Mattyblue

Is it a coincidence that most of the clubs in the orbit of the Manchester two are really struggling/already gone - Bolton, Bury, Oldham and Wigan? Big towns, but unfortunately teaming with glory fans (plus RL in Wigan, of course).

All a bit strange as they announced a big investment in their academy facilities less than a week ago...

I like it Masher, play dumb so you get a response, then you can go: ’Well what’s wrong with getting behind your club!?’

Wouldn’t surprise me if Sky just blurted it out without checking the EFL rules. However, considering the EFL seemed to make it up as they went along with Bolton, who knows what they’ll do...

The LT ‘below the line’ comments seem to be turning too...

Sky seem to think it will be an immediate deduction...

Because he has decent technique and is fairly quick, pulls a lot of wool over folks’ eyes as there is absolutely no end product.

The apathy factor would be ringing alarm bells at normal clubs. A petered out season alongside a still circulating pandemic and an incoming serious recession tells me that ST sales will collapse - many clubs had thousands signed up before lockdown for next season, so are relatively well buffered both in terms of cash flow and retained supporters, but as always we will be attempting to flog STs from a standing start, but with the added unprecedented external factors. Yet does anyone at Ewood (or Pune) see this? Or even care?

Surely nobody takes Mercer seriously? He’s been a wind up merchant since he first joined and kept telling us how much of a fantastic club Burnley were...

‘Coyley’ if you don’t mind!

Jack Rodwell came here after years of mega contracts and he comes across generally as not someone particularly arsed about playing every week. I actually could see Hart turning out in the Championship as he does seem desperate to play.

Samuel reverted to the mean after a couple of ok 20 minute sub appearances. Be very worried if he’s given a new deal...

For me part of BB’s issues here has been an element of immaturity. You see it in his demeanour, the way he warms up, last night was another example of it. TM’s reaction tells me he has the same view. Of course, he’s still a young lad (but 21, not 18) but he doesn’t seem to have the strength of character (yet - will he ever?) to deal with a big price tag - a Kevin Davies-esque feel, who visibly shrunk from the player he was at Southampton.

Will he make it? I don’t think he will here, but as a centre half he has time on his side to carve out a good career. . It’s not as simple as just listing players ages and Championships appearances. BB has been largely crap in his for us, but has been persevered with because of the price tag, if he was out of our own academy he would have been loaned out to the lower leagues without question. Lewis Travis was a Smallwood sending off away from spending half of last season in League 1. Would he have developed to the player he is now if he had? There’s a big element of luck and sliding doors for young players...

We do from time to time, and often look pretty effective at it. Yet, it’s never sustained week to week - not fit enough?

Sounds like he just doesn’t rate him, ‘not big enough’ doesn’t really wash in the modern game. Lenihan and Williams aren’t exactly man mountains...

So is pretty much every other club in the league being insensitive?

Come on JH, we don’t even know what league we are going to be in! I know Forest, Fulham, Brentford, Leeds, Derby, Bristol City, Swansea and Millwall top end. Barnsley, Charlton, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Hull and Luton bottom end all have them on sale and our club is very worried about lack of cash flow currently, but it would be a daft idea to follow the lead of these clubs, wouldn’t it Chaddy?

‘Most of our season ticket holders subscribing to the offer’. Hmm, I’d like to see the data there. Though I suppose 50% of ST holders plus one person is ‘most’. As an example, two ST holders in my house; 1 code unused, same at my dad’s house, and my father in laws and most of the crowd I go away games with. I know some OAP couples who haven’t used either code - no internet. Now some of those multiple ST holder households or other non subscribers won’t be particularly bothered about refunds, but it is encouraging that the club does seem to be putting some thought into ‘recompensing’ such fans.

‘Burnley, sign him up...’

Even the idea that our best players would make a ‘big move’ to the mighty Crystal Palace, what a depressing decade we’ve had...

Why would 200k have been refunded? Only a small proportion of the ST base would have requested a partial refund, so it wouldn’t have been close to that figure. I certainly wouldn’t have asked for £40 back, neither would most fans I know. But it was still a pisstake laying the sob story on thick that it would be loyal fans on the bones of their arse risking the ‘survival of the club’, whilst we have and continue to piss money up the wall...

Amazing how many managers who have an up and coming/growing reputation in the game risk it all at freshly relegated, nosediving Championship clubs. Chris Coleman after taking Wales to the European Championship semi finals - Sunderland. Cowley - Huddersfield, O’Neill - Stoke. As we know it’s bloody hard to turn these tanking clubs around, but a combination of ego and a fat pay packet means they take the jobs time and again.

Where’s Bell? After he didn’t play at Liverpool, Mowbray said he wasn’t risked as he had a ‘slight knock’. Nearly 3 weeks will have passed from then to Barnsley. Don’t particularly rate the lad, but he’s still a better option than Bennett, as he actually resembles a left back (a third division standard left back is preferable to whatever Bennett is masquerading as).

Did make me laugh when Walton cheerleaders were trying to make out that he was going to be first choice in the Premier League at Brighton next season, spouting ‘the data’ from some teenage statto’s Twitter account, and we were honoured to even have him.