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SittingbourneOwl

Listed below are comments made by SittingbourneOwl between Monday, 22nd September 2008 and Thursday, 16th July 2009.

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Sheffield Wednesday's man with a (business) plan 4:21pm on 16 Jul 2009 Good luck to Lee Strafford in his attempt to drag Wednesday out of the mire. Unfortunately the old guard are still dragging their feet in particular Dave Allen the previous chairman who insists on his loans being paid back fully, wheras other interested parties including the Co-op Bank have agreed to write a big percentage of the £25million debt.This is the same Dave Allen who now is the chairman of Chesterfield but technically still owns 9.9% of Wednesday to stay within League rules.
Mr Strafford has brought a great deal of goodwill into the club and has made it a happier place to be at, such as consulting Howard Wilkinson and Alan Smith, also involving former legends like David Hirst and Chris waddle at matchdays. Unfortunately the bad atmosphere created by the previous regime has brassed many off including this writer who is banned, it takes more than goodwill to bring these fans back. Obviously results on the pitch are vital and on that front Brian Laws is progressing in the right direction despite being severely financially handicapped as Wednesday have one of the lowest wage bills in The Championship. Things will be harder in the new season as the big teams like Middlesbrough and Newcastle drop down from The Premier League.
So good luck Mr Strafford, lets hope the promised investment from the US turns out to be true, a Randy Lerner type rather than a Hicks/Gillett type.
Up the Owls!!
Odds on Olazabal? 2:16pm on 14 Jan 2009 If Olly is the preferred candidate and wants the job, then go ahead, he is the outstanding candidate, whilst he wants to play another match, he has health issues which will hinder that chance, so why not settle for the captaincy. Most of all he has the respect of all the players, his playing record speaks for itself, he will have learnt from watching how Faldo got it wrong, and draw on advice from Seve and others he has played with.
A word for Sandy Lyle, great player but his time has past, he would have been an ideal candidate for the 1999 match in Boston, besides he has detached himself from the European Tour for several years, also his antics at last year's Open will not have endeared to officialdom.
As for Woosie being captain again, if he had not captained in 2006, he would be the outstanding choice but repeat captains seem to be out of fashion, otherwise Sam Torrance and Bernhard Langer would get the job.
So go on Olly, get the Cup back!
Ask Bearders #184 11:55am on 01 Jan 2009 To Bearders
1 When did the touring England team first start to wear the MCC colours, and when did this practice stop ?

2 Which test team where the first to wear kit with numbers under the badge, I'm aware this practice has been going on in the last 5 years, notably in the 2005 Ashes series where both teams sported numbers under the badge ?
The perils of turning 30 11:53am on 25 Dec 2008 Gavin
You ask for other 30+ inspirations, well as you mention Roland Nilsson, he was a total legend at Sheffield Wednesday, he played for Sweden in a WC qualifier one day, the following day he played for Wednesday in the FA Cup Final replay, what a legend, we even had a campaign for him to play for England, alas Graham Taylor and El Tel didn't listen. Other examples of over 30s succeeding at Wednesday include Chris Waddle, Kevin Pressman, Carlton Palmer, Chris Marsden, Robbie Mustoe, Graham Kavanagh, proves that looking after yourself pays dividend.
Look after yourself and may you carry on for years to come.
Indian thoughts return to cricket 2:15pm on 10 Dec 2008 Whilst it is correct to play cricket once more, can't help feeling the decision is way too hasty, maybe conflict should resume after Christmas as England don't go to the West Indies until February, and India's tour of Pakistan looks in doubt.
Once again the ICC just stand by and do nothing, it is the greed of the BCCI that is oiling the whole show, if India was to become a no go zone like Pakistan, where would the IPL be in future, already the T20 Champions League is in limbo.
The matches are going ahead for the wrong reasons, England have been hoodwinked into going only so the likes of Flintoff and Pietersen can gain their lucrative IPL contracts.
India is no safer than anywhere else, that doesn't mean these matches should go ahead, the chances of another terrorist attack will be minimal, but morally the ECB and ICC should have called the BCCI's bluff and call for a longer period of reflection before resuming.
Azinger fashions US in Europe's image 3:52pm on 22 Sep 2008 Thanks a lot Captain Cockup, Captain Azinger asked the US crowd to be the 13th man, well you were the 14th man. When Faldo was appointed captain, I thought he would bring a methodical approach to the captaincy, leaving no stone unturned, the ultimate perfectionist, how wrong could I have been.

Instead we got Captain Cock Up, legendary be having Billy No Mates on Tour, he couldn't or wouldn't have more than one assistant, it was crying out for more help, how about McGinley, Bjorn or even pass captains like Torrance or Langer as helpers. Instead we are reduced to the site of Faldo's son and bizzarely DJ Spoony offering advice. Faldo will go down as one of the worst captains of all time, compare how Langer did it in Detroit, ever the consumate professional and most of all had the players playing for him.

Many mistakes were made, the pairings for the foursomes and fourballs, Faldo tried to be too cute, letting his ego get the better of him, when simplicity required the tried and trusted and play guys who were playing well. Don't believe that Sergio and Westwood wanted to be rested, imagine how they felt when told they were not playing, Faldo lost the respect of his three most experienced players. The singles ordered required the top being loaded just like The Belfry 2002, sure the back guys will take care of itself especially if there is a sea of blue at the front.

No gripes the US played better and deserved the win, forget about the US crowd who were good in general if partisan, but our Captain Cock Up made it a lot easier. The abiding memory is Europe were captained by Del Boy Trotter and not a 6 time major champion.

Now onto 2010, the US will be strong, but Europe can win providing the captain is a good one, early suggestions, maybe Olly and Seve dreamteam, that would wind the US up, or Langer again, even Monty.

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