From Josh on twitter - I wonder what this is a reference to:
"i got a better statement...'train spotter commenting on tennis msg boards'. laughable.. keep it coming, i love it."
Sounds like someone has said something on a message board that's annoyed him, but people on here have been pretty positive about him this week and I didn't know any of the other boards took much interest in Futures ...
From what I have witnessed this week Josh has been the standout performer amongst the Brits. He has shown a great desire this week and given me confidence that better times lay ahead for him.
is he referring to my "Josh Goodall, claycourt grinder"?
that wasn't meant to be a critical comment, i was just expressing surprise at his success on his worst surface...weird if he thought i was being rude to him
or Vandenburg replying to that with "Ashley Young, England Winger"...maybe that one was having a dig at him!
The Knight wrote:is he referring to my "Josh Goodall, claycourt grinder"?
that wasn't meant to be a critical comment, i was just expressing surprise at his success on his worst surface...weird if he thought i was being rude to him
Don't worry, a joke/mild compliment at him doing better than usual on clay was exactly how I took that, I can't see how that could have been misconstrued.
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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Looking at the above wording and Josh's wording : "i got a better statement...'train spotter commenting on tennis msg boards'. laughable.. keep it coming, i love it." then this exchange does indeed seem extremely likely what he is referring to.
Pity, since as The Knight indicates, and as folk here would take it anyway, The Knights's first comment was clearly making a slightly jokey compliment
-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 13th of May 2010 07:55:36 PM
From what I have witnessed this week Josh has been the standout performer amongst the Brits. He has shown a great desire this week and given me confidence that better times lay ahead for him.
Hey, good tactics Phil. That might make us look better. By the way anyone know what locomotive is doing the 11.15 sleeper train from Edinburgh to London ?
Just joshing , I know Phil has said said more than once that he has been impressed watching Josh this week.
The only postive thing I witnessed was the new Davis Cup captain though quietly spoken looked to have a real desire to succeed in his new post.
I must say I'm already a bit wary of this new DC captain. What on earth is he doing slumming it at some god-awful futures event when he should of course be on an all expenses trip to Madrid to watch our number 1 player (and of course to find out who he should be picking).
And also nearly 2 weeks into the job and not a single disparaging remark about Boggo..tut tut..
Lets hope he performs better at the actual ties in his main duty of handing out towels at changeovers and finding a way or absolving himself of all blame when we lose our 8th tie in a row on grass to the Faroe Isles.
to be honest i wasn't really that insulted by the trainspotter remark, mainly becos i didn't understand it and had to check it out on urban dictionary:
Don't know how serious this is but according to Illy's facebook page he is going to stop playing. Seems he means it beacuse a few other players are encouraging him not to quit.
I am sad but not surprised Illy is feeling like throwing in the towel. It must be so frustrating for him. I am sorry if I was flippant with my comments about him yesterday. He does try very hard but seldom gets much reward. He has to decide if he can improve enough to make a breakthrough and if he is enjoying playing tennis.
I think it is not good for a player to judge himself at this point in the season. The first outdoor clay tournaments are not the best tournaments for many. I remember seeing Miles Kasiri a few years ago at much the same time of year, looking entirely despondant after losing early on clay. It was the last tournament he ever played. There again he could have waited to see if his form picked up on more advantageous surfaces. Hopefully Illy will feel more upbeat if he has slept on it.