PHILINFRANCE

No he didn’t. Reece James was loaned from Chelsea to Wigan, and was magnificent against City. He did loan Harry Wilson, though.

Whilst, for various reasons, I wouldn't be averse or even disappointed were Frank Lampard to be appointed, I do question whether he would be 'allowed' to bring in the loans he appeared to have used to develop Derby in to what was, to be fair, a very attractive team. I am sceptical as to whether FL, with no loans and only a very limited transfer kitty in January, would be able to progress us as much as we need.

Actually, so would I. I saw a headline in Bristol Live a few days ago, suggesting that City were interested in Steve C (extremely unlikely, for me) and the ex-Southampton manager. Whoopee, I thought, only to discover they were talking about Nathan Jones .

I have seen this, but have not mentioned it as I believe BT should be judged on what he brings to the footballing side of the club rather than his academic ability or lack thereof. Nevertheless, I should have thought that someone within the Club's hierarchy might have brought it to his attention, although, judging by the standard of their own site, perhaps they just hadn't noticed. Brian Tinnion - Tecknical Director Bristol City Fc I was a proffesional footballer for 20 years and played 767 professional games. Starting at Newcasle United then Bradford City then Bristol City were I played 551 games worked as a coach then managed the 1st team. I've now been at Bristol City as Director of Youth Recruitment for a year having returned from Spain last May, In Spain I scouted for Everton for 5 years watching la Liga and championship games in Spain and also ran an Academy over there with 10 teams in Spanish leagues with a mix of both spainish and English players from 8 to 19.

Probably difficult for young men to look after themselves away from the comforts of their home life and routine.

Something on field or off field?

Hi, Happy to help if I can. When you say family, how many of you and what sort of ages? What sort of budget? The Marais is great for wandering around and also for eating and drinking, but probably not the place to stay with a young family. Paris is quite small when it comes to walking to the various tourist attractions (compared to London, for example) but, again, it depends on the ages - the Métro system is also efficient and reasonably priced.

It’s a shame that he has just signed for Birmingham, as Wayne Rooney plays exactly the type of football you describe….

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Bloom_(musician)#:~:text=Benjamin Bloom (born Benjamin David,does match reviews and podcasts.

I thought initially you were referring to Gareth Ainsworth, but, Yes, as I discovered when I looked him up. A pianist, singer and songwriter in the former band Rosalita. I have never heard of them, but quite impressive nevertheless.

Hmmm. Perhaps I should have known better than to doubt the esteemed Benjamin Bloom's deep and extensive knowledge of EFL football and, moreover, should have checked my own facts before questioning his presentation . In my (weak) defence, I had forgotten NP's original, short term contract whilst he was recovering from COVID and trying to determine whether he was up for the job (he most certainly was). Incidentally @Davefevs, he was born Benjamin Groom - Yes, I had to look it up.

Next week, of course, we are home to Sheffield Wednesday, bottom of the table with just a single win (today) all season, so a perfect introduction for a new manager. Of course, I am sure NP would have welcomed this match, plus the following Saturday away to QPR, to try realistically for six points prior to the next international break, when some of his injured players might have been expected to return. Instead, this 'golden opportunity' will no doubt be a tempting invitation to the next incumbent, who can take all the praise.

It was, and, as is usually the case with Benjamin Bloom (is that his real name, by the way), well presented. Being slightly pedantic, however, there was one small detail on which I would pick him up; he mentioned NP's contract extensions. Unless I am mistaken, NP signed a one off contract that was due to expire at the end of this season - there were no contract extensions as far as I am aware.

So, England restrict India to 230 and still manage to lose by 100 runs. Suddenly, England's match against The Netherlands becomes extremely important as, should they lose, they will most likely not be going to the 2025 World Cup.

I saw this on one of Rovers' forums, which I thought was quite amusing. Saw Ainsworth in the Thatchers bogs fishing for dog ends, in the urinals, could be worth a punt.

Luckily, I don’t have Twitter, nor, for that matter, Facebook, Instagram or any of the myriad of social media sites available.

As you say, Ainsworth does come across as a nice character, but, footballing reasons aside, I suspect that, due to his long hair and Rock and Roll extracurricular lifestyle, he would be a complete nonstarter as far as SL is concerned.

On a more serious note, I have heard of Telegram (or is it Telegraph?) that is used by ‘dodgy characters’ with things to hide, but are you suggesting there are sites specialising in gory accidents and the like?

You mean like GasChat?

I’m just reading on Cricinfo, which is normally very reliable, that qualification for the 2025 World Cup is based on the finishing positions in this tournament - the top seven plus Pakistan, as hosts. England had better buck up their ideas in the next week or so, or any discussion about poor preparation and the negative effects of the 100 will be largely academic. Today’s match against India appears to be slipping away slightly after an encouraging start - Liam Livingston starring again.

I’m not asking for a link, but how on earth did you manage to watch it? I mean, surely it wasn’t shown live and, even if the original incident itself was shown, surely the screen then showed something else. Please don’t tell me it’s available on some highlights show. I’m baffled.

They want to fight, they just don't want to risk losing. Based on tonight's performance, I suspect Fury would be wary of fighting Usyk, even though he was spouting off about December - to which Usyk agreed. As you say, though, Usyk is the only one prepared to take a chance and, unless Fury can get himself in to shape - I thought he looked out of condition tonight - I can't see the fight going ahead.

If at all. Only last week, Fury was proposing 22 or 23 December, but I suspect that was just his usual BS.

I wonder what Usyk is thinking. Probably what excuse Fury is going to come up with to avoid fighting him in December. We'll see.

Travesty. Not bad for a table tennis player.