speeeeeeedie

I am one of few who think that Wolves should have kept O'Neil in the first place. Looking at where they are 12 months on from potting him seems like it was only putting off the inevitable. As has been pointed out selling the club's best players and replacing them with inferior replacements leads to trouble.

Dyche confirmed as Forest manager; BBC: Forest appoint Dyche Whether it will work or not will be seen in results, but Forest now has a manager who's style is similar to Nuno's, and should be able to get a tune out of the players at his disposal. Expect a return to resolute defending and long balls up to Chris Wood.

I agree. It was an utterly bonkers decision to hire Postecoglou in the first place as I noted last week. I watched the last 20 minutes of their game today and it was blatantly obvious that he knew his time was up once the final whistle went. The only credit I'll give the Forest owner is that he cut bait quickly. Dyche or Mancini are apparent front runners.

It was going quite well until they scored, then it was game over. Before the goal Rovers had the better of the chances and aside from struggling to clear the ball now and again the defending looked OK. Rovers have nothing up front. It was slim pickings last season and top scorer Weimann left leaving the cupboard bare. I like Ohashi but he doesn't score near enough and looks isolated. Gueye is not a footballer. The new lads haven't got going, although Ismael's lack of a settled system hasn't helped. The commentator I had on said that Coventry have had the same back 4 all season, Rovers back line today was the 4th game in a row with a change of personnel. That doesn't bode well either. Overall it was a better performance than some I've seen this season, but only points matter, and it was always gong to be hard to get any away to a team who are flying. I may have said it in the Ipswich abandoned game thread but such is how this season is going it would be no surprise to me that the replay will be a must win for Rovers, and they will lose cementing relegation.

I saw the same. The next stat up was that Rovers haven't won in 9 against Coventry. 20 mins in and still 0-0 so that's a plus. A lot of kick and rush from Rovers. Coventry not offering much either so far.

England are making it look easy. It's a far cry from the 1-0 dirge fest against Andorra. What strikes me about the game, and the Wales one for that matter, is who isn't playing. James, TAA, Livramento, Wharton, Palmer, Bellingham, Foden, and Grealish, aren't even in the squad. Tuchel has some thinking to do.

I'd add Reece James to the will start list. Tuchel loves him. He can't seem to stay fit though.

Rebuilding Wembley was such a bad decision. The money spent could have been better used across the football pyramid. It could have paid for upgrades at so many clubs across the country. No national stadium would also have benefitted fans from places like Leeds and Newcastle who would have had the chance to watch an England match without travelling hours to get there. Que sera sera. Like everything else in the UK it's London first and sod the rest.

ESPN: Regulator says that bad owners may be forced to sell It's ostensibly about Sheff Wednesday. As Venkys have "always paid the bills" would they fall into this category?

Ange Postecoglou talked about his footballing philosophy in this interview that I found pretty quickly; Big Ange's football philosophy I'd say it can be summarised by this quote from it; "Winning 4-3 is more exciting than winning 1-0. The more goals we score the happier I am about the football we’re playing". Nuno's Forest last season were the absolute opposite of that. They were happy ceding 80% possession and hitting teams on the break. I watched enough Spurs games with Ange in charge to know that 5-4-1 wasn't his preferred method. He has to play that way presently as his Forest players aren't set up to play his devil may care brand of attacking football. So far though he hasn't been able to shape what he has at his disposal into a cohesive group. You are correct that Nuno left because he could not work with Edu but that has nothing to do with how Postecoglou sees football. Any sensible new manager decision should have been made knowing that the current Forest squad is used to a type of football far removed from what Ange plays. Chris Wood cannot do what Solanke and Son did. Nuno put Forest on the spot so they hired someone quickly who was out of work and had Prem experience. Not the ideal way to guarantee continuity. As to ten Hag. Leverkusen did lose players, and brought in new ones; what teams didn't? However, as the BBC noted here; ten Hag sacked Leverksuen made a strategic decision. "Nobody wanted to take this step," Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes told the club website”. "However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this set-up is not feasible." "A parting of ways at this early stage of the season is painful, but we felt it was necessary," added Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro. Ruthless yet it's looking like the correct decision.

A few years ago Sam Allardyce left Palace at the end of the season having kept them up. They brought in Frank De Boer to replace him. He wanted to change systems away from what Allardyce did but tried it too quickly, and without the necessary players. It took the Palace hierarchy 5 games before they realised that it wasn't going to work and dispensed with his services. Nuno to Ange is a similar shift; they have opposing philosophies. It's not working so I would not be surprised if Ange got the boot soon. Forest's next 4 league fixtures are Chelsea, Bournemouth (A), Man U, Leeds. Leeds is a 6 pointer. I think that he will be in real trouble if he loses that match. Also, Leverkusen potted ten Hag after 3 games this year. I don't think that they have lost a league game since. Was that too early? Sometimes managers don't work. As a Rovers fan you should be fully aware of this.

Over the next month or so clubs will start potting managers with regularity as those in relegation form will want out quickly. Any club looking at a new manager should read a few pages on here and steer well clear of Martin. Fans don't get everything right, those in football say never, but on the ability of Russell Martin we were bang on. He's a bad manager who can seemingly talk his way into jobs. His record is not good, and his style is way too complicated and open to work effectively. Why Rangers thought he'd be the man who can overturn Celtic is baffling.

