havanatopia

Not forgetting his speedy Gonzalez demeanour in the pre season friendly at the New Lawn. At that venue I had just returned from buying two teas after a painfully long queue only to see near as damn get blown away by a Szmodics blast over the bar that ricocheted off a brick wall; he was, alas, a near miss for City as well

There is no respect for history is there. I also remembered the Spotted Horse... Not at all spotted and a 1960's architectural gem with symmetry at front to die for and casually torn down for a row of neo shit boxes. Arhhhhhh marvellous. Much appreciated not least for the correction. I suspect Double Diamond and Worthington E were competing head on. Dad was definitely more a DD man. But he often had a shot of whiskey to finish which might explain the wimpish weakness of which you speak. I put in a cheeky bid for a tenner. ?

I remember the Double Diamond advert in the 70's. I seem to recall it showed the letter E filling up with the amber nectar. I mentioned this observation to Dad who said that when I reach adulthood I could go in a pub and order a pint of E. I did just that on my first visit to the Ship and Castle in Congresbury and they just stared at me. I was most put out. A big dream had been shattered. To this day the taste remains alusive.

15 games and 11 points compared to 11 and 9 respectively for Barton and Pearson. Both teams in free fall. Barton simply had less of a cushion to play with. I would not blame him either.

Actually I think it's the Premier League for them no? The Nationwide Premier League. The Gas are at the top table where they belong. I wish them well.

Well I have to say that I genuinely thought the Gas would pull clear when whatshisface Kravat came in. Then they announced he had been sacked barely 3 months after arriving. Then Ballsy Joey arrived and I thought that's a bit left field but ok, maybe they know something I do not and this guy is a fixer. Then I woke up this morning and realised... He most certainly is. ?

It's actually looking quite exciting as a spectacle. 4 from 6 basically nailed on but every place could literally go down to the final day. Geoff S and team must be eyeing up that battle already.

I did too and said simply 'Congrats'. No reaction. Never posted since. Maybe they did not understand the 'big word shortened English' vernacular?

I would recruit Holloway until the end of the season and then, if he keeps them up, discuss a longer term deal. Of course IH will want assurances about the training ground and a new tent at the bell end. He may not get it.

They make very good tents in Turkey as it happens.

Matty Taylor. ?

Sorry to hear about your Mum Tony and that you cannot visit. Is there absolutely no way even on humanitarian grounds? Heartbreaking.

Nice thread Phantom and very well said. I hope everyone can enjoy some cheer at this time of year and for those who cannot I hope someone reaches out to them. Any gesture of kindness I think goes a long way. I concur with much that has been said here. Happy new year everyone.

I am not amazed at all. Footballers tend not to be the brightest tool in the box. They watch a slick presentation and they fall for it... That's just human nature.

As it's been locked. So approximately 65% would like to attend and 11% would not based on an expressed fear. Does this straw poll illustrate an example of where the real population is regarding the lockdown? The polls we have seen show an enormous majority for continuation of it. I sincerely hope polls edge toward the former because this govt is clearly paying close attention to them and we are going nowhere as a nation in lockdown and this so called respiratory virus is never going away.

No flack from this qtr kiddy. Ancelotti is an interesting example. I may have the wrong club but I recall reading his departure from Inter was met with significant relief due to his high spending and boring tactics. I have heard the same criticism levelled at Hughton. I have said I would take boring football for a while to get us properly challenging because let's face it we have only really flirted with the playoffs during LJ's tenure only to end up as powder puffs. To imagine Holden would do any better is frankly laughable. The one quality he lacks without any hint of controversy is gravitas. Hughton has it. Especially young players are hugely motivated by characters they can look up to. To suggest SL does not get this or is contemplating turning his back on perhaps the one missing attribute of Johnson would be unfathomable. This is absolutely nothing to do with Covid19 and budgetary restraints. If that is the yarn we will be fed all we have to do is remind everybody of the disparity in prize money between the two divisions... 3 million and 120 million per season... 4 full seasons, effectively, of Lee Johnson is close to a half billion loss of revenue. With Steve's financial services background he knows this better than anyone. So it is not exaggeration, at all, to then say it is suicidal to employ a novice. End of story. P.s. I'll pop this in the Holden thread as well I think folks.

Thanks for clarifying the remark from HxJ about Parry not being on the panel Pop. I am rather taken aback there is no fixed penalty for given misdemeanours. It's a recipe for law suit one after the other. Mind boggling in its stupidity. Parry has his work cut out. I see Championship clubs have rallied around Charlton making Wednesday the pariah... Not their fault they got away lightly though.

Parry is taking too long to get his legs under the desk then.

Are you implying his hands were tied? If so then perhaps that's another matter. As I understand it 12 PTS have been dished out for the same season before Parry arrived and yet he chaired that meeting and was happy with a deduction next season? From where I stand he looks weak. Feel free to clarify though.

Except for the fact you seem to be suggesting he has inherited rules so his 12 pt deduction is the same Harvey would have and indeed did dish out.

12 PTS for Wed for next season?

Selling players and leasing them back from a same owner club will be the foundation stone of a mockery statue to the FL. Rules should have been in place to enforce punishment long ago. I seem to recall Watford being told you cannot loan more than 7 or so players from a same owner 'sister' club. At that time FFP was not so much in the news or 'in service'. Watford soon adapted. Unless automatic relegation of at least one division is the punishment and a clear and precise set of rules are in place to follow the FFP arrangement is not fit for purpose. We are seeing law suits starting to flow now and I think while Parry was brought in to clean this up so far the evidence suggests he is found wanting. It's a sorry state of affairs.

A 233% sales increase one week to the next. That's astonishing... 2 caps last week; 1 cap and a shirt this week with 50% off? Did that make the inside back page?

Sounds untenable to me. How to tell one season ticket holder to the next you are not worthy. It's all a total nonsense.

Quite right what you guys are saying about winning something, playing at a top club etc in order to motivate your players long term. LJ's issue is that he has to be a superb coach and then maintain that level consistently for his players to want to always play for him... It is blindingly obvious they often don't. Not LJ's fault; he simply has that permanent limitation. I think the amount of player signings, the quality, the money spent is an enormous force for good and faith by Steve Lansdown. Clearly he is, or was, desperate for this to work. It must be finally dawning on him that no amount of support is going to give Lee that extra he needs to succeed. He is simply unable to do a job to that higher level necessary to be a long term success. I think that is all there is to it.