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Reply | Tuck among 7 development squad releases
at 12:40 13 May 2026
Yes you can’t really tell how they’re going to do until they play at the higher level in professional football. It’s the physicality as well as the faster pace of the game.
I remember Michael Doughty for instance being good technically on the ball but his brain just didn’t work fast enough under pressure from opponents so he got caught in possession even though when he had time to pass he could do some terrific balls. But in the DS I’m sure he looked pretty good.
Maybe that’s what scouts are really looking out for as well as technical skills.
That H&R v Eastleigh match must’ve been full of QPR fans - I was there too to see Alfie Tuck play. |
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Reply | Upon Reflection... – Column
at 06:43 12 May 2026
Brilliant Dorse.
As always hilarious and insightful without going OTT.
Thank you! |
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Reply | West Ham v Arsenal
at 23:45 10 May 2026
That’s where I am. Whatever’s happened to the multiple charges against them? It’s cheating but just in a different way so no tears for them. Besides they’re not the purest of the driven snow on the pitch either. |
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Reply | Why is the London Stadium so difficult to get away from ?
at 23:41 10 May 2026
The Cup game was a bit different because we took 9000 fans and their stands were pretty full because they were charging practically nothing for a lot of the seats for kids to fill the ground. Not sure they’d be full in a Championship game???? Also because of the extra time everyone left around the same time cos we’d all had enough by then.
They separated the West Ham and QPR fans so we all left through different exits but it was daft because you all end up at the same tube stations anyway.
Because of the river there are several pinch points where you have to cross bridges which slows down the crowds. Finally they close off the Stratford shopping centre after the match which also limits the number of people able to filter through to the station at one time. |
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Reply | Saints charged with spying
at 13:17 10 May 2026
Yes but you say points deduction - but for which season? If it’s this season then it’s no deterrent because they’re already in the playoffs. If it’s a fine then it’s unlikely to be a big enougn deterrent with the prize of the Prem income in comparison. If it’s for next season then they may already have won the playoffs and be in the Prem so you can’t impose it.
It doesn’t matter what the Prem do. The EFL can have their own rules.
If you decide on the merits of the case then you get clubs spinning out the legal case for years - as in Man City which doesn’t help the playoffs for this season.
I agree they should be chucked out of the playoffs but I think that would be difficult and they would probably launch a legal case against the EFL for overly harsh punishment. Then you’re in the right sh*t. |
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Reply | Saints charged with spying
at 09:49 10 May 2026
Absolutely.
They’re so useless. It’s asking for trouble. If you have a defined punishment then it’s surely easier legally to enforce it (admittedly I am not a lawyer). Whereas if you don’t then it’s surely easier for teams that have been caught to claim unreasonable punishment?
I don’t get why it’s not considered a serious offence. If they didn’t think they were getting an unfair competitive advantage then they wouldn’t be doing it. |
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Reply | Tell me that one again about 90% availabilty
at 17:11 9 May 2026
That’s why in theory unlike some fans I don’t think the fitness and rehab guy should report to the manager but to the DOF or the Board. They should be independent and be able to say that this player is not fit enough to play and the manager shouldn’t be able to overrule that because they should be less tied to short term results and more to the long term outcomes for the players.
With us though it’s not clear whether one or both of the DOF and the fitness guy are not looking at the bigger picture so it either makes them look better or makes the players theoretically more marketable over the summer. If that’s the case then it backfired badly. |
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Reply | Tell me that one again about 90% availabilty
at 07:49 8 May 2026
This is a big test for Nourry. Leadership is not always about making the right decisions 100% of the time; it’s also about admitting when you’re wrong and putting that right. It’s not worked out with Williams and he didn’t work out in his other foray outside of cycling. He needs to go.
It’s not only the injuries although those are dire enough, it’s about not being fit enough to last 90 minutes at the end of the season - players like Mbengue and Kolli being hunched over week after week well before the end of games. |
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Reply | Where’s the progress?
at 07:39 8 May 2026
Maybe.
There’s two things that made me think differently. One was the fact that Warbs left Brentford because he didn’t have any say in transfers so why would he come to us on the same basis. Second because Beale came in afterwards and Taylor Richards , Tyler Roberts, Ethan Laird and Tim Iroebugnan, Leon Balogun and Kenneth Paal were peak Beale signings. Why would we get rid of Warbs when he was disgruntled about not getting his signings in and then give Beale, who had no management experience the keys to the safe?
Also we tore the previous plan up where we were starting to build with youth - Willock, Chair and Ebs and moved to very much spending almost all our cash on players like Johansen, Gray, Hendrick and Austin after Warbs had come in. It wasn’t just blending more experience with youth, it was tearing up the strategy in my view.
