well early today as couldn't sleep, so here to help Elland. Main points from me today are: Young Dario coming into the kids set up from Roma. High expectations of this kid as both Italy and England want him, so great that we get him. However does this show that we cannot produce the same quality of kid anymore. Why did Paul Hart leave so quick, Lucy Ward influence and future academy. Strikers are a problem and any team going for promotion needs a prolific striker or half a dozen players chipping in regular. Wood is great, but he needs confidence and that means goals. He hits the woodwork more than most and maybe his luck will,change and they go in. Roofe will score but hes found it tough so far, and Antonnson will also score. I believe if we are serious we need a marquee striker. Ricky Lambert and Crouch can be had, even on loan for the season and think either would be ideal but expensive wages. Anyone else out there who could be availabe besides Rhodes. Forest are playing well and seem to be stronger this season so far. If we get a result i think we will be on a roll as confidence and togetherness will be banging. Crowds will also rise. Will we get a result though, and if we dont what will the mood be on here.
One further point that I think needs airing, is that this is the first time in years I feel optimistic about our chances. Graysons League 1 promotion squad should have done back to back promotions but Bates refused him new players in Jan window. We know how that ended up with 7th but every season since we have struggled for mid table. Cellino this summer has invested and supported his manager, 11 new players and more to come. Yes hes a fruit loop but I'm behind him and the club so far.
I would have to admit things have changed if we made a signing like Lambert, not sure about Crouch although Abbey Clancy could sit on my knee on match days. IMO chances of us signing either less than 0%. I accept the squad looks better on paper and the coach is saying the right things. But for me it's far too early to say we have improved on the field, we have played well in one game (Wednesday) and "fluked a win against Luton and a daw against Fulham. We have always been capable of an odd good performance. 5-1 against Huddersfield, 4-2 at Charlton so not sure things are as good as some believe. Time will tell. Problem for me is the same as it has been for two years. Who here hand on heart doesn't expect Cellino to go into melt down or get busted for something and thus undermine whatever progress we might have made. I want to believe he has changed but can't. Paul Hart went because we were paying him £400 a week and is now on over £1200. As for young Meadows, I couldn't care less we won't ever see him play for the first 11, if he is good enough to be a first teaser in the next year he will be signed by a club in a top division at the end of his loan.
Morning all Morning Doc... Point 1 bothers me with Hart going and isn't the young lad over on loan with an option to buy? Strikers, I think we did the best possible in signing Roofe, we just haven't got the money or wages to throw at anyone proven to be prolific at this level. I'd maybe see if I could get Crouch or Lambert for a season Leeds of last season didn't seem able to string two good peformances or sometimes even two halfs together, I'm hoping we play well at this stage. If we win I still won't believe we are promotion candidates, if we lose and play well no concerns if we play poor and loose although I might get a splinter or two. My biggest concern if we lose will be how itchy Cellino is getting
Unfortunately Green has had a tough start but I guess after so long out the last thing he needed was a debut at Loftus Road. Hopefully, he will get stronger and has good competition now from Silvestre, Turnbull and double barrel. I always liked Cooper, Bartley is an improvement on where we were and if Jannson is good (glowing review from a journalist this week) centre half looks much better. Bridcutt for me was crucial - steadies the ship so much without being a game changer and finally an Ant in attack that plays for the team. So, the spine of the team looks much stronger. A confident Wood will be a major asset in this league I believe (or he needs someone to make him angry before kick off). The team have only had a handful of games so should get stronger the more they play together. Roofe, Sackho, Vieira, Denton, Coyle, Phillips etc are all novices at this level and will definitely improve with experience. Dallas may not be a world beater but I would have him in my squad any day so, for me, there is more than a little hope. Massimo, please leave things as they are and see if calm works. If the Brentfords and Ipswich type teams can fight for the Play Offs so can this team. If I were a Norwich, Villa or barcodes fan I would be gutted with anything other than top two but A) someone coming down always struggles to meet expectations and B) that still leaves plenty of room for a Play Off spot. Even with our dire record, I would take three games for promotion in a heartbeat. Oh, and happy Friday - have a great day and enjoy the Bank Holiday
Morning all. A good eight hours sleep and all looking good. As always the ten game mark will be the test as to what progress we've made. It is vitally important we keep getting results, lucky or otherwise. It will help keep Cellino happy and keep the fickle side of our fan base on board. Who knows, the atmosphere may even return to Elland Road with the missing 10k supporters. Not sure about signing a quality striker. We simply don't have the budget at this point in time. However, if we're still in contention in January, Cellino may pull something out of the hat
Morning Doc, and many thanks!!! As I see it Paul Hart has very quickly fallen down the ranks. Don't think his ideas /coaching are as advanced as he may think they are... We'll still produce quality players, but if a gem comes along that we can get our hands on, let's get it with both hands... Fletcher (the old manure striker ) who signed for West Ham the other month, I believe we are trying to get him on a season long loan
Daoc, you could have your own daily thread. I have thought of some names : please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Morning Glory, if Abbey Clancey was bouncing up n down on your knee, you wouldn't be able to see the game!!!
Good points Marcos and without banging on too much about questionable coaches decisions and accepting hindsight as a gift... Green never featured in one friendly due to being "behind" the rest. Well with the whole squad starting preseason late and being off the pace just how rusty was Green? Debut against his old club when he obviously wasn't ready might not have been the greatest of decisions. Hopefully it is onwards and up for him now although Silvestre may expect to start after his display against Luton.
As far a s a top striker goes, I think books are being balanced with players gone and going out. Now thinking about Byram, Cooke transfer money its possible. To buy Lambert but deffo pay wages for the season, as I think we do need the security of a top scorer. However if we did he could still break a leg 3 minutes into debut As far as Academy goes we have had trouble for years as Bates ran it down and charged parents. Things are bad when you tell some kids to go and bring in other kids from abroad. Dont think our coaching is anywhere near as good as we had it.
I see that vile human being Katie Hopkins has been up to her old shenanigans on Twitter. She managed to get the cops to report her to Twitter this time
Morning troops. All looking good for the first time in ages. Florest tomorrow will be a measure of where we are and here we might be going. A win and we could well be on for at least top 6. A narrow loss & it'll be a reality check. A right stuffing, and we might see Cellino reacting and screwing things up. Me, I think it will be a 2-2 draw.
I will produce a match report for the forest game, wont be as good as one of WJ's but it will be made from opinions formed watching the game inside the ground. It wont appear till Monday as not planning on logging in over the weekend whilst away.
