Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Jon MW]

Even worse; what about the "Americano"?

"Can I have a black coffee, please?"

"Do you mean an Americano, Sir?"

"Erm, no..I mean a black coffee...WTF is an "Americano"?"

"It's a black coffee, Sir"

"Ah right, well give me that black coffee then please"

I mean if they are going to do the Italian thing then at least do it right

WTF are Paninis

Its "1 Panino for me and two panini for my greedy friend please"

Try going to Costa and asking for 2 Cappucini and see what look you get then

...

"Costa coffee was first poured on our shores in 1971 at 9 Newport Street, London, by Sergio and Bruno Costa. Today, just a few metres away from where they first set up, the Costa Roastery produces the same unique Mocha Italia blend that the Costa brothers worked so hard to create."

It was created by Italians in London, and still uses the coffee blend they created.

Obviously it's now run by a corporation with all the dilution that's bound to bring but the occasional reference to how un-Italian it is jars slightly; it's history and heritage is British-Italian and given the make up of all the Italians involved in it's management and production - it pretty much still is.

[gatso]

Loan words are subject to the same grammatical rules as words of english origin. You can't start using italian syntax just because one word in a sentence is from there

[Jon MW]

Loan words are subject to the same grammatical rules as words of english origin. You can't start using italian syntax just because one word in a sentence is from there

It's a British-Italian company, they're mixing British and Italian creatively

[gatso]

I agree with you jon. Disagreeing with swinebag who thinks we should pluralise in an italian stylee

[tikay]

Just because Mike Ashley knows how to run a clothing store does not mean he is also capable of running a football club,they are obviously very different and he isn't.Some of the decisions he's made in the short time he's been here have been absolutely diabolical and although he may well have a decent business sense as a football Chairman the man is a clown.

Would you ever think it was a good idea to,on a regular basis, completely alienate yourself and make yourself a hate figure to your customer base ? Obviously it's not possible to keep fans happy all of the time,especially us hugely expectant and demanding Geordie's but he seems to go out of his way to create this atmosphere as if he thinks it's a good idea.

I'm afraid my point must have been very badly made, because your reply, & Gatters, misses the point.

The man appears to have good business acumen, judging by the splendid improvement in the results of Sports Direct, achieved in a less-than-optimal trading year for sports goods.

And the world & his wife (in football-land) all say he is a complete clown.

All I'm saying is I find that apparent contradiction fascinating to ponder. The City Analysts rate him highly, & football supporters all think he's a dumbass.

Does that not make you think, & reflect upon the difference between the two perceptions. Do football supporters NEVER doubt their wisdom? Are they always right? Does it never make them sit back & wonder how the man is destroying their Club (in their view....) but building a fine PLC, a little odd?

We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction. Weird things, football fans. They know better than Managers, players, referees, & Club Owners, it seems.

Do you never doubt your own views, Mondy, try & re-visit them sometimes to see if they add up?

PS - Never mind all this - go win that Biggie at DTD. You'd be far & away the most popular winner amongst all remaining blondes. Bink the £70k+, & set yourself up real good. I hope you do.   

PPS - I happen to agree - the dismissal of Chris seemed an odd, even bad, decision. But we don't know the ins & outs, do we?

[boldie]

I agree with you jon. Disagreeing with swinebag who thinks we should pluralise in an italian stylee

I think Swinebag was merely pointing out that a "Panini" should actually be called a "panano" as there is no such thing as a panini.

And just because a company started out as Italian doesn't mean it still is.

[Jon MW]

...
We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction.

...

Football clubs aren't like normal businesses, their main aim isn't to make money, to me the contradiction with Mike Ashley does nothing other than highlight the fact that a good businessman doesn't make a good owner.

[Jon MW]

I agree with you jon. Disagreeing with swinebag who thinks we should pluralise in an italian stylee

I think Swinebag was merely pointing out that a "Panini" should actually be called a "panano" as there is no such thing as a panini.

And just because a company started out as Italian doesn't mean it still is.

It didn't start out as Italian, it didn't even try and start out as Italian - it's not called Costa Caffe for example

It started out as British-Italian, and it still is; just because the original Italians aren't involved doesn't change that.


EDIT: and panini is, of course, an English word - but we can let you off for that

[tikay]

...
We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction.

...

Football clubs aren't like normal businesses, their main aim isn't to make money, to me the contradiction with Mike Ashley does nothing other than highlight the fact that a good businessman doesn't make a good owner.

And you really think a regular fan could make a "good owner"?

[Jon MW]

...
We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction.

...

Football clubs aren't like normal businesses, their main aim isn't to make money, to me the contradiction with Mike Ashley does nothing other than highlight the fact that a good businessman doesn't make a good owner.

And you really think a regular fan could make a "good owner"?

If I'd thought that, I would have said it

EDIT: although technically, obviously, I should have clarified, a good businessman doesn't necessarily make a good owner

[tikay]

...
We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction.

...

Football clubs aren't like normal businesses, their main aim isn't to make money, to me the contradiction with Mike Ashley does nothing other than highlight the fact that a good businessman doesn't make a good owner.

And you really think a regular fan could make a "good owner"?

