgia for watching early seventies Dr Who episodes from behind the sofa.



litljortindan2	Mar 23 2016, 08:03 PM Post #12
Ian McCall Posts: 742 Group: Members Member #55 Joined: October 6, 2011	Picking up on Conan the Destroyer's point, our form over the last eight is equivalent to 41 points over 30 games which means we are a Motherwell level side so definitely not shite.



TheDean	Mar 23 2016, 09:07 PM Post #13
ALLEGEDLY CALICO Posts: 2,117 Group: Members Member #53 Joined: September 18, 2011	I enjoyed us when we we were good (ala Wassa) but only because our usual habit of falling asleep post split meant we weren't threatened with relegation. The only time you feel good about us being crap is when you know we're safe- which wasn't often (c 2005 cup final I think)



Naebody	Mar 24 2016, 07:29 AM Post #14
Twat Posts: 5,210 Group: Members Member #20 Joined: September 13, 2010	TheDean Mar 23 2016, 09:07 PM I enjoyed us when we we were good No you didn't. You moaned like a bitch.



Cobardon	Mar 24 2016, 11:08 AM Post #15
Uncle Smurf Posts: 1,768 Group: Members Member #16 Joined: September 12, 2010	Naebody Mar 24 2016, 07:29 AM TheDean Mar 23 2016, 09:07 PM I enjoyed us when we we were good No you didn't. You moaned like a bitch. Yed, but surely by now we've established that moaning like a bitch is exactly what the Dean enjoys. Fair enough really. We all have our reasons for going.

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