2010 FIFA World Cup: Consistency: A Brief, Non-Specific Word in Your Ear...

How many times have you heard the word "consistency" used to refer to the capabilities of football players?

Do you even know what defines "consistency"?

Me neither. It is complete and utter nonsense. It’s simply a way for someone who doesn’t know anything about football to act like he/she actually knows about football. Namely Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen on Match of the Day! :@

I hate it when football fans use this word!

It’s thrown around like confetti and shouldn’t even be WHISPERED in football conversation.

For those of you who use this term when discussing football, tell me—exactly how do you define consistency!?

Is it when a striker scores in EVERY game? Is it when a goalkeeper keeps EVERY shot out of the net? Is it when a defender goes without a booking for the WHOLE season?

If the above is true, then a striker who never scores in a single game, a goalie who lets a ball slip under him into the net in every single game, and a team that wins every single game are ALSO consistent to me.

Therefore, every player and team must be inconsistent! Are they not?

If you can define "consistency" in football terms, fair play to you. But I don’t see a clear-cut definition of it, so it should be left out of football conversation since it’s a terrible excuse of a word used by people who are trying to make another point.