Dolan has a fantastic work ethic and it gets him a very long way with the fanbase, alongside quite a lot of over zealous ‘fancy footwork’ and a seemingly lovely personality and warmth with the fans. But I’ve said for 2 years, I do not see a good footballer there. He’s deceptively slow, he’s obviously very small in stature, he’s not got a great first touch, he makes poor decisions…. I think a lot of folk got very excited by him far too early. Could never and would never criticise his infectious work rate and I would love him to prove me totally wrong, but I think he’s probably a level higher than he should be.

Crash landed. That transfer window thread will see some squabbling after this. I had in my mind that tonight would be tough after the exertions of Sunday, especially after they got murdered by Rotherham. Just felt like we might falter. Not perhaps to the tune of 3-0, completely outrun and outplayed but there we go. 4 games in 10 days coming up and all of a sudden Saturday feels like a real challenge. Without doubt JDTs first real test after tonight and a real wake up call for some fans thinking this squad is anywhere near good enough at the moment.

How are you all watching this? Stream?

Why do we have an academy then? It's the same story over and over again, not just with us but with non-elite clubs up and down the country. The club invests huge amounts of money scouting, developing and guiding these kids through their childhood, only to be told him and his family owe us nothing and we should be grateful he ever step foot in the place. Bollocks. I don't blame him for taking advantage of the disgustingly unfair system, but he definitely owes the club a lot. In fact, probably a hell of a lot more than we are likely to get in any tribunal. As I suggested weeks ago, the club that develops a player through their scholarship should have first refusal on a 3-year deal from 17 - 20 years old - you can't tell me he's going to be playing for one of the top clubs at this point anyway. The wage structures/guidelines can be set based on a few parameters (league club are in... possible bonus clauses for appearances) to ensure they aren't given unfair deals, and then if any bigger club wants to take them, there can also be a minimum release clause parameter put in place. All this tribunal shite - it once again protects the big clubs who come like magpies. EDIT - Where have you plucked £3m from by the way? Is that an estimate of the tribunal fee we could expect? Is it a guess at the fee a club might pay?

Nearly had a heart attack on Sunday watching his performance. I keep saying this - I don't think anyone has a clue what he does as a footballer OR where his best position is. He was hopeless when he came on and must have given the ball away 5 or 6 times, putting us under increasing pressure.

Szmodics was very quiet on Sunday to be fair. Worked hard and put himself about, but had little impact. Can't remember him having a really meaningful touch in their half..... think he played the pass to Hedges for the BB goal if I'm not mistaken. You are being dismissive of Dack, you have been ever since Paul Mani told the world that him and Ayala were effectively dead men walking because they can't cope with the pressing game. Last week you were leaving him entirely out of the squad to face Swansea as well. Bloody glad JDT hasn't completely cut him adrift yet. I did wonder myself whether Dack would start tonight - Sunday would have been massively draining for the group.

I was wondering that. Bet he means Gally as the other goal scorer.

just added a screenshot to my original post from one of their message boards haha. Quite damning.

