Only a few months ago you wanted Ismael removing from his position immediately, now you're in his biggest fan. Folk can change there minds as they want, as you have done in the past.

Something doesn't add up there. They will have to have made Dolan a contract offer on at least the same terms as he's on now by a deadline, think it's the same deadline as when they have to tell the players there decision if they are to be retained or not. Or we don't get compo if he moves to somewhere in this country. So I imagine we have offered him a token contract, and then maybe we'll throw something in as a last ditch attempt when he signs for someone else do they can turn around and say "we tried!".

Fantasy land that Chaddy. We spent the whole of last summer looking for "experienced" competition for Pears and ended up with someone we never heard of on deadline day, who probably had a similar amount to Pears. This lot won't pay for an experienced keeper to sit on the bench when we have several 20 something keepers on the books who can do that. Results secondary as ever, getting a squad as cheap as possible the only aim I think its quite clear that neither are up to it, but when has that been a concern here? They are cheap and I fully expect one of them to be on the bench next season and them praying that nothing happens to Toth. Michelski at 18 needs a season playing football, whether that's as our first choice under 21 keeper or we can get him a starting position in the National League/League 2. I know I have form for this, but I have never been so confident in my words "that isn't going to happen" as I am here. Sagnan, De Keersmaecker, Kapuadi and now Antman. Genuinely think someone at the club is leaking these names to Elliot, Bailey etc so they can play the line that "we had some ambitious targets but couldn't quite them done, here's a few kids from Brighton and Liverpool instead".

Replacement is already here I imagine, with Barrett and Goddard signing new deals. Both would need registering this season as over 21, so that would be our 3 keepers I think. Michelski as Under 21's first choice.

BBC Lancs are reporting that the Women will play there home games at Clitheroe next season.

Split into North and South for the first two rounds.

Eiran Cashin is leaving Brighton on loan apparently. Left footed centre back who they bought from Derby 6 months ago. With our relationship with Brighton, and it being a position that we need I could see us going for him. Also kicks the can down the road for a permanent signing back there which they love to do.

30th June I think I saw Elliot say.

Yeah it is odd that they haven't scheduled anything in for boxing day to be fair. Can't be a time where that has happened before.

Nobody is paying £2m for Pears. 6 Figures I would think.

Markandey is a 4th division player, as this proves.

The fixture list will be absolutely butchered for TV before long. Wouldn't surprise me if some of those fixtures on the 27th December were moved to boxing day for TV coverage, and some to Sunday the 28th too. Then that could have a knock on affect for the games on the 30th December to move a day or two and end up on NYD which is a Thursday, and then some Saturday 3rd Jan fixtures moved to the Sunday etc. Be interesting to see what the Championship schedule is over Christmas. I could see 26th, 29th December, 1st and 4th January for the games.

Away boxing day and home on the final day going off there fixtures.

Our fixtures are released next Thursday (26/7). Premier League fixtures are released today, with the dingles being in there we should have a good idea today as to whether we will be home or away on the opening, last, boxing day etc.

I'll go for Barrow at Ewood.

Yep agree with premise of all that. Like you allude to though we're not a normal club and it's all pointless here. I would rather every player ran there contracts down and left on a free rather than selling them while this lot are in charge.

Camden Schaper. 13 year old South African I think he is. Nixon reported a couple of weeks back that Chelsea and Man City were offering 700k for him.

There is no logic to anything they have done for 15 years.

Think the new TV deal that started last season is a bit better for league one/two clubs than it has been previously. Plus we will have zero high earners on the books, so that would offset that to a huge degree anyway. Academy lads will be on what a couple of grand a week at best? I'm not even sure they would be on that. I believe that's there plan, plus in league one you are even more out of the spotlight than you are now in the champ, especially with "huge clubs" like Wrexham and Birmingham coming up that we couldn't possibly dream of competing with.

Probably because it's not 10am yet?

Yes, and it's exactly what they all want, and as I have thought for a while, it's all completely by design. It's much cheaper for our billionaire owners to fund a league one club run on academy players, plus the odd lower division journeyman and a few foreign 2nd/3rd division players, than it is to fund a middling/top end Championship side that needs experienced, competent 26-31 year old players as the core of the team. There's a reason we're not signing anyone up to new contracts anymore despite all the talk of willing to do this, or willing to offer that. Fact's are that no senior players have signed a new contract since December 2023. Our only contracted players past June 2027 are Connor O'Riordan, Tom Atcheson & Dion De Neve. One or two will have options too (Pickering, Ohashi & Gueye from memory). I believe that the club is gearing up to be a league one side by the 27-28 season at the latest, using 90% academy players as the first team squad. In reality it will probably happen before that.

Haven't even bothered with that this year. I do agree that the shirt looks fine for what it is, but the lack of quarters really irritates me.

Excellent. Now the big money is off the table, it shouldn't be a problem to get Travis signed to a new 3/4 year deal. Unless of course now we can't compete with the East Midland powerhouses of Derby.

De Neve doesn't need one, and Ohashi will be converted to GBE based on minutes played last season. Andy Watson missed out Mafoumbi who I think would still need a place, along with Toth and Kargbo. So if that's the case it would be one spot available. De Keersmaecker wouldn't need a spot, but Al Sahafi and Terho would need one.

I'm amazed you thought I was talking about you with a "this lot" comment. Was obviously talking about those running the club not going ahead with the reversed halves, despite having all the meetings, surveys etc telling them that it was the one feature that was non negotiable. Quite clearly not aimed at any one person on here.