Post by Dave on Dec 19, 2008 21:28:42 GMT
Firstly great to see this week, new members dazgull, jj and The knight who says "nee", ( you need to explain your choice of username ;D) getting stuck straight in the forum and adding their views.Swangull always scores every week with his first class match reports and Brett made a late dash to the line this week, but was pipped by this weeks winner. Also many thanks to all our regular contributers keep those posts coming 
Would be great to see other newer members adding their views, I think by now you can see you won't get your head bit off on here( well maybe just a good ear chewing)
I think it was DGEP who put in his post about getting pictures in your head what other posters look like, I know it is something I do and I have found that the pictures I have formed, turn out to be so wide of the mark.
So I do wonder what pictures Jon and Phil(chelstongull) had in their heads as they walked up and down the popside last Saturday looking to try and spot this weeks winner.You can bet they will be at it again at Saturdays game, will they get a result? and will the person look like they expect him too.
We will have to wait to find out that answer, but I can give you the result of this weeks Best Poster Of The Week, voted for by you the members on the forum.The winner has played such a big part in making this the best TUFC forum and long may he continue to be a member on here, if he has an agent, I want his phone number
This weeks winner is
Barton Downs a very big well done and a big thank you from me
So many first class posts this week its hard to know what one to repost, so I'll just pick this one
Ah yes...Team Taxpayer.
When Team Bath was formed I thought the idea was fair enough. If the university is involved in other sports, why not football? And, given my professional background, I was all for ex-professional footballers (and trainees) being encouraged to gain educational qualifications and further their careers. I expected players to be bona fide Bath University students and unpaid. And, if it was above board, it seemed rather more honest than Cambridge University bending the rules to accept dullards on land economy courses so they could play rugger against Oxford.
Knowing my way around the higher education system, I wasn't too surprised when the stipulation was extended to include students on Bath's franchised courses at City of Bath and Wiltshire colleges. That's the name of the game in HE but, of course, through this arrangement a rather different breed of student appeared on the scene. For a start, they could be in full-time employment and only attending college for a few hours a week. And what comes first - a good player found doing a part-time course or a miniscule course found for a good player?
Initially it all seemed rather laudable and it clearly helped people like Ryan Northmore gain academic qualifications and start on coaching careers. Ryan certainly seems be building a reputation as a coach at Weston. There will be plenty of similar examples.
Where it started to become dodgy was when members of the coaching staff - ex-pros such as Andy Tillson (500+ senior games) - began playing for Team Bath. It was also obvious the time spent training - irrespective of whether the players were paid (and might they be?) - was on a par with fully-professional clubs. As the club rose through the leagues, it was clear Team Bath enjoyed advantages over their rivals - who are all self-financing of course - through the public purse. For Team Bath gate revenue, social clubs and raffle tickets are of little - or no - importance (although the club isn't adverse to a spot of sponsorship from the likes of Ted Baker - but, hey, that's modern universities for you).
Consequently the level of antipathy within non-league circles has steadily increased and the club has now reached the point where, if you look on its website, there seems to be a degree of ambiguity over which players are actually students - and, indeed, what sort of student. Some are students, a few are ex-students, one or two could be students, others may never have been students. Furthermore, another highly-curious aspect is that Team Bath runs teams for players under university age. Again, professionally, I've been involved in Aimhigher and other widening participation initiatives so I fully-support universities working with school age young people to raise aspirations. But this, I'm afraid, sounds suspiciously like a Team Bath youth policy.
Some of the above struck home when I saw a Bath City v Team Bath clash two or three years ago. For one thing, there didn't seem to be any Team Bath supporters present for what was technically a local Derby. Maybe they were at home for the holidays - or perhaps they hardly exist? Secondly, Team Bath fielded a player on loan from a professional club, namely George Friend of Exeter City. That's hardly the spirit of the project, is it? However - when you consider George Friend did A levels at an independent school - he probably more closely resembled the typical Bath student than any of his colleagues!
But, last of all, I must say one thing. Although the concept of Team Bath disturbs me as a football fan, I would say the opportunity of playing high-level non-league football - and gaining a univesity-level education - is something for serious consideration amongst potential university students who are decent footballers (or as an option for ex-footballers who are well-qualified). From the student perspective it has an awful lot going for it. If this interests you, look into it but make sure you pick the right subject to study - this could be sport or something else.