You know you've had a strong start to the season when a match thread is dominated by which victory song should be played. They could play old interviews of Steve Kean over the tannoy as long as we keep winning. Yesterday - first time I've seen us live as I missed the QPR game. Ayala or Travis my man of the match, Brereton had a horrid 42mins until his goal, but you can't deny his influence on both of the key moments - fantastic finish and a brilliant assist. I was concerned about Pickering pre-game knowing Wallace's quality given any space, but I thought he played really well. Phillips played well, a little bit nervous with his passing but to be expected given his first league start. Grant can be a handful and he dealt with him superbly. Livermore is a wanker, and I'm not convinced he really offers anything. Would be interested to see WBA fans opinion on him -swear the guy is living on a reputation from his early days at Spurs. EDIT - A quick search on one of their forums 😂 How crucial is Ayala to our success - what a defender he is at this level! 11 minutes..... someone please explain. Kaminski - 6 - kicking is a bit of an issue. One fantastic save from Grant, otherwise relatively untroubled. Came flying out for their last corner and got nowhere near. Brittain - 7 - had a decent first half, that last min interception that I assume was his injury was fantastic. Think he played the ball in to Gally for our first too? Phillips - 7 - Maybe an 8 because it was his debut. Looked to be in control throughout - one or two sloppy passes. 17 years old though, fantastic. Ayala - 8 or 9 - Just a monster for us. Pickering - 7 - Stuck to his task well vs Wallace who's hard work. Allowed one cross which Diangana should have scored from. Fair play to him for stepping in at CB - well done him. Travis - 8 - Covered every blade, won every tackle. God forbid he gets injured. Buckley - 6.5 - Not his best game. Always neat and tidy but tried one or two Hollywood passes that didn't come off. Again, going in at RB vs Diangana - well done him for sticking to it! Gally - 7 - Knew he'd be crucial in this one, if only from a defensive point of view. Assist for the first and a lovely finish for his goal. He's frustrating to watch but he certainly has his uses. Hedges - 7 - Faded a bit second half but you can see there's a player in there somewhere. Some nice touches - I think he'll continue to improve with more game time. BBD - 7.5 - Horrid for 41mins including a ludicrous dive. BUT, showed some great moments of game-changing quality. Fantastic strike of his goal and brilliant, brilliant play for Gally's. Sammie - 6 - Worked hard, not a lot came off for him. Does seem to really buzz about and gets stuck in - just not really his day. Subs - Morton... 6.5 - did anyone else notice he seemed to be getting caught too high up the pitch? To say he was supposed to be playing next to Travis he was behind the play quite a lot. You can see he's a good player, but he won't dislodge Buckley or Travis. Dolan - 6 - Worked tirelessly as always and ALMOST worked himself a goal from sheer persistence. His work rate is blighted by how terribly slow he is. And stop back heeling the ball on 94mins when we're under severe pressure. Dack - 6.5 - I was convinced he was going to score with that shot on the turn. He has a link with BBD that not many others have - twice those really aggressive passes came in to him on the edge of the box - one a flick that didn't come off, the second a fantastic touch, great turn and a shot that was goal bound. He's still got great quality for this league - give him time folks. Edun - 3 - Jesus Wept. How many times did he give the ball away? I've watched this guy for what.... a year now? I still don't know what his strengths are OR what position he's actually naturally suited to. Does my head in.

West Brom looked really dangerous the other night vs Watford. Jed Wallace in particular will be a big problem against Pickering. His delivery was superb and they could and should have had 3 or 4 goals on a different night.

Did you ask what this opinion is based on? He's played in two competitive games for Chelsea (back in 2017) and has been on loan ever since. How many times can your colleague have watched him? Saying that, how much Championship football has he watched to come to the conclusion that Ampadu is now a League One or below standard player?

Likely because his agent knows that the absence of a transfer fee means he can get his client a far bigger wage and a very lucrative signing on fee.

Cannot understand anyone watching Buckley and not seeing a huge amount of ability. His passing range is fantastic, he's very good in nicking the ball back and turning play over, and he was a crucial catalyst in our fantastic run last season. So many times we broke with pace because he spotted a brilliant pass or won the ball back high. Worth remembering he's only 22 and is coming up for 100 Championship games - he might peak and trough at times throughout a season, but he's one of our most talented players in my view. One thing that does annoy me.... too many needless bookings and too much moaning at the referee.

Why would you leave Dack out entirely? If we're 1-0 down with 20 to go I'd pick him every day of the week over the rest of them! Sad to see people have given up on him already. Player of that quality who achieved so much for us, written off because Paul Mani says there's concerns about his pressing game.

Not sure I necessarily go along with that. The Arsenal squad he inherited was full of overpaid or ageing rubbish. Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Sokratis, Saka, Xhaka, Torreira, Nelson, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette Subs: Pepe, Mustafi, Martinez, Mavropanos, Willock, Guendouzi, Smith-Rowe 11 of that 18 are already out of the door with more likely, whilst he's trying to develop the youngsters that remained. Nicolas Pepe for one they can't shift because of a daft contract given to him by the previous regime. He's spent £300m since then, but it doesn't dwarf any other Top 6 team and I actually think those he's brought in look decent. His two big splashes have been Ben White and Partey - you'd probably argue those two need to show up this season. Just like every other club in the division (barring Chelsea MAYBE), no-one will get close to the top 2 in my opinion. They'll have to fight for 3rd, 4th and 5th with a tilt at Europe and domestic silverware. Chelsea £438m Man City £360m Arsenal £300m Spurs £276m Man United £275m Liverpool £235m Everton £209m Leicester £205m West Ham £200m

How many years have we been talking about getting a good left back? Feel like we've not had one since Olsson (the good one)! Maybe doing Spurr a slight disservice, but it's been a weak point of ours for years. I'm desperate for Pickering to do well, but defensively I see him as a weak point. Terribly slow and often out of position.

