Christ, how quick is Georgie Gent! Either that or he was playing against one of the slowest players I've ever seen. He looked like prime Gareth Bale in those highlights. 

Looked like we should have won 10-0 too.

Personally I want him to do well. I don't think he will. He's a confidence player and even when it's up he tended to bumble his way through. 

What I do raise a smile too though is the swarms of Chilean fans who'd write on his Instagram "free Ben, free Ben" after every game. They might have a different opinion in 6 months time when he's still not getting minutes. 

5 minutes ago, tomphil said:

Throwing lads in too soon too often at a high level whilst helping them get used to the rough and tumble it can often stunt their actual development.

I think that might end up being an issue with Leonard and i think to a certain extent we saw it last season with Vale.  Such a difficult position to learn the ropes in as often starved of any touches and opposition most experienced players are often centre defenders.

Far better to be eased in and out and brought on as impact subs and so on.

Exactly. Not only is he being thrown in the deep end but he's been thrown in, in an area of the pitch where he isn't surrounded by experienced pros to guide him through. Its a thankless task and he's being set up to fail.

Felt fairly tight with Watford edging it until the last 5 minutes of the half when they stepped it up a gear. In reality it felt as though they had the ability to do that all half. 

Dolan off for Moran and Gally on for Leonard. Feel we're going to need to weather the storm early second half. I'd be very happy to leave here with a point. We're limping through to the end of the transfer window (with hopeful reinforcements).

19 minutes ago, SoldierMo said:

Buckley dropped no injury..absolute joke…if JDT is planning to leave soon he better not get rid of Buckley

Buckley is so frustrating, simply because he clearly does have some quality about him. He was very good playing further forward under Mowbray but even though he has the skill set to play deeper, he has been poor there. He seems to by trying to play an 'intelligent' game at his own pace. 

Hopefully him being dropped is a rocket up his arse and not a sign that he's leaving. There's an excellent championship player in him, but absolutely no consistency. 

Not particularly hopeful for today. Only way I can see us getting 3 points is by keeping it tight first half with Gallagher and Moran coming on around the hour mark and making an impact. Front 3 look dire. 

On a separate note I feel quite sorry for Leonard. He's getting all these minutes at the start of the season, but the attacking players around him offer no service. He's a good finisher, but I can see his playing time becoming more limited once the window shuts and we have a better supporting cast.

Judging by their latest statement it appears United are set to reinstate Mason Greenwood into their squad.

I'm stunned because its just plain wrong. It's an endorsement of domestic violence. Violence towards women, and rape. 

Purely from a PR perspective I can't believe United are contemplating this. The evidence in the public domain is clear as day. It's not just that they will have Greenwood playing for them, it's the fact the club have endorsed it. As a fan, how do you continue to support that? I can also see a lot of sponsors cutting ties with the club. I'm not sure United have fully understood the shit storm which is about to come their way.

Note for anyone who thinks Greenwood has been found not guilty. That's not true. The victim has withdrawn the complaint so the charges were dropped. Something which is very common in domestic violence cases.

One final point. There have been many reasons to say this over the years. But after this. Fuck Man United!

Feel free to remove if necessary mods, as I recognise its a sensitive topic.

I'm convinced Onana was trying to give away a penalty just so he could save it and get me more points for my fantasy football team. 

One word. Loans.

We need 2 attacking loan players through the door who are of good quality. 

Do that and spend any remaining money wisely on a permanent addition and this could be a promising season.

20 hours ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Could come back to bite me but I reckon only Leicester will be a real force this season - ala Burnley from last year. Too much talent to bugger things up you would think. I’m not convinced on Martin’s ability to get the best out of that Saints side, whilst Leeds’ squad looks so unbalanced with numerous off the pitch issues. 

I think a play-off position is absolutely there for the taking this season - once again - for any team with a half decent manager and side. I still think we’re two starting positions (CF/RW) away from that being us. Like others, I’m also starting to worry about our lack of physicality against the big sides too. Only two 6 footers in your side is going to represent real problems against the canny managers in the Championship.

Agreed with Leicester. Fixure wise I don't think it's been the toughest start to the season for them, but their squad is packed with quality. 

Leeds look as though they're in crisis. Any decent players are refusing to play. Farke has a job on his hands.

Russell Martin may be the undoing of Southampton. If his style works then they will be a force as they're also packed with quality.

The team who have really impressed me so far are Norwich. They should have hammered Hull. Amazing it only finished 2-1. It could have been 5-0 on another day. They should have beaten Southampton too. The last minute equalising penalty was very soft and Shane Duffy with a brain fart moment for the first. Both Sara and Jon Rowe look like they could tear any defence in this league apart. 

31 minutes ago, doctorryan said:

43 minutes ago, tonyoz said:

Szmodics did well to hold it together. He’s becoming the beating heart of the team. JRC was everywhere and my mom. 

 

Expand  

Wait.....Who's your mommy?  MotM in the future gang

We might not know her, but we know who her Daddy is!

Sorry @tonyoz 😂

14 minutes ago, Hasta said:

The ref was correct but the law is an ass. That should be the same punishment as pulling someone back breaking clear down the wing, or scything someone down. If he’d jumped up and ran to the ref aggressively then fine. But not sat laughing on the floor.

The first booking is nonsense as well. You can score and run across a stand full of opposition fans goading them, but if you happen to touch one of your own fans in celebration you get booked.

It massively saved us today, but it’s bollocks.

