2 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Tella should have been sent off and a Burnley player rugby tackled a Coventry player as the corner came in freeing space for the jammy goal.

Cheating since 1898.

Don’t be silly now. If anyone should have been sent off it was their keeper. He was time wasting when they were well on top in the first half 🤷‍♂️

49 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Burnley will get to the FA Cup quarter finals, our game against them will be rearranged to Wednesday 19th April as that will be the first available date, and they will win promotion and the league title that night.

Never mind though, we're a "project".

I appreciate your belief in us however we haven’t qualified and no reason to assume we will. IF we do is would pile up fixtures so brings its own issues.

46 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Won’t somebody think of the pathways!

😂😂😂.

1 hour ago, booth said:

Burnley have played shit today by all accounts, but they have goalscorers in the team and have nicked a goal to get the three points.

Shit is a bit harsh but we were not at our best. First half Coventry were easily the better side. We improved second half but were still not at our best. Coventry looked a decent side, Gyorkes looks a very good player.

We play WBA Friday, that may see our unbeaten run end as they are on it.

1 hour ago, Hasta said:

They’re getting promoted at Ewood aren’t they?

As sweet as that would be for us there will still be 8 games to play so that seems unlikely plus a lot of football between now and then before we can even think about promotion.

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I’ve never been overly impressed with Obafemi to be honest. No better than what you’ve already got in my opinion.

I’ve only seen him once in the flesh - and forgot he was on the pitch. I guess the manager has earned the right to identify players but I can’t say it’s a signing that will make me think ‘that’s it, we’ve won the league’. Mind you we probably need to cough up near 20 million for the likes of Gyorkes and that isn’t happening.

12 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

aren't you after Swansea's striker Michael Obafemi? 

So they say - will need some tlc to get the best out of him IF we sign him.

12 hours ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

I was only joking. I think the pressure of trying to buy the league must be getting to you. 😉

I think I’m just tired from all the cheque signing 😬

3 hours ago, booth said:

I can only hope it brings you the same amount of joy as our injuries have this season 😉

3 hours ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

Getting your excuses in early I see. 

There are no excuses. We are 14 points clear. If all we lose player wise this window is one player to injury for a couple of months then we shouldn’t break stride. I’m just saying he’s a big player for us.

24 minutes ago, goozburger said:

Please don't go and get van Hecke on loan! 😢

Not sure but I had the impression he turned us down in the summer anyway. We have Taylor who can cover there but wouldn't be my choice. McNally did look ok against Bournemouth once he'd settled down but not sure he's ready and we are about to sign a 20 year old Belgian/Iraqi but not sure whether he's ready to step in either. The way we play is very dependent on CH's and defenders who can play out from the back, at pace when needed so this is definitely a set back for us.

23 hours ago, goozburger said:

Rumours that Taylor Harwood-Bellis has fractured his foot

Stories now seem to back this up, suggestions he's out for a couple of months. Big loss for us.

13 hours ago, goozburger said:

Clinton Mola was excellent for you when we played you. Surely he's adequate cover for THB?

Took me a minute that one

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

One of the strangest transfers I can remember. I’m not knocking his football ability but he isn’t the quickest and Utd like a fast counter. I would have thought the likes of Rashford would be quicker running backwards !

He's not the quickest but he is good in the press, good with the ball into his feet and back to goal. It soon transpired he was completely wrong for our system and wrong for our dressing roon. I suspect he might do OK at UTD - and hope he does so we can sell him for a bit of a profit in summer.

6 hours ago, goozburger said:

Rumours that Taylor Harwood-Bellis has fractured his foot. Might be out for a few months. Not sure how accurate that is.

In other news, I didn't realise Maatsen was a loanee (from Chelsea). I thought they'd purchased him. This does not fit the narrative of them buying the league, which is disappointing to say the least.

He’ll be a big loss for us if that is accurate. No news from the club so far that I’ve seen. We have Taylor who played their early part of the season and McNally who’s somewhat unproven at this level. And the way we play out is central to our system and success. We are linked with a couple of central defenders so this might force our hand.
 

3 of our first choice defenders are loans as is Tella up front.

11 minutes ago, sympatheticclaret said:

With the World Cup coming up, the Dutch Coach announced that he would only consider players playing regular " top flight " football, which would have irked him

As I understood it, when he signed it was agreed that if we were relegated he could go on loan to a top flight club because of the upcoming World Cup - I don’t think was something that came about after he signed. So he never refused to play in the Championship, he just negotiated a deal to protect his place in the National side.

3 minutes ago, Silas said:

Good to know the scars still run deep. 😉

Always - though the Venky years have been somewhat therapeutic 😬

8 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

Just read that wout wegiwotsit is close to finalising a deal with united 😱🤣

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

And then you woke up ?

This is apparently true - United are interested in loaning him. But it’s complicated as he’s on loan at Besiktas for the season with an option to buy. So some wheeling and dealing required if they are serious.

36 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Doesn’t take much needle for the true colours to come out…

Bleeding heck I thought I was quite reserved 

1 hour ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

This is the peak of their modern history 

You mean since 1992 don’t you?

1 hour ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

When we were in the Premier League we travelled to Rotterdam, Basel, Salzburg. They had a day in Aberdeen 

Ahh yes we all remember Trelleborgs - and was it Batty and Le Saux scrapping against Spartak? 
 

ps we also went to Istanbul and Greece. But you are right, we won exactly the  same number of European completions as you did.

