The Ryder Cup 2014 - Gleneagles

[Sidney]

Woah. Relax stew.

I am relaxed, I just hate stupid!


McGinley will go down as one of the worst captains ever, Donald should be on that team and should be one of the main men. Gallagher is shite compared to him.

Gallacher has a terrible career matchplay record. P7 L7 in singles. His fourballs and foursomes record is nothing to write home about either.

Donald on the other hand has a superb record of W10 L4 H1 in Ryder Cups.

McGinley is out of his depth here - reminiscent of David Moyes.

I know I shouldn't but......Why is he out of his depth?

Not just his wild card picks but his whole demeanour is one of just being happy to be in the job. McGinley is a weak, Moyes-type character.

Contrast that to the legendary Tom Watson, a man who commands instant respect and loyalty just by being who he is. He's like Jimmy Barry-Murphy in this regard.

It's not for nothing that Watson is the only US captain in the last three decades to win in Europe.

The Ryder Cup is war. Monty and Darren Clarke saw how Watson would galvanise the Yanks, saw McGinley's weakness and saw that Europe needed a leader who would command instant respect - Monty. It's a disaster for golf on this continent that the Field Marshal will not command our troops.

[thewobbler]

Woah. Relax stew.

I am relaxed, I just hate stupid!


McGinley will go down as one of the worst captains ever, Donald should be on that team and should be one of the main men. Gallagher is shite compared to him.

Gallacher has a terrible career matchplay record. P7 L7 in singles. His fourballs and foursomes record is nothing to write home about either.

Donald on the other hand has a superb record of W10 L4 H1 in Ryder Cups.

McGinley is out of his depth here - reminiscent of David Moyes.

I know I shouldn't but......Why is he out of his depth?

Isn't it obvious? I mean how can an average professional golfer possibly compete with one of the all time great golfers... at not playing golf?

That lack of confidence that has haunted Phil Mickelson's career will be banished forever by Tom's pep talk. Watson's momma's secret recipe for grits will see Bubba driving all the par 4s. That unusual thing that happens at the top of Furyk's swing, well we ain't seeing that no more - Tom will fix it on the plane over. And so on.

Most overstated position in the whole of sport.

[Sidney]

Look at how the European team fought to the death for Jose Maria Olazabal last time. Olly is a man who bleeds navy blue blood with yellow stars in it. Olly, like his great friend Seve before him, would fight to the death for the European cause and the players knew this. That's why they fought so hard for him.

If McGinley had been in charge the US would likely have won something like 19 and half to 8 and a half.

The Ryder Cup is not about playing for your club, your county, or even your country. It's bigger than that. It's about representing your continent. To lead your continent takes a man of substance. In world sport, only being coach of the British Loins rugby team, where you must lead an Empire, is more demanding.

[muppet]

I know I shouldn't but......Why is he out of his depth?

Not just his wild card picks but his whole demeanour is one of just being happy to be in the job. McGinley is a weak, Moyes-type character.

Contrast that to the legendary Tom Watson, a man who commands instant respect and loyalty just by being who he is. He's like Jimmy Barry-Murphy in this regard.

It's not for nothing that Watson is the only US captain in the last three decades to win in Europe.

The Ryder Cup is war. Monty and Darren Clarke saw how Watson would galvanise the Yanks, saw McGinley's weakness and saw that Europe needed a leader who would command instant respect - Monty. It's a disaster for golf on this continent that the Field Marshal will not command our troops.

I see, you don't actually have a real point.

[AZOffaly]

Sidney, you just brought it one step too far

[Sidney]

I see, you don't actually have a real point.

I expect that's what they'll be saying about Paul McGinley's European team after the morning foursomes on the opening day of the 2014 Ryder Cup.

[muppet]

Look at how the European team fought to the death for Jose Maria Olazabal last time. Olly is a man who bleeds navy blue blood with yellow stars in it. Olly, like his great friend Seve before him, would fight to the death for the European cause and the players knew this. That's why they fought so hard for him.

