Personally think for 2 centre backs in a system that relies on intensity, you need 5 ready to play, so that two are ready on the bench for replacement or any switch to a 3. Also in the event of injury/suspension pile-up, there should always be 2 ready to start.

If JDT wants Berget for 200k then go and fucking get him! We've just received that for the Zimbabwean boy!

People should watch the JDT interview. It's great to have such a warm manager with a sense of humour.

With Forest buying basically anyone, surely there's scope for one of McKenna or Worrall to move on, possibly to us? Another former Forest player getting no time at Newcastle (might be due to injuries), but impressed me in this league is Lascelles.

I think it's fair, personally. I'm a reasonably fit guy and I was exhausted just watching in that heat even with 2L water bottle next to me.

Before your time perhaps. Think it was around when Glenn and SteB ran the place.

Whatever happened to the Ale thread?

This will sound utterly stupid but MIGHT just be right... Sunderland can offer him cheap ferries to Amsterdam 🫣🫣🫣

Possibly. Maybe I've got my Football Manager hat on.

Well by his own admission, he is! And he was an idiot for it.

I think it makes better sense, personally. Otherwise any player in the first team squad made available for non-first-team games would miss just over a month of training days per year. By matching matchdays (I do agree that matches could be staggered times, mind) it means that all players are available for every scheduled training session.

Venkys provided transfer money to solidify a promotion push, given our position. They're not stupid, and I believe it's Mowbray's refusal to spend anything and subsequently tumble out of the playoff places that led to the silent treatment from them.

It means all players eligible for the first team can train together on the same schedule, rather than any match day meaning that different players have to miss training.

I'm not kidding when I say I'm still confident we end the window with VDB on loan, and Styles and JPVH on permanent deals. I believe there IS a decent budget to play with, but GB is playing the waiting game to get value once the PL transfers have happened.

My favourite thing, as younger fan at the time of his death, was always that he had a name that was ours. As Blackburn as you could get: Jack Walker

I would argue that in any scenario where we have more of the ball, we need both Hedges and Dack playing in order to feed Breo and Gally. They would be my 'attacking 4'. My midfield 2 would be Travis and Buckley, as Hedges and Dack will find those spaces into which Buckley can pass from deep. Where we have less of the ball is where we would need more roaming and running, and I'd perhaps sub in Dolan and Szmodics for Gally and Dack/Hedges. My midfield 2 would be Travis and Morton, in order to keep a firmer lid on the game and keep it ticking over.

'Never in 50 years'. Bollocks. Bad day, piss-poor, rank bad. Yes. 'Never in 50 years' pretends 0-7 to Fulham at Ewood didn't happen. Or the many times we just backed off under Kean. Or Ince. Or Kidd.

It's assault (or battery? I don't quite know), so contact the nearest steward, contact 999, get a pic of the culprit if possible.

It felt like a team that's feeling leggy. Not chasing that last yard, and a bit sloppy with passes where we've been sharp for the previous 4 games. Hopeful that a change of personnel, including Dack to unlock the key pass, might encourage us to push on. These guys are reacting to a 4-0 loss, but that's only a small factor. Reality is that they're not special so no reason we cannot aim for a win rather than just an equaliser.

'Rejected a similar bid in January' sounds more like it's been rejected out of hand to me. Hold out for the full £20m, or perhaps £15+ Melvin Bard, and we'll listen.

Purely hunch again, NOT ITK: I think we'll have Styles, JPVH, SVDB and another attacker by close of the window.

Having read your explanation, it's clear that I had very badly misunderstood it, so I'll at least try to read up on it a bit more. It's very different to my own interpretation of good chance Vs half-chance, and likely that of your average fan too.

Does this mean as a relative chance, a one-on-one with a GK on your better foot still only has a roughly 1 in 5 chance of going in? I'd have thought it closer to 50/50, ie: Striker Vs GK. The more you know...

I'm willing to be open-minded but even after your explanation I struggle to see the value in it. Maybe over the season I'll begin to appreciate it more. I think I struggle because the 'opportunity' or value of a chance Vs half-chance is so subjective.

How can we be lowest xG, yet have the highest GD? Bullshit statistic.