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Well done Gareth and Dobbo........
at 10:11 23 Sep 2023

Well the main reason for posting is that when we get a good result there are hardly any posts but if we lose it's totally the opposite, so congratulations to the Manager and the whole squad for a great team away performance, it should not be underestimated how important these results are for rebuilding team morale. If we conveniently forget the Watford game which is best for all concerned then the team performance has become progressively better, it's like night and day comparing to last season.

That was a result built by Ainsworth getting the right players on board for crucial positions in the team, having a very good understanding of team building and the components required, building a work ethic into the whole squad and then ensuring that a minimum level of commitment is always displayed. It just feels some people forget what a shi**y job Ainsworth inherited because of varying factors which are well documented, mostly the totally demotivated individuals in the squad which had been built by Beale and Ferdinand.

Last night we took on a Birmingham team who had significant investment over the last 12 months, mainly funded by the Bellinghams (plural) transfers that presumably keeps them within FFP limits, they have a strong squad this year which could well challenge at the top. They beat us to the signing of Lisa Stansfield presumably because they paid a sign on fee and are paying all or most of his wages whereas we were limited to only Free agent signings to keep within FFP.
The Free agent signings have all hit the ground running and lifted the squad to a minimum level that is required to compete in the Championship.

Now this is not just supposed to be all Happy Clappy but Ainsworth deserves some credit after reading plenty of negatives last week.
[Post edited 23 Sep 2023 11:40]
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Rubens Father RIP
at 14:25 11 Jul 2023

My condolences to Ruben and the family, some things are more important than Football and we have him to thank as its the family business thats keeping the club afloat....
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Glutton for punishment fixture release
at 09:08 10 May 2023

I know after all the dross we've just watched this season it's a bizarre question bordering on the masochistic but does anyone know the fixtures release date, the wife keeps wanting to organise stuff for the weekends.
I know everybody is going to say your lucky there is an alternative but I still want the option to decide and can't do that without knowing the dates, I'm obviously banking on Ainsworth being a miracle worker with a budget of shirt buttons.
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Johansen out , Dunne fit maybe a solution
at 09:44 7 Nov 2022

Well the expectations were high on Saturday but if you've supported the Rs for decades you knew it was a potential banana skin, team scrapping for points with a new manager who knows what's he's doing revitalising a squad with some very good Championship players.
The analysis can say we lost the game for a variety of reasons but we definitely missed Johansen in midfield and the replacements, Amos and Dozzell need to be playing at their very best to remotely compensate.
So maybe the answer is to go to a back three from the start, Beale repeatedly says we have four top quality centre halves so let's use our best players, it would mean Laird and Paal can push even more forward and this season they have been a breath of fresh air, top quality full backs finally. Ok we start with one less midfield player but until Johansen is fit and firing it's no loss, drop Chair back a bit deeper that's not a problem he spent most of the game on Saturday running back and collecting the ball.
I'm also reminded of Holloway I think selecting Grant Hall in a back three and giving him instructions to push forward into midfield when the option arises, I'm sure one of our current centre halves could do a similar job, tactically it gives the opposition another problem and adds some genuine ball winning ability in the midfield.
Finally I can't help feeling that this formation would have worked much better against Luton and Birmingham but it's all conjecture, as Clive points out we have a very good starting eleven for competing at the top of the Championship and struggle when there's injuries to key players, will be interesting to see who Mick picks to start tomorrow...
[Post edited 7 Nov 2022 10:15]
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Team for tonight possible Match Thread
at 19:08 13 Aug 2019

It's on the Twitter feed Kelly Kane Leistner Barbet Manning Ball Smith Scowen Pugh Chair and Wells.

Personally happy with that we've rested a number of players but given game time to some key players who will be needed this season.
[Post edited 13 Aug 2019 19:19]
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Substitutions are just not Eze
at 09:29 3 Dec 2018

As ever an excellent match report from Clive which highlighted the weak points in our current game plan and the lethargic way we started the match. The fact that we got to half time at 2-1 down after having some very good opportunities to score meant that we were very much in the game and could easily go on to get a point or win if we upped our game and took our chances.

Half time gave Steve a chance to evaluate the play so far, Hull had played with a lot more one touch incisive passing and did not look at all a bottom three side, it was time to consider what changes we could make as the next team who scored would make a huge difference to the out come of the game.

