Macca

If the sport can't ever be umpired correctly, then mistakes are always going to happen. Therefore the umpires aren't to blame. My view is that most have been brainwashed into believing that the sport can be umpired correctly and that the umpires hate us. None of that is true. Every year is the same ... in fact, there has never been a year where the umpires haven't been in the gun. Rinse and repeat. And every year it gets worse (apparently) The examples you gave just highlight my view ... and it's unfixable. Too many players on the ground with rules that can never be defined. And it has always been that way. In frustration, the umpires get blamed.

Every year the same argument rears it's ugly head ... and nothing will ever change. For my explanation, read the above post dpositive.

Not loud ... just different It is drummed into us from a young age that the umpires are there to be hated and that they are out to get us. Nearly everyone around us reinforces that view and then the confirmation bias kicks in. That thinking goes right back to the 19th century too ... it isn't a recent phenomenom. So by the time we reach adulthood we're well and truly hooked in. As a result, any disputable decision against our teams can become an act of cheating (or suchlike) But it is all bs ... the game can't be umpired correctly so therefore numerous errors are going to be made. There is no bias, just bad luck. The umpires don't hate us and there is no plot against our team. But when you factor in the 'want' to win and the bad loser effect, we blame the adjudicators as a matter of course The title name of the thread is a nonsense ... it is laughable and quite frankly, embarrassing. And don't worry, I know my view is in the minority but I am right. And if you truly believe that the umpires are out to get us, you need to offer real proof. Plucking out individual moments just reinforces my view.

Jumping the shark with that appraisal I am not surprised though as just about any adjudication in our sport can be and often is questioned. But instead of just accepting that the sport can't be umpired correctly, assumptions are made that umpires are on the take or they are blatantly cheating. Or games are fixed as you put it. It's just nuts and believe me, my view represents way less than 1% of the overall view. The other 99%+ view is along the lines of what you're saying. I'll get no support nor am I expecting any sort of support ... that's the way things swing around here. Group-think wins out. Tell 'em what they want to hear. I prefer to appraise the actual footy ... more so how our team is travelling. Warts and all. We lost a game we should have won last night and we only have ourselves to blame. And bad kicking for goal has nought to do with umpires.

The Port game last year .. After creating an advantage over the other mob in the first half Port then decided to pressure us with a press in the 2nd half and we couldn't deal with it. We kicked the ball blindly out of the middle, turned the ball over and lost. However, the umpires were blamed by many here ... again, not addressing the absolute shortcomings of the team that day. Oddly enough, when we were absolute pus in 2012/13 there was barely a murmur about the umpires. Lose a close one and it's way different.

The game is impossible to umpire correctly. The umpires probably never know when to blow the whistle You should try your hand at it ... good coin for a part time job too. But get ready for a torrent of abuse ... goes hand in hand. You are never going to be right umpiring our sport (even if you are right) It is an unholy mess to officiate compared to any other sport

Crowds do influence umpires & referees. Another staple of sport. Directives won't work either ... great in theory but in practical terms, null and void. I chatted to 3 or 4 Demon mates today and they all knew in advance that we weren't going to get the rub of the green. It was never expected. The opposite was expected however thus we needed to put them to the sword when we had our chance But we blew it unlike it in round 22 last year when we didn't blow it and we won over there. We took the crowd/umps out of the game in that match and that is how you win against the odds. Before we point the finger we should look in the mirror. And if that is not the message from Goodwin, he's not the man for the job. But he doesn't strike me as an excuse-maker.

Well .. the only way to get into the Eagles situation is to exact the same fortress type home field advantage Realistically, that isn't going to happen so we just have to have a better team. All the rest of it is pointless. Rinse and repeat.

The chaos of umpiring our game means that obvious frees will be missed. It's a thing that can't be explained because of the very nature of the chaos that exists And trying to make sense of chaos is another pointless exercise. The grey areas are extreme ... imagine trying to explain the rules to someone new to the game? And that explanation would be different for every person explaining the rules. None of us are experts. And yet we expect the umpires to get it right when they can't get it right. Insanity. It is just an unholy mess and the game is harder to umpire than it ever was. And I don't feel sorry for umpires either ... it's their choice to do it. They must know the abuse is coming their way far in advance. Why would you do it?

And you say that every season. Why don't you come to terms with it all ... the sport can't be umpired correctly because it just can't be. Mistakes are therefore going to happen and there is no bias against our team.

Neutral umpires undermines officiating in general ... the real issue is that most sports fans are just bad losers and blame umpires/referees as a matter of course And many have umpires on the brain ... these people are insane. Nutjobs. We need to quit moaning and stop making pathetic excuses. The umpires aren't the issue and never have been. They aren't out to get us either ... that is just pure BS. We lost the game last night because of our poor kicking for goal. It was our fault. Home town decisions are always going to happen in any sport ... and that will never change What a pointless thread. You can moan and [censored] all you like but nothing will ever change ... just come to terms with the fact that the sport can't be officiated correctly and that the mistakes made have no bias involved whatsoever. The paranoia is actually quite comical.

