Yellow&Blue&Red

I can't remember after which match it was that Pearson moaned about our strikers failing to shoot. I think the improvement has a lot to do with that managerial and coaching clarity about what's expected. Ever since then it feels like he's just much more willing to pull the trigger. And is much more focused on getting into positions where he can shoot. And success has followed.

7 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Yes it does. Derby disappearing and having to climb their way back protects ALL the other EFL clubs from being in a similar mess in the future. And that's the EFL's role - to act on behalf of all their members.

It's not foolproof protection but it sends a message to owners, a mighty powerful one, that if they go rogue, they're putting their club's very existence at risk. That's the EFL protecting ALL of us, as best it can.

If the opposite happens, Derby "get away with it" and pay a pittance, a precedent is set that might just encourage more dodgy owners to act like Mel Morris - and as we've seen, that's no good for anyone.

And for the benefit of any visiting Derby fans, I have no beef with you or your club. Whatsoever. But I certainly do with the people who got you in this mess.       

I do see that and it's a fair point, but I don't think I agree because Mel Morris isn't getting the punishment. The regulation has now been tightened up and there are good proposals to tighten it up further so the chance of exactly this happening agains is less now than I think it was. But if someone was to do exactly what Mel Morris did and everything was the same again, then that dodgy **** wouldn't get punished either.

Also - as a side point, it's not the EFL's choice, it's HMRC. If you were to say the EFL punishment for Derby should be stronger - mandatory relegation instead of points for instance - I'd definitely agree with that. Can't say I'm happy with the possibility that they'll dig themselves out of trouble and keep their Championship place. That really would stink.

4 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

While I totally agree with your sentiment, Derby County should still be help accountable where the HMRC is concerned, even if it takes them years to pay it off. Letting them off the proceeds of sticking 2 fingers up at the tax man (which we would all love to do) is just wrong, the HMRC should not set a precedent IMHO, Derby should face that bill, in full or it cause them discomfort until it's settled.

Yep - completely agree.

It's really unfair that Derby are getting away without paying their full debts but forcing them to fail doesn't help anyone. This way HMRC get £xM tax back which would otherwise be lost. Wycombe and Middlesbrough get their claims adjudicated and possibly awarded damages (I really hope they do in Wycombe's case). And the club gets to live on. Mel Morris's crazy failed gamble shouldn't be at the cost of the whole club - all the people who work for it and all the people who support it. I know lots of the supporters were cheering him on, but it's him that's responsible, not them. Putting it out of business punishes people who weren't responsible, in the harshest possible way. Even if the supporters were responsible, forcing it out of existence isn't remotely proportionate!

Couldn't agree more. Looked determined to help the team and impress the boss. Looking to link play and get forward is standard for him. But he also chased and closed down well and even won an aerial duel which made me laugh.

I think he's running a lot faster than he was earlier in the season. 

1 hour ago, BTRFTG said:

Supporters Golden Shares are great in theory, but not if I'm the punter investing in the club. Why would I risk my investment if a bunch of potless herberts could scupper the way in which I desire to make the club a success?

Golden shares don't envisage anything particularly difficult for potential investors. As described in the report they would give fans the right to stop owners changing the name, the strip or the location of the club. If a new buyer isn't prepared to invest unless they can move the club... then they can do one as far as I'm concerned!

Isn't German football great? In some ways undoubtedly it is, but not according to the large clubs who bemoan such restriction prevents them from competing at the highest level of European competition.

Business which are regulated will always want less regulation, that's life, but there's no reason they should have what they want. And there's no reason why that regulation if well structured should prevent those businesses from succeeding. The UK financial services sector is both highly regulated and a global success.

Today fans WANT something they can't afford. No easy and quick solution to resolve that.

Regulation will close the gap between what fans want and what they can afford. The unregulated wild west of English football (not just English football!) is why we've had such crazy player wage inflation and why clubs keep over-spending and going bust. Good regulation will allow clubs to flourish

 

I don't think the fan led review is unrealistic or undesirable. Lack of regulation has brought us to where we are now with most clubs losing money and a steady trickle of clubs going bust. We're seeing potential political interference in the case of DCFC's administration because for very good reasons it's not politically easy to let clubs go bust. Instead of the politicians rushing in with barely thought through interventions at the last minute when things go wrong, as they surely will again and again, wouldn't it be better if we had a regulatory framework to reduce the likelihood of that happening in the first place?

Just cannot believe how badly this has been handled by the administrators. They've got a weak negotiating position and they've decided to take it public!

They've complained about how unfairly they're being treated by the EFL, by WW and MFC and all three have come out with well argued presentations of their positions. As a result - a direct result - of the administrators poorly thought through tactics, WW's and MFC's positions have strengthened. 

His shots per game looks like it's gone way up (I haven't checked). I think he's been a little overawed by the Championship and Pearson has told him in no uncertain terms that his job is to get through on goal and shoot. And now we're seeing the benefit.

Quantuma have really screwed this! By taking the debate public, they've invited MFC to rebut them in public. That PR from MFC looks more credible than any presentation I've seen before and undermines the arguments they've made to potential buyers (and their reputation with those buyers) that the claim has no merit. And makes a deal less likely.

The EFL's statement earlier makes clear that there are two serious bidders when Quantuma have said 3. Either one of them is only at a preliminary stage, or they're exagerating the level of interest. Either way, they're being caught-out in public and the price competition that they're trying to stimulate is further undermined.

Can anyone estimate the value of this work to Quantuma? Very roughly obviously. And I read - perhaps here - that other firms had turned the work down. Beyond reputational damage, is there some risk to Quantuma?

