BFTG - Stevenage

[RoyalBlue]

The customer is not always right, the customer is often ignorant and wrong. The person who coined that phrase should be strung up by the ankles as it's continually used to justify unacceptable and unpleasant behaviour.

Yeah that Selfridge guy clearly didn't have a clue did he.

If you want a customer to remain or repeat their business then they have to feel that their opinion is listened to, valued and acted upon at least in some way. Of course as football fans we can't all be right at the same time that doesn't mean we don't want to be heard.

Sometimes it's in the best interests of the customer for the supplier to explain and educate him/her as to why they are wrong. (not saying that is necessarily the case here).

Surprised by the criticism of Bacuna by some. Against Birmingham he looked like the player who cared most and really gave it a go.

[Platypuss]

Aaaaaww Im really sorry to hear that players on big wages are upset because the fanbase vent their frustrations at them.

Would you be able to do your job to the best of your ability, if there was a bunch of people around your desk hurling abuse at you while you worked?

To be fair he probably wouldn't hear it over the noise of the chip fryer.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

In the pub before the game there was some despondency when the team news filtered through. No recognised centre forward. Against a league 2 team. Still the game kicked off and there was support from the away end. Yes, some sarcastic chatting followed, probably out of boredom rather than anything else.

Respect to McShane and Gutter for speaking out. Don't agree with some of the things they've said but so what. This could actually be positive. Remember the pants day debacle years back, this feels similar to where we were at then. What followed was a vast improvement in form.

McShane isn't playing well but full respect to him that he never goes hiding. Same goes to Liam Kelly - one of the few looking to receive the ball. Bacuna is a good player but continually looks pissed off with the efforts of his team mates. It just doesn't look like they're all in this together. That neeeds sorting.

Also, Richards looked good.

[Snowflake Royal]

The customer is not always right, the customer is often ignorant and wrong. The person who coined that phrase should be strung up by the ankles as it's continually used to justify unacceptable and unpleasant behaviour.

Yeah that Selfridge guy clearly didn't have a clue did he.

If you want a customer to remain or repeat their business then they have to feel that their opinion is listened to, valued and acted upon at least in some way. Of course as football fans we can't all be right at the same time that doesn't mean we don't want to be heard.

The actual intent of the oft misused 'customer is always right' is that you approach each interaction with the frame of mind that the customer may be right and has a valid opinion, you listen to them and you deal with it as appropriate. Including politely telling them they're wrong or they can't have what they want if that's the case.

And if they're being arsey, you try to politely challenge that, and if they persist you politely terminate interactions.

So you're kinda right in what you say, but what you say still isn't that the customer is always right. Anyone who ran a business on that loteral assumption would fail quickly.

[tmesis]

Aaaaaww Im really sorry to hear that players on big wages are upset because the fanbase vent their frustrations at them.

Would you be able to do your job to the best of your ability, if there was a bunch of people around your desk hurling abuse at you while you worked?

More importantly, it's not about players being upset. It's about people believing that even if they give players abuse all game, those same players should still show gratitude towards them, despite that abuse.

[Jagermesiter1871]

What players had the piss taken out of them?

What do you think the "how shit must you be..." song is about, for example?

Gunter can bang on about being disappointed with the fans. I'm fukcing disappointed with the team and the choice to not play a striker against a league 2 team. The main difference being I paid to be there and he's paid to be there. T0ssers.

Sorry, but if you've booed the players throughout, and been negative all game, you shouldn't then be sensitive little darlings and complain about a lack of respect from people you've shown no respect to all afternoon.

The thing that makes not applauding bad for me is that it ignores the fact that not all fans are like that, and those fans got snubbed too.

Umm the fact that we are god fukcing awful and can barely manage a shot against a league 2 team, primarily down to tactics and team selection.

Were you at yesterdays game? Because none of what you describe took place. No one booed any of the players throughout. And no one was negative all game. In fact I was surprised at the lack of negativity pre-match.

[Jagermesiter1871]

The customer is not always right, the customer is often ignorant and wrong. The person who coined that phrase should be strung up by the ankles as it's continually used to justify unacceptable and unpleasant behaviour.

