Merrick's Marvels

It will be if O'Leary and Bajic are seen as our future. Dear god.

He is involved - along with Gould, Stu Rogers and City Supporters Society Ltd, they're all directors of something called BCFC Heritage & Archive Ltd a company formed in Sept 22. Others on here will be better placed to explain what BCFC Heritage is all about, I'm none the wiser, although I hope it's connected to the plans for a museum in the netball quarter. I expect this is what they were talking about when you saw them.

2-4-6-8! who do we appreciate?

It's exactly what's needed. But you've gone about it completely the wrong way. "An old bull and a young bull stood at the top of a field, looking down at a herd of cows. Come on, let's run down there and **** one of those cows, said the young un. No son, let's walk down there and **** em all". That's what you should have done.

The U21s are top because the majority of today's team don't usually play! Unfortunately though, quite a few of them do play for our 1st team - and we all know how that's going.

W-S-M was a great combination. Instrumental in our improved form towards the end of last season. Shame it had to be dismantled and, having been so, one of the reasons for this season's patchy form.

A player who epitomised everything that's wrong about modern football, happy to accept obscene wages in return for not giving a ****. So, despite his talent, he's not fit to lace the boots of Charles, Jones, Toshack or any other Welsh "great". Not that we remotely give a **** either. Boyo.

Never had a centre forward. The rest of it tidy, though, to be sure.

Plus - Matt Bryant hadn't made his debut yet, Andy May hadn't signed yet and the game was broadcast by the BBC. Other than that Sleepy, we agree with everything you say ?

We've had tons of talented players who've not amounted to much - either here or when moving elsewhere. What they've all lacked isn't ability but the correct mentality - attitude - personality - call it what you will. Their feet have been fine but not What's between their ears. At last we have a manager who knows what it takes to be a top class player in terms of technique and also psychology. He's been there and done it. Now we all need to buckle up, listen and learn. And so long as we don't go down, we'll all be much better off for the experience.

Don't tell me, Twitter's imploding with gobshites and indignant 12 year olds losing their shit? No???

This is the bit that's got me worried. Already!

I like Benarous very much but not sure he's Scott's "natural successor". Scott is nuts - a 6, 8, 10 or wing back (our best one!). Eamonn's good but he can't do all that. Looking forward to having him back though - we're much the better for having him around.

I hope you're right but how does that square with Pearson saying we need to bring deals forward from the summer and do some business now if possible, the tone of which suggested more than a few ins and outs? Not to mention the fact that teams around us are already busy strengthening. Personally, I'm not sure a CB and a couple of loans keeps our head above water. I am a pessimist by nature, though. 40+ years of BCFC does that to you.

A fair point Sir Geoff.

He's still about Ska - as in alive and also attending games! In the Dolman, I think. Fair play to him, all cheap gags aside. How many others have kept going, once their time in the boardroom is over?

Christ, Les Kew's coming back. A sell-on clause, you say. What on earth's that?

So now we know why SL's building a bloody netball thing next door. So some yanks can throw a few hoops!

Would be ideal. And we get to enjoy him for a bit longer. Job's a good un ?

Clarrie Bourton. Cyril Williams. Roy Bentley. Brian Clark. Chris Garland. Biff. Mick Harford. Sean Goater. Andy Cole. How long you got?

It's got a definite feel of Brownhill 2.0, you're right. And I can't see Scott out and Khadra in, should that happen, as being sufficient improvement in midfield. Personally, I'd like to see another midfielder arrive too - perhaps someone from the list of CDMs Pearson had under consideration last summer.

But Pearson has already said we're trying to bring deals for incoming players forward from the summer to January. And he's also said there will need to be outgoings before there are incoming. So beggars can't be choosers I'm afraid.

Yeah for the best young player in the world, give or take. Scott's got some way to go to be in that bracket.

The wages and transfer fees we were paying - from the time we started shopping at Chelsea onwards - were completely unsustainable for a club our size. Unless every year we made massive profits on transfers by selling our best players. Again, completely unsustainable and complete madness. That's the main reason for our financial problems. Covid just accelerated the time it took for the shit to hit the fan, for our day of reckoning to arrive. Mark Ashton has a lot to answer for, as do the people who let him get away with it.

Indeed, it is quite something - and illustrates just how piss poorly we were run in the last few years by Ashton. As you also point out, Gould has said we must see the value on the pitch - Pearson is seeing to that, will make sure of that - given the time to clear up Ashton's piss poor mess.