Lots of good ideas. Points deductions for PPs OR salary caps if properly implemented would both work to level the playing field. But I can't imagine either being successfully introduced whilst football is regulating itself. All of the solutions involve the richer clubs recognising the wider interests of football and football fans... which they're not going to do!

The Crouch Review recommends an independent regulator to ensure fairness and financial stability. And a golden share to protect fans' interests and to guarantee that clubs are treated like community assets. With those protections in place football will be in a much better place. Just don't expect representatives of big clubs to come out agreement! 

One thing's certain - we definitely play better when they're on the field.

I wondered earlier in the season whether Pearson had made pointed comments about players not giving it their all - I can't remember when or precisely what he said - in a game when Jay had seemed to me to be running much more slowly than he used to. It made me think that Jay might be protecting his injury (Jay's perspective) or nervous about trusting his body (Pearson's perspective) and whether this was frustrating to Pearson. I wonder whether the same might be happening with Atkinson.

The graphic is too low resolution on my phone so went here to see the original.

Bristol City had the 86th worst set of results in the top four divisions during 2021. Worst in the championship.

Emma Hayes was linked with Wimbledon job but I don't think that came from Wimbledon, I think that came from Emma Hayes' agent.

At the time that she said women's football wasn't a step down (what do you expect her to say, she's got to keep the respect of her players!) she also said that Wimbledon couldn't afford her. A couple of months later she signed a new contract with Chelsea. Looks to me like women managers can play the contract renegotiation game every bit as well as the men.

I'm pretty sure the Stoke fans were right the time they complained the most. His foot was well over.

Whilst points deductions are never ideal...

Some think the squad is so poor that the manager and coaches get a pass, that you can't polish a turd. I think there's blame to go around and that on field performances reflect badly on off field preparation. If the coaching hasn't been up to standard then for the younger players that will be hurting their development.

II'd take Vyner, Bakinson and Dasilva off that list.

6 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I suppose his assist for the winner on Saturday was “lumbering about ineffectively”?

The late winner at Peterborough? The goals in the wins at QPR & Reading? 
The goal line clearance on Saturday? The goal that should have got us 3 points on the opening day?

Chris Martin has played every game this season and you've mentioned ALL of his highlights in 3 short lines. Nearly all - he's got a second assist which I can't remember. Given he's played as a target man, who has the job of holding it up or knocking it down to set up the other strikers, the assist numbers are more disapointing than his goals. 

But my post wasn't really about his contribution, it was about who I'd prefer to watch. And I'd prefer to watch Palmer.

I keep reading here that the best we can hope for this year is mid table mediocrity but I've paid for entertainment and Palmer for all the frustration he brings, has a better chance of providing that. And a higher ceiling.

It's disappointing that KP hasn't realised his full potential. But he can be exciting and creative and if we're committed to paying millions for him over the coming years, we ought to be doing all we can to help him reach his potential.

I'd rather watch him giving it a go - and hopefully settling into some form - than watch Chris Martin lumbering about ineffectively. 

2 hours ago, marmite said:

Trouble is,  as has been stated on here, we don't play a style that would suit him.  We play long ball to Martin rather than play through midfield with runners up top , which would suit Palmers game more. I think we change our game to suit his style, which I would prefer to watch anyway , or we let him go. My money's on the latter.

I thought we did try to play more this way on Saturday. Wells was playing on the shoulder and got lots of off-side calls against him. And both our goals came from balls played through from midfield.

It's been so sudden at the bottom of L1. Nearly everyone's burst to life.  Rochdale have won 9 points in a week and Wigan and the Dons have both earned a quarter of our total points for the season in the last week and a half!

Perfect storm for Rovers who've responded by imploding. Exciting nail biting stuff for the rest of us.

My dodgy analysis suggests they're facing a struggle to survive.

Over the last 6 games their form has been the 22nd worst in the league. In 5 games they have left to play the teams they are facing are doing pretty well with an average position of 8th in the form table.

Wigan and Northants have got similarly difficult run ins, but have slightly better form themselves. Northants have 2 more points than them, and Wigan have got 1 game more left to play.

The truth is that it's super close and anything could happen, but based on form, they're in a tight spot.

1 minute ago, cidercity1987 said:

Fair play for contributing £££ to this site despite not being a City fan

I think it's an excellent forum and I look at it a lot. And I do follow City as well. So it's only fair.

13 hours ago, Red Army 75 said:

3 teams below the fewers all have games in hand. Wimbledon having 2. They don’t win tonight they are in deeeeep shit

We're playing very slightly better as well. And not too bad a run-in. I think we've got half a chance of getting ourselves out of the shit again. Unfortunately - for the Dons - I think Northampton are going to do better than the rest of the following pack and are more likely to pull themselves out of it. Whether one or, fingers crossed, both of us - Dons and Cobblers - get out of the relegation zone, it's obviously bad news for Rovers.

7 minutes ago, pillred said:

5599 new cases and 847 deaths so despite closing down almost everything socially and work related there is absolutely no sign of any slow down in the number of either. I don't know about you but I'm beginning to lose hope things will get better anytime soon, when are we going to see any benefit from the sacrifice we are all making?

Hey pillred - I know exactly what you mean. It feels bleak. But I think, hard as it is to believe, we're already seeing massive benefit from the lockdown. The numbers of deaths were doubling every 3 or 4 days not so long ago and that's stopped. On the 8th April there were were 938 UK coronavirus deaths. If the death rate had doubled even twice in the past 9 days since then - as it likely would have if we hadn't locked down - we'd be at nearly 4,000 deaths a day!! And still rising. Instead deaths per day is slowly, far far too slowly, drifting down.

Keep the faith mate - our sacrifice is working. (And I'm embarrassed at how little sacrifice I'm making when I say that, compared to others who have lost jobs or who are facing horrible risks on the front line of this battle.)