GrahamC

Certainly presenting us with a dilemma. Expect as he’s the only player left not to leave or renew his contract since prior to the pandemic he’s at the very top of our remaining earners now. After a horrendous first season & not great second one in terms of his availability he managed 33/46 games last season & has done 20/25 this. His recent form has been excellent & earlier in the season (outstanding at Swansea) he’s played very well too. Not a clear cut decision either way, at 27 he’s at his peak but I doubt we are interested in offering him even his current wages & that is if we decide to offer anything at all. Certainly expect either him or James to depart next summer, alongside King, but it could conceivably be all 3.

Didn’t happen. No Wycombe goalie has scored against us.

He’s actually both.

He seemed to think West Ham wasn’t beyond the bounds of possibility when asked on Robins TV, so think he’ll definitely make the squad for Preston. James for Williams & Conway for Wells seem the likely changes on New Year’s Day.

There was another one on Gaschat suggesting the replacement stand for the North Stand should cost £10m. Where the **** do they think they are getting that? The one they started without planning permission is basically Meccano & was probably less than a tenth of that.

Raith are top, Arbroath just one from the bottom. Arbroath only named 4 subs, one of whom Ali Adams is their sub goalie. After an early injury meant they had made one sub, they then made a double sub at HT. On 58 minutes with Arbroath 1-0 down they lost another player to injury so the sub keeper Adams has had to come on, they stuck him up front & within 3 minutes were 2-0 down. He then proceeded to score from 30 yards & 5 minutes later Arbroath converted a penalty to make it 2-2, which is how it has just finished.

Just come on as a sub for his debut at Barnet.

I assume you mean Emerald as opposed to Channel?

Why the **** would we loan out Bell? He’s featured in every single game so far. Manning made it very clear this week another goalkeeper is not a priority for him so Bajic has to stay as our second choice. Roberts certainly won’t leave on loan & as he’s currently injured I doubt he’ll leave at all. Pring has a very heavy workload so if he can get fit then he’s his cover. There is no incentive for King to accept less than the rest of his contract unless he has something lined up elsewhere so that’s simply wishful thinking. Cornick too, there has to be a buyer & he has to be prepared to go. I do think Manning is looking to ease him out but it isn’t that simple. We won’t be adding either a goalkeeper or a striker this month, probably a 10, possibly a midfielder, especially if the Conor Coventry rumour has legs.

Certainly agree with Robertson, seen nothing from him so far. Might as well not exist. Some of the other stuff is insane (Vyner replacement, who? Van Dijk?). Bajic has been our back up goalkeeper for the last 23 games, strange definition of pointless, shouldn’t we have one?

The logic of this appears to be we’ve beaten the best sides in League One recently, when did you last beat the best sides in the Championship? You don’t have to be a genius to see the flaw do you, ask Sheffield Wednesday 96 points in that league or Plymouth (101) about the step up, it’s effing brutal. I do know about Ipswich but they are a massive outlier, most seasons 2 go back down to League One or are in real danger of doing so. It would be like us comparing ourselves to Crystal Palace, deluded.

Only big win was very very early under Pearson in the pandemic era, 3-0 & Semenyo scored by charging down the keeper. No one was actually there to see it, sadly. People go on about Preston but Birmingham are our real bogey team, won at AG loads & we don’t win up there much either. On Robins TV they said we have won 4 of our last 25 against them.

Agree. Problem is the 4 replacements to get us up are Ramsdale, Trippier, McGinn & Heung-Min Son.

One of the poorer sides we have faced. Terrible pitch & awful home support, shame it was the third game in a short spell I’d have fancied our chances in a regular Tuesday, Saturday run. On that evidence their season is going to be all about survival. Where’s Tom Brady now, eh? USA! USA! Rubbish.

McCrorie on Robins TV said he was signed to play as a right back & that’s his best position. Said he “could” play centre back, but clearly sees himself as a defender & predominantly a RB.

Far be it from me to agree with him, but no one wins every week.

Poor game, we never got going but another point on the board. Our record there is pretty awful & couldn’t really understand the “4 on the trot coming up” nonsense. Dragged us down to their level.

Sorry, thought you meant away.

Didn’t follow him to Fleetwood, Darren Way joined LJ as assistant. Bloke needs to work but having played for us, been a coach for several years & lived this way for a long time I reckon it will seem odd at first.

Yep, huge Burnley fan- was definitely at AG last season. The other one he claims Blair suggested was a Rangers Celtic game played in Belfast with each team wearing the other ones kit. Mental (he says he told Blair that, too).

Nope. Lost 2-1 in 1990, we didn’t play there again until 1993, when we won 1-0. Hadn’t won there 2-0 since until last season.

There’s a lot of this in the comments section about Jamie Mac joining them. Possibly fuelled by the idiot who reports on them claiming “something special” is happening. Drawing at home to Cheltenham, then well beaten at Blackpool, that really is special. Seem not to have noticed either that we are currently just outside the playoff places so at the very worst we are going to be a Championship club again in 24/25. Strange definition therefore of becoming Bristol’s premier club. Stupid lot, aren’t they?

Think tonight effectively counts as the Saturday programme brought forward a day because of how Xmas & New Year’s Day fall.

Pretty sure Alistair Campbell has told this story before, think it was a part of trying to get the Good Friday Agreement through. In Campbell’s version he tells him very quickly that it is a ridiculous idea, but who knows if that is true? Brown & John Major are clearly the only PMs since Harold Wilson who were also real football fans, Brown wrote a brilliant article on Raith Rovers (he’s a shareholder, was a programme seller as a kid) recently & although much more of a cricket fan, Major is a Chelsea supporter of longstanding who doesn’t feel the need to keep mentioning it.

Suppose it depends on whether it was your team (like in the case of Gary Mabbutt) who had a fractured eye socket as a result of a deliberate Fashanu elbow or a broken leg as a result of a Vinnie Jones “tackle”. Ended at least two players careers with their version of football, Gary Stevens of Spurs (an actual footballer) was one. They were thugs & played a style of football that resulted in 4000 people watching home games in the Prem. Vile side, Francis then followed their template at Twerton.