ian__marshall

Ridiculous fee for Anderson. He's OK, but that fee is obscene. Why on earth Man City are paying that much I have no idea. He's decent, but massively overrated in my opinion and nowhere near world class. Wharton is a far better player in my view. To top it off, my neighbour is his uncle so no doubt will have him banging on about this move next time I see him whilst I'm cutting the hedges 😕

Fascinating reading. You and @leicsmac blow my mind with some of the things you discuss. Sorry to ask, but how do you know/learn this stuff? Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to start in terms of researching these topics let alone understanding them. Thanks for sharing 🏆

I hope we don't. Would much prefer we crash out as quickly as possible. Pointless competition for a club of our size and we can do without the extra games.

Decent set of fixtures. Over to you now Russell.

So is the 2nd. Full backs are all over the place.

What stops them taking a few weeks off with the family at the end of April? Not exactly like they are going to be holidaying in Skegness, so weather certainly isn't a factor. Considering their main roles are centred around planning and performance to succeed during the season ahead, I'd say the football off season is the time they should be getting down to business.

Apart for the silence and lack of action this year I can't say definitively whether they are or aren't away, however conversely there is no evidence of any action happening in the background to suggest otherwise. Additionally, we have seen evidence in the past of certain key figures either sat by a pool or playing polo at a time when their focus should have been on the job in hand, so it's not exactly a stretch to draw conclusions as to why it's taking so long to conclude a process virtually every other side seems to be able to complete within a maximum of a few weeks.

Agreed, I find it grossly negligent that we hear rumblings of key figures being away from the building year after year around this time, with the justification that people need to take time away. It's farcical. As an example, you wouldn't expect emergency service workers to routinely take time off over weekends or refuse night shifts. It comes with the responsibilities of the job. The key figures at the club are paid handsomely to make sacrifices, why can't they simply take a break in the 2 week window immediately after the campaign ends, so that everyone is back ready to go again from mid May? The planning is horrendous. Yet again whoever comes in is going to have a huge job to do, not only in terms of clearing up the mess, but even in terms of player conditioning. I fear once more we'll be entering the season with a group of players who are simply not up to speed physically and will not be able to compete at the required levels both in game and over the course of the season.

Sorry to hear this. I suffered hugely from Panic Attacks a long while ago so can sympathise as they are awful. Not sure on your circumstances but if you're not on medication for your symptoms I'd suggest speaking with your GP and see what they suggest. I've been on meds for years and it keeps me on a level and very stable. If you can afford it (even for a very short period) I'd also suggest seeing a Clinical Psychologist privately. Very expensive, but will hugely help change your perspective on the way you think about situations and provide you with coping mechanisms. Without wanting to state the obvious, I'd also jack in the habit of turning to alcohol. Can't stress enough how much this will be fueling your panic attacks. I enjoy the occasional social drink, but have come to realise as I've aged that alcohol just isn't for me. As great as I feel in the moment, I now recognise that for me the negative effects afterwards massively outweigh the enjoyment. I was always a binge drinker so not dependent on alcohol in anyway, however I wish I'd have a) had the balls to understand this earlier in my life and not get drawn into heavy social drinking, and b) listened more to my body when it was telling me not to do it. I realise your drinking is a form of self medicating and not a social need, however I'm certain it's probably causing you more issues than you realise. Re: your ex-partner, I understand the situation, and well done for having concern for her welfare. Takes a big man with a big heart to put others before yourself particularly when you are struggling. That said, I do think you need to draw a line, even if it's so you can move on, as I'm sure having her around in your life is likely not helping the situation either. Have you thought about setting her a deadline. You could maybe tell her you'll give her another 3-4 months support with the flat, at which point if she's not in a position to fund it herself, that's on her. Seems reasonable to me and you can't allow yourself to be drawn into supporting her indefinitely, especially with how you are feeling. Sometimes you need to be a little selfish and put yourself first. Hope you start to feel better soon.

