Sheep? I don't get this bit. Just because people agree with a certain point, it doesn't make them "sheep". People who believe that Rafa ought to be given another contract and the wherewithall to turn the five year plan into a ten year plan aren't sheep, they have come to an opinion based on what they've seen what they've read, how they feel etc and they are entitled so to do. Similarly, people who don't believe that aren't sheep either. Surely they ought to allowed an opinion as well, and the courtesy of an acceptance that they probably drew conclusions in the same way as people on the oppositie side of the debate?
The fact that one of the most obvious choices was missed off the options wasn't a huge problem I didn't think, and I don't understand why people got so hot under the collar about it. I deliberately started a completely seperate thread in a completely seperate section of the forum about the most glaring "others" omission that I could think of. I did it precisely because if I had put it in the poll thread it would have derailed it. I then made a mental note to myself not to even mention that persons name in your poll thread, once again to give it a good chance to run. I stuck to that intil right near the end, despite numerous attempts by people to get me onto the subject of that person.
Then, when the thread gets closed down the advice given is to open a new thread about any "others", but I'd already done it two days previously. If poll threads about the managers position (which I still think are a bit out of order given we have a manager who is challenging for the title) descend into name calling and flame wars then fair enough, but in this case it all seemed pretty cordial to me.
One of the biggest shames of the thing is that you never did get the chance GYBS to properly answer Peewee's question a couple of pages from the end of the locked thread. Perhaps you didn't see it I don't know, but given that your opinion of some of the "others" in your poll led to you omitting them from your top eight, it would be interesting to read your thoughts on that one.
The feeling persists though I'm afraid that whenever the discussion becomes a bit uncomfortable for certain posters, threads get locked.