If I'd thought that, I would have said it

EDIT: although technically, obviously, I should have clarified, a good businessman doesn't necessarily make a good owner

Happy days, now we are getting there. The word "necessarily" changes everything.

Ashley effectively owns the Club. He's not a fool, whatever any football fan thinks. And it's his train set.

Do you not get hacked off when people you don't even know tell you how you should or should not spend your own hard-earned money? I know I would.

"If you don't like the way I spend my own money, you can **** off" would be my line. Yours too, I suspect. But no, it's football, so all logic goes out of the window.

The lack of logic in football, particularly in the UK, is staggering. And that's not just fans, either, it's Administrators, too.

Everton & Liverpool are both skinto, with their seperate Stadiums in full use about 50 days per year. Both need new Stadia. Would they share?

Arsenal have a terrific Stadium. Spurs are desperate to find a new home. Ground-share? Don't be silly. This is football. We have lotz of moneyz.

Ditto QPR & Brentford. Fulham & Chelsea. Bristol City & Rovers. Stoke & Port Vale. West Ham & Orient. Da de da.

Meanwhile, the Directors of these Clubs are all relying on the subsidy of football money to survive. One day that TV money won't be there.

Imagine a prolonged strike by Referees in the Premier League. The match-day income stops, the TV money stops. How long before half of them go busto? 2 months? 3 months?

I think it's an age thing. Nothing makes much sense to me any more.

[redarmi]

. The City Analysts rate him highly,

This isn't actually true.  The city has a very narrow definition of what it likes in it's business owners and Ashleys autocratic style doesn't suit them because he doesn't let the Chairman and CEO run the company (he runs it).  They generally don't kick up too much of a fuss whilst the company is delivering but when it had a couple of bad quarters in 2007 they were very quick to mobilise and try and make changes.  I think the problem with his management of the football club is that he tries to run it in the same way he runs sports direct in that any let up in performance results in changes being made but football doesn't really work like that because performance is subject to variance no matter how good you are and if you expect to be the best all of the time you are going to be sorely disappointed.

[MANTIS01]

...
We live in a knocking society, the internet allows anyone to Post any view.  But when I see all this "ffs, lolz rofll, what a freaking idiot that twat Ashley is", it makes me wonder who the idiots are. Ashley, the football supporters, or me.

I just felt, given the contradiction, football supporters might just try & analyse the apparent contradiction.

...

Football clubs aren't like normal businesses, their main aim isn't to make money, to me the contradiction with Mike Ashley does nothing other than highlight the fact that a good businessman doesn't make a good owner.

And you really think a regular fan could make a "good owner"?

If I'd thought that, I would have said it

EDIT: although technically, obviously, I should have clarified, a good businessman doesn't necessarily make a good owner

Happy days, now we are getting there. The word "necessarily" changes everything.

Ashley effectively owns the Club. He's not a fool, whatever any football fan thinks. And it's his train set.

Do you not get hacked off when people you don't even know tell you how you should or should not spend your own hard-earned money? I know I would.

"If you don't like the way I spend my own money, you can **** off" would be my line. Yours too, I suspect. But no, it's football, so all logic goes out of the window.

The lack of logic in football, particularly in the UK, is staggering. And that's not just fans, either, it's Administrators, too.

Everton & Liverpool are both skinto, with their seperate Stadiums in full use about 50 days per year. Both need new Stadia. Would they share?

Arsenal have a terrific Stadium. Spurs are desperate to find a new home. Ground-share? Don't be silly. This is football. We have lotz of moneyz.

Ditto QPR & Brentford. Fulham & Chelsea. Bristol City & Rovers. Stoke & Port Vale. West Ham & Orient. Da de da.

Meanwhile, the Directors of these Clubs are all relying on the subsidy of football money to survive. One day that TV money won't be there.

Imagine a prolonged strike by Referees in the Premier League. The match-day income stops, the TV money stops. How long before half of them go busto? 2 months? 3 months?

I think it's an age thing. Nothing makes much sense to me any more.

Buying a cheap pair of trainers isn't a very emotional experience so Ashley excels in what is essentially a price point business. Running a football club and making decisions that affect thousands of supporters and their lives requires significantly different skills i'd say. Generations of passionate fans will have a sense of ownership about the club so the it's my train-set strat will always be rejected. Don't you think owning something historic makes you just a temporary custodian? So if you're not sensitive to the feelings of the fans in what is an emotional business i'd say you were missing a trick. And this is where Ashley stumbles. You can't always apply logic to emotional situations. There are lots of successful and driven businessmen who score lowly in the sensitivity stakes cos sensitivity isn't usually compatible with commercial success. Ashley is good with numbers but not with people.

[tikay]

Aah, at last, the debate is getting to the point.

Love the line "good with numbers, not with people". Examples of those who are good at both are far & few between. Warren Buffett is a rare exception.

I'm guilty of stereotyping here, but I tend to think Accountants are great examples of this - I've rarely met one with good people skills. And to be fair, well-balanced souls who can read a balance sheet properly (that is to say, read between the lines) are rare animals, too.

 

[technolog]

I tend to think Accountants are great examples of this - I've rarely met one with good people skills.
 

Leigh Wiltshire, case in point