General Football Thread

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I think I'd see CJ as an option as a recruiting failure. OK at a push 3rd choice behind a newby and a 2nd choice Nelson but I simply don't think he is good enough and with another championship season in his legs, he won't have improved on the last time he didn't cut it.

Bah!

At the same time, we have no idea how Oliveira would perform in the PL, whereas CJ has considerable experience there. It's hard to see where we'd pick up a striker who would score consistently in the PL as it is now. We can dream though.
 
At the same time, we have no idea how Oliveira would perform in the PL, whereas CJ has considerable experience there. It's hard to see where we'd pick up a striker who would score consistently in the PL as it is now. We can dream though.

True but, I think in this instance it's better to have the hope that Nelson could cut the mustard, rather than the near certainty that CJ wouldn't. We would be hoping that Mr Webber could conjure another rabbit from his hat.

Bah!
 
So JM earns himself goal of the week - quite an accolade for the young man and I loved the photo of him and CJ at the end of the game.
 
So JM earns himself goal of the week - quite an accolade for the young man and I loved the photo of him and CJ at the end of the game.

It was a great interview on SkySports as the two bounced off each other verbally. Hopefully that's an indication of the spirit in the squad at the moment! JM seems to have matured greatly since last year.
 
It was a great interview on SkySports as the two bounced off each other verbally. Hopefully that's an indication of the spirit in the squad at the moment! JM seems to have matured greatly since last year.
They certainly have mutual respect for each other, which is obvious from interviews and the photos I've seen on line. As you say, JM had matured since last year and is turning out to be the best bit of work AN did in his tenure.
The team spirit is something that we've lacked since the Lambert days IMO and will stand us in good stead when the going gets tough in the coming weeks and months.

Edit - I'd LOVE to see JM get SOME protection from the officials, but I'm not holding my breath on that happening any time soon!!!
 
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Jesus H Christ, the Premier League is going the same way as this bloody country of ours under the Tories, whereby the rich minority get substantially wealthier - and the rest of us poor b@stards eventually fall by the wayside :(
Look at the disparity already in appearances, ManUre had twenty eight (28) last season...Burnley had a measly ten!!
I don't watch much PL over-hyped nonsense but you can bet the gulf in appearances / money received for them will be more disproportionate this year <yikes>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41494042

p.s. My opening gambit above, while I believe it to be true, was said equally to try and cajole ILD back onto the forum <ok>
 
Sadly, that's always been the case Cromer, but Sky and BT have made it worse!
I hope the vote is blocked - if that leads to this (inevitable) breakaway Euro Super-League, then all well and good. All the moneybags clubs from Europe can wallow in Ferraris and Maseratis and leave the rest of us to go and see football played on a levellish playing field (it sure ain't at the moment!) in our Morris Minors <ok>
And all those global plastic legions of 'support' can watch their 'beloved' Chelsea vs P.S.G, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City, etc every flaming week!! <applause>
 
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I hope the vote is blocked - if that leads to this (inevitable) breakaway Euro Super-League, then all well and good. All the moneybags clubs from Europe can wallow in Ferraris and Maseratis and leave the rest of us to go and see football played on a levellish playing field (it sure ain't at the moment!) in our Morris Minors <ok>
And all those global plastic legions of 'support' can watch their 'beloved' Chelsea vs P.S.G, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City, etc every flaming week!! <applause>

I've a feeling it will be blocked, as it requires a 66.67% majority to make it happen.
I can partly see where RBF is coming from and I'd love to see the 6 clubs mentioned break away into a 'European Super Leaugue or whatever and we go back up to what's left f the PL!!!!
 
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I think at the end of the day, you can't blame the TV companies for wanting to screen the most supported and high profile clubs the most, they are paying a princely sum for the right to do so. In the grander scheme of financial inequality it will exascerbate it but what can you do? demand won't go up if you screen Sunderland vs Burnley. Arguably if you are a Burnley fan you are most likely to live in or around the area and actually go to the game so moving it to Sunday at 4pm is more of a pain than not being on TV.
Look at Leicester, their success meant increased profile, increased TV coverage...........Damn just checked that and whilst there was an uplift over the mugs like us (In 1015-16, 7 sides including us only had the minimum 10 appearances) In winning the title they still only got 15 TV appearances, c.f. Chelsea 22 for mid-table, a minimum of 21 for the big six being Spuds, with 27 for the Gooners.
Leicesters uplift probably is as much about selling rights in Thailand as it is their actual success.

i don't want them to concede to the big boys demands, to do so will only help kill what is one of the chief reasons for the PL's success, that games are actually more often than not competitive.

Bah!
 
I hope the vote is blocked - if that leads to this (inevitable) breakaway Euro Super-League, then all well and good. All the moneybags clubs from Europe can wallow in Ferraris and Maseratis and leave the rest of us to go and see football played on a levellish playing field (it sure ain't at the moment!) in our Morris Minors <ok>
And all those global plastic legions of 'support' can watch their 'beloved' Chelsea vs P.S.G, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City, etc every flaming week!! <applause>

There's nowt wrong with a Morris Minor, though I'd opt for a Morris Traveller myself!
 
There's nowt wrong with a Morris Minor, though I'd opt for a Morris Traveller myself!
I used to own one of these when I lived in London in the 80s <yikes>
Have to admit, the new breed of Skoda, since VW / Audi got involved, are a totally different animal.
My sis has a pretty much bottom of the range Skoda Citigo and it's quiet, economical and very reliable...one thing my yellow beasty below was not! ;)

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Looks very much like I, with Rick's help, have derailed this thread about football matters!
{Wonders whether to start a "What are you driving" thread :emoticon-0112-wonde } :grin:
I have had 2 Octavias and really liked them both, but when I'd an 'engine management' warning light come on and on my last one (12 years old) and was told that it would be over £1K to repair it I'm now an i40 driver. On the way back from Stansted this morning, I managed 59mpg, without trying.
 
Getting back to football for a minute -
Since Birmingham sacked Gary Rowett in Dec 2016, they have had the lowest win percentage of the 18 ever-present Championship sides: <yikes>
Some other gems -
Bolton have made their worst start to a season for 115 years. They have lost their last eight games in a row (failing to score in their last seven) - their longest run of consecutive league defeats since Nov 1902-Jan 1903.

Bristol City are unbeaten in their last nine Championship games - their longest unbeaten run at this level since Aug-Oct 1975. That season resulted in their last promotion to the top division, as old Div 2 runners-up.
Edit - Lee Johnson MUST be 'Manager of the Month!!! <ok>
http://www.skysports.com/football/n...-essential-stats-birmingham-feeling-the-blues