bluebruce

Oh it'll be because he is getting bummed repeatedly on the flank. Hope that clears it up.

We need to make it to half time ahead, Blackpool keep coming.

Needed taking off last match too, but instead Giles got blamed for not being what Tony wants him to be, a right winger. Blame seems to have continued as he is still sat on the bench today whilst Pickering proves a liability again. Don't get your hopes up about him being taken off.

Well tipped there Kaminski.

They're targeting Pickering's flank.

They will still need to show up in case someone gets injured on the day.

Hopefully he does look to leave, yeh. I sympathise for him being thrown in when he clearly wasn't fit yet, and yet again being put at RWB where he gets shown up as it isn't his position. But he has also played further forward in his more natural position and still looked dross. Add in the fact he is slow, unable to recognise when he doesn't deserve to be in the squad, and made of glass, and I have precisely zero qualms about him leaving.

No Bowler for Blackpool today has to be a plus.

No. Physical is a legit reason, but he has been rehabilitating for months and has managed 90 for the less important u23s, and 45 for us twice now. If it's mental he needs to screw his fucking head on and get to it. EVERYTHING is on the line right now, this summer has the potential to be ruinous if we don't go up.

"It’s not an easy combination to get Bradley Dack match fit and ready to play more than 45 minutes. “That’s an ongoing process. I think he needs a pre-season behind him really." What is this gibberish? He has had more than a preseason's worth of preparation since returning. Plenty of time, plenty of matches in the U23s (no less competitive than preseason friendlies) and now a few cameos in the first team. Get him on the fucking pitch and stop making excuses, there are only 6 games left of our most important season in years and he won't be ready to play 90 by repeatedly playing 45!

You have a 'gut feeling' we will win? No, never, surely not. What an unexpected prediction.

Very good point. Zeefuik - injured mostly, and played out of position half the time or more when fit. Giles - almost always out of position. Brown - never played even when all other RBs out, but given a new deal anyway. Markanday - injured. It's really hard to know what we actually got with these players, as they either haven't been used or haven't been used right.

He was credited with the Khadra loan specifically. As in, direct recommendation. Old pals act it may be, but he does have a bit of pedigree, and I'm surprised TM didn't get his mate a cushy 3 year deal. Maybe he said, 'John, if I stay you stay, but I'm probably off at the end of the year and I'll get you a gig at the new place'

About 70% of it from Magloire, who put in the worst RB performance I've seen in a very, very long time and got butchered with impunity down the flank.

The last game against Blackpool wa surrendered at right back. If Nyambe doesn't play, I suspect this one will be too.

We appointed a head of recruitment on a one-year contract? Surely not? Recruitment is one of the areas that you need the most long-term planning. Short-term deals for the people in charge of it don't facilitate that.

I do think xG is a bollocks stat. Although one thing that rings true from that post is that we have been shite at finishing for a long while now, clearly missing a fully fit and in form Brereton. Before the New Year we were pretty clinical for a couple of months. Since then we have been missing penalties, sitters and all sorts of chances to win games. Not only has BBD been absent but the rest of the team have gotten worse at putting it away. I didn't need the xG stat to make that observation of course. No stat is meant to be taken in isolation as proof of how good or bad our form has been (apart from points of course, and even that doesn't paint the full picture until season's end, as refs, injuries and sheer bad or good luck can account for it short term). They are just there to help highlight strengths and weaknesses in our game, and should be used in conjunction with other stats and, crucially, human observation skills. Again though, I think xG is shite, and is a stat I pay no attention to.

The utter nonsense was, as usual, your response to me. Try actually reading posts you quote instead of skim reading and inserting your agenda. I never said anything about there not being a commitment to the academy. I talked about a hypothetical in which they reduced academy spending, in line with the claim in the post I was quoting, and how if they did, it would only be to save the owners money.

Short of complications in training, Brereton and Dack should both absolutely be starting this time. Anything else and I'm gonna want to hear a good explanation.

One of the standards is putting in a certain amount of money. Why would we put that money in, meet all the standards, then ask to be cat 2? Would achieve literally nothing.

Thank fuck for that.

If I'm remembering rightly, you have to be cat 1 to play in the development league we play in. So it would reduce the level of opposition we played. Academy spend is exempt from FFP (or P&S as it is now) calculations, so literally the only reason to willingly spend less on it is to save the owners money.

Is all the catering at the kiosks outsourced then? Yeh we have those other squads besides the seniors, but they would come under 'academy football players and management', attributed on there as a different section with a further 60 staff. Admin was also a separate section. So the 82 still seems awfully high. Although I had forgotten about scouts and data analysts. Admin was also a separate section.

82 seems a high figure for the number of senior football players and management. 20-odd players, sure, and what, maybe 10 or so footballing management team (gaffer, assistant and coaches). I guess this might include our meagre board, commercial directors etc, although I don't know whether they fall under 'Administration'. Seems to be almost double the figure I'd expect, who am I not thinking of? Where would kiosk staff come under? Stewards? I'd have thought maybe the last category, but it seems a bit small to include them as well as groundskeepers and maintenance staff etc. Perhaps they don't count as they're only employed on matchdays?

Certainly with the makeshift team we will likely have by the start of the season.