oxford blue

Yes to first question (they did not play at the current ground then) Second question; that is Oxford United

Not so. The ground is on the outskirts of the city, and easier for Leicester fans to get to than Oxford United, being just off the by pass on the north of the city. Capacity is about 3000, which I think has only been reached once (in game to reach National League). There should be several hundred Leicester fans allowed -the opposite end to the bar!) If they win their game in hand they will be top of the National League north. Yes, an artificial pitch which may take some adapting to. Only just avoided relegation last season but some investment in the playing squad has improved results. Assistant coach is Paul Robinson who has played in played in Premier League for WBA 2003ff. I think this game is a must for TV coverage.

Ahead of the game v Leicester in October 2024 RM said "There is a difference between being stubborn and having conviction. If you really believe in something as a coach, manager, leader, then the logic for me is that you stick with it and try to be better at it." I coy from BBC analysis Martin must now reflect on the more telling statistic that Southampton are bottom of the Premier League with one point from eight games, conceding 18 goals, second only to Wolverhampton Wanderers. A journey through Martin’s managerial career does not offer any suggestion he will change his modus operandi, even though there must be increasing concerns around Southampton that such a poor start will be a main ingredient in a recipe for relegation. The match report for Rangers v Hearts (RM last game but one in charge "There was little evidence of that in an opening 45 minutes full of nerves, with the disjointed hosts looking like a bunch of individuals facing a well-oiled machine rather than a cohesive unit." Of course, similar could be said for first half yesterday except Peterboro, with one win and four league goals cannot be described as a well oiled machine, yet they destroyed City. Quoting again from BBC, after Rohl's second game in charge at Rangers but there can be no question Rohl has instilled more in a busy eight days than his predecessor Russell Martin managed in three months. Looking at possession for previous clubs where RM has managed, this is currently more than previously; it is regularly tat least 70% this season - he has 'doubled down' oh his core pholosphy. He won't change. He must go (along with anyone invovled in his appointment (Presumably Top, Rudkin and McCarron). (I did note that in the interview afterwards he largely criticised the players (of course, he did not accept any responsibility). I don't think he has been so critical before (usually claiming inexperience - or tiredness after playing 3 games in eight days). There cannot be a happy playing squad, largely of Martin's making, standing just above relegation zone. No club can be successful in the long term managed by someone that will not adapt tactics adequately to the situation and the players available. He must go.

I rather wish Savage was in our dugout and Martin in theirs! We comfortably have better players and a far more entertaining if Savage in charge of City - I rather think slab moving could then wait till Sunday! If only...

Russell - it appears to me that you instruct McCarthy to pass short when he has the ball with a long pass still being withing the penalty box. Have a look at Coventry's goal yesterday; Rushworth kicked long for their winger to run onto the ball and score.What are your "learnings from this? Surely Alves (who has "energy") could do something similar.(As an aside, I guess Burns could do similar a few years ago but he now seems to have little speed - doesn't a fitness test before diving a 3 year contract pick this up). Would this make it less likely for an opposition high press which has been used to good effect by teams knowing there is always a very short pass from McCarthy? Suggested homework for the 3 week league break - watch our games from 2015/16 and consider why the title was won with City nearly always having less possession every game. Ok, we had some decent players but there was a different intent. Possession in itself does not win matches. Try mixing the style up a bit and you may have a better reception from fans at end of most games. .

I think you mean a goalkeeper sanctuary Three out of contract goalkeepers signed with a combined age of 100, and a total of 18 starts last season between them. No doubt McCarthy sets the standard for passing out from the back, a prerequisite for a RM goalkeeper, and I assume Cornell will approach that standard if he ever plays. I note last season Cornell is so good he one of back ups behind Daniel Iversen - remember him!

Don't forget he was the first choice for the first two games! I never quite understood why given he is not very good at stopping shots and even worse with his passing. I am not an expert but he does seem to lack some of the key attributes of a goalkeeper. Trouble is, I fear Ravizzolo may make McCarthy look a decent keeper..

