Ric Flair

I presume he's got confused with our away record against them. We haven't beaten them away from home in the PL.

Really hope Hermansen isn't one of the players who hasn't trained this week. Obviously he carried on but at one point he looked to have injured his hand/wrist.

No, but Cooper has also admitted before that he doesn't always disclose information about players availability or non-availability.

Soumare redemption arc, or maybe we can finally get Alves on the bench and brought on when we're 5 nil up in games.....

Hahahahaaaa perversely enjoyed this 😂

Thanks mate, getting there. Think we will now wait to do a pod after the weekends game. Sorry for missing a week. Plenty to talk about as always 🙈

We've been starved of being able to offer that love, breaks my heart. Got all the ingredients to be a club icon, even down to that little mullet and yet we've these absolute farmers we employ who ignore him.

You may be correct but two things I keep coming back to. The outcome of our 2022/23 PSR challenge, means if we are going to get charged it's likely to be by the EFL when we are next relegated. So the margin for error now becomes even less for bouncing back immediately and whether that sways pur club I don't know. Not to mention our club recruited Cooper at a time it was made to believe we'd breached and a points deduction seemed likely. Was he our only viable option and now it wouldn't be? My 2nd point is that this regime feels very much like Crais Shakespeares in 2017/18. Similar basic tactics but we competed in most games but just couldn't win. Vichai quickly acted in Octobet 2017, would Top do the same?

I'm sold

Have we ever had a player out on loan with a 10 rating before?

Averaged just under 1 in 2 for half a season at Preston. We barely played him. A full season at Stoke is going to be significant for him kicking on. Whilst 20+ goals would hopefully prime him to develop in to a PL striker, we might have to swap places with him as we come down and a newly promoted wide snaps him up 😂

He's also no pragmatist that adapts his tactics to suit the squad. His explanation for this box midfield that pushes one of the wingers inside and one full back sits whilst the other pushes up is currently alienating one of Mavididi or Fatawu and rendered Ricardo a mere cheerleader. He has a set way of playing and it is not one that logically suits this squad nor has it even remotely worked yet.

Extremely disappointing to hear this. It's surely a no brainer to throw the clubs support behind? Absolutely baffling decision not to engage on this.

Evans is 16, Monga is 15. King is 17. So much talent coming through that are already making an impact at U21 level.

I'm extremely unwell and Jake's in Marbella so we're delayed currently.

He says he does in this article and in interviews. There's a lot of unknowns. We don't know what clubs came in for him, Jordan Blackwell says from what he was told the club were surprised at the lack of appropriate clubs wanting him. Perhaps there's concerns on his fitness, he had several niggles last season after returning just before Christmas. But there comes a point where he has to play games. Being managed on game time aged 19 at his stage of his career is critical and if his body isn't up to it then that's a worry. Hopefully it'll all iron itself out in the next 12 months. A loan move in January if he hasn't broken through here, which will be tough in this current battle for PL survival.

That’s especially because Alves did not go out on loan. While many of his peers, like Ben Nelson, Sammy Braybrooke, and Chris Popov, headed out for senior experience, Alves stayed put, with Cooper suggesting City were not willing to let him go to the wrong club. “He’s part of what we’re doing,” Cooper said. “It’s on everybody to play their way into the right side of decisions. We really like Will. He’s a good young player. "We have a strong programme for him. It might have included a loan for him, but if it did, it had to be right for him. I’d rather him stay with us than go on a loan that I didn’t think would be right for him. We’ll continue to work with him, and he can work himself into the right side of decisions. It’s the same for everybody.”

I presume because we only wanted him to go to a Championship club.

It's been reported the club were surprised at a lack of interest from suitable clubs. I presume at Championship level. The question then is, would he be better not playing at all or at a League One club like Barnsley who were supposedly interested and their DOF is our ex head of analytics. I do think we have to shoulder some of the responsibility here. There was absolutely no reason not to use him from the start in some games in pre-season whilst we had zero attacking midfielders. Would have given him the opportunity to prove whether he's capable amongst his fellow 1st team players here and generated interest in the Championship as to his recovery from his ACL. A missed opportunity for our biggest start from that age category. Hopefully we get a move lined up for January.

Yeah it's very odd

I'm still trying to work out where his best position is going to be. Looks class doesn't he.

Josh King has had a few injuries in the last year or so, so hopefully he's over those. Looks to be very very promising.

Matias Almeyda at AEK Athens please 😂

Done

Still think Diego Martinez gets a chance in England and does well. His work at Granada was exceptional.