Would be great to see other newer members adding their views, I think by now you can see you won't get your head bit off on here( well maybe just a good ear chewing
)I think it was DGEP who put in his post about getting pictures in your head what other posters look like, I know it is something I do and I have found that the pictures I have formed, turn out to be so wide of the mark.
So I do wonder what pictures Jon and Phil(chelstongull) had in their heads as they walked up and down the popside last Saturday looking to try and spot this weeks winner.You can bet they will be at it again at Saturdays game, will they get a result? and will the person look like they expect him too.
We will have to wait to find out that answer, but I can give you the result of this weeks Best Poster Of The Week, voted for by you the members on the forum.The winner has played such a big part in making this the best TUFC forum and long may he continue to be a member on here, if he has an agent, I want his phone number
This weeks winner is
Barton Downs a very big well done and a big thank you from me
So many first class posts this week its hard to know what one to repost, so I'll just pick this one
Ah yes...Team Taxpayer.
When Team Bath was formed I thought the idea was fair enough. If the university is involved in other sports, why not football? And, given my professional background, I was all for ex-professional footballers (and trainees) being encouraged to gain educational qualifications and further their careers. I expected players to be bona fide Bath University students and unpaid. And, if it was above board, it seemed rather more honest than Cambridge University bending the rules to accept dullards on land economy courses so they could play rugger against Oxford.
Knowing my way around the higher education system, I wasn't too surprised when the stipulation was extended to include students on Bath's franchised courses at City of Bath and Wiltshire colleges. That's the name of the game in HE but, of course, through this arrangement a rather different breed of student appeared on the scene. For a start, they could be in full-time employment and only attending college for a few hours a week. And what comes first - a good player found doing a part-time course or a miniscule course found for a good player?
Initially it all seemed rather laudable and it clearly helped people like Ryan Northmore gain academic qualifications and start on coaching careers. Ryan certainly seems be building a reputation as a coach at Weston. There will be plenty of similar examples.
Where it started to become dodgy was when members of the coaching staff - ex-pros such as Andy Tillson (500+ senior games) - began playing for Team Bath. It was also obvious the time spent training - irrespective of whether the players were paid (and might they be?) - was on a par with fully-professional clubs. As the club rose through the leagues, it was clear Team Bath enjoyed advantages over their rivals - who are all self-financing of course - through the public purse. For Team Bath gate revenue, social clubs and raffle tickets are of little - or no - importance (although the club isn't adverse to a spot of sponsorship from the likes of Ted Baker - but, hey, that's modern universities for you).
Consequently the level of antipathy within non-league circles has steadily increased and the club has now reached the point where, if you look on its website, there seems to be a degree of ambiguity over which players are actually students - and, indeed, what sort of student. Some are students, a few are ex-students, one or two could be students, others may never have been students. Furthermore, another highly-curious aspect is that Team Bath runs teams for players under university age. Again, professionally, I've been involved in Aimhigher and other widening participation initiatives so I fully-support universities working with school age young people to raise aspirations. But this, I'm afraid, sounds suspiciously like a Team Bath youth policy.
Some of the above struck home when I saw a Bath City v Team Bath clash two or three years ago. For one thing, there didn't seem to be any Team Bath supporters present for what was technically a local Derby. Maybe they were at home for the holidays - or perhaps they hardly exist? Secondly, Team Bath fielded a player on loan from a professional club, namely George Friend of Exeter City. That's hardly the spirit of the project, is it? However - when you consider George Friend did A levels at an independent school - he probably more closely resembled the typical Bath student than any of his colleagues!
But, last of all, I must say one thing. Although the concept of Team Bath disturbs me as a football fan, I would say the opportunity of playing high-level non-league football - and gaining a univesity-level education - is something for serious consideration amongst potential university students who are decent footballers (or as an option for ex-footballers who are well-qualified). From the student perspective it has an awful lot going for it. If this interests you, look into it but make sure you pick the right subject to study - this could be sport or something else.