Said to my mate who's an Arsenal fan that in my opinion based on the options he reportedly has, that whilst Arsenal isn't necessarily a bad move, there's better teams out there in terms of developing players and transitioning to the first team. Very few have managed to break through and make that spot their own under Arteta.

"His form during 2026 has been remarkable". Hmm I wonder why??? This video has convinced me that Top and Dragan are the same person in disguises. Either that or they both went to the same school rated by OFSTED as requiring 'Urgent Improvement'.

Financial fiddle by the looks of it. If they sack him now they'll have to pay compensation which will have a negative impact on their books. Wait until his investigation is completed and he receives a lengthy ban and they'll have grounds to terminate. Interesting also that BBC ran a story yesterday with the full details of what occurred. I wonder if Southampton have briefed the press so to increase awareness of Eckert's role so that when the inevitable happens he has less wiggle room. Having read the BBC piece yesterday, his position is completely untenable so they can't genuinely think he's the man to lead them forward. That said it is Sports Republic who I think have signed up to the same social experiment as Top and Rudkin to assess the impact of taking a stable team from the PL to non-league as quickly as possible, so who knows.

I agree that defensively his sides aren't the best. That said we were horrendous defensively last season and had he been in charge I don't think we'd have conceded more goals. The upside to his style of play is his teams score a similar amount of goals than they concede. Both Hull and Wrexham conceded a similar amount of goals this season as ourselves, but scored as many as they conceded. One made the playoffs and will now play PL football, the other missed out on the playoffs by 2 points. Yes, we were seriously crap at the back last season, but arguably our failing wasn't defending, rather our inability to score goals.

As per my previous post not a huge fan of RM but for balance, they got relegated the season prior with an awful team who had all the hallmarks of a Nathan Jones side so I wouldn't describe them as a team of riches. Yes, a lot of those players cost decent money, but that doesn't necessarily equate to good Championship players as we have discovered this season. He got a very average group in terms of technical ability playing some decent football at times. With regards to Leeds, for context they beat Leeds 3 times over the course of the season, whilst we lost twice, so not exactly a fluke in the final. I'd agree that he stuck to his guns in the PL much to his detriment, and that could well be a concern longer term if he somehow managed to return us to that level, but a) he's acknowledged that with hindsight he was too loyal to the group and felt they had earned the right to have a crack at the PL when maybe he should have made more changes, b) it was his first time managing at that level, c) I'd snap your hand off right now to be faced with the dilemma of whether he could keep us in the PL. The Rangers spell was weird. Started calling out the players far too early on in my opinion, then lost the group so was a dead man walking. I think if he hadn't done that then he'd have probably gone on to do quite well as I just think he needed time to get his ideas across. As I said before, he wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, but again I do think we could do a lot worse given the clowns making the decisions.

Not sure what's wrong with me. I previously hated the thought of RM being our manager, but I think given the sh*te appointments over the past 2 years the board have weirdly got me thinking it wouldn't be the worst appointment in the world. Totally get the sideways and backwards concerns, but at least he has a style of football/philosophy unlike all of the useless managers we've had since Enzo left. He does know how to coach a team even if he's a stubborn idealistic tw*t, so I'd have him over Gerrard, Rooney, etc. any day of the week. Will also do my head in listening to his BR inspired soundbites. It's not an endorsement, but we could do a lot worse in my opinion especially with dumb and dumber making the decision.

You're right, the club is a real mess. Can't even find an intern to type in 3.45pm properly

That email assuming it is genuine makes zero sense. If this group of fans attend every game regardless of date or time then they will have already bought tickets so won't be able to take the club up on the offer. If they haven't bought a ticket then clearly they don't attend every game regardless of circumstance. I personally don't mind Jim, always come across as a decent bloke whenever I've met him, but the tone of that email is just odd. Makes those being offered free tickets sound like robots.

