We need to start fast like we did last week, get a good foothold in the game,hopefully with a goal or 2 1st 15 mins or so.

The longer it's 0-0 the more vulnerable I think we'll become.

Will wait to see the team but thinks it's one we'll win. 

It Bites - Calling All the Heroes

2 hours ago, rigger said:

Everyone is allowed to change their mind. 

Especially when new evidence comes to light; previously it was all suspicion and conjecture, but these are words from the horse's mouth, under no duress. It's certainly caused me to re-evaluate the legacy of his tenure.

Dire Straits - Calling Elvis

Diana Ross - Chain Reaction

24 minutes ago, tomphil said:

He besmirched his reputation here in the covid season with some of the absolute tripe he insulted this club with.

It was clear he didn't give a #### about anything other than being seen to be a players man. Results, league tables, fans opinions didn't matter to him as long as he was giving everybody a game and getting good possession stats.

No way does he say some of that stuff if there was fans in the ground and no other club with directors with any power sit and listen to that. I'm convinced more than ever now he wanted out and had his eye on something else but he wouldn't walk and they would't pay him up.

Looking back it's clear as day he'd more or less given up here.

The covid season was a weird one though, obviously, and I'm not sure that's an entirely fair time to judge him by. Being a good man manager was perhaps more of a priority then than ever, as opposed to being just purely a football manager, for the sake of the mental health of the players? 

I had to work all through covid, with all the professional & social disruption that caused, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't on top form throughout then.

But what these comments show is that he wasn't just not performing at his best, or looking out for player welfare at the expense of club progression, he was actively derailing the club's ambitions & structure, which possibly went further than just Harvey. That's what I'm most peeved at, alongside his back handed swipe at the small car he was driving for 5 years.

Oh well, hopefully he finds out the bigger the vehicle, the more spectacular the crash.

I was a defender of Mowbray throughout most if his time here, but felt he should've gone last summer which is roughly around the time when Harvey left.

I'm quite staggered actually at the brasenness & naivety of his comments above. Trying to be neutral about it, I can kind of understand why a colleague / friend might advise another friend / colleague to seriously consider an opportunity elsewhere, but for TM as a manager to actively recommend that Harvey leave, to then openly admit it like he has done, and then to disparage the profile of the club like he has (as opposed to just the owners, who we all have reservations about) is pretty outrageous by anyone's standards.

To my mind there is certainly a case to make out retrospectively that he is guilty of gross misconduct in his employment, though what that would mean in real terms financially is impossible to gauge. I doubt there's an appetite to take that step & perhaps we should look forward & stop looking back, but he has certainly besmirched his reputation as far as I'm concerned with those comments. 

Tina Turner - Simply the Best 

James - Laid

31 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Pleased Rotherham are doing well. Warne has done a terrific job there on buttons, and the board are now getting the rewards for sticking with him as they've yo-yoed between divisions. 

Hopefully their good start continues. 

Except in 3 weeks, of course!

Tbf, you can perhaps criticise the defending but Sunderland's goals last night were top drawer, some great football involved. Worth watching if you get chance.

Agree with above comments about Pukki, deadly at this level but too slow to be a top tier striker.

The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin

Meatloaf - Dead Ringer for Love

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

(Sorry!)

Hard one to call this due to our inconsistency, but Luton are having an iffy season by their recent standards and only drew at home last night to Coventry. We have more than enough to win this comfortably if we approach it with the right mindset, almost regardless of personnel.

Hopefully our recent history there as a club doesn't weigh heavy; there's only a handful of players & staff who were involved in previous grim defeats there (iirc we drew last season?), but enough to help JDT understand & prep for the anti-football "tactics" they will look to mete out.

I don't normally advocate switching style or personnel for the opposition, but might make an exception here.  We have 24 hours on them fitness wise, but it's a long coach trip there & our front 3 put in a big shift on Tuesday so I'd expect some rotation. That said, Dolan & Hedges were superb & we can't drop BBD. Not sure I'd risk Dack against this lot given his injuries, might do more harm than good. Maybe Hirst for Dolan just for the extra height & bulk, then bring Dolan on in a supersub role against tiring legs?

