ExiledAjax

Suspect both would try and sell it as a 3412, but it's two sides of the same coin. As I said earlier. I predict a lot of long balls as both teams that and bypass midfield.

Best of luck to the guy. Hopefully this means a few more apps on OSIB? He's excellent in there in my opinion.

Looks like Chong and Pedersen are both still out for Brum so I think McGree is expected to start again, suggesting that Bowyer will stick with the line up and formation he used against Boro. I suspect therefore that Pearson might go with 3 at the back to counter the triumvirate of McGree, Deeney and Hogan. Our full backs v their fullbacks and then who knows what happens in the midfield - I suspect both teams might just try and bypass that mess with long balls.

Not sure exactly how it works in Switzerland but if found guilty and sentenced to custodial time...well I'd imagine Blatter would avoid prison on health grounds. He's had heart surgery and an induced coma recently so at 85 isn't going to be put into gen-pop.

No, to do with the presidential elections. Washington Post reports: The case centers on Platini’s written request to FIFA in January 2011 to be paid backdated additional salary for working as a presidential adviser in Blatter’s first term, from 1998-2002. Blatter authorized FIFA to make the payment within weeks. He was preparing to campaign for re-election in a contest against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, where Platini’s influence with European voters was a key factor. ... Both Blatter and Platini have long denied wrongdoing and cited a verbal agreement they had made, now more than 20 years ago, for the money to be paid. Blatter has been charged with fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation of FIFA funds and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, forgery and as an accomplice to Blatter’s alleged mismanagement. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/sepp-blatter-platini-indicted-for-fraud-in-switzerland/2021/11/02/4534ef22-3be6-11ec-bd6f-da376f47304e_story.html

Ah the BCFC derby. Don't have much hope tonight if I am honest. a win is possible, but I'd hesitate to say it is likely. I think we're going to see a game similar to Forest at home, although probably a fair bit uglier. This is two fairly closely matched teams, who both like a bit of long ball stuff where mistakes are key and we end in a draw or a low scoring win for either side. Bentley will likely be busier than Sarkic, and our left side is going to be tested...potentially to breaking point. I don't think we are expecting any changes or returns to fitness from Saturday, so an unnamed XI is distinctly possible, even if we should surely be resting Martin.

Computers are magic aren't they. cheers.

https://theathletic.com/2918911/2021/10/29/mo-and-abo-eisa-from-sudan-to-the-english-football-league/ This is pretty pikey of me, but does anyone have a subscription, and would then mind doing the old Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V on this article? No idea if Mo talks about his time with us, but it would be interesting to read nonetheless.

He always did flatter to deceive IMO. Signed as the player who could perhaps add "that little bit of magic" to LJ's swarm of "busy bees". But he's never settled. Effectively he has signed for us 3 times, and on each occasion his attacking prowess and hunger for goals has been touted as the key to unblocking the team's potential. 3 times, under 3 different managers, it has failed to materialise.

Yeh, just listened. To be fair I think there is a little more realism around, especially from the manager and the fans. Perhaps the best part of a year of pretty poor football has ground people down. I just felt there were so many similarities between this and the Huddersfield game that is was worth noting.

Nuno was what, 18th choice in the summer? It's not much of a surprise he's not gelled with the club and players.

I've taken some time to let the win settle in, and have reflected on it today. Honestly it just reminds me ever so much of the Huddersfield home game towards the end of Holden's time, in January 2021. We'd lost 5 of the previous 7, including losses to Rotherham, Luton, and the limp 2-0 away loss to Norwich. Huddersfield laid siege to our goal, 27 shots to our 4. xG of 2.6 to our 0.5. It was a brutal watch and we won thanks to a quickfire first half brace from our striker (Diedhiou in that case). Huddersfield hit the woodwork several times, and we rode our luck, just as we did yesterday. At the time there was jubilation from some, and claims of a dramatic corner being turned. I counseled caution and restraint, as the win had been very poor. We then lost our next 5 games, and Holden went. I get that I'm being a slight party-pooper in this post, and I am not saying that I think or hope we will repeat that 5 game streak. I'm not even saying the games themselves were similar. However the context, the reactions, and the general themes are similar. Hence I feel there are more cracks being papered than corners turned.

More of the latter imo, but sometimes you have to paper over a crack whilst you figure out a long term fix.

Yeh, I'm not sure my wording accurately encapsulates the role of the fan/customer in a modern club. But I do think that fans are rhe 5th element. In order to be able to give honest and passionate support, both financially and emotionally, fans do also need to buy into the style of football, and style of Club, that the owners want. They can't do that without being given the information they need to allow an understanding of the methods used and the style aimed for.

Is there not a 5th piece - the Fans. "The Fans should be informed in an honest and appropriate level, in order that they may understand the realistic aspirations of the Club, and the limitations that the Owners, Board, Coaches and Players have."

If they wanted to sure. But they could wear their away kit there, and then the third kit against red teams. If they want to a) give all 3 kits some airtime to boost sales, and b) want to be considerate to all of their fans, then they should just give a little more thought to which game they use each kit in. That is all I am asking.

Yeh that is actually more my concern. This particular shade of green shouldn't be too much of a blend with our red. Someone with very severe red colour blindness might struggle, but most will be OK. However, I think we might see complaints from normal sighted people instead. I don't want them to change a whole kit half way through a season. I It's more about clubs choosing which match to use the green one in. For example Barnsley could wear that green kit at Fulham, PNE, Derby etc, and wear their white 3rd shirt with the green shorts and socks when they play us.

Stoke's away kit is light green and they have no third kit. So more joy to come in a couple of games time!

Yes, thanks for asking @Dredd. Honestly, for me it wasn't as awful as I feared. I watched on RobinsTV and it was bad, but the shorts and clear weather helped a bit. It's worst at corners etc, so those second half goal mouth scrambles were tricky. Not awful, but pretty bad. Some will have found it impossible though.

Have a bottle of Bollinger I've been keeping for a while...yeh maybe that.

Just runs around a lot really.

??? That was a ridiculous game.

? Now Weimann...there's a man who can turn a game!

Agreed. He couldn't even turn his bed down let alone turn a game.

Excellent. Now build.