Silvio Dante

Yeah probably a 6 for me as well. On both the positive and negative side he didn’t really stay fully in position as RB - positive as at one point him and Sykes switched after he got caught further up and we didn’t lose any shape; negative as one point during the first half I think he forgot he was RB and ended up the other side of the pitch leaving a large gap. He’ll have harder games but initial signs overall good.

Incidentally, have you got a mattabooboo?

Good work from James on Twitter here, really shows Sykes’ impact:

Equally, I really thought Rushworth in goal for them was bad. I realise he’s supposed to be highly rated but he was dithering, handling was poor and didn’t fill me with any confidence. Really surprised me.

This. The fanbase aren’t half wits and most of the criticism of Sam (which I’ve given) has come some way after the game and hasn’t been “he was shit” but has been about specific areas where he’s fallen short. It’s a stone cold fact he played very well today (and as you say as part of a very good team performance) but it’s equally as true he’s been poor up to this point. The key is consistency, of sustained form. Nobodys happier than me (well maybe Mickey) when Sam plays as he did today but just as if Matty James has one poor game he’s not a bad player, for Sam to have an 8-9/10 game as he did today means nothing if he reverts to the 5/10 performances we’ve seen this season. And I’m confident Nige will be giving a similar message.

I’m beginning to like MacAnthony

Of the lack of spending the Scott money may just be a “siege mentality” between players and fans. That was fantastic today, the environment in the away end was superb and we could have had four in the first half. Running and work rate non stop across the team and if ever a win was deserved, it was today. Everyone earnt their money but special mention for the front six - Bell, who I’ve been critical of, was excellent, Wells leading the line but both pipped to MOM by Sykes. Midfield wise that’s as well as James and Williams have played this year and Knight is rapidly becoming a favourite. Just a fantastic day out. Loved it.

Fantastic story, featuring a young Carlo Cudicini. If anyone has not read the book can heartily recommend. Unlike going to Luton, which is an absolute shithole.

I can only assume the standby list includes 7,209,387 people. More seriously, he’s been poor this season. Nobody watching him would see an England age group player, but bear in mind Henderson gets picked for the seniors despite being in a pub league and Maguire/Phillips despite sitting on their arses. Nothing against him, but the evidence of my eyes suggests he’s lucky to be in the conversation to start in our side let alone be in the conversation for one of the best U21 attackers in the country.

This isn’t a HNM pop (good luck to him), but does anyone think Burnley are a bit of a basket case at the moment? They seen to have signed a lot of players of much of a muchness level and are weaker by far than last year. Yes, the promotion was built on loans some of whom won’t return but they’ve missed out on players like Tella who was available. You then get to game one and Kompany has signed shedloads of players meaning a top performer like Brownhill is benched. It feels to me like a manager trying to be too clever by half, and the three coming up also going down are now only threatened in my eyes by Everton and Wolves

Yes. And that is the reason for the malcontent both with Nige and the fans. We all accepted Alex being sold - we didnt like it but we understood it. Statements were given by the club (via Nige/Tins) that we expected to keep Scott or that we had a plan should he be sold. Clearly, that plan was not to sign nobody as far as the manager was concerned - and nor as far as the fans. I like to think I’m generally optimistic about the club. But there is a definite feeling that we’ve not been told the truth to (note - I don’t expect full disclosure but not total bullshit) and it appears the same holds for Nige. I’d reiterate that he’s done everything asked of him, and although this may be his last job (he’s got wider interests than football), if he left his stock would be undiminished if not enhanced. I don’t think for one second - and I don’t think anybody does - that Nige expected the full £25m and then to go and sign players at £5m plus. He’s been vocal about not disproportionately impacting the wage bill and it’d have been contrary to how he’s operated. To give him practically nothing though having lost his best player is beyond the pale. I’m definitely at a point where I think SL needs to sell up (I know he’s been “trying”) - but if he’s waiting to give the next manager cash, he then needs to bite the bullet and sack Nige now. Wrong decision if so, but the toxicity of this situation - caused by what appears to be the chairman’s dishonesty - is untenable.

