Well here it is Boxing Day at home, up early excited for my first Boxing Day game in many years. Hopefully the place is bouncing, the players are up for it and we play some of the sexy football we know we can. Haway me bonny lads
Dad not coming today now, he will do anything to get out of paying the branch tote Least I get to meet up with family still and it saves me having to queue at half time for his hot chocolate
Great thread as always RTB. Many thanks. 13 wins 0 draws 10 losses hopefully it becomes 11 losses. Haway lads into them from the start. No prediction from me as I’ve been crap at them lately. Keep the faith lads and lasses.
From ALS on Facebook WILL STEWART START? Tony Mowbray has been discussing his attacking options ahead of today’s home game with Blackburn Rovers, hopefully we’ll finally see Ross Stewart in the starting line up… SIMMS “I think Ellis has done amazingly well. Because he’s so big, we forget he’s still a pretty young guy. I think he’s taken the burden on particularly well, and he’s also scored a few goals, which of course is important. I think he’s a very talented guy, but he’s got so much growth in him and so much development still as a footballer. There are things he can learn, and I’m sure playing alongside Ross will be a massive help to him in his career moving forward. I said to him this morning, ‘I’m looking forward to playing two strikers alongside each other in the very near future’. 442 “If we do that, it gives us the flexibility to play three at the back and go 3-5-2 or we could also play 4-4-2 in whatever guise you want to do it. But I think it would be exciting to see them both linking together and playing together, particularly if you then have a (Jack) Clarke or a (Patrick) Roberts or an Amad (Diallo) servicing them. All of a sudden, the front end of the pitch looks really exciting.” NO CENTRE-FORWARDS “For long spells, we had no centre-forwards. So, whether it was Pritchard, Roberts or Embleton, someone had to go up front. I even asked Jack Clarke to play centre-forward at least twice. It’s not their natural game, and we’re hopeful that we can start to find the right balance now. In some games, it’ll be one forward and a choice of Ellis or Ross, but there’ll be others where we might play them together. I look forward to being able to link them together and play with two strikers, and I think that will benefit the attacking players around them too. AMAD “What we decide to play behind them, we’ll have to wait and see. We could play someone like an Amad, or we could decide to go with two out-and-out wide players. We’ll see, but whatever way we do it, it’s good to have the options there, and we’re looking forward to the test of trying to find the right chemistry for the team as the games come along.” BA, MICHUT, BENNETTE “We’d like to get them more game time. They’ve dealt with it really well, and there have been little injuries along the way too. Michut has been injured for a month or so, but he’s back out there now. He’s a kid who’s played with Messi, Mbappe and Neymar. He’s got immense talent, but has picked up knocks and niggles. We want to get them more game time, but where are they in their development? It’s stuttered, but I think the second half of the season will be the test for them all. If you look at them all, Jewison has some pretty hard competition with the likes of Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts around him and in front of him. They’re relatively young themselves, but Jewison is a baby at 18. Ba? We have to find what his best position is really. I’d say he’s like a number eight, but a classic number eight would play with a pivot behind him. They have to wait for their moment and their time, and then when the time is right, I have to have the bravery to put them in and accept it’s a growing process. They can’t always light it up, but it’s about growing them and giving them some minutes.”
Bit fresh this morning so wrap up warm all,great thread as ever keep up the good work in 2023 plse RTB. I’ve gone for a counter prediction cos most times I’ve gone home win I’ve been wrong so here’s hoping it works COME ON
Good looking side, all things considered. Baath is a miss, but Ballard hopefully balances that out a bit. Delighted to see Cirkin back in. Hoping Diallo can see the Stewart movement like Pritch does. My one concern is whether the 3 behind Stewart do enough to help Evans and Neil - those 2 might have a big job on their hands. One of the things Pritch does so well is hunt and rat to give them a hand.
Well all that are attending bring the house down with the noise and 3 points please. Unfortunately I am ill and coughing up vast quantities of a lovely lumpy green phlegm. Being the nice guy I am it would seem unfair on all of those around me to be barking every few seconds and trying to get my breath and potentially coughing up this gunge onto their coats or heads even. Yuk. Pathetic excuse I know but my wife has been ill for 3 weeks with this respiratory ailment and I fear I am just entering the 2nd week.
Game day. 2 things. 1. Enjoy 2. If this is your first game in yonks, no booing if it isn't going our way after 3 minutes. FTM