From where we were sitting in R block we were totally baffled by the first substitution, taking off Cameron and weakening the midfield by replacing him with a striker seemed almost suicidal, this turned out to be case Cameron goes off on 63 minutes and the outstanding Bowen scores on 69 minutes. That's it were now chasing the game and start making desperate substitutions by having to replace defenders with strikers leaving us even more exposed.

I struggle to understand the logic with weakening the midfield so substantially at a crucial point in the game, if he had replaced Cameron with Scowen it would have retained some protection for the back four. IMO there were two substitutions to be made to give us a chance to get on level terms and win the game, we obviously needed another striker so I would have brought on Hemed for Eze and then Samuel without doubt should have replaced Wszolek a lot earlier, he had ten minutes on the pitch 5 where he didn't see the ball and the other 5 where he had the right back on toast every time he got the ball.

The substitutions left us far too open and Hull were able to cut through our midfield, we lacked any sort of balance and game plan apart from resorting to the long ball game. I am a big fan of Eze after having been brought up on watching Marsh, Bowles, Stainrod, Wegerle etc etc but he should not be immune of being substituted if he is being marked out of the game. He's a fantastic prospect who will only get better but as we all know he's not the finished article and surely tactically we have to make substitutions that would improve our chances of winning the game.
[Post edited 3 Dec 2018 9:43]
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Away tickets for Boxing Day Suffolk Rs can you help
at 13:04 22 Dec 2017

Quick question for Suffolk based Rs, my stepdaughter lives in Ipswich and we are up there visiting with the grandchildren for three days from Boxing Day.

It seems I can probably go to the game with son-in law as we have been given permission from respective wives, l know but it's always tricky at xmas time. Looked online today and I have missed the boat for e-ticketing, does anybody know if pay on the day will be active.

Would be good to have the option as I'm currently suffering with a virus and will probably not make tomorrow so that's my season ticket not used..

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Has the loan system changed
at 20:23 27 Jul 2016

Read an article earlier today saying that the Football League rules have changed and you can only loan for 6 or 12 months and that loans can't be conducted after the transfer window shuts.

Can somebody confirm if this is correct because it does put more urgency on getting 2/3 more players before the window shuts whether it's permanent or loans.
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Championship Football League Show
at 12:07 16 Feb 2016

Now that a couple of days have passed and having got over the initial humiliation by our beloved neighbours I plucked up the courage to watch the highlights.

It was worth watching again to just reaffirm everything that I witnessed was not a bad dream, we really didn't have any midfield and it's almost impossible to criticise the defence after that performance.

What really annoyed was when Curbishley and Iwelumo were doing the round up Iwelumo said we have a FANTASTIC squad, what is his criteria for making that statement, I can only assume it's looking at names on a team sheet and going on past reputations.

Theres teams lower down the division playing far better as a unit than we are, it's not about somebody's past track record as a player it's all about how they play as a collective unit once they cross the white line.

Bolton lost 3-2 to Brighton away from home and gave a really good account of themselves, they will be no pushover, we may be playing the bottom team but let's hope JFH does some homework and if they pack their midfield we need to match them, last Saturday is history now let's try for all three points.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2016 12:26]
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Danny Simpson
at 08:53 30 Sep 2014

Any chance we can buy him back in the January sales, oh let me guess he's gone and we've moved on, well that's not good enough.

Last season we gained promotion because we had a solid defence, gave away very few goals and nicked points with 1-0 wins, we were never a prolific scoring team.

After only 6 games it's certain were not going to score shed loads and if we don't tighten up our defence we've got no chance, how long do we put up with watching Isla at right back. He was great in the World Cup for Chile as a wing back BUT he was shipped out by Juventus because he wasn't good enough for their first team, presumably playing in a flat back four.
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No Barton No Chance
at 08:54 9 Apr 2014

Well he's missed the last three games since picking up his injury against Wigan and we've been dog shite in all three games.

If you were at the Wigan game you know we actually played like a team that evening , without Barton we have nobody to drive us forward and look like a team set for relegation.

What a mess that we are so reliant on one midfield player for a decent TEAM performance.

ps...I'm no Joey lover but know what he brings to our team and we are lost without him at the moment...?
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