oneandycrawford

Definitely a contender - although the fact that their supporters mostly couldn't be arsed to travel all the way across London tends to make it a one-sided famous occasion!

To be honest it's not a phrase I ever actually use myself - although plenty of other Valley people do!

What about BB4? We are also part of the Teacake world.

For clarification: by non-natives I mean people not born within a few miles of Pendle Hill.

Probably staffed by non-natives 😉 Or just pandering to incomers. Probably call it a fish supper/dinner or some such nonsense as well. Nothing wrong with having chips for us tea. I seem to be becoming 'Victor Meldrew' on this topic 🤔 Having said all this, the whole 'John Bull' thing was a complete mystery to me!

Let's put this one to bed. In East Lancs a teacakes does NOT have currants in it. We are simple folk and if it has currants in it then it is a CURRANT teacake. WTF a barm cake is...... you'll have to ask someone from down south (Bolton, Wigan, Bury, etc.) My authority on such matters comes from being the grandson of a born and bred Rossendale baker.

I'd love the rule to be that the game restarts at the point it was abandoned but there are practical difficulties. What if a player who was playing in the original game is injured or, if played after the January window (e.g. if the original game being played was in December), who replaces that player. Or a player is now suspended. Does he play in the replayed game restart and serve his suspension in another game? Or is he suspended from the replayed game and therefore his suspension only lasts 11 mins plus stoppage time? Reality is, much as we might not like it in this instance, the likely outcome of the game being replayed is not unreasonable. Interestingly there has been a precedent this year of the losing team (Wealdstone?) agreeing that the result should stand but this was when they were deep into stoppage time and a couple of goals down. The match was abandoned due to a serious injury IIRC. No way Ipswich would agree at one down with 10+ mins to go! And we wouldn't either!!

(As Tyrone would rightly point out) - playing the very left-footed Hedges on the LEFT wing and suddenly he looks a much better player. It's not rocket science - although lots of the modern day coaches like to make out it is!

That was a great Bolton side. Would tear up this division nowadays. Missed out on promotion to Div 1 by one point two seasons running - before finally making it in 1978. My earliest 'derby' matches were the ones around this time with Bolton

It's amazing isn't it. For well over 100 years playing left footed players on the left was deemed to be ok but then some revolutionary geniuses decide that was a load of bollocks and we'd all been wrong all along. What next? A return to using long throws, mixing up long and short passing, putting crosses into the box if you have a 6'6" centre forward? Russell Martin et al must be turning in their graves - I know they're not physically dead but (hopefully) professionally. I know the game has to evolve but the best coaches mix up the proven 'old' styles with new ideas. Frank, Iraola and others seem to understand this and are all the more impressive because of it. It also gets the best out of their players as they play to their strengths

Will be interesting to see how they play in the 'must win' games against their fellow relegation contenders. They were hardly 'entertainers' last season despite co-walking the league with Leeds. I guess you have to play to your strengths - particularly if the alternative is Kompany / Martin style! The problem with the ultra-safe style is that, at some point, elements of the fanbase will want to see more entertaining football (as we saw here with Allerdyce), and then the club has to decide whether to take the risks. I used to doubt that the smaller clubs could survive any other way but the likes of Brentford and Bournemouth have shown it can be done by good - flexible! - coaching and mixing up your play to suit. You don't need a 'philosophy' - just know the game and how to adapt, as Frank and Iraola seem to do. Your point about the money is a good one if we are to believe what we are told about the financial position over there in Yorkshire.

Remember Hearts blowing it in spectacular style a few years ago! Just realised longer ago than I thought as it was 1986. Brilliant effort considering that it was the peak time for Aberdeen and Dundee Utd.

Why "unfortunately" ? He brings it on himself by his utter certainty that hisxway is right regardless of the evidence everyone else can see.

Not as bad as John Radford mind!

I guess one of the differences now is not many top level players drop down the divisions towards the end of their careers. Larger squads, better fitness conditioning and, probably most importantly, the fact they are financially set up for life (if they are half-way sensible) before they reach 30 means they have no need to continue playing at a lower level. Presumably some do for the love of playing or to get into management as a player-manager. The days of teams like Rovers picking up a Frank Stapleton or Howard Kendall are largely gone.