I agree that a DOF is supposed to provide continuity. But that certainly didn’t happen with Les. Either because the Board kept getting excited or because he was bullied by managers we didn’t follow any strategy for long enough to see if it was working.
As for best managers I know everyone says Cifuentes was forced out but I heard he was looking for jobs after the first end of season break he was here, hence the falling out with Nourry the second time it happened. That, plus the fact that an ambitious young manager who had never stayed more than two seasons at a club and took a bigger job when he had the opportunity is more plausible to me than that our Board got rid of a manager that was doing pretty well for no reason after an awful time of turbulence. Warbs IDK. As I say he didn’t manage to get us to the playoffs even after being backed heavily in the transfer market. We’d just fallen off a cliff results-wise after being in the picture and Warbs seemingly couldn’t stop it.
Maybe the manager we really missed out on was Eustace who has done well at every club he’s been at and maybe was a big part of the reason we were so organised. |
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Reply | Where’s the progress?
at 20:12 7 May 2026
Well that’s a good question. I was assuming it was Warbs pushing for it. Maybe it was the club
As with you Clive I liked Warbs a lot and enjoyed a lot of the time he was there. But if we did tear up that plan at some point we’ve got to stick with some kind of plan for at least three years not keep tearing it up. Frustrating though the past is (in terms of the years of disappointment) I’d like to forget that a bit and look to improve year on year. Next season is going to be a key one to see if we’re making genuine progress that we can continue to build on. |
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Reply | Where’s the progress?
at 18:42 7 May 2026
As I say I think we were better on the pitch during the time he was manager but I don’t think he built anything. There was too much emphasis on expensive loan players and older players and we didn’t bring a squad that would come through for the future in my view. Especially given the money we spent in that last season. I think that’s why he went: we didn’t even get in the play offs, we didn’t have a balanced squad of our own players for the following season and we’d spent a lot of cash. I think that’s why Brentford and him fell out - he’s a good manager but someone else has to hold the purse strings. Being better than Hasslebaink and McClaren is not a big sell for me.
Having said all that I liked Warbs but was disappointed when I heard how he’d blown the budget and who he’d blown it on. |
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Reply | Club confirm Hamer, Nardi, Hayden departs...
at 09:26 7 May 2026
I agree that the stats point to the goalkeepers being a big issue this season. However two things can be true at the same time. I do think we also need to improve the midfield and wingers marking up. We do have teams being able to take too many free shots from distance which needs to be tightened up.
Not sure if anyone saw the PSG?Bayern match last night but it was a master class by PSG in not allowing the opposition to take a shot and if they did to shoot from awkward angles or in tight spaces. It took a great bit of skill from Kane to finally score. |
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Reply | Where’s the progress?
at 09:18 7 May 2026
Did he really improve us though? I mean in a legacy sense, not in the sense of the time he was manager. Our top scorer was Andre Gray - expensive, not one for the future and scored less than Kone and Burrell.
We had Lee Wallace, Albert Adomah, Moses Odubajo, Jeff Hendricks, Stefan Johansen. So we didn’t build a lasting squad for the future but yet spent a lot of money. I know you need a blend of youth and experience but it was a lot of cash for players that weren’t at their peak.
I liked Warbs but I don’t think he improved us in any lasting sense and we made our biggest financial loss in the 2021/2022 season in recent years without much to show for it. [Post edited 7 May 9:38]
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Reply | nan and grandad
at 08:21 7 May 2026
Haha yep. We also religiously watched the football results because of the football pools. Another part of the ritual became one day nanny’s ship was going to come in! |
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Reply | Where’s the progress?
at 19:35 6 May 2026
Can’t agree with McClaren.
I don’t think I’ve ever cringed so much at a manager as when he was subbing off Pavel Wsolek who was our best player that day to meet with a chorus of boos from our fans who were sick of him by then and turned round and pretended the 4th official had put the wrong number up - no not Pav he shouted.
He promised to bring on all the youngsters but then tore that up after losing the first four? matches and brought in expensive old timers instead.
Not for me. |
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Reply | nan and grandad
at 19:26 6 May 2026
Thanks Rbee. This really made me smile. |
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Reply | Club confirm Hamer, Nardi, Hayden departs...
at 19:23 6 May 2026
At times it did look like the parting of the Red Sea when teams ran at us or passed incisively.: maybe not just the midfield but also the wingers weren’t always doing their jobs. I did think it always made a difference when Smyth was on because he would make it more difficult for the oppo attack and just be a nuisance and slow them down.
It made a difference with the quality of the shots our keepers faced from long distance. Seemingly more average players can score when not pressed or rushed but much harder to take that shot under pressure and quickly. |
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