We just hit the post with the keeper tipping it, commentators think it was Buckley. Then from the resultant corner, sounded like we nearly scored but they got a good block in.

His name keeps coming up, mispronounced by the commentators, but doesn't sound like he has done anything impactful. Then again it doesn't sound like most have. Hopefully they're just blowing their load early.

It would be incredibly sad for Nyambe if he ends up warming Wigan's bench. I doubt very much that their RB is better than him, but if he's the captain he's gonna be hard to dislodge. Wigan must be paying a lot for Nyambe by their standards though surely. Perhaps they'll play Nyambe at RCB, or shift their captain to a different position.

Didn't Leonard play in the U23 game a day or two ago?

Quite possibly. Seen people post similar in all earnestness so it's hard to tell sometimes!

2 games in 70 hours is what players who are already fit are expected to complete, usually a bit into the season already. Our players aren't fully fit yet, so it makes perfect sense to not have them put that kind of shift in yet, especially using a high press. Some of them have only just completed their first 90 minutes. Like I said before, the problem is more that the schedule overall hasn't been intensive enough or started early enough, but I wouldn't want to rush that in now and start the season with a couple of injured first team players.

I'm curious why you think that is? The points count the same. Spending 15% of the season pissing around with formations and lineups risks essentially starting with a handicap.

These are very fair points, and I'm not ruling the lads out by any means. Probably all of them should have been given a shot against Brum. My point is only really how little evidence there is that they can be so confidently assumed to be good enough that we need 4 less signings as a result.

You were being accused of goading, not celebrating, and it's an accurate depiction. You're doing it now too.

As recently as May, none of those were deemed good enough to start in a dead-rubber end of season game at Birmingham, against a Brum side that wasn't their first XI either if I remember rightly, and even with none of the loanees or contract rebels involved. Vale came off the bench for 15 mins, and Carter was off on loan so I'll allow him (still deemed not necessary enough to keep around in Jan though). The Bournemouth game before it was a dead rubber too, and none of them were even named on the bench. What has changed in 2 months that makes you so confident they're good enough now? Especially since for about half of that time they were on holiday.

Interesting to see Buckley and Garrett play together. I imagine the boss wants to see how the young understudies will work partnered with the senior two, so we will likely see Wharton and Travis on Saturday. Good idea if you ask me, shame we don't have more time in pre-season though. JDT said he would have done things differently, and I wonder if more games, perhaps starting earlier, is how he would have done it. This is an unusually short summer thanks to the WC.

But we don't have any RBs who are definitely going to start. The man who will be starting hasn't had his medical yet. As for Pears, whether we like it or not he is the backup GK. He won't get any games during the season unless TK is out, but JDT will want a look at him. Should be enough for him to figure out he's not good enough...also maybe some League One or Two interested party might be watching and loan him off our hands. But I'll agree, I probably wouldn't start him in this game, but it could be with an eye on another friendly in a few days...I know goalies don't do much, but it's still quick, sharp movements and I guess there's a slightly greater risk of injury in preseason even for them. As for the rest of the team, we go again on Saturday, which IMO is the best one to put our first XI out for, as then they have a full week to recover and train for QPR. If anything I'm surprised we have as many probable starters out today as we do, I probably wouldn't have used any tonight.

Reckon he costs more than a quid fifty 😉

You can do that if you want. Others want answers as to how we let this happen.

A few saying it is, and a google search with the exact quote yielded no match. It's certainly not in the LT article, or another I read.

Where is this quote from? I can't find it.

Not really mate, no, and it's a strange thing to ask tbh. We'll discuss what we want to discuss, and losing Nyambe on a 1 year deal to Wigan is a bitter pill to swallow. We can't just ignore it until more information arrives, which may or may not happen. If you mean you're going to tell us what you've heard, great, but whatever you have to share isn't the extent of what we can discuss about it.

I do wonder if there's something in the timing here. Nyambe signing for Wigan on the same day it transpires we are close to signing Brittain. It could be coincidence but it could also mean something like there having been a possibility Nyambe stayed until we lined up Brittain. A breakdown of negotiations could have prompted that perhaps, or ourselves feeling Brittain was the better option and Nyambe not being willing to play understudy. I dunno. I believe in coincidences, I just don't trust them. At least we're replacing him if the stories are true, and not from the bargain bin.

Why must it?

(Edit - looks like this quote isn't real) Jeeeeesus...has he lost his mind or is he trolling us? Wigan aren't half the club we are, even with our batshit owners. I get the feeling something went seriously wrong for Nyambe at the club. Perhaps the thing about Venus bullying him was true...yes Venus is gone now (and Mowbray who often underused him) but the damage may have already been done and others could have been complicit, or at least pissed Nyambe off by not defending him. Or perhaps it's something else. But it's pretty mind-boggling that not only is he going to Wigan, but on a one-year deal. He isn't being paid more there than we could and should afford, and I'm sure we'd have given more than a year too. We've either continued to very foolishly low-ball Ryan or he was never going to sign here unless he was desperate. I mean, even more desperate than he must be to take a pezzy 1-year deal from Wigan. I suppose he might fancy he can go somewhere better after if he has a good season, but still, risky move for him with no security. Brittain may turn out to be a good replacement, of course (if we get it over the line), but we're now going to be 1.5 million down, assuming the wages are the same as we offered Ryan. Gutted and fuming that we've lost a good academy product to Wigan on such a scrawny deal. This sort of shit needs to stop.

Squad would definitely be big enough though.

By the same token, comparing assists doesn't tell the whole tale. It's a bit easier setting them up for an on-fire BBD than it is for whatever shite striker/s they got relegated with. They had a good one the season before I think, then lost him? We had Armstrong that season though, 2nd top scorer in the league. FWIW though. I think the past 2 seasons are the fairest way to compare their assists, since they're the same age and both played in the same league those seasons, plus Barnsley did better than us at the end of the prior season. 2021/22 - Nyambe 0 in 31 games, Brittain 3 in 36 2020/22 - Nyambe 4 in 38, Brittain 5 in 42 So we're talking over 2 seasons, 3 additional assists in 9 extra games (Nyambe used to be TM's fave sub move too, so minutes might paint a different picture, but I dunno how Brittain was used in that regard). Tbh, I'd want a bit more than that when the main selling point is he's a better attacker. He needs to be at least close to as good a defender as Ryan for it to be a clear upgrade, as I reckon RN is good for preventing more than 1.5 goals extra per season compared with most RBs in this league. Of course, the usual caveat of stats being unable to tell the entire story, including for reasons already mentioned.

That doesn't mean the opposition had it in advanced areas a lot. Anyway it was 4th lowest, and Barnsley had 5th lowest, according to this: https://www.fotmob.com/leagues/48/stats/season/16391/teams/possession_percentage_team

Barnsley got relegated, they'll have been under attack a lot more, giving more opportunity for tackles, clearances etc. Things like a tackles won percentage would be fairer to compare.

Or Wigan. Basically any Championship club.