 | Forum
Reply | Fulham friendly
at 10:36 25 Jul 2024
Just reading the report on the offy. Wilson scored twice by cutting in from the right losing his marker and firing home. Typically doesn't name the player, but not unreasonable to assume it wax Larkeche. Ovs Wilson is prem standard but still not convinced about Larkeche. If Paal had a couple of years left on his contract I wouldn't be concerned asthenia youngster has more time to develop, maybe even go out on loan with Fox also available.
But with Watford still sniffing around Paal and maybe needing to sell before contract expires, it could be we need to get another LB in |
| Forum
Reply | Transfer rumours 2024
at 11:47 24 Jul 2024
Slightly off topic but does anyone know what Hayden's wages would be? If we actually have 1m to spend would it be better spent on his wages over a couple of years |
| Forum
Reply | Mood music to a very different tune - Column
at 23:29 22 Jul 2024
Wouldn't read too much into that. Every coach has their favourites especially at International level when they only have a limited time to work with them. Like Saka instead of Bowen for example. Or for us, Brady instead of Manning. |
| Forum
Reply | All Ireland Hurling Final on BBC2 today!!
at 18:21 21 Jul 2024
Without doubt the greatest All Ireland Hurling final ever. After 2 epic semis and all the hype surrounding this game it could have been a huge anti climax. But it lived up to its billing. Feel desperately sorry for Patrick Horgan, last chance for him probably |
| Forum
Reply | Armstrong
at 13:00 20 Jul 2024
An awful lot of 'inaccuracies' being mentioned about Armstrong. The bottom line is he would not have been sold if he had signed a new contract, but Noury is determined to ' protect the economic best interests of the club' which is a good thing and hasn't happened in the past. number of years. Noury is doing what he is paid to do. Will he also protect the best economic interests of the club with Dunne and Pall?
IInteresringly Celars scoring rates were quite similar to Armstrongs at a similar age but now he is the new messiah. Time will tell |
| Forum
Reply | As one door closes, a Celar door opens – Signing
at 21:47 19 Jul 2024
Cheers Clive and Greg.
if Dykes stays I wonder is that it in terms of strikers? Probably unreasonable for a mid-table ( hopefully) 2 tier team to have more than 3 senior forwards |
| Forum
Reply | Armstrong
at 15:07 18 Jul 2024
All of this. If we were selling him for 250k I would be disgusted but North of 2m is the correct decision. It is exactly what we should have done with Manning and BOS and more recently, Willock even though the latter was complicated by two bad injury hit seasons.
This also proves that we have learned from allowing decent players to run their contracts down. Of course it is always easier to sell players that are not fans favourites. I wonder if we adopted the same stance with Dunne what would the reaction be? |
| Forum
Reply | Armstrong
at 15:15 17 Jul 2024
Armstrong has come through 'every youth rank' for RoI so of course there is a player there. It is far easier for a young player breaking through to get regular game time for a successful team than one fighting relegation. Yes there is pressure at both ends of the table, but it is a different kind of pressure. Pushing for promotion becomes incrementally more pressurised as the season progresses and by March iit really ramps up. We saw that with both Leicester and Leeds last season and God knows we have experienced it ourselves.
Relegation pressure is a completely different matter, especially when you immersed in it from August! It permeates the entire mood and atmosphere and poisons the very air around the club. There is a fear factor that managment try not to expose the players to as they know if the players play with fear they are doomed. This is especially true off untested players like Sinclair and good managers like Marti would try to protect them from that negativity, which only escalates the longer the battle goes on. Remember the mood in the ground (and I was only observing it on TV) before and during the Preston game - how could any young player play anything close to their ability amid such tension? Compare that to some of the raucous home games that Gray played in, why wouldn't you play better? But does that make you a better player all things being equal?
Another misnomer regarding Armstrong is the '3 goals in 61 games' being bandied about. Armstrong has not come even close to playing 60 odd games for us. He has made over 60 APPEARANCES which is a completely different thing. For any degree of accuracy as to how many games he's played you would have to add up his total number of minutes on the pitch and divide by 90. Even that would not paint the full picture, as coming on for the last 10 minutes of a game you are losing is a big challenge for any player. Clive often spoke - especially in relation to Eze, Chair and BOS - about the importance of clocking up 100 games, 150 games and so on in order for a player to incrementally improve. Armstrong has come nowhere near that on yet.
Don't get me wrong, if we get £2.5 m and no new contract in sight, then sell him of course. I would love to see how he would develop with one full year of Marti's coaching but that seems unlikely to happen. But let's not coat him off as 'no football in him' based on so little evidence. |
| Forum
Reply | Armstrong
at 11:40 17 Jul 2024
As I have in a previous post I feel there is a lot more to come from Armstrong. Comparing him to once off talents like Limal and Bellingham is ludicrous like comparing Messi or Ronaldo to their contemporaries.
