IAmNick

Penalty call: https://streamja.com/AKXRr Cov goal: https://streamja.com/LVXaA

Penalty call: https://streamja.com/kqG5b City goal (Martin): https://streamja.com/GAQOO COYR!!

PHWOAR

These big balls out to Maatsen and Dabo need dealing with

I actually think we've started OK today

Replay of the O'Dowda incident: https://streamja.com/6WJ3m

We're 3 minutes in ffs

Pretty sure I remember in an interview before someone saying he puts himself about up at Failand as well, and especially lets the new guys know what he's about. If 21 year old Tanner in his first season here can do it why can't most of the rest? It's not just about being strong or big, it's about fully committing when you do do something. Doesn't even have to be in a challenge - Kalas'(?) 2 footed karate clearance the other day would put a message across as much as him going through someone. Would love to see a bit more of that in the first 5-10m every game. Get stuck in to O'Hare early on today.

The thing is this recent period, and Gary's in the Championship before it (so 2008 onwards) have been more successful than about 30 years before it. We actually had better finishes last time we were in the Championship (4th, 10th, 10th) compared to this time (only one top 10 finish). It doesn't really feel good, let alone exciting though because of our "slow and steady" approach where 1 position further up the table is a pat on the back. It never feels like we're pushing on, driving for promotion, and going for it... we just bumble around in a reasonable area and hope we squeeze over the line (and inevitably don't). It's football, give me the boom and bust of Hull/Cardiff/Swansea any day imo. I'd rather be having an extra few pints in celebration, then crying into them 2 years later than having one to numb me before every game for about 10 years on the trot.

I agree, same as (on a bigger scale) Bezos with his space flight, Gates with malaria, Musk with going to Mars, and so on. He'll make it back, but I don't think that's why he did it. If he could have a legacy and lose money in the process, he'd take that in a shot over a failed legacy but topping up his bank balance even more.

I don't think it'd be win/win for him getting his money back or even profit at all personally. People like him (billionaires) are proud, and have more money than they know what to do with. Imo as they get older they usually move on to satisfying their ego (aka dick waving). I don't think they buy clubs because they want to make money, it's because they want to be able to say they own a premiership club or whatever when they're brushing shoulders with other people in their social class at some wanky dinner or whatever. Same as the ones who own an F1 team, or the largest yachts in the world, fire one of their cars towards mars, take a space flight, eradicate a disease... whatever. If Lansdown sells up (and he may well do) after 25 years with us still scrubbing around in the champ/L1 and £150m spent with his name on a stand it'll be a massive bruise to his ego imo. It's a very public failure for someone who isn't used to failing in his life.

I like Jay, and think he's a good player. Not as good this season as he has been in the past I'll accept. I don't think we're playing a good game for him, as @grifty mentioned above. Technically I think he's excellent. With the ball at his feet in a tight space he does some great things and is one of the best in the squad, often beating one or even two players - even in a dangerous area. His height is an issue, but not an insurmountable one imo. I think he wants the ball, to play a short one two up the line or into midfield, receive in a small space and work his way past someone etc. which just isn't what we're even trying to do at the moment. I don't think he's as interested in sprinting up the line to take a high ball down which was pumped up from the back, or smash one up the line for the guy in front of him to run onto. As @Davefevs said above too, it's easy to forget how young he is as we've seen so much of him. Same age as Pring, Bakinson, Atkinson, Cundy etc. so while he has a lot more experience (and should be judged as such) he's also not the finished article by any means. I'd be really disappointed if we ditched him at this point, although I've been very impressed with Pring.

As someone who works with a lot of large public organizations I suggest he ignores her, as that's not even close to true in my experience. You can see the civil service targets here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service/about/equality-and-diversity it's around 13% new hires being from ethnic minorities which is actually slightly under the % who live in this country I believe. So that sounds pretty fair to me?

So which of the senior players you mentioned do you think he's lost the trust and respect of? And why?

I think you're mixing two things here. Is he getting enough from the squad? Currently no, I completely agree. We look rudderless and severely lacking in confidence. While our position in the table is about what I expected our performances and recent trajectory aren't. It's been very poor lately and I've been disappointed by Pearson. Is it his squad? Also no for me. I don't think he'd have chosen to ditch those players, he basically had no choice. Half of our regular first team for the last few years left in one window. The signings were his of course. But it's still two kids who have barely featured above L2 before, and some old heads he knew. I'd be interested how you think we could have got a reasonable striker in? We need to give him time I think. I said Christmas and I'd judge him when the season started and that's still where I am.

Who are they anyway? Martin and Wells who are starting every game? Weimann who he resigned over the summer? King, James, or Simpson? Hah. It's just a meaningless phrase people like to say a bit like "he's clearly lost the dressing room" or "X player obviously doesn't want to be here" imo. Imo the bigger issue is with the "middle" of the squad. 23 - 28 or so... Aka the core players we should have been developing for the last 4 or 5 years.

A huge part of it was his fault, absolutely. Has anyone said otherwise? I thought that was pretty well established now.

Am I living in some kind of biazrro land compared to the "But Holden!!"ers where we didn't play like absolute shit half of last season with a far bigger and more expensive squad, then lose a load of our first team (including our top scored for the last 3 seasons and record signing) over the summer?

I don't know if they'd be less effective, hard to imagine how sometimes - but if we're thinking about the long term then what is scrapping around every game in ones like we watched today going to do for their development? First proper games in pro football, just chucked in week in week out to this? Would be madness imo. Just play all the kids is a nice idea, but it's never going to work from any angle as far as I can see it. They need careful management, not their confidence and everything else shot within the first month.

Partially agree with you, but the issue is looking at our bench today what else would you have done? In the Kalas example, Vyner and Atkinson in a back two? Yikes. Without Wells or Martin up front it'd be kids from the U23s pretty much. I totally agree we need an overhaul (although we might disagree on who should survive it), and I'm sure it's coming, but it has to be done in stages. We have two of our back line who have barely played above L2 starting every game currently. Our best player in the middle is 20, alongside a new signing from the summer. Up front are the 2 you've mentioned. It's chaos. Maybe you're right and we could just throw caution to the wind, but I have no idea what that'd do to the squad harmony or dressing room - or the development of the kids we'd be chucking in there. You can't just drop half the squad 1/3 of the way into the season. Rock and a hard place for me, unfortunately! It's not pretty though, is it. As you said, we need to get to the long term, but imo we can't totally destroy everything in one go to get there.

If we're looking at players/positions to replace on the field currently, or in the squad, Kalas would be near the bottom of my list personally. He was our captain - clearly didn't want it and is no longer. By your logic everyone is part of the problem, which I don't agree with!

Birmingham third: https://streamja.com/jqvlo

I take it you didn't want Saturday's game then?!

To allow Kalas and Atkinson to bring the ball out presumably, which has worked to some degree..?

Birmingham second: https://streamja.com/kqve1