I wonder about your source of news given she is a Democrat? Of Somali origin it seems a little unlikely she could be a Republican under a Trump presidency. Currently married to a white American. Don't know about her previous husband(s) though

My view is Martin does have different strategies during games Plan A Pass as many times as possible. The opposition can make this difficult if they start pressing. RM may think we should be able to pass from goalkeeper to a player a few yards away but as this may not always work we do have Plan B Start shouting at players they are not following his instructions The team thought were, RM will tell us there is learning to do Still there is Plan C Make substitutions. These must be on a like for like basis. This means he can restart Yes, you have guessed - it is Plan A again. There can be some frantic discussions with others on the bench which demonstrates the tactical genius of RM because they have a job to do just that Of course there is the post match interview when it can be explained there is learning to do. And for a very bad result it's the young players who can be blamed It's unclear why, but the most important message is that RM decisions went always the correct ones. RM knows he is right. It is true that sometimes RM gets sacked but this is the board's mistake because he knows he needs more time to demonstrate Plans AB and C are works of the great insight he has.

That's true, but he is just answering the poor questions asked afterwards by journalists. There is no challenge to his 'word salad' -after first game there is 'learning to do' and after second game he states the bl*****g obvious that we cannot give goals away in first 25 minutes. (Of course, McCarthy did his best to just that in first minute or so v Notts Co). Clearly I hope something changes after MK but if it continues could an interviewer ask Do we have the players to persist in playing out from the goalkeeper? There seems to be little variation on this; would a long ball used more frequently help avoid a high press from opposition? Why does 70% possession result in little threat on opposition goal? Is that a coaching deficiency? Your substitutions have been ineffective; why is that? Why is McCarthy your preferred goalkeeper? The last two seasons have not gone well for you. Have you thought why and what you have learnt to instil your 'learning' into your current team? I do wish someone would ask more challenging questions and not let him ramble on - I guess an interviewer only has a set time with him. Russell - I think you are confident in your managerial ability,. Could you please give 20 minutes or so of your time to be interviewed to explain your vision and tactics to almost anyone on this thread with more probing questions than usually asked?

To be fair, considering he was a Cambridge graduate, he perhaps wanted an alternative view. Of course, Cambridge have their own success stories including the delightful Nick Griffin (ex BNP), Matt Hancock, a health secretary perhaps better known for a kiss awarding of PPE contracts to his associates than his lack of achievement in post and Diane Abbott, who has was so much in charge of her brief she said that 10,000 extra police officers would cost £300,000! No doubt one of the best interviews ever: https://www.facebook.com/LBC/videos/1-that-diane-abbott-interview/2493816354236850/ and probably still worth 3 minutes of your time Not sure what you think of Tony Blair, but he went to Oxford and for many one of best politicians - pre Iraq. I do note that apart from a three years in journalism with an obscure publication, all Burnham's life post graduation has been in politics. This seems a typical 'career' path for many politicians, particularly those from Labour

I must be missing the point being made here given there is a picture of his goal against Millwall. Is there a separate bio not evident to me? (Incidentally, he has had more appearances for SU than City.)

Ings' signing will be a a huge risk given his injury record and no recent goalscoring record to suggest he can replicate his previous record from many years ago. I'm not sure either about his ability to justify his wages in League 1. Since 2023 season he has scored just 6 goals - yes 2 goals a season! A free transfer maybe but given his wages (ok we don't know but reported he got £30k at Sheffield United so I am guessing £20k a week?) this is not a cheap commitment given risk. If it comes off and he scores 15+ goals, I will agree it was an inspired signing. If we are going to take a risk on a goal scorer I would have preferred to pay a fee for one of NL top scorers last season. Of the three top scorers Matt Rush (Boreham Wood) remains in the NL as he is on their retained list . Ollie Pearce at York (now L2) has a contract until 2028 so may be too much for a transfer? I would far prefer to gamble on a proven goal scorer from a lower division than one with a poor injury record and no recent goals which is what we get with Ings.

True, but that is precisely the quality that Martin would like

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/topic/135118-steve-cooper-new-manager/#comments Make your own mind up - perhaps marginally less opposition than for Martin, but still no enthusiasm (apart from usual optimism of 'give him a chance'). It is interesting looking at initial thoughts and most were spot on.