I watched the results presentation last night live and did hear the details. For the record my views are not to be interpreted as criticism. The survey is an unbelievable undertaking and as others have mentioned the sample size is absolutely a strong indicator of fan sentiment in my view. However, seeing the response from the club, has not surprised me. Yet again I have little faith that they will embrace the feedback and hold themselves to account. Rather they'll shrug off the results and take minimal action citing misalignment of views following consultation with other groups. I wholeheartedly agree that the sample size is significant and cannot be ignored. However, to say that other supporter groups were alerted to the survey, and yes some of their members may have completed the survey, is not the same as saying they were consulted on their views, and they collaborated with the Trust to fully endorse the survey and stand behind the results lending their name to the outcomes presented. I would also agree that statistically given the number of leaflets distributed, a near 30% response rate is towards the higher end. But it's all about perspectives and the lens through which each party views the results. You and I will see this as a great response and a true representation of fan sentiment, the club on the other hand will likely argue that the sentiment portrayed isn't as strong as suggested if two thirds chose not to engage, regardless of the statistical significance. I appreciate the efforts of those involved, everyone is doing a good job especially as it's voluntary work taking up personal time. I would personally like to thank each individual for trying to create change; it's important given the current state of the club. I just think that there will be learnings on this journey and it's important that they are considered moving forwards to avoid giving those at the club who are accountable for listening and affecting change any excuse to dismiss or reduce the significance of the information put before them.

But the issue isn't the number of responses as per the clubs comments to the media. Their viewpoint is that the results are only representative of one groups members and aren't necessarily the views shared by the wider fanbase. I agree that the sample size is good in comparison to other surveys, but the point I'm trying to convey is that because the results are only aligned with one group there's an argument that they are biased regardless of how many guardrails have been applied to prevent such bias. By engaging other groups and getting their backing, you effectively eliminate that argument. Do I think the argument is fair? No, however the opportunity has been presented for the club to find a way of devaluing the results and has taken it with both hands. The next survey needs to close off any opportunity for easy excuses and bring the focus firmly back on to the topics in hand.

Typical generic response from the club. Frustrating that they are taking the stance that the Trust are one of many fan groups they are consulting, thereby diluting the value of the survey as the argument is simply that it represents only one cohort of the fan base. As a suggestion to the Trust for future surveys, it would be worth networking and collaborating with other fan groups to distribute any future surveys across multiple groups. It would then be representative of the broader fan view and dismiss any argument by the club that the results are limited in their scope. I realise that the survey was not restricted to the Trust's members and in terms of demographic representation was all encompassing, however it's too easy for the club to pass the results off as only a minority view despite the sample size. Being objective, whilst the numbers are good for a survey of this type, they only represent c. 18% of the match going fanbase and probably less than 5% of the overall fan base, so whilst an indicator there will always be an argument that without consultation and support of other groups the feedback is limited in its scope.

If that goal had stood we 100% lose that game. They were piling on the pressure and it was simply a matter of time.

Emery and Glasner have both shown Rodgers to be the massive fraud that he is. Serial loser, who was bailed out by a dodgy VAR decision much to our detriment. Why we put so much faith in him I'll never know. He along with the incompetent buffoons who gave him the keys to the kingdom have destroyed us.

Jon, Anthony... you said All Stars, what time do Ronaldo and Zidane arrive?!?

They must be giving seats away to friends and family, schools, charities, etc to get bums on seats. No way they've sold an extra 3000 tickets based on that All Star line up.

I think without major change there's a real possibility we do go down again. We need a manager in ASAP who can prepare the players for the season ahead. We also need a complete overhaul of the fitness team. Technically we'll be miles ahead in League 1 but there is a jump in opposition desire and work rate as the lesser technical players in that league compensate for their deficiencies. Add in the fact that we'll be seen as the Man City of league and a major scalp for every opponent and every team we come up against will put run faster and harder just so they can say they once defeated a club that won the PL. Sadly with the lack of communications and even rumours coming out of the club I can very well see a repeat of last year.