I also wouldn't be averse to switching Morton for A Wharton, who seems like he's a bit more robust, or possibly even Mola (I know little about him but think he has the versatility & stature to compete well there).

No arguments over the same back 5 for me.

Markanday must at least be on the bench imo. I believe he's been a bright light in a poor start for the U21s & hope he doesn't become the next Chapman. 

I'm saying a 2--0 away win.

King - Love and Pride

So chuffed with what we saw last night.

Was a great team effort across the board, with a solid defensive platform creating a base to build from.  We were out of the traps fast, and there were some wonderful pieces of 1 & 2 touch football and some lovely bits of individual skill. Highlights for me were the build up to the 1st goal, BBD's curler that was a whisker past the post, Dolan's sheer peskiness, Hyam's goal, Hedges' round the corner above, and his sublime, perfectly weighted through-ball to BBD from the middle of our half whilst being pulled back.

On Travis, he'd be a bugger to play against. In that incident with the "punch" (hard to tell exactly how bad it was), if you look at the lead up to it seconds before Travis seems to tangle legs with Pedro, whose reaction might've been a retaliation to that? I agree he pushes the line a bit but he's clever enough to know what he can get away with, and sure does wind opponents up. One of those players you love if he's on your team, hate if he's not (like Savage).

Onwards & upwards; Luton next, a poor hunting ground but only drew 2-2 with Cov tonight so shouldn't hold any fear for us.

On 12/09/2022 at 22:36, mick said:

Over from Canada and hopefully a Rovers win. 

There you go! ( or Voila if you're coming from the French bit!!)

On 10/09/2022 at 23:07, Butty said:

Massive error not getting a backup right back to Brittain, Sarr and Pedro will have a field day against Carter at Right Back, I like Carter but he’s a centre back not a right back. I’d take a draw 😃

Sorry, who??

😄

On 08/09/2022 at 18:46, ItsRoverZ said:

I remember him well, thought kean mismanaged him, I thought he looked really good when he played and would of loved to have seen more of him ha

Fixed it.

7 - 13 for me. 

I have no objection to tomorrow's game being postponed, albeit I recognise it's a matter of personal preference. I wasn't intending to go & have sympathy for those who will lose out financially.

To me this is such a historic moment for the nation. 70+ years of dedication to the country, never shirking her responsibility, right up until 48 hours before her death. We need to take a step back sometimes & reflect on the significance of events outside of our day to day. This is one such occasion IMO.

But that's just it, I don't think the next 3 games will tell us anything definitively about whether he will be successful overall or not!

10 league games in 8 weeks, only 4 of which will have been with his complete squad post transfer window (and even that shorn of 1st teamers like S Wharton, Brittain & Gallagher for close to half of them), isn't a big enough sample of games to draw firm conclusions as to how the season will go, imo,given the situation he inherited. 

REM - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight

For goodness sake, with stretched resources and from a starting point of 8 first team squad departures, we've got 12 points from 24 and are in 7th place, plus 2 decent cup wins. We would all have taken that on July 30th.

There've been some great performances, some average ones, and some poor ones, with results to match; that's what thus league does!! We've won some matches in style, & been hugely underwhelming in others. The bad results & performances (Bristol C, Sheff U & Reading) have been balanced out by impressive wins that we didn't achieve last season (Swansea, Blackpool & W Brom). 

I find this talk of "He's not his usual cheery self, has he bitten off more than he can chew" & "he can't lose too many more games or he won't get chance to continue the project" quite premature & overly critical. He probably is a bit tired after the chaos that is the transfer window, coupled with full midweek fixture lists, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly regretting his choice to come here or is not up to the task!

He & his team need time to adapt, to implement their ideas, to grow the players. If whilst doing that it takes another few weeks of WLLWWL (whether we win or lose by 1 goal or 3) then that's more than fine by me for the first half of his first season.