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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 19:40 2 Jan 2026
O yes, realism! You absolute plonker! The whole idea of standards is that they take you beyond mediocrity and complacent limits. If you don't get the point about trying, at least, to aim for the stars and be educated by excellence, and simply show your own stupidity by resorting to insults, there's not much that can be done for you. |
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Reply | Frey on the move?
at 19:36 2 Jan 2026
As I've pointed out, he's 31! The problem is he plays like he's 41! |
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Reply | Paul Smyth - Social Media Abuse
at 16:10 2 Jan 2026
Abusiveness is endemic in the culture, catalysed by the anonymity of social media, which is a completely different thing from sharpness, surliness, edge, or a streak of malice. And it's hardly alien to this supposedly civilised message board either, as I know from my own experience with the usual suspects on here.
I would agree that, nine times out of ten, it's driven by herd mentalists who lack self-esteem, envy one one's resilience, intelligence and sense of values, and, more often than not, a sign that one is doing something right, i.e. living under one's own star. Personally, it's water of a duck's back to me, unless it's someone who's earned my respect or whom I care about. Even then, what counts is to be true to oneself. [Post edited 2 Jan 16:11]
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Reply | Kone
at 05:30 2 Jan 2026
So you'd drop the Champ's third top scorer, who might hit double figures against Wednesday, to nurture a peripheral, if promising striker who doesn't look nearly quick, clever, or clinical enough for this division - or at least not for several weeks now?
Your other point about our system is a serious one, however. 4-4-2 just isn't working for us right now, so I think Stephan has to change it. On that basis, I wouldn't be averse to trying it with Kone up top and Burrell benched for the rest it looks like he needs. Chair should then be accommodated as a roving 10 as soon as he's fit, which would also keep Varane out. |
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Reply | Kone
at 03:32 2 Jan 2026
And you're the boring one that doesn't! [Post edited 2 Jan 5:24]
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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 02:24 2 Jan 2026
It's called standards - I grew up on excellence at QPR.
If you prefer mediocrity, good luck! |
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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 01:37 2 Jan 2026
Whatever else Julien is, he's not exactly a visionary, is he?
TV and Dave Sexton will be turning in their graves. |
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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 23:19 1 Jan 2026
I'm a sucker for two up front (Stainrod/Flanagan and Allen, Allen and Goddard, Byrne and Bannister - sigh) - just not our two, I'm afraid! |
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Reply | Kone
at 23:17 1 Jan 2026
Strikers don't have to have pace to excel in the Champ or even PL - look at Charlie Austin! They just need to be good players. |
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Reply | Kone
at 23:15 1 Jan 2026
Thanks for the latest parody! |
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Reply | Jaded, disjointed, and the management team
at 21:59 1 Jan 2026
No, that's all very well expressed, and you're right, of course. These players lack what Gerry Francis called footballing intelligence - as well as everything else.
Allow me to modify my previous, probably unbalanced position, in light of your post:
The manager and players are as bad as each other. [Post edited 1 Jan 23:13]
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Reply | Smyth
at 21:54 1 Jan 2026
Why didn't he just swap wings with Dembele for a bit? He/we couldn't have done any worse! |
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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 21:44 1 Jan 2026
Nail on head with Xmas glitter all over it!
Like that of his players, the manager's performance seems to be seriously on the wane.
He and we need an abolsutely stonking 90 mins performance against Wednesday. Not 45. Or 25. No excuses. They lost 3-0 at Preston today. We should be absolutely burying them.
If I see Bannan being given the freedom of HQ to ping it around (and probably engineer the winner again), JS can take the first Ryanair flight back to France. [Post edited 1 Jan 21:48]
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Reply | Gaffer on today's defeat
at 21:37 1 Jan 2026
So why even bother with going through the charade of post-match interviews/pressers at all and asking him semi-intelligent questions?
I'm sure you're right though - saying something honest, clear, and authentic like, I don't know, 'We may have to change it in games sometimes by putting an extra body into midfield and creating a 10 when it's not sticking to our top two - but it was hard to do that today, as we don't have Ilias to call on. It's my job to work it out with the players, though, as we really let our fans down today, and they deserve so much better from all of us. I'll be thinking carefully about our approach to the Wednesday game, and making every moment we have count in our preparation. Without disrespecting them, we really have to be looking them to put to the sword, given their record this season, and, thinking of last time out, we especially need to come up with a cunning plan to deal with Mr Bannan', would surely give all our opponents all kinds of tools to relegate us and make us all feel much worse. [Post edited 1 Jan 21:42]
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Reply | Smyth
at 21:23 1 Jan 2026
You'd think that's so basic the coaches would be getting the message to the players after 15 minutes, wouldn't you? Obviously, they're idle too - or just stupid. |
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Reply | Kone
at 21:21 1 Jan 2026
I'm not sure. I've seen him miss some really good chances this season, both with head and boot. Whether it's specialist coaching he needs, or the whole team set-up (and how he's serviced/not serviced) needs looking at, or both, or something else, I'm not sure, but JS is paid to work it out - and it's just one of the many things he's failing at right now.
Right now, Kone's regressing as a player, and his value's if anything decreasing. Once again, if you're the Board, you can't be happy with that. |
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