Other teams had worked us out by the World Cup, Ince's plan A wasn't that great and he didn't have a plan B. I think that probably did as much for the player's morale as the points deduction. They were getting sent out every week knowing the game plan was shit.
i still believe Reading is still an attractive option for a lot of players. Not convinced we are in any way, shape or form an attractive option unless we're signing players on loan whose wages are covered 100% by their parent club. Ejaria going doesn't mean his wages are necessarily off the books, ...
Also am I the only one thinking Gakpo is getting a bit of an easy ride, he's been way less effective than Nunez and seems to have escaped any criticism.
I know he is only 20, but that Hoijland looks sh*te what service does he get? All the Utd wingers do is shoot from stupid places That's fair, Anthony does 15 step overs then scuffs the ball out of play. Bit harsh, sometimes he does 14 step overs then scuffs the ball out of play. Hoijland doesn't lo...
I guess Bristol City were of equal size in 1982. They technically folded. Middlesbrough technically folded in 1986 but rules then allowed a new company to be set up and continue the football side from the same position. They also had to repay all debts in full not just football iirc, unlike the clu...
BRO_BOT The Blues have really shat the bed this last month or so
This experiment with playing central defenders as midfielders has to stop soon doesn't it. Phillips and Kovacic sat on the bed watching Stones and Akanji play there must make they wonder what they have to do to get a start.
At the time Courtois went down DdG was probably holding out for a longer contract not just a one season deal like Madrid were probably looking at. He can't afford to be that fussy now, leave it much longer and doubts will creep in from clubs about how long it'll take him to get back up to match spee...
There was a match being played on the pitch next to Jnr II's before they kicked off last week and a player got sin binned. We were all a bit bemused by it as we didn't realise it was a thing. Guess it might be getting piloted at some grass roots levels.
HJK Helsinki vs Aberdeen was a more entertaining watch than you'd think. Started watching it just because it was snowing and the pitch was getting covered and I was hoping for a dodgy penalty decision where the ref couldn't see the lines. Aberdeen were 2-0 down about halfway through the first half a...
My solution to the handball rule is as follows. Any handball in the penalty box by a defending player when trajectory of ball is goal bound = penalty Any other deliberate handball deemed by referee = penalty Deflections off party parts to hand like last night = no penalty. I don't think this works....
If anything i think its getting worse from own experience. With so many junior leagues now setup, tagged with "academy" brandng, coaches think they are the next Klopp, and a win at all stakes mentality is forming, which is passing through kids and parents. It's definitely getting worse. W...
paultheroyal You might be thinking of Ashley Williams, was it 2 years ago he was seen coming onto the pitch remonstrating at a young official for an U13 game or something?
Yes, I think it was the Ashley Williams incident I was thinking of.
The on field referees need to be empowered to stick to their guns. They are so frightened to go with their gut. ^ This. We can blame VAR all we want but the ref watched the replay and changed his mind. He could have said, nah, the defender is pulling out of the challenge and Wilson has deliberately...
https://preview.redd.it/e3xvirmgkp2c1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=f9684bb0a360afca0078ad59e61d780bd2dd3508 And this was before losing Bentancur again Its a bit of a stretch including Sessegnon on that list isn't it. Not like he's been anywhere near nailing down a starting place...
An under 12's game was abandoned at HT yesterday after the level of abuse that had been given to the 15 year old referee by one of the managers, former Wolves midfielder Karl Henry Sounds very familiar, has he got previous form for this or was there another ex-player a few years back that did the s...