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Reply | Swansea City : Saints, Hammers & Marko Stamenić *Exclusive
at 07:43 12 Nov 2026
I'm not sure he's ever been all that.
There are times he's looked capable of more, but they've been fleeting. Mostly I've been watching him wondering why he's taking so long to do basic stuff. It's not a great attribute in the midfielder who should be dictating the play, especially one who looks like he's got the tools to offer a lot more than he generally does.
He's very reminiscent of Grimes in that respect for me. Both undoubtedly talented but prone to slowing us down, yet oddly lauded in some quarters despite that. I've had people claiming to me that he'd walk into any midfield in the division, when he shouldn't even walk into ours with everyone fit. |
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Reply | UK/EU negotiations
at 18:12 11 Nov 2026
Burnham and co are so desperate to tie us back in with the EU they will allow themselves to be utterly shafted in any negotiation. It's basically treason. |
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Reply | Ten games until New Years Day
at 10:23 8 Nov 2026
In two games time we could quite easily be out of the playoffs altogether. We've gone from four points clear on 10th Oct to sixth place in less than a month.
Not sure that would do anything other than confirm that our time in the top two of the table was at least in part down to the advantage of playing a lot of the weaker teams in the division early on.
We've won eight games. Only two of which have come against teams currently in the top half of the table, and one of those was in 18th place when we beat them. Half our wins have come against teams currently in the bottom five.
There is a pattern here so clear that it might as well be in Neon. |
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Reply | Birmingham City v Swansea City: : Match Thread
at 09:55 8 Nov 2026
It's obviously a tactical choice. Matos just thinks Stewart and Idah suit his pressing style more. "Perspiration over inspiration" as I've seen it labelled elsewhere.
I'm just not sure that it works well enough often enough to justify our almost total reliance on it, especially when Idah had already proven himself capable of scoring goals in a system that suits Vipotnik. Many of our best passages of passing play have come when we're not pressing at all. |
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Reply | Ten games until New Years Day
at 09:06 8 Nov 2026
A decline in the injury list will certainly make things easier, but our struggles breaking down the better teams pre-date those recent issues. There's no guarantee that the next time we have a run of tough fixtures we won't find ourselves in the same boat.
I doubt the club have sanctioned the investment in the team that they have to accept continually being bested by the teams that we expect to compete with for a promotion spot. They'll expect improvement, as should we. |
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Reply | Birmingham City v Swansea City: : Match Thread
at 22:17 7 Nov 2026
Problem is that offer keeps changing. Three weeks ago we'd have bitten someones arm off to be top. Now it's sixth. Where will it be come early December?
We desperately need to stop the rot. Our next three games are against WBA, Middlesbrough and Cardiff. All of them losable unless we pull our fingers out. |
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Reply | Birmingham City v Swansea City: : Match Thread
at 21:53 7 Nov 2026
It's the fine margins that make the difference and to be blunt, we haven't been good enough often enough at turning them our way.
I hope I'm wrong but I am getting worrying Martin style vibes from Matos. It's his way or the highway. All well and good when results are there, but when they're not, and against the better sides this season they just haven't been, it makes us look substandard.
We've not spent the money that we have this season to regularly lose the games that matter and the higher ups at the club will be aware of that. Matos needs to deliver. If it takes him having to swallow his pride and make changes then that's just what he'll have to do. |
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Reply | Birmingham City v Swansea City: : Match Thread
at 17:51 7 Nov 2026
We're faltering because the fixture list has got harder. Most of our wins when we were top of the table came against teams in and around the relegation zone. We had a kind start which got overlooked a bit.
I do believe that we've got the ability to do better than we have done in recent games, but we really need to work on our consistency. Injuries haven't helped, but they're only part of the story. Certain players are too sure of a place in the team when they're fit and perhaps they shouldn't be, even with the level of tinkering that goes on.
Getting that right is Matos's job, and his ultimate reputation will rest on how well he does it. |
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Reply | Birmingham City v Swansea City: : Match Thread
at 17:40 7 Nov 2026
We need to get back to basics a bit.
Pick our strongest back four whenever possible. That's Tymon, Welsh Lissah and Key. Vipotnik needs to be given a run in the side again as the recent treatment of a proven 20+ goal a season striker has been bizarre. |
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Reply | Interesting article
at 12:08 7 Nov 2026
Tend to agree.
He's a solid Championship centre half. Good at the physical stuff and a decent man marker. There are question marks over his ability with the ball at feet which for me makes him third choice for us with everyone fit, but if he was the complete package he'd have been gone ages ago. |
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Reply | Foreworkd/ Bonfire night
at 10:11 7 Nov 2026
The first fixture I look for when they come out is the Boxing Day one hoping that we're away.
Boxing Day should be for scoffing leftovers and getting slowly pissed in the house whilst not having to pretend that you're happy to have visitors. |
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Reply | Foreworkd/ Bonfire night
at 09:59 7 Nov 2026
Boxing Day is one of the UK's greatest gifts to humanity. I prefer it to Christmas Day. |
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Reply | Ten games until New Years Day
at 09:46 7 Nov 2026
As the season is progressing our "best" XI is becoming clearer.
His hands will probably be tied a bit with Eustaquio injured leaving him little choice but to go for a Fulton/Stamenic midfield, but once SE is fit again I hope he'll regularly pair Fulton and him as our deeper midfield. It just works better and doesn't look like a rehash of the Grimes/Fulton axis. Stamenic needs to up the pace of what he does.
Our back four when everyone is fit has to be Tymon, Welsh, Lissah and Key. There's no room for Cabango if we're trying to play out from the back consistently.
Going forward we have a bit more flexibility. Personally I'd be trying to reintroduce Vipotnik as a regular starter again. It was always a risk to sideline a proven 20+ goal striker in favour of a system, especially when Idah had already demonstrated that he could score goals playing the other way too. Stewart also looks capable of scoring goals no matter how we play.
And the lack of creativity is a drum I'll continue to beat. Our press is only effective intermittently and then generally against the weaker teams. We need something else when that's not working. If that means ditching the press then so be it. |
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Reply | So basically we are paying for Ukraines Patriot missiles
at 09:33 7 Nov 2026
I still doubt that Russia is anything more than a paper tiger. It's been nearly five years and they've still barely advanced through more than a fifth of the Ukraine and taken horrific losses in both men and materiel to do even that little.
The Finnish/Russian border is very heavily defended. The Poles have been rearming for years. Maybe they'll be tempted to have a go at the Baltic States but realistically they have no more chance there than they have in Ukraine.
I guess we should always be on the lookout and defence against asymmetrical attacks & cyber warfare, but the likelihood of any serious attack against even the currently weak European NATO forces is slim IMO. |
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Reply | Andy Burnham
at 20:29 6 Nov 2026
They'll do their level best to arrest and jail anyone remotely suggesting it. They've had enough practice lately.
I admire your optimism but don't share it. |
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Reply | Andy Burnham
at 20:25 6 Nov 2026
He's already stripping away the differences. With a big enough majority behind him he'll do it. That's how these people operate and how we got dragged in in the first place. There was no referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, nor the Lisbon one. |
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Reply | Ten games until New Years Day
at 20:23 6 Nov 2026
I think we've got it in us if almost everyone is available. We can take some losses in certain positions, but too many injuries along with chopping and changing don't help consistency.
It's not Matos' fault when players get injured and he does deserve some leeway with that, but he does chop and change a bit much. I'd also question his insistence on playing the same way regardless. A coach should be adaptable and teams who can only play one way leave themselves wide open to being tactically countered. |
| | Dr_Winston
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