Feels like you're going to great lengths to justify a previously held opinion. No one cares if you change your mind - or at least shouldn't... I thought Szmodics wasn't up to the required level only about 2 months ago. I was wrong. Looks like Broughton has bagged a good 'un for a very reasonable fee.

TK has been stitched right up with that drawing

I think their point is that (presumably Broughton) managed to get sign off on £10m of spend from Venkys in hours, where over the past few years Waggot/Mowbray/Venus couldn't get sign off for basically anything for weeks or more. It's a reasonable point I hadn't really thought about, regardless of it being a drop in the ocean compared to PL riches. It shows either Venkys have greater trust in the new setup, Broughton is just a better operator than the previous dollopers for thinking of that type of deal as an option, or Venkys are more engaged with the new setup. Probably a combination of all 3 to different degrees. Whatever the reason, it can only be a good sign.

The Bosman ruling was about footballers being classified as workers in EU law. There were already laws governing workers, but they weren't being applied for professional athletes. If the EFL/EFL clubs have standard clauses written within their contracts that void that contract if it is not ratified by the EFL - as you would expect, otherwise we would currently be paying O'Brien's wages, he just wouldn't be allowed to play for us - what you're suggesting is that from nowhere courts could decide that you can be sued for not entering into a contract... What have Rovers done wrong in law? They've cocked up sure, but legally how is this different to saying you'll sign Peter Odemwingie, have him travel down to your ground and then say "nah mate, off you pop"? It isn't.

Over-achieving is achieving more than is expected, not achieving more than is possible. For instance, we are over achieving so far this season given the squad we have. Last season we probably also over achieved given the squad. But we embarrassingly under achieved given where we were in January. The season before that we under-achieved to such a ridiculous degree that the manager had no right to remain in post.

😂 That list of "honours" brought such a smile to my face! I can just imagine the scenes if you'd "won" the Intertoto Cup. Pendle Hill would never have recovered.

Aye, same outcome regardless. Awful first half to watch, decent second, and a much needed win. Just hope we set out like the second half at home from now on, at least gets the crowd involved to our advantage a bit

I think we just tried to do what we did to them away, sit off, be compact and when we win it back, hit it over the top. They sat their defence deeper when they had it so we couldn't do that, and had to just knock it about aimlessly when we won it back - so basically we just did what they always do... Leading to probably the worst half of football humanity has ever witnessed. HT team talk probably went along the lines of... Fuck it, these guys are shit, just get in their faces.

They cost more than £5m. Hence why we didn't sell Brereton to Nice. If he does gain a track record while he's here, we get a "bargain". If he doesn't, we don't buy him. I respectfully suggest you stop.

This is the most painful conversation I've ever read. If he isn't worth £5m when it comes to paying it, we don't pay it. If he is, we do

You as a stapler? Vale might be decent in the future, but judging him on his two league starts, he has absolutely no business being in that squad.

I would say you're playing pretty fast and loose with the phrase "to be fair", but each to their own.

Big lump that lad

Winger The reality is defined by the eyes of the beholder, Mowbray vs everyone else.

Not if you put him, the contract and a pen in a sealed box.

Give it 3 months

5 years of him does that to the best of us!

I'm going to assume that's either a picture of Tony Mowbray, or someone getting excited on the weekend. Neither of which are compelling me to find out

Can people please stop mentioning Tony fucking Mowbray, I'm trying to get excited for the weekend.

Everyone's opinions are biased. Yours are, mine are. Some opinions are more well informed than others, but still biased. Results are not biased, they are a statement of fact. And Waggot's results are not (yet?) very good on the whole, regardless of how well meaning, personable and intelligent he may be.

1 2 3 (full backs) 4 5 6 (half backs) 7 8 9 10 11 (forwards) [Edit] this makes me seem really old. I'm 34 [Edit again] That's when numbering came in as I understand it, then when it translated to 442, either the 4 and 6 or the 5 and 6 dropped back into defence, and the 8 dropped back into midfield

Based on...?

Just watch all the games in a mirror.

This. The blue being on the correct side, front and back is 95% of the battle.

Even regardless of whether the offers were "good" or whether the players overvalued their worth, we wanted them to sign, otherwise we wouldn't have offered terms. They didn't sign, and we had no contingency plan. What was the plan if they don't sign by end of summer 21, start of winter window 21/22, end of 21/22 season? It's a fact to say that either there weren't plans, or - at best - the plans didn't work (and in which case, they were inadequate). It's a lack of basic professionalism, just hoping that they sign at some point is not acceptable at that level of any organisation.