smudger63

I wouldn't even have Ben Mike in my team. I would bring back Holland for him. I doubt those in charge will drop him though.

Swindells coming in for Budinger to open was a little baffling. Swindells is more of a nurdler of runs than a big hitter. He likes to play himself in and build his innings, maneuvering the field around. If they were going to make that change, it maybe would have worked better with Kimber or Ahmed opening with Patel, with Swindells hopefully not needed until after the power play. Handscombe coming in at 3 I'm also not sure about, because again he's more of a builder of innings, although I suppose he does play the anchor role well, but it just stifles our run rate when we lose the first wicket in the power play. Mulder has also been very disappointing so far, and his innings on Friday was just plain baffling, with the possibility of rain, and yet no apparent urgency at all from him. Ben Mike needs dropping, much too erratic and expensive with his bowling, and his batting will come off once every five games at best. Goldsworthy has been outstanding so far, as has Currie of course. Josh Hull is a real handful when he gets it right, and a positive work in progress.

Nearly as stupid as going on pre season tours of Thailand in the monsoon season to play football. 😜

A photo from the Bradford at home programme. The first game after he had returned to Arsenal. There is an interview with him where he talks about his time at the City, and about the emotional farewell at his last home game. He talks about how welcome he had felt at the club, and his delight at how the fans had took to him, and that the club would always have a place in his heart. He goes onto say, how the City scarf that he had been given on his last appearance, and seen in the photo, was now pinned up on his wall at home. Clearly he went on to carve out an excellent career at a number of other clubs, where he spent far longer, and i suspect that we were seen as only a very small part by the end of his career, but it was nice to read the interview, see the photos in the programme, and relive the impact that we had on him, and he had on us at that time.

I was behind that goal on that day. Loved Campbell in the short time he was here. Was really hoping we would somehow be able to sign him permanantly, but no chance given where we were at the time. Seem to remember at the end of his last home game on loan, him walking round the pitch with a City scarf on, that one of the fans had thrown to him, clapping the fans. His last loan game should have been at Brighton away, but when we got there it had been a late postponement. Some of our fans waited outside the players entrance, and Campbell came out to talk with the fans. RIP Kevin Campbell, a great player Gone way to soon!

Well he has also got a video about the scary truth about Arsenal, the scary truth about Villa, and the scary truth about Germany!

He didn't actually say what the scary truth was though did he. Just used the headline as the hook to reel in the watcher.

Absolutely right, Rudkin is nicely and comfortably situated up Tops backside, and has the safest job in football.

It's just my personal feelings and opinion, but I hated the way Notts Forest played their football under Cooper. Even in the play off semi final and final, he had his players going down feigning injury to waste time when it suited, and both in one of the semi finals against Sheff Utd and in the final, he had a goalkeeper go down with cramp on about 86 minutes. He/they took that same way of cheating, because that's what it amounts too, into the Premier League too, and while I know that we have been accused of being too nice, and not playing the dark arts, I just don't want to watch my football club play in that manner, although i appreciate that for many fans, it will be whatever it takes to win is fine by them.

Very true 👍

Playing devil's advocate, I suppose it could be said that Cooper benefited from the squad and style of football that Potter had put together at Swansea, in much the way that De Zerbi said it had helped him on the way he wanted to play when he took over at Brighton. Just a different point of view, from a different angle. Who ever we end up with, there are no guarantees, there never are with new managers and signings. Personally I would be OK with Corbaran or Potter. Rather avoid Cooper though.

I'm not saying he couldn't motivate players, I actually think it was a massive strength of Pearson, as was creating a good culture at the club, but he got found wanting in the Premier league, up until he changed the formation to 3-5-2, and it was shite or bust time. We hadn't been terrible but Pearson went away from his attack minded approach of the promotion season, clearly because he was worried we wouldn't get away with playing that way, but he was fixated with trying to stay in games, rather than win them, so it was always said, that we never took a hammering, and we usually only lost by the odd goal, but we weren't picking points up playing that way. I remember being at Southampton, and we stayed in the game but didn't have a shot until about the 80th minute, and we lost a game we could have won. It was only when it was shite or bust time that he changed the formation and really let the players off the leash. That said, we have alot to thank Pearson for, as I said in an earlier post. We wouldn't have won the league without the squad that he built, and he turned the whole club around from the lowest we had been in, but we wouldn't have won the Premier league with him as the manager.

What happened in the 29 games prior to the Cambiasso meeting?

Im sorry, but we wouldn't have won the league with Pearson, we just wouldn't. Similarly to this season, with Vardy calling the players meeting, with no manager involvement, after the Plymouth game, which I think probably made the difference and got us promoted, without Cambiasso doing the same in the great escape season, i dont think we would have stayed up that season either. Pearson was fantastic for us, and turned the club around after being relegated to the third division, and he created a great culture at the club, and he and his staff were absolutely integral in putting together the title winning squad, and so absolutely contributed to us winning the Premier league, but as the manager himself, he was never going to win it, not a chance.

Well we wouldn't have gone down, it's that simple, but we have Rodgers to blame more than Ward, because he picked him for 28 games.

It wasn't so much that we offered Vestergaard a new deal. That was probably done and sealed at Marescas insistence, before he left for Chelsea. It was more the length of contract, given his age, but maybe we gave him 3 years at a lower wage, rather than a higher wage that he might have wanted to accept a shorter contract. What I would say, is Vestergaard was a big player for us last season, and although most of us have misgivings about his pace, he did play for Southampton in the Premier league, without being a liability, and in fact, who knows, had he actually played in our relegation season, instead of Rodgers completely freezing him out, as he did with Cags, maybe we wouldn't have gone down. For all the stick that Vestergaard has had from us, the one thing he played no part in, was our relegation, he did however play a big part in getting us back up though.

We missed the boat with him, by sacking Rodgers too late. He was right for the picking earlier on in that season.

I just hate the football Cooper gets his side playing. Players constantly going down feigning injury any time the opposing team has got some momentum, and to waste time at every favourable moment. His goalkeepers seem to get cramp when it suits too. Spent the vast majority of the season he kept Notts Forest up, playing with 11 men behind the ball, and riding their luck, which they invariably seem to get that season. His football stunk the premier league out. Absolutely horrible to watch.

Alternatively, and probably more likely, Cooper takes us down, Notts Forest stay up at our expense, Cooper is then lauded even more by them, and we get constant claims from them of Agent Cooper once again showing his undying love for them, by relegating the club they don't care about!

I would rather have OGS than Cooper, which wouldn't be ideal either for me, but I suppose whoever comes in is going to be a gamble to be fair.

Well it's likely the England job will be available before we go back for pre season, although with the guys running our club, i suppose its highly plausible!

The finance guy on talksport the other day, Stefan Borson, seemed to think that if we were say 40 million over the limit, then given we have a yardstick with the Notts Forest and Everton cases, we might be better to try and negotiate with the premier league, because we would probably be able to negotiate it to between the 4 and 6 points that they got.

It was possible that the "Dakas offside goal" against Leeds and the stonewall pen on KDH at Ipswich might have meant we ended up in the play offs and not getting promoted, but I wouldn't have moaned personally. The only good thing last season in the championship was having no VAR.

What Premier league teams? If Brighton wanted him, he would be there already. West Ham recently changed manager, don't remember any interest in Cooper. I can't think of one club currently in the Premier league, other than us, that would take a punt on Cooper. Maybe this is where we are at. Hamstrung financially, and he is the best the club think they can do. Sad state of affairs really, a state brought about by the ineptitude of those running the club.

If they are going to go down that route, then Moyes ticks those boxes better than Cooper.