The upper echelons at Man U are the ultimate culprits. Everything they do is reactive. Last summer was particularly bad. They gave ten Hag a new contract on the back of a cup win, spent millions bringing in "his" players, plus a new director of football yet within 6 months they were both gone. It's negligent business practice. I could bring an upturn in Man U's fortunes. It's that simple. As Chaddy has posted I'd add numbers in midfield to stop them being overrun. Prime N'Golo Kante would struggle in Amorim's system.

Is it now 13 losses in a row to promoted teams away from home?

My guess is that he will get the boot if Liverpool tub them at Anfield in a few weeks. I read this morning that one reason they are sticking with him is that there are no plausible alternatives out there. I'd also say that any sensible manager would stay away from the job. It's a poisoned chalice. As long as the Glazer's are taking money out and Ratcliffe is wielding the axe with his corporate cost cutting ideas nothing will change. Allegedly Liverpool were looking at Amorim when Klopp decided to leave but decided against it after he said he'd be playing 3-4-3. They told him that Liverpool's players aren't set up for that system.

Delap's throws were flat and fast so were hard to defend against. I agree that the current iterations are nowhere near his level. They tend to have no speed and have a big arc. I will also say that if the trend holds they'll get better. It looks like teams found a new data point and are trying it on the fly. Stockport's current manager, Dave Challinor, used to have a massive throw too. I remember seeing him do it for Tranmere.

It took a while but coaches have figured out how to play against Guardiola's style. Therefore he's changing it. I do think it's funny that keepers launching it and Rory Delap style long throws are now all the rage. It reminds me of my youth.

I agree with you. He was competent but had many faults, just like most Championship players. I watch very little Spanish football, but it is slower and less physical than the English game. Both these aspects will suit Dolan as I felt that oftentimes he was not physically up to it. It is very early on though, he might be on the outs come Christmas. Or he could be the next Vinny Samways. I'd have thought that if Dolan was "good" another English team would have taken him. I don't think Espanyol would have been a club that was on his radar in June. We will never know though. Anyway, he's gone, probably never to return. I'll await the time when de Neve reaches Dolan's level instead.

It's quite an outlier of an opinion you have. Do you ever change opinions? Have you heard of the backfire effect? Markanday was ignored by several Rovers managers. Dolan was not. Markanday is currently toiling in League 2. Dolan is not. Dolan frustrated the life out of me but I'd pick him 10 times out of 10 ahead of Markanday.

I have a slim chance of being in the England squad too. You'd need an electron microscope to see how thin that chance is but it's there.

37 points will most likely be enough to avoid relegation. Parker's thinking is that if I can nick 1 here and there off the big boys and get 3 points in their "must win" fixtures Burnley will have a chance of staying up. It's a tricky spot to be in. Parker's job is to manage a football team an ultimately stay in the division. If he does that he'll keep his job, get more money, and perhaps move on up either with Burnley or elsewhere. If the football on offer becomes pragmatic and dare say it, boring, fans will get agitated. As you say, finding the balance is hard. I think Parker is on the right track. Bore the life out of the big boys and do whatever is needed to stay up. A second Premier League season is more likely to beget a third.

Another loss for an impotent Man U. If what Lee Dixon said on NBC commentary was correct Amorim has won 8 of his 30 odd league games in charge. A blind man can see that his 3-4-3 system doesn't work but he's sticking with it. His defenders can't cover the ground. His midfield players are all on islands, and his strikers are isolated. Also, most of his players aren't any good either which compounds the situation. Ratcliffe may have to lay off a few more staff if Man U's form doesn't improve. Burnley defended very well against Liverpool. Parker played for the draw and almost got it. Daft from Hannibal, but you play good teams you have to concentrate for every minute.

A very good win. Rovers were the better team. I said it after the last win but Cantwell is a class above most in the Championship. I thought that Gudjohnsen should have had a penalty. I'll look back later to see if the reason is known but the kit choices were very strange. The match commentator I had said that Tronstad is off at the end of the season. He's going back to Scandanavia.

I agree with your certain to start list, it's how to fill the rest that will cause no end of debate. In central defence Konsa is probably the favourite. He's always played well for England. Burn should be binned. Colwill won't be fit in time. Stones has been creaky but is a class act if fit. Chalobah? Another who Tuchel knows from his Chelsea days. Who else? Left back has options without any of them being at Ashley Cole's level. I'd prefer someone who is left footed so Hall, Lewis-Skelly, Tyrick Mitchell, and at a stretch Luke Shaw. Although he may not be a regular for a dodgy Man U team that plays a back 3. Everyone on this board wants Adam Wharton in central midfield but his injury record is hurting him. Anderson did well but is new. Henderson may get a squad spot but isn't suited to a holding position. Angel Gomes has disappeared started games under Carsley. Gibbs-White, Rogers, Curtis Jones play further forward. Left wing will be difficult. Rashford has so much talent but has had a wayward year or so. If he stars for Barcelona he has a shot. Grealish has a chance to be the man man at Everton. He's started well. Foden is probably on the outs. He is a bit of a John Barnes for England and has also had a disjointed 12 months. Eze will be playing champs league this year which will help him. Can Cole Palmer play there? As I'm writing I realised that Arsenal have Saka, Madueke, Eze, Nwaneri, and now the young lad Dowman (who by all accounts is a star in the making). All of them could play on either flank.

Indeed. All 4 of the 2024-25 preferred defenders are gone. Club captain gone. 2nd top scorers both gone. The manager went earlier too. It's going to be a rough season.