Leveller

Indeed. The much discussed improvement (above) about the rise from 18th to 8th doesn’t bear much scrutiny really. NP has done good job, but I don’t think he’s the saintly miracle worker some are portraying him as.

He was talking about getting cold feet at the thought of letting NP go, I believe, not keeping him.

It seems to me that NP is being media savvy here isn’t he? I believe it’s six months until his contract is up, so would it be normal to have an offer on the table this far ahead? He’s certainly stirred up a lot of support when he could just have kept his communications private. And there is a lot of talk about Lansdown not really wanting him, or wanting to keep him, without much tangible evidence that I can see. Lansdown obviously appointed him, and one thing you can say in favour of this regime is that they tend to give managers time, far more than many clubs do. There is a huge tendency on here to take sides and want to treat every individual as either a hero or a villain. Perhaps it should be more nuanced.

Yes, on an iPhone - it’s never happened before.

Rooney incoming now confirmed.

Well you never know. Apparently anybody can change gender now, and it’s easier to change nationality than gender!

I’m not his biggest fan, but it makes me laugh when a guy who was widely insulted as being dim has ended up worth so much! Where did it all go wrong?

The original is actually a poem by Longfellow: “When she was good she was very good indeed But when she was bad she was horrid “ (a little girl with a curl on her forehead, pronounced forrid). I think Mae West misquoted that as “and when I’m bad I’m better”.

Taunton Town top of NLS - no doubt temporarily - as they managed a win while others were engaged in cup ties. Still notable though, as they are keeping up with Bath and Yeovil.

My first match there was the 1972 FA Cup final - Leeds beat Arsenal 1-0.

Larry Grayson. Sorry, Simon Grayson.

I can genuinely claim never to have played any sort of football computer game on any sort of electronic device. So there.

I would argue that it’s no more likely to backfire than a straightforward penalty. The element of surprise is the biggest advantage though. The defenders tend to switch off.

I think points deductions are perfectly fair. You don’t see fans complaining about the success that reckless overspending can generate. Points deductions simply counter the unfair advantage that club owners seek to gain.

Promotion run? In the five seasons since being relegated to the Championship, they haven’t finished in the top half. That’s the issue. Despite having rich owners, they’re not competitive and are showing no signs of improvement. You can’t live on past glories forever.

The parallels with OTIB debates about the Lansdowns are very clear. Wealthy local owners, well intentioned, spend money on the club, yet the recent track record is abysmal. The choice of managers - a succession of cautious British ones - seems to be the heart of the complaints. Familiar?

Their forum (Oatcake) at the moment is an interesting read. The feeling against both Neil and the Coates is very strong. You sense it is a good time to play them. Famous last words. Let’s hope he isn’t sacked tomorrow.

Much better, surely, to pass diagonally forward to the right, then shoot diagonally to the left, as the keeper will probably have moved to the right.

A terrible miss but the theory is fine. Surprised it’s not done more often.

Pretty sure he’ll be a first choice replacement for Bell when we are in need of an attacking sub, not managing a lead.

To be fair, they all acknowledged how bad they had been too.

I couldn’t get in to OTIB - but just reverted to my normal practice after a win, ie reading the opposition forum and the neutral reports via Newsnow. I avoid those when we lose!

To be fair, we could have had six and their one came out of the blue. So far, it’s more one sided than the Oxford cup game. Genuinely.

Love Parga!