Tyrone Shoelaces

The like was a mistake on my part. I'll say we are safe when we get to 50 points and it can't come soon enough for me.

It doesn't sound to me like he was consulted much, it was Hobsons choice.

Did you not read the story Kevin Keegan told at his tribunal. How agents were pressurising the Newcastle board to pressurise Keegan take players for them. They didn't have to play them, even in the reserves, just ' park ' them there !

I get the feeling that Mowbray was told ' We're going to buy this lad because we've been told it's a good investment '. He probably thought ' What have I got to lose , If the kid comes good we're on a winner, if he doesn't I can marginalise him.' Just my view. Going back to prior the signing I didn't see anything on that video that suggested he was the answer to our ' Graham replacement ' problem. They were like chalk and cheese in playing styles. I saw a tall gangling player who liked to run with the ball a lot from out to in but didn't really produce enough end product or goals . And that was his 'Highlights 'video ! If that's what we wanted Gallagher can do that and score a few goals in the bargain. Nothing would have induced me to shell out serious money on him. I find the whole deal inexplicable.

You know the old one about ' Stopping digging '. You're just making yourself look foolish. Of course the fee was a massive amount of money for us to spend !

Centre half completely at fault. He's no idea where the guy he's supposed to be marking is.

Yeah it was, normally if you sign half a dozen players more than one of them improves the team.

Our old inability to impose ourselves on the game for more than a half is still there. We got away with it last season but we won't this time. That and our inability to start games at a high tempo, that's been going on for ages as well.

Excellent post Stuart.

What really concerns me is the implications for our future spending. If this lad is Mowbray's marque signing he may not get another chance to splash the cash. If the Chicken Chokers were advised by somebody that Brereton was a good investment they may be thinking they've had their fingers burnt again.

I'm OTT Chaddy , how about you ?

I'm just hoping it's not the same score as last time we played them at Ewood ! I'd take a draw now.

I was going past Oldham's ground yesterday and I noticed a billboard saying they had Exeter had home today !

It's not just is he better than Danny Graham. People are asking is he better than Nuttall.

That's why there is a furore.

I'm not really bothered what Mowbray or Waggott say about Dack. What does Dack say ?

You can bet your house that barring injuries Evans and Smallwood will start against Norwich.

He's been kidnapped by the same aliens that got Gladwin. Do either of them really exist or are they just holograms ?

Gestede has run into injury issues, not for me.

I agree with your point that the best defence is to be playing in your opponents half buts that's not so easy when you're playing with a back six.

I've been a big fan of Raya's up to now but that dash out from goal yesterday had me shaking my head. What was he thinking of ? Maybe the bang on the head has scrambled his brain. If that had have been Duffy there would have been murmurings on here. Nyambe also dropped a major bollock. It's a cardinal sin these days for a full back to be taken out of the game by an inside ball. I thought Gladwin was top gun in training before he got " injured " ?

I did the stadium tour with Ronnie Clayton just before he finished doing it. We were talking about young players and he told me he was best mates with Duncan Edwards in the old days. He was going to be Duncan's best man when he got married after the 1958 World Cup. As we all know before that Edwards was killed in the Munich air crash. Ronnie said " We've got the next Duncan Edwards coming through the ranks at Ewood, a young lad called Phil Jones ". He was praising him to the skies that day. I can see why Ronnie thought that at the time but for all sorts of reasons Jones has never made the step up from good player to great player as he's got older. I was talking about Mike England earlier. He just got better and better and better. You could see him making progress game by game. He was what Jones should have become,

Roy Boy's only quality signing.

Another one who played for both teams - Howard Kendall.

You're very kind. I felt a real fool.