Forget the yips ... we choke in front of goal. And like the fumbles & missing easy targets, it becomes an epidemic. The body language says many don't want to take a shot. One player does it and the rest follow suit. It is a technique issue and a confidence issue. We keep losing games because of our poor kicking for goal. Last night mirrored the game against Sydney late last season. We threw away a win. Practice your goalkicking in a simulated way until you're exhausted should be the coaching message.

We've done very well til halftime ... we've put them off their game. Our teamwork has been first rate and we've created that extra option throughout. And there is no reason why we can't go on with it. Just need more of the same.

And that doesn't happen without good reason ... he is our No.1 forward now and whilst he did well in Hogan's absence last year, the other clubs have done their homework on Tom in the off-season. Weideman not coming on means that it is now easier to cut Tom out of the game. Tom is a good no.2 or no.3 but being no.1 brings with it a lot more attention. On top of all that, he is not moving freely at all.

All things are often connected rjay ... foot injuries can upset your balance and confidence so marking can be affected. T-Mac is not moving to his marks in the same way and he often looks proppy. Time probably fixes things. Trengove is a good example - all parts of his game were affected because of that debilitating foot injury. And he was never the same player afterwards. Back injuries are the worst ... a likely end of career injury for the most part. Especially for key forwards. Until T-Mac can move freely again he'll be sub par. I have seen the same thing happen at suburban level a stack of times. I had acute achilles tendonitus in both feet for close on 10 years and I survived on muscle memory alone! And trust me, simple tasks became very difficult. And it is not an excuse either ... it's a reason. We all want him to be back at his best but we're going to have to be patient.

Finding 1 or 2 baseball winners isn't too hard Wadda if the form goes to plan but the 3rd is tricky. You're better off with a mix of sports and the Argentinian & Brazilian leagues continue through our winter ... good standard too with some iconic teams involved. I got a 4 figure multi payout a ways back using the South American leagues. As for the baseball, there are about 8 teams that I look out for ... Dodgers, Yankees, Redsox, Cubs, Houston plus 3 or 4 other teams who might be performing well. Tampa & the Twins are doing well right now.

Ya can't win 'em all Wadda ... I will stick with the hoops for now and I noticed that Toronto are at home against the Bucks on Monday. They led for 3 quarters today before being overwhelmed by the Bucks. Keeping an eye on the baseball though and I usually prefer the -1.5 line as my preferred way in a multi. Home team with a pitching advantage often offers up 2.00 up to 2.50 at the -1.5 line.

Hey Wadda - Atalanta were away from home not at home ... I would have quizzed you yesterday about it if I had known (regardless of whether you knew or not) I went straight to the goals match score area and didn't know until this morning that Atalanta were away from home.

The bookies always win mate And I had a strong feeling my 3rd leg on that multi wasn't going to salute so it was annoying. They've got hundreds of people looking at the match-ups and racing form up against 1 solo punter most of the time. It's why I believe punters need to team up as we do. I reckon we're on the right track - just need a bit of luck.

Ended up getting 22-1 for the 3 Laddies didn't offer me a cash-out the other day so I've taken the early double just in case.

Submitted For Your Approval (Wadda) haha Midweek Sure Thing NBA Thursday 10.30am $2.50 Milwaukee lead at the end of every quarter vs Toronto

Fair enough Wadda ... I just put our 3 picks on and that is it. Unless I do the early double if 2 of the 3 events are held earlier than the 3rd leg. I'd much rather put my hard earned on the horses ... got a nice double overnight at Longchamp. 2 Guineas races both won by Godolphin horses. 'Persian King' was a moral and then 'Castle Lady' just hung on to win. Both favourites but I got 7-1 ... Multi's aren't really my go as there always seems to be a skewed result that puts you out. I do like the team multi though ... so the 2 we do is generally all I do. Sometimes a Saturday overnight multi but based on the English leagues outside the EPL.

Well I put a lot of thought into my pick same as I'm sure you and DZ do. Maybe just do whatever but not post up what you are doing ... I don't need my pick even being questioned as I am highly superstitious when it cones to these sort of things. PL comes into it Wadda. I have sometimes taken other options but I am careful not to broadcast my intentions and if I do it is always after the event.

Ha ha ... no faith in my pick hey! Noted. You do realise that Everton are pus away from home against good teams. Spurs are still overs, all the same. The bookies obviously don't trust them but 3rd place outright could be the prize as Chelsea are not guaranteed to win at Leicester. You should cover all bases and include Everton in for the win as well. 4 multi's on a 3pick ... setting a new record! Come to think of it, Liverpool might slip up so we had better put Wolves in for the win and while we're at it, Real Sociedad might win too! A dozen combinations are possible! Team first means not second guessing other picks ... otherwise we may as well go it alone.

Well at least we're going into the last round of the EPL season with the title still up for grabs ... got a feeling we might see a stack of goals in a number of games. Spurs can finish 3rd outright if Chelsea slip up against Leicester whilst the Gunners would need to score 6 or 7 to even have a chance of replacing Spurs in 4th spot. Liverpool will probably end up with a massive 97 points but it still may not be enough. But if Brighton can score first against City it might be game on. Be great to see a dramatic finish.