He looked shot to pieces away at Blackpool last year. Felt sorry for him in the end. Can't see him ever making it above League 1 at best. Good luck to him, hope he can have a fresh start.

Funny that Chaddy liked this, being in the exclusive club now. If a CEO obviously performs PITIFULLY in one of his key roles, it shouldn't be down to individual stakeholders (from a collective of say 15,000 - 20,000) to schedule a meeting one-by-one to tell him where he went wrong. This isn't a corner shop selling out of date milk, it's a multi-million pound business that is failing to protect one of it's regular income streams and potentially damaging it's future success, legacy and existence! Bolton, Burnley, Preston and BLACKPOOL have so far outsold BRFC... some by 60% or more!! That's absolutely embarrassing. Do individuals really need to set up a meeting with the CEO to discuss it? Fuck me, how bad is he at his job if he hasn't worked it out for himself?! Thing is, it's not lack of nous, it's blatant disrespect and exploitation..... as I said 6 weeks ago, he's pissing up the leg of loyal fans that would buy a season ticket even if they doubled in price overnight, simply to meet his own continuously lowered 'targets and expectations'. It's a lazy, short-sighted, half-arsed and disrespectful approach. I was glad to read Glen's positive feedback last week, but none of what they discussed relates to the absolute shit show that has been this ST campaign. It's been abysmal. Why you're telling all and sundry to sit in a room and explain that to a fella that's paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a year is beyond me.

Came on after 46mins, was taken back off 13mins later. Whether that means he was awful or not who knows.

He's such a horse trader. Said a week ago when he blurted out that we'd made 3 bids, best thing we can do is walk away and ignore him. He's trying to generate a bidding war at our expense. He did the same with Marcus Maddison a few years ago, very publically hawking him out to all and sundry... in the end they didn't sell him for anything and he's now plying his trade at non-league Darlington.

More worryingly, he was our best full back that day.

Best way to do it is like Brentford - organic growth within their means. Mind you.... what did they pay Eriksen last season? That was an absolutely inspired signing!

Only a one-year deal - so if they go down they aren't saddled with that wage. It's a low-risk gamble - if they can keep him suitably motivated they have a player who's capable of having the quality most bottom half sides lack. If he scored 10 goals and keeps them up he's paid for himself 10 times over. If it doesn't work out.... so what? No lasting damage. Cooper is a smart operator... EDIT - What it does from my viewpoint is just re-emphasise a thousand times over the ridiculous chasm between the PL and the football league. Until the PL implodes and the present structure is obliterated, at least 85% of English clubs will be scrabbling around in the dirt, whilst the minority feast at the top table. Football fascism.

Haha, in defence of the author, he's printing Klopp's quotes... so maybe he doesn't know either!

We've had two very different experiences of Liverpool loanees in the last couple of years. Whilst clearly very different players, let's hope Morton is a success like Elliott was. EDIT - this is interesting..... playing as an 8 rather than a 6 in training, and Jurgen is very impressed. https://www.rousingthekop.com/2022/07/11/incredible-klopp-says-hes-given-liverpool-19-year-old-new-role-in-training-and-hes-been-brilliant-at-it/ He also started in some quite big senior games last season. Champs league at San Siro a PL game vs Spurs and League cup game vs Leicester. https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/449955-tyler-morton-has-been-brilliant-he-has-learned-so-much But, he was hooked at HT vs Leciester after he broke Periera's leg and avoided a straight red: https://www.thisisanfield.com/2021/12/leicester-defender-claims-he-was-lucky-tyler-morton-tackle-didnt-end-his-season/ Hit and miss let's say.