bluebruce

So this is for the same offence then, the police officer thing? Why would the club announce he had completed it, and it then be extended?

I definitely feel like our first game must be in Mordor. I also have images of our defensive mids intercepting the ball whilst shouting 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS!'

Even that article itself is confusing...offence in September, given a year-long order, completed by the time of the article, which was in April...is the one year just the time in which the 100 hrs had to be completed? No idea how I have only just heard about him attacking a police officer!

Cheers. I assume you mean Lyons, not Chappers?

There's been no noise since. I am presuming one of the following... 1) Didn't happen, either by being nonsense or broke down. 2) Still rattling on and isn't finalised. 3) Nobody cares enough to report it getting finished. Bit odd if it is 3, as we got reports of an 18 yr old for the development squad. A 21 year old for the development squad would presumably be closer to the first team, otherwise why bother at all? Not sure what you mean by Chapman connection.

Just wondered whether people wanted to move their inane arguments about Gardengate here instead of clogging the match thread with it.

We lost by a hefty 4 goals to 1 today. But after reading this thread, I can now rest assured that it was only because Bradley Dack crouched down in a garden late last night. This should be easy to remedy in future. We simply need to let our star player know that late-night garden-crouching can't happen in future, if he wants the team to win and himself to become a top-flight player. I'm sure he will be amenable, it can't be that hard to avoid. I've heard you can earn a lot more money playing football than crouching in gardens. He will either desist, or make sure there is no photographic evidence next time, and we will therefore drub Villa. Sorted.

We kick off in 10 mins and all anyone is talking about is this total non-event that we know very little about. Can we drop it? Or put it in the Bradley Dack topic ffs.

It's actually interesting, the huge changes of opinion on the window now the loan window has gone. Since the first deadline passed, we have added: Jack Rodwell (huge question marks) Harrison Reed (rated, but in a position we were already well stocked, albeit also extra cover at RB) Ben Brereton (very exciting, but unproven) Somehow this has pushed us from a mix of opinions (some thought it was decent already, some thought it was a bit poor and and some thought it was a disaster) to almost universal approval (albeit with some a bit concerned about depth for a couple positions). When you look at these three signings in isolation, I do wonder how some opinions have jumped so markedly. I can't help but think the emphatic Lincoln result with a largely second string and the sheer price of the Brereton deal have made everyone feel more confident. With Brereton, if we had bought the exact same player, with the same career so far, for 1 million, I'm sure there would be less euphoria. All that said, I do think it was a good window, as I said above. But I thought it was a fairly steady one before the loan window, and would be good as long as we got a reasonable strike option. Edit - and I'm not criticising anyone who has jumped from doom and gloom to ecstasy btw, just think it is interesting, psychologically speaking.

If we do a root cause analysis though...a big part of why clubs have priced tickets so high and have to grab at any television money is that vast swathes of income are drained by player wages, which itself is driven partly by player greed but mostly by agent greed. Clubs are in a peculiar position, where fan pressure to succeed and the financial structure and reality of the game means they have to take financial gambles, which means they have to recoup that money from fans and tv. It's all a bit of a loop, with fans (armchair and hardcore alike) getting milked for their cash in a huge exploitation of their passion, and the ultimate beneficiaries being players and agents. As it worsens, the risks and debts become greater and something has to give somewhere.

I'm curious Tony, how do you put this together? Do you somehow get a full video of the match to watch back and analyse? I don't think I could take notes of this detail in just one live viewing for a team I support!

Hopefully Johnson can keep their heads up after their being used to winning last season, and remind them that learning how to cope with defeat and bouncing back is just as much a part of their football education as winning a league.

Starting to wonder. No sign of new articles online this morning. LT haven't picked it up. Last night I just figured Sharpe was asleep and they'd add it some time in the morning. Maybe details are still waiting to be ironed out, and it obviously isn't a major deal so no rush I guess. Would assume if we don't hear more about it at some point today, that it isn't real or was actually submitted too late.

Easier done with Chelsea than it is with Spurs though. If it weren't for Leicester's freak season he would have their only Prem title win. Ability isn't just about what trophies you win, in football. You need the right club as a manager to win things, and the right team around you as a player to win things, it isn't an individual sport.

How so?

Lyons has 17 goals in 94 appearances for Coleraine, who finished 2nd in their league last season and only lost one game. They also won the Irish Cup. He made around 30 appearances that season. So far he has 2 goals in 3 games this season (although the same site thinks we have won 3 out of 5 in the league). He turned 21 this May and had trials with us, Liverpool, United and Villa when he was 11. Not sure why he wasn't signed up (maybe just that his family didn't want to move at that tender age) as he scored 4 goals in one game for United in his trial.

If you are promotion favourites, what you expect is promotion. How it is attained stylistically is irrelevant. Away draws to tough teams are how you get it.

It's also odd since the club apparently told Sharpe there'd be no further incomings. Not sure why they'd bother to fib over a deal as small as this one. I can only presume that after being told they couldn't have an extension for Chapman, they figured they wouldn't get one for him either. Really confused where this one fits in the plan, at his age. More u-23 backup so they don't get run roughshod over and fail to develop perhaps. With the off chance he does well enough to break into the first team fringe.

And it got him a point from one of the most dangerously in-form teams in the league, away. What's your point? I'd settle for a point away to a far less dangerous Bristol City this weekend, and don't think that would in any way stop us being play-off worthy.

Indeed. So random. Maybe we just got the paperwork in for it quicker, or the said paperwork was further along.

By loss you do just mean the ones stepping up to the first team and being loaned out? We haven't actually lost any of the better ones have we?

Don't remember Nuttall getting a new deal. He got an improved deal late last year I think, after his initial goalscoring showings.

Minutes, if reports are to be believed.

The funny thing about this window is that, as we signed so much talented young potential, we might come back to look on this window one day as more of a 9 or 10 out of 10. Conversely, if we suffer injuries at CB or in goal, and some of the players (in particular Brereton) don't shine as much as we expect, it could be looked back on as more of a 5 or 6 in years to come.

We do have an option, it has been reported. Inferring from what the Walsall Twitter account and RovingRover have said, plus the player's comments, it is a definite purchase in Jan like Brereton. RovingRover says he has been told the fee is 50k, but could rise significantly if he does well enough.