2 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

if we ever go up

*corrected that for you 😉

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Blackpool were very good today from what BBC Radio Lancs were saying. 

Some good results today but this one stood out for me.

3 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

It would take a collapse of almost unprecedented proportions for you not to finish top two now mate. That said, we managed it last season and it is an odd old league.

Agreed but we also need to navigate this window that could see players recalled from loans - and the aforementioned Kompany being poached by a West Ham, Everton etc as well just the run of the mill drop off in form that can happen. It isn't over until it is over.

1 minute ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Yeah and in fairness Longers I wish with all my heart that you were saying that to us about JDT.

In time I might be. I realise so far it isn't quite going to plan, yet you are third. Imagine if he can get a couple of players in, those missing links. Kompany has done amazingly well to gel a new team - but in some ways the blessing is he could bring in exactly the type of player he wanted. Personally I wouldn't be writing JDT off yet - but I accept it isn't my team and I don't see the performances week in and out.

The way this league has gone it is more than conceivable we are both PL next season - or that neither of us are.

13 minutes ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

 

He will in March. 😉

😁😁😁

11 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Kompany was at Anderlecht and won nothing, probably his biggest achievement to date, despite being allowed to splurge on the likes of Cullen and Gomez

He might become a good manager - definitely has the backing of the City cartel ahem Sergio Gomez ahem - but one thing is for certain: he will be out of Burnley like a shot

He's a big club man, Burnley was his foot in the door to English management. He's no Dcyhe - they will come calling and he will go running and he won't look back. The only fond memory he will have of Burnley is the fact he slept on a mattress stuffed with money and how the staggering amounts of cash kept coming to buy success. Oh and the fancy new tunnel too

You are lettting your bitterness cloud your view. Firslty he inherited an Anderlecht side in big financial trouble, he brought through youth players and took them from 8th to third. It was no easy task and he did it with aplomb - a read here if you are really interested https://breakingthelines.com/tactical-analysis/analyzing-vincent-kompanys-anderlecht/ . As for his splurge - he spent about what you guys did on Diaz

As for he will move onto bigger and better than us. Well of course he will, only fool would imagine he is anything other than ambitious. He's also astute, he will go when it is the right opportunity. I have no doubt he has a pretty clear career trajectory in mind. But if he leaves because they've come calling it means he's done well, ergo we've done well. Our fond memories will hopefully be putting your guys to the sword twice, a promotion, maybe being Champions and, with a huge slice of good fortune he stays next season in the PL and can guide us to safety. I imagine his stay will be 2 or 3 seasons depending how we finish this season.

Kompany gets it:

4 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

There's even an argument relegation has been a good thing as its allowed the club to hit reset

Very much so. With so many players out of contract any kind of rebuild in the PL would have been very difficult, perhaps financially impossible. 

4 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

As well as Dyche did for you the change in style must be refreshing. 

100%, the last few seasons of Dyche were painful and perhaps things had their course. I don't really blame Dyche, he just "cut his cloth", the previous board who built up 60/70 million in the bank rather than strengthen when we were doing well, they killed it.

4 hours ago, ben_the_beast said:

So credit where its due. But you're still buying the league 😉

Aye, with our own money, that we earned 😁

14 minutes ago, cesus said:

If you are bringing a Daily Mail headline to a debate you are starting 1-0 down I'm afraid

I was going to share the Alex Crook diatribe - 

Maybe I should have done as I do share your disgust in The Daily Heil and all the other right wing media types and gammon we have in this nation of ours. Severly dislike Talk Sh*ite as well though.

The first 15 years of the PL they didn’t share a penny of the TV money with the football league - prior to this tv money was split 50% for the 1st division, 25% for division 2 and 12.5 for each of 3 and 4.

This dried up over night, league teams had to survive with significantly reduced incomes. None of the PL clubs at the time - you included - gave a toss about those you were ‘leaving behind’. Now we’ve managed to claw our way from near extinction to the top division (briefly) and have completely rebuilt the club you think we should feel bad about it or feel it’s unfair? 

Creating the PL has brought great things to our football. It has also poisoned it but please don’t try to convince me that if you were still in it you would believe it was unfair or be crying out for Burnley to be given a bigger slice of the pie. As for me, we won’t be around it forever, we are not a big city club so I’ll just have to enjoy it whilst we can.

13 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

And you didn't earn it - you got relegated.

But we did. It is a business contract we entered into that comes with agreed payments based upon certain outcomes. We earned it by virtue of reaching the PL - and that option remains available to all 24 Championship Clubs. It doesn't stop other clubs doing what they want to do - indeed Our promotion in 13/14 was achieved without parachute payments. You benefited in exactly the same way for years in PL and post relegation. I am willing to bet you never returned a penny of the money you got from the PL or complained about it at the time. 

It galls you now because it is us getting it - and using it well. Fair enough, I absolutely felt the same back in the day before we benefited. No issue admitting to being an absolute hypocrite.  It won't stop me enjoying this season immensely whether we get promoted or not. If we are Champions there will be no "*" in the record books - just as there isn't if I look up the 94/95 season - and I will celebrate it like I did our more recent Championship promotions.

Wagner to Norwich. His first spell at Huddersfield aside - and even that went South - what else has he achieved? 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64161503

Wouldn't have been top of my list - then again I doubt I'd have sacked Farke.