I think you are spot on - the interview below shows he won't change from his 'principles' (about 1.45 in) https://www.facebook.com/5liveSport/videos/-does-russell-martin-have-regrets-about-his-time-at-rangers️-i-wish-id-been-more/1647126146473291/ when he says he won't criticise a player for losing the ball on the edge of the penalty area. A good manger will adapt playing style depending upon players and circumstances: the fairly recent interview suggests he won't. The City squad should be better than most in League 1 so may work, but it is not a long term blueprint for success.

RTB was a disaster for the social rented sector as Councils were initially only able to keep 25% of revenue; houses could not be replaced. Now, RTB is far more restrictive and compared to 1990 only a very small number of tenants will be able to exercise a RTB. Councils now have all the money to re-invest though. Regarding Housing Costs in UC, the maximum amount that will be paid is the Local Housing Allowance rate . This is set at 30% of all rents for that type of property. This is designed to ensure that those receiving housing benefits can afford the bottom 30% of the private rental market in their area. In other words. 70% of rented property in any given area is likely unaffordable for those receiving help with housing costs. I am not sure I agree that landlords are subsidised. To ensure people are not homeless, a private rented sector and help with housing costs is necessary. There is insufficient social housing and this is always likely to be the case.

For any competent interviewing panel, the obvious question is "Russell, why did go so wrong at Southampton in PL and Rangers and what have you learnt from that?" (The record is appalling: 13 losses out of 16 at Southampton and 1 win from 7 at Rangers in Premiership ) RM can only be successful if he acknowledges his past failings; largely his idea that possession in itself is key to winning games - Southampton's possession in PL was over 50% across his time in charge. (For comparison, Leicester's was 42% in 2015/16.) I can't see how he can be appointed to any club unless he has a satisfactory answer to that key question.

It seems a great idea but employers generally pay at least 1.5 usual rate: would future overtime with no Tax be limited by employers. to standard pay rate? (A corollary maybe that when shops were allowed to open Sundays, pay from many employers was at an enhanced rate. Contracts were soon rewritten to include Sundays as part of the week.

I am not sure whether to agree or disagree given: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/01/reform-mp-james-mcmurdock-who-assaulted-woman-will-not-face-suspension-says-deputy-leader https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgee5krdpxo And don't forget Mike Amesbury(Labour) - you probably remember the video oh him assaulting a constituent: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62z9ell358o

I seem to remember that Ranieri and Maresca had quite decent seasons managing City?

Really! This might have been true some years ago but given he was sacked after 13 games last October with P'boro bottom with 10 points I doubt this is true. He had been sacked twice before (or left by mutual consent). Is he really being considered or his agent doing a great job in seeking employment for an out of work manager? We need a complete break from Rowett (to rebuild team., club) but I would prefer Rowett to Ferguson and I don't want either). Unfortunately, I have so much faith in KP I could see either being appointed.

Don't only poor managers criticise players like he did? Totally unacceptable: I expect he is expecting to be sacked and can point to players he managed when wanting another job? Why did he not get performance from them? It is reasonable to assume our new manager will be out of contract somewhere. I suggest we wait a week or so to see if Chris Davies is sacked: https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/birmingham-city-should-eye-bo-henriksen-not-thomas-frank-chris-davies/ You will remember he is familiar with City having been an assistant under Rodgers (and later under Postecoglou at Spurs) .. He has been criticised for not playing insufficient(virtually none) academy players but City do have decent players, particularly for League 1 so I can see they would be played . He may not have met Birmingham owners expectations for this season (64 points seems a reasonable return to Championship to me), but Birmingham were runaway winners last season in league 1. Would love to have Fuchs but given this is an appointment that has to be right(we have to get promoted next season for obvious reasons) that may be too much of a gamble (and he is on a long term contract - though I cannot see this being too lucrative!)

I recommend the following podcast about effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on Shane Christie (and his friend Billy Guyton) whose diagnoses only became clear after their deaths (apparently this condition cannot be diagnosed before death). It is largely told by his ex-partner Holly Parkes. A 50 minute listen but I do recommend https://www.thetimes.com/podcasts/the-story I see the Guardian had also published an article about this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/30/shane-christie-sustained-multiple-head-injuries-playing-rugby-fighting-for-change [t is thought that Steve Thompson's early onset dementia is the effect of CTE -Wikipedia]

Another complete waste of police time. I suppose there might be some police who will no longer be investigating non-crime hate incidents have time on their hands?