TomThumb84

He said that they had been scouting Marv for 3 months and never seen him kick a ball with his left and then he did that. Once Gas - always Gas. Horrible bloke. The personification of anti-football.

What a bemusing statement.

I think LJ must be looking at Nketiah and wondering why when he was manager here he never made a move for him on loan. I mean we could have at least tried, surely. Its not like we would have put all our eggs in one basket is it?

LJ was his own worst enemy come the end. Over-thought everything. Lockdown pickled his football brain I think. I still remember the first home game back after the footballing Covid break and we had all that time to get Afobe fit, primed to make a charge for the play-offs and LJ played Benik wide left. Sheffield Wednesday I think. It was baffling.

Newcastle - “best fans in the world” nonsense grates on me. Their gates sunk during the late 80’s early 90’s until Keegan came. Their treatment of Steve Bruce was vile. Everton - nothing club since the 80’s and whinging entitled fan base much like Newcastle. Merry Christmas.

Won one Argentinian league title pre-Leeds and failed more often than not at club level. Runs his sides close to burn-out, is one-dimensional and yet people talk about him like some weird football-tactical god. Weird. Emperors clothes for me.

Great to see them in such a sorry state. The “Bielsa Genius” myth is one of my pet hates in football. Plus their fans are horrendous on the whole. A relegation trio of Everton, Newcastle and Leeds is the dream.

Who was it aimed at? Was it the odious Toffolo who got Wade Elliott sent off that day when Swindon won the league? Not condoning it in any way if it was of course…..

Not sure we constitute “the world” on here, and I actually think discussing this is pretty relevant on this forum. Might be 40 pages, should be more based on the final year of our ex-CEO’s contribution to our club.

Wouldn’t be surprised if another scribbled spider-diagram in his “Goals of Mark Ashton” notebook is to take a relatively unknown coach and mentor and develop him and hope he actually wins something under Ashton’s watchful and father-like eye, so that he can claim he moulded and developed the next Pep Guardiola. Can see it forming in his head for his memoirs/autobiography. Chapter 42 - “King-Maker”………

On the face of it, without having the benefit of knowing how Mark Ashton practically dismantled our house from the inside, and used our club as a vessel for self-gain, the Ipswich Town job appears attractive, yet they have ended up with a coach in his first “Head” role. I wonder how many seasoned, experienced, and respected managers either:- i) Looked at the job and were put off because of Ashton and the spookily familiar house of cards he is building which includes a fraud of a Fitness Coach. ii) Were not considered by Ashton as they would not accept his maniacally self-driven need to control everything, or that the main man himself felt threatened by. No wonder he could not wait to scuttle off to ITFC, probably a perfect outfit for him to be able to hide in plain sight from the owners whilst coining it in, and off-setting accountability easily as they are so far removed from it. I always find time to comment on this subject as my view is that he was professionally negligent here in his last 6-12 months at best, and at worse should have been disciplined and ultimately dismissed for gross misconduct. You can not overplay the mess he created here and then left us with, both in squad, and ability to reinvest.

ITFC on the verge of appointing Kieron McKenna. Mark Ashton masterminding the appointment of a well-meaning unproven coach, that will basically act as his Number 2, is unlikely to question him, and can take the flak for his trail of carnage. Hmmmm remind me why this is familiar…….

ITFC on the verge of appointing Kieron McKenna. Mark Ashton masterminding the appointment of a well-meaning unproven coach, that will basically act as his Number 2, is unlikely to question him, and can take the flak for his trail of carnage. Hmmmm remind me why this is familiar…….

So pound for pound you think we have seen £8m worth from Kalas, and £2.5m worth for Jay Dasilva? I would expect any side spending £10.5m on half a back four to be firmly top 6 material if not top 2. One of them has been patchy, and has been relinquished of a burden of captaincy in a side that leaked goals phenomenally, and the other cannot get in a side within a club that contains zero other left-backs. You see nothing wrong with those deals? Blimey. These two signings are indicative of the wild, ego-driven transfer policy that has seen us scraping around with a squad of overpaid non-assets. If you sign individuals with no idea how to build a team then this is what happens.

£14m quid on KP, Jay Dasilva and Kalas. £14m quid. Incredible. Bristol City - we get our VALUE ON THE PITCH.

Disagree. You can run around all day and have no influence, look like you are busy. Pato, whilst having all the ability to drive us on, was a ghost a lot of the time. ”Hiding” whilst looking busy is a common thing in football.

Phenomenal it is watching him. Literally cannot stay still and ticking for a dig all the time. I hope they are in infinite disarray but have to wonder what guys like Brett Pitman think of a time-bomb like this guy. I have played with, and for some head-cases and it was not always fun (was sometimes) but this clown is something else.

Unless I have missed it, everyone on here a bit sad that Pato has left and is doing ok at Swansea - but the real miss for us is Korey Smith. Incredible still how he left the club and the manner in which it happened. Paterson however, is realising some potential because he is in an environment where being a cheeky chappy and coasting is not enough and he has enough about him to apply himself and rejuvenate himself. Looks sharper and more focussed than he did at our (historically) cosy club. Do not look at him now and wonder why we let him go - different player now, thats our clubs fault and the culture that festered that is so hard to shake. He would never have been the player he is there; here; consistently.

Dasilva, Palmer and Wells could generate some funds and would see a lot of wage freed up. Would not bet against them having been identified as the ones to do this. Maybe we have decided to start preparing for them leaving early Jan and hopefully we have some targets lined up to at least re-balance the squad.

We have had a fortnight to invent a new formation that includes no full-backs, and no wing-backs. This is going to be interesting.

….. available as has left Villa with Smith.

In some dressing rooms I was in, I would have had to face the manager, then the captain, then the senior players, then the supporters, then after that, and worst of all, my old man, then look at myself in the mirror when all said and done. Makes you wonder what this lot actually care about.

What I find mad about all this (well put by the way), is all of the players in and around our club and our rivals know each other. Imagine being one of out lot, flicking through the TV with your family knowing that your peers think you are powder-puff. It would do my head in. I suppose £10-15k a week and a brainwashing from the club that you are a good player helps mind. Culturally weak, we have been for ages.

Pub league.

Nice ground, funny social media, good lads blah blah blah. We have forgotten what being a football club is actually all about. Worst thing is, we are actually now renowned for being soft. Rowett said it required a simple game plan to do us, Lyle Taylor grabbed the ball at 1-1 AWAY FROM HOME, in the last minute cause he sensed we were rocking, and now Coventry turn us over with a player less. I thought Pearson would be the grit through this club but I worry that his recurring illness has taken his drive and edge away, and we are left in no mans land as a shell of a club sleep-walking into league one. Lets hope there is another TC (god rest his soul) out there somewhere as unless this club finds its spite and character again we are going to need him. Properly fatigued with all this I am.