If McGinley had been in charge the US would likely have won something like 19 and half to 8 and a half.

The Ryder Cup is not about playing for your club, your county, or even your country. It's bigger than that. It's about representing your continent. To lead your continent takes a man of substance. In world sport, only being coach of the British Loins rugby team, where you must lead an Empire, is more demanding.

Your love of Field Marshals and British Loins is disturbing.

[deiseach]

Seems to me that where the British, er, Lions are concerned, they're not leading an Empire - they're taking it on.

[north aontroim gael]

Look at how the European team fought to the death for Jose Maria Olazabal last time. Olly is a man who bleeds navy blue blood with yellow stars in it. Olly, like his great friend Seve before him, would fight to the death for the European cause and the players knew this. That's why they fought so hard for him.

If McGinley had been in charge the US would likely have won something like 19 and half to 8 and a half.

The Ryder Cup is not about playing for your club, your county, or even your country. It's bigger than that. It's about representing your continent. To lead your continent takes a man of substance. In world sport, only being coach of the British Loins rugby team, where you must lead an Empire, is more demanding.

Haha I think you've lost the run of yourself a wee bit there.  Representing your continent?  Bar the players & media hype who really cares? 

"In a serious depression after Europe got beat there at the weekend"

"Who's going celebrating, Europe have just won the Ryder Cup"

Two statements I don't think you'll ever hear uttered on any continent.  Yes its interesting watching players from a normally individual sport compete in teams, but after that its just a novelty act.

Whats next, captaining Earth in the solar system 5 a side tournament?

[thewobbler]

The funny thing about Olazabal's captaincy, "the man who bleeds European golf", is that the bits of the event he might have a slight semblance of influence upon - by pairing up the right teammates and tactics for foursomes and fourballs - were when Europe got left behind. Putting 12 men into a sweepstake for the singles isn't really an act of skill, no matter how hard anyone tries to convince themselves.

The more I think about it, I'd draw parallels to the skills involved in Ryder Cup captaincy and the skills involved in Deal or No Deal. There's more than a few idiots believe there's a strategy involved in that game too.

[deiseach]

If you need an example from the past of a player holding his nerve in the white-heat of the Ryder Cup it was Davis Love III in 1993, coming from one down with two to play to beat Costantino Rocca and turn a 14-14 draw, which would have retained the trophy for Europe, into a 15-13 win. This made Tom Watson a genius. Yet two years ago Love could do nothing as his team were hammered in the singles by Europe. Nobody knows anything.

[Sidney]

Haha I think you've lost the run of yourself a wee bit there.  Representing your continent?  Bar the players & media hype who really cares? 

"In a serious depression after Europe got beat there at the weekend"

"Who's going celebrating, Europe have just won the Ryder Cup"

Two statements I don't think you'll ever hear uttered on any continent.  Yes its interesting watching players from a normally individual sport compete in teams, but after that its just a novelty act.

Whats next, captaining Earth in the solar system 5 a side tournament?

In just over three weeks time, from Ardara to Athens, from Madeira to Murmansk, a continent will hold it's collective breath. This is the event that defines us as a people. It's part of what we are. This is the Ryder Cup, and this will be epic.

[muppet]

If you need an example from the past of a player holding his nerve in the white-heat of the Ryder Cup it was Davis Love III in 1993, coming from one down with two to play to beat Costantino Rocca and turn a 14-14 draw, which would have retained the trophy for Europe, into a 15-13 win. This made Tom Watson a genius. Yet two years ago Love could do nothing as his team were hammered in the singles by Europe. Nobody knows anything.

Indeed, and Faldo, in 1995, turned his game around from 1 down at 17, to win a point which was the key at Oakhill.

Great clip of Faldo and Seve at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNGZyF-I1TA

But he wasn't much of a Captain either.

[Hardy]

Masterful, Sidney.

ONeill, look to your laurels.

[AZOffaly]

You assume Sidney is not O'Neill mark 135.