London MUST have its two Tests (used to be three) as the ECB make a fortune from corporate sales. The rest of the grounds can fight over the crumbs.

Well I have one hundred and four friends.

An example of how much cricket has changed these past twenty years, especially for centrally contracted players... Mark Wood has got to 33 and has never played at Old Trafford 🤯

I don’t particularly want any reflected glory for Venky’s when we go up in May either but that’s just how it is.

I know what you are saying Bizzle, when the early run towards the top fizzled out it was pretty tedious either side of the World Cup, but I thought it all started to come together later on, getting the ball forward quicker etc - just no bloody striker. I personally think we’ll see his team playing his way next season so I’m intrigued to see how we go.

Even more so when you don’t want your Old Trafford ticket to be for a dead rubber! 🫣

Exactly! Lucky guy that Big Sam was necking pints of wine on tape. But that’s life, right place, right time is a big part of success in your career/life.

Good work, no doubt, but his profile, his chance of getting big managerial jobs was negligible. Look at Carsley, how many folk out there even knew who the U21 boss was a month ago?

The big payday helps, his career was going nowhere in particular pre getting this gig.

Doubt it matt when we have the pop gun attacks of SL and WI coming next summer. This series just isn’t typical of modern Test cricket.

This Oz side is top quality. Most aren’t at this level, Duckett isn’t an issue.

Duckett’s is nearly 50. He’s certainly good enough.

I’m not particularly arsed about the England football team, club before country every time for me, but I do enjoy how the country has a jolly old time when it’s major tournament time. But I shouldn’t support them because of the government and the FA? So I shouldn’t support Rovers because I have no time for Blackburn with Darwen Council or Venky’s?

‘He came with some issues from Plymouth’ you can interpret that anyway you want. Niggles, lack of fitness, poor set up down there compared to here.

BBC aren’t interested.

Agreed. The best pundit for the EFL is Don Goodman and he’s in the commentary box, it’s often amateur hour when it goes back to David Prutton and whichever cliche spouters they’ve brought in this week (Christ knows how he got that gig by the way, but says it all of how important the lower leagues are to Sky).

I assume Leeds will be taking advantage of there being no £30 away price cap in the Championship and will back to charging c£40…

Our match day prices are fairly middle of the road, no real issue there. It’s STs where we are falling down as reflected by our sales that are I believe are only in front of Rotherham in the whole division. Whereas haven’t they always had daft matchday prices at Hillsborough? Sure I remember paying over £30 for a night game there in the Bowyer/Lambert era (and lets face it we are never a Cat A opposition, well we are, but not priced as such!).

Shows you don’t need much, just folk that care.

Maybe because they can separate the government of the day from a football (or cricket etc etc) team?

At least the pundits pretend to look interested in the EFL, I’d be potting that Woozencroft instead who sounds like he’s there under duress, pining to be back on talksport anchoring another fascinating discussion on Tottenham’s latest draw.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/15866334.nostalgia-trip-shops-new-chapel-street-mill-hill-early-60s/ Congregational Church. The cultural vandalism in the 60s and 70s was insane. The amount of beautiful Victorian buildings bulldozed is unfathomable looking back now.

Have we ever put in a top performance in the first kick about of pre season? I can’t remember one, so expecting anything at all is expecting too much. A pure fitness exercise, even the game format is a clue to what the respective managers want to get out of it.

To be fair just like you can’t judge our team on the back of a mid July kick about, you certainly can’t judge one with six trialists playing.

Needs a jet wash.