Yeah that Selfridge guy clearly didn't have a clue did he.

If you want a customer to remain or repeat their business then they have to feel that their opinion is listened to, valued and acted upon at least in some way. Of course as football fans we can't all be right at the same time that doesn't mean we don't want to be heard.

Sometimes it's in the best interests of the customer for the supplier to explain and educate him/her as to why they are wrong. (not saying that is necessarily the case here).

Surprised by the criticism of Bacuna by some. Against Birmingham he looked like the player who cared most and really gave it a go.

Yesterday he was atrocious. His link up play and communication with Kelly was non-existent. He also managed to take a throw-in and throw it directly out of play, down the line. Was impressively bad.

[Jagermesiter1871]

I joined in the negative chanting. Is bollocks that it was from the get-go. As stated by multiple sources, there was a fully supported chant of Jaap Stams Barmy Army pre-match

Apart from the people who intertwined it with Stam out?

Now that was certainly the minority.

[Victor Meldrew]

Call me an old cynic but do others not think that these two players were asked or told to tweet?
As some others have said, couldn't the senior players be a bit braver and go to the boss and say that they feel it isn't working?
Wherever I have worked both as employee and employer we have always been keen on feedback and employee input to get a better outcome.
This idea that the players are frightened to speak out for fear of being dropped is outrageous and Stam can't drop everybody.

In days gone by this would have been the day that an 18 year old striker might get a game (isn't Loader a junior England international?) as for the sake of shape you would want somebody playing centrally who at least has an idea of playing there rather than just putting wingers there and hoping for something to happen.
We even had Steve Hetzke , a centre-half, playing up front in an emergency, and he turned out not to be the worst but at least there was a central focus point for the attack..

There are serious problems at our club and it is no fun to watch with the worst thing being that the players don't SEEM to be trying-I'm sure they are but it doesn't look that way as they try to implement the fuerhur's instructions.
Any successful side has leaders and triers but this current lot lack both and the fans find that so hard to take or acknowledge when they use so much of their spendable income and time to travel far and wide to support these snowflakes.
Oh for the types like Parky, Gooding and co. who (and at times were booed) take the approach of "I'll show them" rather than "Some horrible people said some nasty things".

Stam's era can surely only end in tears (as it does for most managers) and the only surprise is that with more money spent on new players than ever before (and losing just one first-teamer) we are now so lowly placed in the League compared with where we finished last season-it must be a mystery to the owners and with the transfer window open for only another 3 weeks or so the replacement of the manager becomes ever more unlikely.
Oh, and this what we watch every week is so,so dull -I wonder what the owners think when they watch games (as presumably they do) from afar.
Do people think they get their mates round to watch games on the promise that there will be some excitement and take bets on how many passes are made in our own half?

The last time the club offered cheap prices for a game was a great let-down-let's hope for this replay Gunter and McShane will show as much commitment on the pitch as they expect from the fans off it.

[blythspartan]

I have never booed the players but I decided after going to the Ipswich game not to go to any more games, unless Stam goes, or changes the style of football we play. Neither will happen, so I am calling it a day for this season.

I didn't agree with some of the chanting yesterday but at least they were based on how we play football. What disappoints is why it doesn't make the players want to roll their sleeves up to prove us wrong.

I do think they are trying but they just don't seem to have a clue about what they are meant to be doing.

It's all very well drawing a line in the sand but what's going to change? We live in a world where talk is cheap. They want to come and work where I do, as if you can't deliver you're out of the door.

I hope Omar Richards gets to start next Saturday, as listening to the game on BBCRB he was the only positive for me.

[RoyalBlue]

Call me an old cynic but do others not think that these two players were asked or told to tweet?
As some others have said, couldn't the senior players be a bit braver and go to the boss and say that they feel it isn't working?
Wherever I have worked both as employee and employer we have always been keen on feedback and employee input to get a better outcome.
This idea that the players are frightened to speak out for fear of being dropped is outrageous and Stam can't drop everybody.
.

You and I have been lucky where we have worked. Some employers reportedly may not be the same - how much do companies like Amazon and Sports Direct subscribe to that way of thinking? Recently, on The Apprentice, Sugar criticised one of the team leaders for seeking input from his team - 'You're the leader - you tell them, they just do it'.

