The Importance of Sport (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Roger Stone]

[Mick Harper]

As far as I know, nobody has any difficulty saying "England collapsed" when it is cricket. War would seem to be a different matter.

Your last post but one appears to lack any comment from you.

[Roger Stone]

We are allowed to admit it's a collapse, but not that this is a form of running away.

Previous post - yes, I have edited in a request for it to be removed, if you would be so kind.

[Mick Harper]

You will have to explain how it is a form of running away. It is true that some batsman perhaps could be said to 'lack moral fibre' when facing short-pitched fast bowling but that is a technical failing on their part and does not apply to the England team as a whole.

PS I am sorry but we are having some technical difficulties. Bear with us.

[Hatty]

Some cricket players will be more put off their stroke by the howls of the spectators than others. The hostility at Edgbaston towards Aussie fast bowlers like Mitchell Johnson wasn't as evident on TV as perhaps it could have been, just the odd shot of the Barmy Army for 'atmosphere' perhaps, without the rancour.

I sometimes wonder how football players cope with the bullying tactics of the crowd but presumably the level of noise means that a lot of abuse can't be heard anyway? Now cricket and tennis are less elitist, the crowds are getting noisier, more players may have to have sports psychologists on their case. Psychologists get everywhere these days.

[Wile E. Coyote]

[Mick Harper]

Boreades, you are a twat. Many people spend the whole day avoiding knowing the score so they can watch it later. Even you must know this. I have deleted your post so that, even though my day has been ruined, perhaps theirs won't be.

[Mick Harper]

Did You Know .... No 187

..... that football managers in Italy, Spain and Latin America are called 'Mister'? This is not in itself surprising because British managers were widely employed in the early days of football in these countries. What is surprising is that I have never come across this rather juicy titbit in all my years of following world football. Did anybody else know?

[Boreades]

Why aren't you listening to Radio 5 Live?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/5livesportsextra

[Mick Harper]

And so European football starts. Surely the greatest extended show on earth. Year after year I wait for fortune to play out so that the headline Wenger Entertains Young Boys becomes possible.

Shame about drawing Brugge, Chad, see you next year.

[Chad]

Kind of you to back us for another top four finish.

[aurelius]

Wily said:
"Orthodoxy puts home advantage down to a bullying hostile crowd, but this might not be the whole story....

For example, certain species of animals fight harder and are known to be more successful defending their own territory........."

And pitches vary in size. this can affect the passing game.

Yet it is also true that occasionally a team's away form can be much better than their home. If the home fans aren't happy with performance or style they can give their team a right barracking.

[aurelius]

Sorry have't got the hang of quoting yet.

Is it my age or are Test Matches getting shorter?

[Mick Harper]

Earlier today I had to post this on our other site The Megalithic Empire for somebody similarly afflicted.

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When you write your answer you will see above the box some little boxes starting with B and ending in URL. All these are useful (you can see I've been using the B) but for you the most useful would be the fourth one along called Quote. If you highlight a passage in your answer (you do that by holding the cursor button down, moving the cursor along the words and then letting go of the button) then click on Quote. The software does the rest. Let me know if this proves problematic.

[Wile E. Coyote]