Tyrone Shoelaces

The thing is you can’t keep players for a couple of years unless you are well run at the top. We aren’t.

In my experience the only thing that having non tackling forwards around our own penalty box leads to is penalties for the opposition with poorly timed attempts at defending. Get one on the half way line at least.

Where would the squad be without the un-expected bonus of the young players that have come through recently ?

It was a totally corrupt decision to hold the World Cup there.

There‘s a good article in todays paper about Benito Carbone. When he left Bradford the club owed him £2.4 million in wages and they’d bought him a house. He left both behind because - “ Some would call me stupid but we are men first, players after. I don’t want other people crashing their lives because of my fault. For what ? I come from the road. I became rich, but I never changed. I lost my father when I was four. My mother brought up six boys, selling olive oil. We are so lucky as players to have the best job in the world. But the job can’t change who you are. I’m always human. “ Great little player as well.

It’s like the first injury he got in what I think was his first appearance. He came on as a sub for the last ten minutes, touched the ball once or twice, didn’t appear to get an injury. After that he was out for the rest of the season.

Yeah, we only need another 20 points now.

The Australian rugby league team would beat all of them - playing league or union.

I wouldn’t say teams are quite poor. Big club weren’t poor yesterday for instance. Lots of teams are in the same mould - hard working, durable, pretty fit, organised etc. Not many are pure footballing teams.

As a matter of interest where was Hirst yesterday ?

His dad was Danny Wilson, a Welsh guy who came North to play stand off for Swinton Rugby League team. I’d describe him as “ mercurial “.

So you have all 20 players in our box. The goalkeeper is surrounded and can’t claim the cross because he’s boxed in etc etc it’s not about scoring from counter attacks although that would be useful. It’s about getting two of their players, usually big defenders, back on the half way line and not on our six yard line. The way it is now as soon as it’s cleared it usually goes to a n opposition defender, we can’t get out, and the ball come back into our box again.

Was it a chrome plated car he had or gold plated ? Summed him up really. I remember seeing it in St Ann’s square in Manchester.

I’m as pleased as anyone that the lad opened his account for us. First of many I hope. Having said that if that have had been our back four backing off I’d have been fuming. As for the goalkeeper - I was quicker getting into bed last night.

I like how BBD puts in the hard yards but sometimes that comes at the expense of sharpness in front of goal. Extreme example - Jimmy Greaves didn’t run around a lot off the ball but when he got the ball he came alive and it usually ended up in the back of the net.

Modern football - I don’t understand it. What help is Dolan going to be in our box ?

It certainly looks that way.

We seem to be suffering from an epidemic of minor injuries. It’d be easier to name the guys who haven’t missed a game through injury this season. I can’t think of many ! Are we still paying the price for appointing the management team as late in the season we did and missing out on the fitness work ?

Here’s me thinking he’d not got any mirrors in his house !

I think it’s more they changed formation to a much more attacking line up. They went shit or bust in the second half. 3 up the front etc. Obviously that should leave plenty of spaces out wide for us to counter attack into but we weren’t good enough to capitalise. Maybe that will come in time.

Australia are the best rugby team in the world - league or union.

That problem of not being able to go on to win a game after being behind he left us with must be catching.

You can’t look at football like that. You have to grab the chance with both hands. We won’t have the same players next season. You don’t get the chance to build squads. Your good players get tempted away.

Mowbray’s at it again apparently. They play Luton away next week and he’s already telling the players that Luton is a really hard place to go, small pitch, big opponents etc etc.

Like all strikers, he needs the ball played in front of him. Only the really top level strikers can spin gold from straw. That means we’ve got to get players in up the sides. Todays opening goal was a classic example.