That said, if £2.5 figure is real then it would be hard to refuse it( and would explain his agents determination to get him moved). We need to include a significant sell on though, if we are losing 25% to Shamrock Rovers |
| Forum
Reply | unlucky england...
at 23:32 14 Jul 2024
It was a decent effort to get to the final and I am pleased that England made the final competitive on the scoreline. However, they were comprehensively out-played, out-thought and out-fought by a superior team. It was quite ironic that before the tournament began, their attacking prowess was lauded and concerns raised over their defensive frailities.In the end, the opposite proved to be the case as they were solid defensively but struggled to break down even average defences.
The two players that disappointed me the most were Foden and Rice. Foden is a much better player than his performances indicated, so not sure who or what is at fault there. A couple of flashes v the Dutch aside, he was virtually anonymous.
Rice, on the other hand, has been found out to be not quite of the quality that he has been lauded at. Still a very good player, just not at the Rodri level for example.
Overall, a very decent tournament for England, and if Southgate leaves, he can do so knowing he has left them in a far better state than he found them. |
| Forum
Reply | Taylor Richards Gone!
at 14:59 13 Jul 2024
I rarely feel sorry for another club, because we have had more than our fair share of wasters But in this instance... |
| Forum
Reply | Players leaving
at 12:57 28 Jun 2024
Didn't Dunne sign a one year extension? |
| Forum
Reply | First new signing imminent... (n/t)
at 11:09 28 Jun 2024
It's not that many years ago that attacking fullbacks were a new thing. 'Attack minded keeper' really is the final frontier |
| Forum
Reply | Begovic
at 19:02 27 Jun 2024
I personally had no issues with Begovich and wish him all the best. I know Clive wasn't a fan having watched him week in and week out and other people here living locally found it hard to get past his Chelsea connections
For me he kept a hell l of a lot of clean sheets especially in the 2nd half of the season- a disproportionate amount for our league position- and allowed us to win vital low scoring games along the way like Blackburn Swansea and -probably most critically of all- Preston.
I know nothing at all about Nardy, never heard of him until a few days ago. I am a little disappointed that Walsh has again been jettisoned as our No 1 and wonder when if ever he will be ready.
That said a warm welcome to Nardy and the very best wishes for the season ahead. |
| Forum
Reply | England QPR XI
at 23:53 17 Jun 2024
Am I right in thinking David Webb was the only uncapped player in that '75/'76 Team? Incidentally, Don Givens was our top scorer that season with 13! There is hope for Dykes yet! |
| Forum
Reply | What is your second sport.
at 22:58 16 Jun 2024
My children have rekindled interest in sports I used to enjoy back in the day. My daughter is into show-jumping which I used to love watching and do again after a 30 year hiatus. My son plays Gaelic and Hurling at a decent level (for Sligo) and I enjoy watching him play The fact that Sligo are involved in a second-tier tournament that they can compete in has whetted my appetite too, as realistically they were never going to win Sam.
Used to play a lot of Table Tennis in my late teens/ early 20's, and have started a club in the school which is good fun. |
| Forum
Reply | Armstrong extended
at 23:20 12 Jun 2024
Would seem to be very much in the minority here, but I think there is a lot more to come from Armstrong yet and if anyone can improve him it's Marti and his coaching staff.
To label him as only having power and pace is disingenuous imo.His goals v Bournemouth (Premier League) and Leicester (Champ champs) were top drawer and very unlucky not to add Ipswich (Champ runners-up) to that list (how often does a shot hit BOTH posts and not go in?) Plus his assists for Paal and Hodge showed vision, composure and technical ability.
Does he score or assist often enough? Of course not - but he has both in his locker and proper coaching can improve him. A one year extension is not ideal, but if he hasn't improved by January he can still be off-loaded and no harm done. [Post edited 12 Jun 23:26]
|
| Forum
Reply | Single file Queuing.. in pubs!
at 20:38 9 Jun 2024
Think it might be more of a continental thing being brought back from summer holidays than either of these, Planet.
Also, the British are very polite and patient so queuing would probably catch on better. Not so likely in Ireland, where even queue for checking in at the airport is usually as wide as it is long |
| Forum
Reply | Dykes injured?
at 23:47 2 Jun 2024
So a bit conflicted on this . Obviously a lost opportunity for Dykes to have a good tournament and increase his value for the club. Also he seems like a genuine bloke so obviously he is gutted to Melissa the biggest tournament of his life. But ... I am convinced he played well within himself this year to reduce the risk of injury before the Euros - so Karma |
| | Myke
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 1881 | | Comment Votes: | 203 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 2084 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.