STEVIE B

20 minutes ago, DJW1 said:

Perhaps in the future we'll be able to go to Uranus for our holidays

12 minutes ago, ALC Fox said:

I'm ready for the redemption arc. Really ready for it. We need something. Two promotions in minimum three seasons please.

 

We need to get out of this division. Do that and I think we're in a position to compete at the top end of the Championship again.

 

The jury is well and truly out. But this club does extraordinary stories and pulling things out of the fire just when you think all is lost.

 

I'll forever be an optimist, despite my current misgivings about this manager.

To be honest, we must be promoted this season, then I'd be fairly happy with a season of mid-table mediocrity in The Championship, as in no dramas, out of the spotlight completely for a change.

I really can't think of many seasons in the last 20/25, when there hasn't been nail biting, shredded nerves & emotions. 

34 minutes ago, daddylonglegs said:

I've lost interest in the club overall but my take here is that if Martin was going to come, he'd be here by now. 

 

No reason for them to drag this out unless there's either been a disagreement or we're still genuinely pleading with him to come. 

King for pre season looking more and more likely. 

We never do anything quickly..............other than the demise from where we were 10 years ago. 

55 minutes ago, Lionator said:

It’s just the culture of cricket, you’ve got Ollie Robinson downing a pint of Guinness (should be savoured not devoured) on the Lords balcony after the game to cheers from the fans. Maybe it’s part of our culture but it’s all very sad. Stokes lost his dad in very tragic circumstances, he famously has a short fuse too, I think the guy just need a bit of love to be honest. Same with Atkinson, his mum got killed two years ago but a drug driver, it’d send us all to the bottle tbh. But I feel the wellbeing support probably isn’t good enough for an elite sporting environment. 

That's a great post. I had no idea about Atkinson's mother.

I've often thought, we can be very quick to judge, or form an opinion of someone, without knowing the full facts. 

Most of us have been through some form of trauma. It can have a massive impact, sometimes subconsciously. 

12 hours ago, Lionator said:

Like a lot of us, Stokes probably just needs a bit of help around a) his relationship with booze b) why he needs to get shitfaced in the first place. It’s important not to judge too much, it’s must be awful struggling in the public eye.

This is probably very true.

Alarm bells with the hierarchy should have been ringing when during his post match interview Stokes said 'l won't be really happy until l get to share a beer with the boys'.

Maybe it was a nothing reaction, that in isolation would have not mattered a jot, unfortunately with his & the teams recent past, it was at best not the best thing to say. 

As you rightly say he & possibly one or two others need a bit of help.

Stokes has had a brilliant career & it would be such a shame if this type of thing overshadows his cricketing skills.

20 hours ago, MC Prussian said:

Great shirt. The sponsor, though.

I do love a collar. I also like the simplicity, very retro. 

1 minute ago, RowlattsFox said:

The more I think about the less I think it deserves as much attention it's getting. It's a shame someone's grassed to the press  Or were the press following them?

 

Missing a game is probably fair enough, and the fact Root has taken the captaincy suggests it will only be a for a game. 

 

Rehan as the all-rounder, and then probably go with all seam with Robinson, Archer, Tongue and Baker/Fisher. 

If this was an isolated incident (the curfew was still in place too, l believe), then fair enough, unfortunately it isn't. 

This is a time to keep halo's firmly intact. 

3 hours ago, Super_horns said:

Guess it’s one too many and talking about two experienced players including the captain getting involved here .

Particularly after what happened in the Ashes and Harry Brook pre tour.

Not a good look at all .

Exactly. Given what has happened in the recent past, this is a total embarrassment for the ECB, Key, McCullum etc. 

If there was ever a time to be squeaky clean, this is it.

No way Stokes remains as Captain. 

42 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Interesting that he skirts over the downside of that World Cup. In his book, he opened up about how miserable he was:

 

I would walk the streets of South Korea, later Japan, and go into shops and buy DVDs. I was lonely, isolated. Most days the squad would get together and go to a local mosque. Most of the team are Muslim. I’m not a Muslim. My memories of that World Cup are me in a hotel room by myself, curtains closed, lying on my bed, watching another film. My biggest regret was that I never learned Turkish.

I was in the same quiz team as his wife, Carly, a few years back now.

She echoed this. She said he spent 6 weeks of nobody really conversing with him, before & during the WC.

Although very proud to be in the squad, he found it very difficult too.

4 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

It feels like England's problems are often more psychological, than team ability.

Maybe the media outlets don't help. 

Then again, the players should try to ignore the hype/critical view points. Probably hard to l guess. 

Plenty of foreign manager's have been very surprised by how everything is so magnified. 

I think you're correct though, by the way. 

5 hours ago, Warks_Mackem said:

Obviously it was too much in favour of the bowlers but the contrast between England’s woeful short and wide bowling in the Ashes to the 1st Test here was very heartening. Robinson is part of that but Atkinson now seems to have completely mastered wobble seam.

 

Tongue also now looks like a proper Test match bowler.

Agree with that. The Oval wicket will be totally different. It's very flat, lots of runs  scored there recently.

Robinson's test will come when he's into his 3rd/4th spell on a road, bowling at 79/80mph. 

It's plainly obvious JV prefers to do his talking on a football pitch. 

This type of tv limelight is not for him, he goes along with it, but isn't that comfortable, or at ease with it at all.

If it was purely down to him, he'd probably have nothing to do with it. 

I guess his wife, agent & the tv companies have convinced him it's easy money to add to your pension pot. 

1 hour ago, Lionator said:

This pitch is appalling and you can guarantee if it was Cardiff or Durham, they’d lose a test match over this.

 

Genuinely bouncing lower than Broomleys mid April. 

Nassar Hussain was very scathing of the wicket & whole square in general.

It needs digging up & relaying......at a cost of £12m !

Apparently, they have the money, but unless threatened with being left out of holding Test Matches, they won’t do too much. 

I imagine this game will make it impossible for something drastic not to happen. 

1 hour ago, RowlattsFox said:

Great effort from the bowlers but again batting scorecards like this will be the death of Test cricket.

 

May be needed in the second innings but may as well play the extra batter than Bashir. 

Both sides have bowled very well, in bowler friendly conditions tbf. 

Both sides would've bowled first. 

13 hours ago, Bert said:

Quorn are losing all of their best players. 

Harborough Town have just signed one. Silvio Bello, right back apparently. 

Excellent from Robinson. 

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

A few decent servants leaving Harborough. 
 

Makes me wonder if they are looking at going hybrid pro or something 

I think they'll miss Hickey. Ben Stephens didn't have his best season & was on the bench a fair bit. 

Feyenoord showing interest according to BBC Sport, apparently. 

I've done a couple of these recently & both times came up with a France v Argentina final. We lose to Brazil in the Quarters. 

5 hours ago, AKCJ said:

Just clocked we're not taking Adam Wharton.

I'm not sure how his season has been tbf. Last season he was the mutt's nuts. 

8 minutes ago, Bert said:

Sibley cannot play cricket the way McCullum and Stokes want it to be played. 

I think England will reign in the Bazball ethos again. It was never a long term fix. 

Awful shot by Budinger. 14-2 

Essex all out 293. Leics with a lead of 40.

7 minutes ago, theessexfox said:

What happened on the pitch at the end? Radio was saying Hearts players were getting punched in the face 

Some player's were assaulted apparently.