tin

For SL to criticise the snake would mean him admitting to his own failures, and his ego would never allow him to do that. It says plenty about his judgement and reinforces my own opinions of SL — egotistical, neglectful, deluded, incompetent.

I doubt he will, seeing as SL has never criticised the snake for the way he behaved down here. If I was in SL’s shoes and was actively planning to sell the club, I’d be fuming if my CEO led the takeover of another club all while allowing costs to spiral out of control under his watch.

RE stability — bear in mind, Rennie, Fleming, Euell, King and James - all key individuals with top-flight (and in some cases PL- winning) experience are all here because of Nige and will likely leave. Bear in mind Tinnion is the only man with any football experience above the manager. There is nothing stable about that, it looks like a rudderless ship IMO and has the real potential to create a vacuum. This has real potential to create avoidable upheaval — the polar opposite of stability — that risks our status in this league. RE culture — again, that ties in my first point. When Rennie, Fleming and Euell go, followed by King and James next summer, the individuals who were setting the standards of the club will have left. It takes longer than two-and-a-half years to embed culture into the “fabric” of a club, see Sir Alex Ferguson for example. In any case, culture begins at the very top and transcends down. Not here, though, not in the last two decades at least. And ultimately, we have never had a succession plan under the Lansdowns; instead we have leapt from one failed strategy to another. There is a body of evidence spanning 20+ years to show you that it will almost certainly be no different this time around.

We all know SL loves a lap dog manager or head coach who is happy to toe the line and publicly blow smoke up his ass. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s a desirable trait at the interview stages for most employees working in or around the boardroom. The irony is IMO that’s what had created this cosy, soft touch culture which attracted bullshitting, lazy wasters; the sort of culture Nige was hired in part to break up and make more hungry and professional. We were in dire need of an experienced football manager since Cotts left, either that or a sound structure working to clearly defined plan above the manager. I just can’t get my head around the Lansdown’s thought processes at all. So what if they clash with Nige? That’s healthy. And I don’t believe for a second that Hargreaves ever gave SL a free ride in making their billions. They are clueless and delusional in equal measure IMO, and have been for a while now.

What’s my choice? Seeing the Lansdowns hung up by their bootstraps for a public flogging.

Funny you say that, Waconda, because that’s near enough exactly what LJ did to earn a new three-year deal in the expert eyes of SL!

Naismith, Cornick, and Lansdown’s obsession with Luton, it has to Jones, doesn’t it? Stone me.

Exactly this. Not spending a penny of the Scott cash, especially after sailing so close to failing FFP, highlighted to many that Nige is doing the job with his hands tied behind his back. Mix that with more on-the-pitch progress and I think most fans can see we’re finally moving in the right direction after watching years of dross, ultimately caused by SL. After all, he’s the one who brought Ashton in and gave him the keys to the kingdom.

It’s would also be self-destructive and contradictory if SL continues to talk about the desire of getting to the PL. I know that’s a load of bollocks, mind. At the very least, a 12-month rolling contract should be on the table and I completely understand why Nige is irritated by it all.

While I agree with a lot of what you say in general , I don’t agree at all that “it matters not if it’s Pearson or another in the dugout” right now. He is the face of the club, the communicator, the man responsible for bringing through youth, setting the culture, building an identity, reducing costs and has us 8th in the second tier. That’s an unbelievable achievement IMO. I think the situation is so volatile that should he leave, it would create a huge vacuum behind him. There’s no board, most of the coaching staff are here because of him (and would follow him out the door), we have a small and injury-hit squad, and I could only see us capitulating in all probability. When you factor in SL’s track record of appointing managers over more than two decades, and it doesn’t take Einstein to see what’s coming.

Forgot about that but you’re absolutely right. SL rewarded inexperience and bullshit, but ignores experience and progress. That tells us all what he knows about football - **** all. All aboard the Marie Celeste? No thanks, Steve. Close the door on the way out.

**** off, Lansdown

Sign of a good team, that, playing badly and winning. Especially when you consider we had multiple (nine?) first-teamers out today and SL refused to spend a single penny of the Scott cash.

What a player, what a man. A real legend.

Got to be Max; TGH, Dickie, Pring, Roberts; King, James; Sykes, Weimann, Bell; Conway. Probably the best XI we can field given the injuries and the stupidly thin squad. Thanks, SL.

Woody’s bowling like a drain here.

Usually is a belting pitch in Mumbai and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re chasing around 350. I like the early look of Atkinson. Good pace, good repetitive bowling action; looks a Test bowler.

Christmas Eve Eve, aka the 23rd

Grimsby away on the opening day of the season, wasn’t it? I was there and remember him scoring from outside the box for probably the only time in his City career. Pretty sure he clashed heads with Mark Lever, who joined us not long after.

£30m* was made by football; and he said what football makes, football can spend. At no point have I asked or inferred he should spend “all his own money”. It’s not outrageous to expect him to stick to his word. *£30m is a ball-park figure following the sales of Semenyo (£10m) and Scott (£25m), minus around £5m-£6m spent in 2023.

Yep. Never mind, as long as Steve’s got his £30m nest egg

Assuming Knight and Naismith join Tanner and Wells is missing this, we’re likely to go: O’Leary; Gardner-Hickman, Dickie, Roberts, Pring; James, Williams; Sykes, Weimann, Bell, Cornick. Not the most creative XI and a point looks like it might be a good result IMO.

Have a read of Aggers’ latest column, in which he sums up my thoughts on Woakes right now (in this format and in India) better than I did. One nugget: Woakes has bowled 11 overs in powerplays so far - two of those games were against Bangladesh and Afghanistan - and taken 1-95

As I said, I’m not scapegoating Woakes; I like him, particularly in home conditions. But I can’t have him in India in any format and as well as seeing him struggle out there with my own eyes, here is why: And my wider point is backed up here, but it’s up to you how you interpret facts and I won’t lose any sleep over it.

Woakes ODIs abroad: 82 wickets at 31; averaging 22 with the bat. Woakes ODIs neutral venues outside of England: 14 wickets at 39, averaging 24 with the bat. Woakes ODIs in England: 69 wickets at 28; averaging 26 with the bat. Woakes ODIs in India: 10 wickets at 42; averaging 10 with the bat. So clearly he performs better on home soil but his record in India in particular is dire. As I said, cannon fodder (even against the likes of Afghanistan). https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/247235.html?class=2;home_or_away=1;home_or_away=2;home_or_away=3;template=results;type=allround