Meanwhile, here’s Steve Lansdown as Logan Roy giving his response to Nige asking for some of the Scott money:

Again, I’d like to see 3-5-2 - and I don’t think we will - but if we did I’d go O’Leary Vyner-Dickie-Naismith Sykes-Williams-James-Pring Knight Wells-Cornick (NB - that front line I’m not 100% on but I’d like them to be able to bring people into the game) I think we’ll stay 4-3-3. With doing that, I’d probably do something a touch controversial and play: O’Leary TGH - Vyner - Dickie - Roberts Naismith-James-Knight Sykes-Wells-Pring I genuinely don’t think Bell or Mehmeti have done enough to warrant starts. Pring is nominally in the front 3 due to that but it’s very much an interchange between him and Roberts. Either way, I think by default the following get in the side either way: MO/ZV/RD/CP/MJ/KN/MS/JK/NW Then it’s just who the other 2 are and how we set up

Well I for one am grateful that someone has brought this subject up to allow it to be a topic of discussion. I can’t recall any threads that looked at SLs stewardship and funding of the club/players in the last 24 hours. Bravo!

Won’t be a while unless we go up. Who knows, Rovers may use “a Kalas” as a way to mock our lack of spending..!

“Stevie, Stevie We don’t need to escalate Johnsons not the answer All you do is employ your mate You know we’ve got to find a way To spend some money here today The FFP (brother) won’t block our way Don’t punish me with Little Lee Talk to me And tell City Whats Goin on (What’s going on) Whats Goin on (What’s going on)”

That actually, for once in these leaving messages, comes across as pretty genuine and heartfelt. I may be being naive here, obviously - and we know that had we stumped up more cash he’d have stayed, but definitely one player who I’ve got time for.

Correct - and a couple of semi anecdotal aspects here. Kalas was offered a deal and didn’t take it, moving to a Bundesliga 2 side in preference (albeit a big one). I’d be confident that the top section of our division pay in line with Shalke. Vyner is holding out on a new deal that’s been on the table and Swansea are supposed to be in. I don’t see any way that they’re top 6-8 payers even with the Piroe money (we’re not with the Scott money after all), and if they can do a deal and we can’t it indicates we pay less. The base makeup of the squad suggests a bottom third budget based on acquisition (if not ability). That we were middle third last season and hoped for more this while NP has sold key assets shows to me the job he’s done

The irony of someone bringing up the “five pillars” is that they weren’t inherently a bad thing - and Nige has delivered on them more than any other manager since their inception (on the ones he can impact). IIRC the pillars were: - Investment in the academy and production of home grown players Big tick in the box for Nige for facilitating the pathway - Community Engagement Not necessarily NPs remit but club do well here - think of the donation of food etc - Improved stadium facilities Not in NPs control - achieved - Signing players under 24 primarily achieved - Operating sensibly financially As the figures prove, NP has achieved this absolutely So, he’s done everything that the only coherent strategy SL has espoused has demanded. What more can he do and what more can SL want?

Indeed. There are 4.9 billion people worldwide under 35. 99% of those are foreign. I don’t fancy working through a shortlist of 4.9 billion people.

I know the guy he’s having a set to with. Big Yate fan. Tooze started on the bench today but did nowt when he came on, bit of moaning at the ref aside. No excuse to abuse him if it was that but he looks, as most of the side do, to be below par currently

This is true. Nobody can deny that KP looked great behind Benik, but if a pro footballer looks good only if he plays with one or two other players it’s far more likely to be the other player making him look good, as opposed to the player being great in and of himself. KP showed nothing in his loan spell to suggest we should have bought him - I think he was a far worse deal than DaSilva or Kalas, both of whom gave us good service, but that was clear when we had Paterson and Szmodics when he signed - there was literally no need for the buy.

Watching BMF against Yate today, can’t shake the feeling that Yate are in trouble. I expect Manor Farm to be one of the weaker sides at that level, but they bullied Yate early doors - great finish by Grubb. Yate got back into it with a pen that looked debatable but created the square root of nothing. What was more disturbing was the fact that Yate seemed to have no gameplan and frequently didn’t do the basics - every corner was long as they didn’t account for the slope, nobody seemed to want to be an option, the pace was slow and within a two minute period the team tried to let Lewis (on the left) and Tooze (on the right) beat three men alone with no support. They feel like a very badly coached side at the moment, and the fact Sainsbury was MoM tells its own story. Pretty much directionless, tactically not there and lacking effort. Those things tend to lead to a managerial change sooner rather than later.

Thinking of heading to BMF for the game today against Yate - anyone have any idea what parkings like?

What’s even worse is Rovers celebrated the beating of a team that had lost every other game bar one by issuing a commemorative mug to mark the occasion. I shit you not.