[leon]

Aaaaaww Im really sorry to hear that players on big wages are upset because the fanbase vent their frustrations at them.

Would you be able to do your job to the best of your ability, if there was a bunch of people around your desk hurling abuse at you while you worked?

More importantly, it's not about players being upset. It's about people believing that even if they give players abuse all game, those same players should still show gratitude towards them, despite that abuse.

Seriously chaps. This is RFC we’re talking about.

Some boos and sarcasm? Really?

This lot would shit bricks in front an actual aggressive crowd.

[LUX]

They want to come and work where I do, as if you can't deliver you're out of the door.

you a postie, Blyth?

[LUX]

midwife?

[TiagoIlori]

The customer is always right

I watched an episode of Hells Kitchen and one customer said there shouldn’t be any pink on the steak, Gordon Ramsay, world class chef who learned from other top chefs said it was cooked to medium-rare as requested, and you seem to think the customer was correct? That phrase is very ignorant

[stealthpapes]

[Bacuna] also managed to take a throw-in and throw it directly out of play, down the line.

That was *quite* special.

Anyway, vague thoughts in no order.

1. The main things wrong with our approach appear to be (a) we're slightly too slow at it (b) no-one drops in to help out when a player gets stuck and (c) the plan B of hoofing it is completely nonsensical - Barrow was never going to beat King in the air. McCleary was broadly anonymous. When Kermogant came on, he pushed right up against the Stevenage line, giving Barrow a bit more space. It was no surprise we created one or two chances after that switch. The formation had ended up 5-5-0, with Barrow/McClearly typically looking to go wide.

2. Going back to (b) and (a), this is roughly where Jaakola comes in - Stevenage's two forwards were clearly aware of our 'play it from the back' approach and quite rightly gave him very little time. The obvious passes were sideways, and without a midfielder dropping in to give wing backs/centre backs and option, it would go back to Jaakola and he'd be chased down rapidly. He got rattled early on by one that went across the Stevenage forward with an open goal. To his credit, when tested with shots, Jaakola looked completely safe.

3. Throw ins. We're really bad at them. Not just the comedy Bacuna one but in general they were a series of gifts of possession back to Stevenage. It is a bit depressing as they're common set pieces and certain drills should be easy to practise. Getting 20 odd throw ins a game and wasting the majority is grade-A special sauce.

4. The fans - loud, kept singing. OK, gallows humour in parts but there was one point where Ilori looked to play it back as the 'pass it back' song was singing and clearly had a second or third thought about things. So, yeah, not helpful. Booing? The only point where fans started to boo loudly and clearly was when the players began to walk off without acknowledging them. McShane made a shrugging gesture ('what do you lot want us to do' seemed to be the gist of it) but to their credit, him and Stam got the team to applaud and were then applauded.

5. The slightly perplexed bloke who moved so I could stand with my pal - if you're on here - cheers. Obviously, you're not going to a game expecting to be asked if you've come here on your own. We typically save that for the Turkish bath after the game.

6. They had some OK players, the difference in quality was far lower than I'd have expected - rather liked King, probably my man of the match.

[LUX]

papes, Frimmers and Brightoners all back in one week.

2018 is looking up.

[Kev in Bracknell]

Would someone kindly quote the words to the "pass it back" song. Heard it at Brizzle but couldn't remember all the words. Thanks.

[Jagermesiter1871]

Would someone kindly quote the words to the "pass it back" song. Heard it at Brizzle but couldn't remember all the words. Thanks.

look on page 4.

[tmesis]

Would you be able to do your job to the best of your ability, if there was a bunch of people around your desk hurling abuse at you while you worked?

More importantly, it's not about players being upset. It's about people believing that even if they give players abuse all game, those same players should still show gratitude towards them, despite that abuse.

Seriously chaps. This is RFC we’re talking about.

Some boos and sarcasm? Really?

This lot would shit bricks in front an actual aggressive crowd.

I don't really care about the players' feelings etc (beyond the moronic idea that booing players motivates them to play better), but more the outrage that some have about not being appreciated, when there wasn't a great deal worthy of appreciation.