LCFCJohn

Who’s watching this one at 1am Monday then? My workplace has communicated flexibility in terms of working Monday so people can be even those of us who are into football all just looked at each other and said no way! Pretty much the worst time it could be. Think even 3am would be better as my body clock naturally wakes up about 5pm so I’d have got up early and gone straight into my day and got some sleep beforehand but 1am is neither here nor there. I’d be a statement if we could win anyway. Mexico definitely big favourites.

Fair enough. It sounds really vile as a term and basically sounds very primary school. They should reconsider this as fair enough if they don’t want them in their country, but they are still human beings. The use of the term alien implies otherwise. @Jon the Hat, I’m in no way saying they are responsible by the way. Whether you agree or not, their immigration policy is theirs and like I said, they wouldn’t have known what would happen. My point was the statement would have been fine if it was essentially saying the plane landed safely and they were no longer the responsibility of the US/ICE and we have no further information. No issue with that. It was just the term alien that I still think is in very poor taste regardless of whether it’s their accepted terminology.

US homeland security https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3eyxjy01y3o They obviously couldn’t have predicted the earthquakes were going to strike (although if they had you’d bet they have sent them anyway) but really? The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees US immigration enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), shared a statement, but offered no details on the case when asked by the BBC. "This flight safely reached Venezuela and all illegal aliens on board were returned home," a DHS spokesperson told BBC on Tuesday. "When an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for them." Illegal aliens? What kind of language is that for an administration of a country to use!

You’d think if the appetite was there from both club and player to extend his stay with us, it wouldn’t have reached the entering final year of contract stage. Then it’s a case of thinking what is more likely 1. The club thinks he is not good enough for our immediately future as a League 1 side. It’s not like he is going to be a higher earner that we cannot afford to retain. As a younger player as well, there’d be more benefit to having him sign a longer contract even if to sell him. or 2. Young player who despite some rocky performances last season, is still going to be seen as a prospect within footballing circles, wants to get away from what is a toxic situation at this club, where it isn’t valued and have a fresh start. Without actually knowing, the educated guess would go to 2, the lack of new contract being on the players end here.

It’s a penalty, keeper comes out rashly and it is a foul. Problem is Kane is on the way over before. Had he not been looking for it, it was a stone Waller.

To echo others, why is Glasner going there? Speaks a bit to his character after the Forest/Palace stuff….

Quite important though really when you think. How bad have we been generally at managing young players development through the loan system? Barnes was a good example and Chilwell. Even KDH was very late and many of our loanees over recent years have had poor minutes. Look at Braybrooke this season just gone compared to last up in Scotland. Alves on the flip side has still not established himself. Financially for the club, getting this right is important as if you can get first team ready players, the saving on transfers is there. For example, using Braybrooke again, top performer in L2 would be a target for L1 teams if owned by said L2 team but he is ours already. Or obviously selling on and transfer fees in. This club seems to have got fixated on the big fees, your Barnes, Chilwell and KDH’s again. But especially where we now find ourselves, even selling a George Hirst for £1mill or £1.5mill whatever it was all helps.

Depends if you are looking and/trying to tempt players to drop down to League 1 with us, and if they had Championship offers available, then yes. If we were targeting players who weren’t quite there yet, either from L1 or L2, or overseas then they would genuinely see us as a huge opportunity. I guess the argument is, that if our ambitions are to go back up and stay up, would we be happy if our transfer targets weren’t attracting interest from Championship clubs?

I’d be amazed if we are even both back in the Championship and challenging for promotion in that timeframe to be fair. It feels like we might end up yo-yoing between L1 and Championship for a bit if we get back up.

It’ll be quite funny if he now moves there on a free and absolutely smashes it to be fair! Remember though, Rudkin got us profit on KDH and Barnes

Not sure if it applies here but as a general comment on things like this, how is it that serious road incidents involving someone driving like this, so often result in the innocent party coming off so much worse whilst the culprits mostly are able to flee the scene or walk away unharmed. I wonder if as the innocent party, you are just so unsuspecting and the body takes the impact differently. Or maybe I’m overthinking it and it’s the same rule that applies to cockroaches during an apocalypse….

Seems like the kind of player who needs a strong team around him, leaders etc. He’s never one to stand out but perhaps ‘solid’ enough in the right team. We had a team where too many were just not trying and anonymous. So even though Skipp’s effort levels were higher than most, he’s never going to be the type to drag the team up. Doesn’t mean he can’t play at a good level in the Championship. I want him to go, don’t get me wrong. I just think it’s a bit less black and white when players are written off purely based on being part of a relegation. Or maybe I’m still being overly generous there and he is that bad. I think it’ll be interesting to see how some of those who leave us get on at their next clubs. I don’t underestimate the effect of an awful culture within the club on certain players and some might go on to do quite well at another club.

