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Reply | Peretz finally signs on loan
at 12:49 8 Jan 2026
"I gotta believe he has been given some good reason to believe he can attain #1 status pretty quickly."
They probably showed him videos of our other goalkeepers playing. [Post edited 8 Jan 12:59]
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Reply | Armando Broja
at 12:45 8 Jan 2026
What he had when he came here, like many players who come here on loan from bigger clubs, was a superior level of fitness and a willingness to run at the opposition goal, which made him stand out alongside our regular strikers. He also surprised opposition defences initially, as many youngsters do when they first appear on the scene.
I was talking to some Albanian supporters when they played England at Wembley, and they regarded him as a real superstar.
But a striker has to score goals and he doesn't any more. |
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Reply | Peretz finally signs on loan
at 11:51 8 Jan 2026
I'd never even heard of him before he was linked with us, but we have to hope he's good enough to be our first choice goalkeeper. [Post edited 8 Jan 11:54]
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Reply | Venezuela
at 11:19 8 Jan 2026
If he lived long enough, you wonder how far he'd go. He would certainly have more countries in his sights, as would Putin if he could defeat Ukraine.
It's funny how Putin cried it's not fair when drones targetted one of his residences, as would Trump if there was an attack on the White House. [Post edited 8 Jan 11:22]
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Reply | Peretz finally signs on loan
at 11:10 8 Jan 2026
I've noticed Shankland too. I wonder why Rangers or Celtic haven't poached him, especially as he's from Glasgow? |
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Reply | The players haven't relaxed says Stephens
at 10:58 8 Jan 2026
I suspect that we just benefitted from an exceptional 'new manager bounce' and that our players are now back to playing at their normal standard.
Often a new manager's tactics can take the opposition by surprise. Pushing our 2 wing-backs far forward and getting the ball to them quickly in counterattacks did that for a while, but soon managers learned to exploit the spaces they left behind, which is how we concede most of our goals now. [Post edited 8 Jan 11:01]
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Reply | RIP Chivers
at 10:25 8 Jan 2026
Yes, I must have got his autograph at least 3 times. I remember seeing him play when he was a teenager from Bitterne first breaking into the first team. There used to be a poster on here who played schoolboy football with him.
Was that Man City game the one in 1964 which we won 1-0 with a Chivers goal? I remember that one well. I was standing at the wall at the front of the Milton Road end with the other schoolboys.
He was a shy, unassuming lad. Even though he was tall for that era - 6'1" - he wasn't particularly good in the air, but he had massive thighs and could hammer the ball into the net from 20 or 30 yards out.
I witnessed much of his career and was even there at the first ever UEFA Cup Final (2nd leg) to witness it reach its pinnacle when he picked up his winner's medal, having scored most of Spurs' goals along the way, including the 2 crucial ones in the 1st leg of that final. I'd seen Saints get knocked out by Athletic Bilbao earlier in the competition. We could have done with his goals.
The last time I saw him was in the corner of St Mary's when he was being interviewed at a Spurs' game. He understandably loved Spurs as they continued to employ him as a celebrity host at their stadium, and he won all his trophies with them. In the 60s, they were, along with Man United, one of the 2 big glamour clubs in the country.
Spurs really knew how to rip us off, when they sent us Frank Saul in part exchange for him.
RIP Big Chivs [Post edited 8 Jan 14:34]
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Reply | West Ham.
at 10:11 8 Jan 2026
It does indeed. The standard of our squad is so poor nowadays that even If a player looks better than the rest of our squad, it still doesn't mean he's much good by Premier League standards. |
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Thread | West Ham.
at 21:59 6 Jan 2026
It looks like West Ham are going to be joining Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next season. I'd already make West Ham favourites to win it. Burnley also have a very good record of winning Championship titles.
This is probably the weakest Championship of recent years. It's going to be harder next season to get promoted. |
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Reply | It's clear
at 19:30 6 Jan 2026
It's clear. You don't rate Shea Charles. Fair enough. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. |
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Reply | It's clear
at 13:55 6 Jan 2026
He was a consistent defensive midfielder controlling central midfield. Without him, the opposition take control of it easily. It's a pity he got injured because Flynn Downes hasn't been as good.
Defensive midfielders rarely score goals. They're there to prevent the other team's attacks developing. [Post edited 6 Jan 13:59]
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Reply | Doncaster On Saturday
at 11:18 6 Jan 2026
You'd think that the Eco-Power Stadium would have undersoil heating, but it doesn't. Not a great advert for its sponsor if a game gets cancelled. |
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Reply | It's clear
at 10:47 6 Jan 2026
Our team has the weakest spine in the Championship. Managers of other Championship clubs would not want it in their team. Would they swap their current goalkeepers for Bazunu, McCarthy or Long? Would they want Downs or Archer instead of their current centre forward? If he weren't always injured, Ross Stewart might find a taker. Our full-backs/wing-backs are 2 of the poorest defenders in the Championship, and opposition managers know that and are taking full advantage of their weakness.
You could see from the results last season, just how weak this squad was and it hasn't got any stronger with the loss of our 2 best players, Ramsdale and Fernandes. We are where Derby were when they went down with an equally weak squad in 2008: lower mid-table, hovering above the relegation zone. [Post edited 6 Jan 11:06]
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Reply | It's clear
at 10:34 6 Jan 2026
"They have shown that they are very good players."
I haven't seen that. Very good players consistently play well above average, average players occasionally do, below average players almost never do. What I've seen in our team is a mixture of below average and average players. The worst of them are in the most important positions: goalkeeper and centre forward: Bazunu/McCarthy, Archer/Downs.
Our most consistent player was Shea Charles, until he got injured. We miss him because our central midfield is very weak. But, even he isn't much above the Championship average. Scienza and Fellows gave a few good performances but they are inconsistent and neither stop nor score many goals, which is what really affects results. As for the rest.....no one has consistently played well above average.
I don't think they are skiving; they are just playing how they would normally. The underlying problem is that Sport Republic's recruitment has been below average, especially in the key positions. As saint 04 says, they have left us with a mediocre squad. [Post edited 6 Jan 10:44]
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Reply | Middlesbrough Game Matchday Thread
at 09:49 5 Jan 2026
"A tough ask today but I have a feeling we might just get something"
You were right: a free pie and a programme! |
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Reply | Middlesbrough Game Matchday Thread
at 09:47 5 Jan 2026
Brereton Diaz's goal was pretty good too. I didn't see Sam Gallagher's - I still remember his goals in the 7-0 thrashing of Pompey in the FA Youth Cup. He's never really lived up to his early promise, but he's still probably better than any centre forward we've got now. [Post edited 5 Jan 9:47]
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Reply | A free pie and a programme
at 09:39 5 Jan 2026
At least they got to see Middlesbrough.
They used to say, "See Middlesbrough and die" But I don't think the chemical pollution is quite so bad now. [Post edited 5 Jan 9:57]
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Reply | F@cking Ashamed / Embarrassed
at 17:40 4 Jan 2026
No, we don't. It's January: we need to buy a better goalkeeper or get one in on loan. We'll be spoilt for choice as most professional goalkeepers out there are better than him, including the 3rd choice goalkeepers at most Premier League clubs. We also, of course, need a better centre forward.
The spine of our team is one of the weakest in the Championship. With our resources, it shouldn't be difficult to improve if anybody involved in our recruitment department has a clue what he's doing. [Post edited 4 Jan 17:49]
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