Not just because we benefited from it today but I'm happy for refs to punish waving imaginary cards around. Onyedinma was stupid doing it. He wasn't unlucky. Before the start of the season, players are briefed on what referees will be clamping down on. But he just ignores it and does it anyway.

His first yellow was an absolute joke though. I can understand it if the player had jumped over the hoardings into the crowd. All he did was go up to them. Yellow cards for over celebrating is one of the dumbest rules ever introduced. 

4 minutes ago, pick32 said:

Thought Sammie and Dolan played a lot better than Markanday and Leonard, Wharton playing like a massive liability 

How anyone can watch that and not have Szmodics down as the worst player on the pitch is beyond me.

Szmodics has absolutely destroyed us that half. Missed the penalty and his head just went. Guarantee he wouldn't have tried that stupid pass which gave the goal away if he'd not missed the pen. Trying to do too much to atone. Then his head went even more.

Truly one of the worst halves of football I've seen from any player.

14 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

mowbray would have stayed here forever,he was on easy money,i think the reason we did`nt give him a new deal was down to the players,after the derby match debacle and the bradley johnson up front on his own shambles,the players obviously ignored him and took it on themselves to win the match,tony sat there with a massive sulk on,i don`t think things were the same for him with the players after that

Its rare you see someone act so petulant in public. It was disgusting behaviour from Mowbray. Surreal to see players taking subtle digs at him on social media afterwards as well.

Every game is important but this feels even more so.

The week we've just had really lifted the dark cloud which had descending onto the club over the last month. We have a tough run of games after the international break. A win here would keep the positive momentum going and give us some breathing space to bed any new signings in. 

We surely have some cash in the bank too and though it's very early doors in the season, a positive start can help to make us that bit more appealing. Especially when looking at loan signings. 

1 hour ago, Riversider28 said:

I see the overpaid, prima donna Premiership players and managers are already whingeing about the new add on time rules, before a ball is kicked. The solution is simple - stop wasting time on feigning injury, goal celebrations, goal kicks etc. If they had a brain cell between them they would realise that playing the game as it should be, there would be less extra time added to the game than at present. Fecking clowns. 

They're also the first ones moaning if a relegation threatened team manage to get a result against them by wasting a ridiculous amount of time. 

If anything these rules actually benefit clubs with better quality squads. 

The rules which I hope really stick are yellow cards for time wasting and players staying off the pitch if they revieve treatment. Personally I'd have liked to have seen this be 1 minute rather than 30 seconds. 

I'm happy the added time will be more reflective of what has been wasted. Large amounts of added time are less of a stain on the game than clubs killing matches by wasting time. However, the amounts are going to end up being ridiculous. Imagine if Preston had been leading in the first half! There does need to be a balance. 

I'm happy for Markanday to have a place in the squad this season. I'm not totally writing him off just yet. It was great that he got a goal at the weekend and he does seem like a decent finisher. 

But if we're to be pinning our hopes on him being part of our first 11 for the season, he's going to struggle. We desperately need a new starting right winger with a big of quality.

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

I didn't know that about Ainsworth appointment or that Ferdinand wasn't in favour of it

The goings on around Qpr are the one thing in football that I'm semi itk about. Ferdinand brought in Michael Beale and when he ditched them it was very unexpected. Critchley didn't work out at all and by that point the board panicked and took it into their own hands overruling Ferdinand. Essentially they listened to the fans. Club legend and all that. But one that played a style which was not suited to the Qpr players in the slightest.

Players are jumping ship as there is zero faith amongst them that Ainsworth has any sort of idea. The best thing they could have done is sacked him at half time yesterday. The big issue is though that with Ferdinand gone, there's nobody above the manager with a clear vision. 

When Ferdinand left he said he'd made mistakes at times. Was influenced by the fans with some of his decisions. But generally speaking they were usually all pulling in the same direction. I don't think Ferdinand did the best job, but the over riding of him and complete change in philosophy by bringing in Ainsworth has been suicidal. The club should be in panic mode already because as it stands they look like a dead cert for relegation.

It's a case of be careful what you wish for at Qpr. He hadn't been perfect at Qpr but Les Ferdinand had at least been steering them in the right direction. 

He was strongly opposed to the appointment but meddling board members brought in Ainsworth and Ferdinand then left at the start of the summer after all the deals he had lined up were over ruled. 

Now look at them. They had a squad with young technical players, some of whom have been sold on the cheap. They have a manager who is absolute dross and quite frankly, a bit weird. A manager who only knows how to play route one football which doesn't suit his squad.

We're a day into the new season and it'd be the correct decision to sack him. Major life saving surgery needed as they're a dead cert for relegation. 

Watched a bit of the Sheff Wednesday vs Southampton game last night. I hope its been clearly pointed out to our players, (ESPECIALLY TRAVIS) not to kick the ball away. Even 5 yards. With these new rules he feels like a red card waiting to happen.

Venkys aren't selling us any time soon, but if they are only looking to put in a certain amount, which is now reduced, post Indian tax they should look to sell a portion of the club.

This would make up the shortfall, allow us to compete up to FFP limits and if the backer were UK based/attended games it would help to bridge a gap between the club/fans and ownership. 

I don't believe any of this will happen for a moment, but it could be a huge step in the right direction. Give the club a massive shot in the arm.

14 hours ago, Andy said:

Obviously didn't fancy putting in the required level of effort.

Far easier going back to the old comfort blanket of Uncle Tony, where gets a cuddle and some lemon drizzle.

Or he was putting in all the effort he could, but his body just wasn't up to it anymore...