It’s a hard one to know. Clearly a capable guy picked in his field by a man who never missed the mark for us with the backroom staff. Obviously like always there was the odd signing on the playing side that didn’t work. Has Reeves therefore been promoted beyond his capabilities whilst being still capable? Is the culture just so bad with the ownership, football operations and the managers we have had as well as players, that he’s just lost control?

Reeves is a Pearson man right? Been with us since 2008 and followed Pearson to Hull and back to us? In which case I’d be inclined to suggest he isn’t the problem…. Liking the Hourihane coming in. Can’t say I’ve heard of the fitness coach but looks like he has been with Martin. It doesn’t sound like fitness is an issue with Martin sides as such as the tactical side so seems like a good appointment having a specialist anyway. I wonder if we are done or not there. Martin and Hourihane replace Rowett and Davidson. Fitness coach is something we just seemed to lack anyway. With Sadler and Hughes going, it seems we are still light and you’d perhaps like to see another set piece coach come in and a more general coach to replace Sadler, ideally one who can focus on the defensive side.

You’d think given how Vardy’s rise and achievements were all down to Aiyawatt and how Aiyawatt knew he’d reach the levels he did when he was working in a factory in Sheffield (), that’d he’d be all over this kid wouldn’t you!

Yep, enabled by those who go into this weird foot soldier behaviour. No doubt this conversation will be called negative. It’ll be called an echo chamber etc. But bare in mind, the only reason it’s become a debate is because foot solider Next Please pops up and makes a stupid point that winds people up and then prompts it to become a subject of debate again.

I imagine those who defend/give credit to KP/Rudkin etc are those who will also be first to discredit Pearson. Those who understand and observe football, know that what Pearson and his team built was the biggest factor towards our achievements. Some people just don’t understand how important things like scouting, sport science and fitness levels are and think it’s just about who has the biggest budget. It’s disrespectful to all involved in that structure to suggest Aiyawatt or Rudkin has anything to do with it.

Nothing personal against Skipp. At least relatively likeable and hard working (but there is an extent to which both of those are influenced by the extreme low level of the majority of this squad). But far too expensive for too little return and not someone we can carry in this league. Also the more out the better as we just need to shift the stench of failure if we are to build again. That amount seems unrealistic but at least there is interest and some negotiation might find a happy medium. Maybe Rudkin and co will finally realise one day that the reason we can break even on our signings when we look to sell is for a reason…..and that reason isn’t every other football club!

Bizarre isn’t it? KDH - it was Chelsea who throw cash at everything and we took Michael Golding for £5 mill as part of it! So we actually got what, £25 mill for KDH. And he is now smashing it for Everton. Barnes - despite the criticism he got on here, his numbers he put up for us over the years he was with us were very good. Not elite but very good/great. Both those players were the bare minimum we should possibly have got and even then was only due to the desperation of the financial hole we had (self inflicted) found ourselves in. And even then, it’s not just the ‘big’ sales. It’s the others. Both to get players off the books and make something rather losing for free. A classic example was Iverson who we were offered a fee for, £4 mill was it, and decline. He then sat on the bench and walked for free after a year of us paying his salary. Tielemans, you can’t tell me there wouldn’t have been takers in the final year of his contract? And of course, when people cry ‘but you can’t make there be interest in a player’. Why might that be? Presumably not the stupid fees we spent on players not worth it, meaning clubs (rightly) won’t cover the amortisation on them. And it definitely can’t be the obscene wages we gave them that nobody else in their right mind would give them could it! Absolutely mind blowing anyone can’t defend the club let along Rudkin. Then that poster will cry we are negative. No, it’s evidence based!

That is some impressive mental gymnastics, I’ll give you that

Over Thomas and VK? I’ll take it

Think people are putting 2 and 2 to get 5 here. Why would Fuchs go back to being an assistant now he has had a job as main man? What makes people think the club are even that smart? Why would Martin agree to essentially having the next guy in place already? It would undermine him.

If it is them 2, I’ll take Forest or Cov. I’m not greedy, either will do.

Yet only a couple of years ago those of us who questioned why we had this style were called dinosaurs and that possession football is the only way to be successful. No doubt it can be if you have the resources of a Man City but we don’t have a pot to piss in. Last season I wouldn’t even say the argument of teams sitting back against us was relevant. Teams took the game to us, dominated us in all ways. We’d have been better returning to our previous ways of hitting teams quickly on transition. We might find teams sit back and give us respect early on this coming season but I bet it changes quickly when they realise we are there for the taking and won’t offer a threat on the break.

Not sure the other examples of dealing with Italian clubs are hugely relevant here. The likes of Praet and Kristiansen were overpaid both in terms of fees (and what we’d have needed to cover our losses) and on wages they weren’t worth. So the Italians just got a season out of them and sent them back. Whatever people think, Nelson is a young and more desirable prospect whose wages will be very reasonable. With no fee spent either, the conditions will be better for a Torino type to offer us an amount we will have to accept with a year left or lose him for free.