I'm sure our idiot owners look at things incredibly short term. Such as, we've made all this money and are in 7th, therefore there's little correlation between investment and success. As well as we've done under Eustice, we really aren't far away from the abyss. In typical Venky fashion though, I'm sure the only time we'll see any investment is when the shit has already well and truly hit the fan. The last time they coughed up any kind of money way our relegation to League 1.

Prior to Danny Baath I wouldn't have been opposed to Hanley. I think Baath is a much better player and with finances limited we have other areas which are a priority. We won't do any deals until the end of the month anyway, by which point Carter won't be far off returning. Wharton will then be back at the end of the season and we are pretty well stocked providing we extend Baath's deal. We're so blunt in attack, that's where any limited money needs to be spent. Only centre half's I'd like to see are ones we can develop, such as Bindon.

I've a feeling the court case mid Jan will be a lovely excuse. We all know it will be delayed once again, however it provides a narrative that we couldn't bring in x, y or z because of factors outside our control. You begin to see signs over time. No contract renewals for over 12 months indicates there are certain self imposed restrictions in place. So frustrating considering it was widely acknowledged that when JDT came in we were resetting due to assets leaving for free and the only thing GB received credit for was being proactive with renewals. They/Waggott never learn their lessons. It's always make it through 1 season at a time. Survival, not ambition. Personally I'm amazed we're at the level we are after the shambolic way we've been run for years and years.

I'm pretty sure Peterborough have form for wildly stretching the truth when it comes to transfers. I don't doubt they'll receive a decent wedge at a tribunal, but I'd be very surprised if it stretches to over £2m, probably far less. All they are doing with those statements is stretching the truth, to either stop clubs lowballing them, or beginning a narrative in preparation for a tribunal. I'd be pleased if we went in for both Poku and Godo, meaning Poku can slowly work his way back from injury.

Another really big game this, before a more difficult run of fixtures. 3 points will really remove any pressure and keep the momentum going into the festive period.

Especially when his club play him for months with painkilling injections whilst delaying necessary surgery. Madness to treat a 20 year old and one of their biggest assets in such a way.

Brilliant article. For me the beauty of football is there are so many ways to play the game. I've always hated it when managers and the like look down their noses at styles which differ from their own, like Wenger did with us in the 00's. Martin strikes me as selfish. Someone more determined that he as an individual is associated with a style of play in the hope it'll be good for his career, rather than being adaptable and pragmatic for the good of the club.

I'd say a lot of it is similar to what we experienced when Greg the egg was here. There was a big push around maximising players value, by playing a style of football which showcases flair; a style which tends to sacrifice pragmatism. You see a lot of clubs these days signing players on potential, but aren't quite ready, especially in the lower reaches of the Premier league. Southamptons statement after sacking Martin, weirdly mentioned their pride in their academy and younger players. They would say differently, but their actions scream that they don't care about staying up, but more about a few big sales. It's a feeder club model and that requires a manager who plays with a similar philosophy to the top clubs.

After the last date was deferred I'm sure I saw in the LT a line saying the club don't expect a resolution any time soon. It was mixed in with the usual, has no effect on the running of the club, but it's the first time I've seen any sort of admittance that this is going to keep on rolling for some time. I think we'll all be utterly shocked if this just goes away. We've somehow stumbled on whilst being successful on the pitch, but come the end of the season the chickens are really going to come home to roost. We simply can't continue to exist in our current form with zero funding.

Spot on. Which is what leaves us in this perpetual cycle, going nowhere. With the lack of backing it'd take a small miracle and a phenomenal manager to get us promoted. It then takes another huge slice of luck for said manager not to be poached as soon as things start looking rosy. This January is huge. Eustice has earnt the backing. I'm still highly doubtful we'll see it materialise. We've been here so many times before and unfortunately, that's what the club becomes known for and we become less and less attractive to any manager with ambition.

There were a couple of articles linking him to Southampton earlier in the season, but they seemed more like gossip for clicks. They're the only club I could realistically see him going to this season, but they were burnt by Nathan Jones a couple of years back, so I'm not sure we'd see them appointing someone with no prem experience, unless it was a foreign manager.

Depends what Villa are looking for. If its the biggest loan fee, then a club like Boro will take him. But, if it's where would be best for his development, I think we could make a strong case as he'd definitely get plenty of minutes here.

I see we're being linked to Thelo Aasgard again. I don't know enough about him outside of highlight reels. He looks comfortable on the ball, two footed, robust and fairly creative. Anybody who's seen more of him able to shed any more light? Work rate is the biggest thing in a Eustice team. Does he pull is weight or is he considered more of a luxury?

Hamstring tear and out for 3 months apparently. Still wouldn't be opposed to us bringing him in. But he's unlikely to be making much of an impact in a promotion push.

We've struck a good balance with playing out from the back. Recently we've seen a few lovely moves starting in the defence resulting in goals. But at the same time, if it's not on we've been going long. Eustice seems to have the players trusting their instincts rather than rigidly sticking to one philosophy.

Keep it tight, keep battling hard and we've every chance of another 3 points here. I'd have us down as ever so slight favorites, but really wouldn't be surprised to see a 0-0 draw.

From what I can see, in the fleeting time(s) he's been here, Park has done an okay job. He's experienced so he'll get another gig elsewhere, somewhere where his hard work actually sees players come through the door.

I think it's the last time we'll see that set of players in the starting like up. Think Eustice has been cautious with new signings, bedding them in slowly. Another international break will see them up to speed and more pressure and options applied to the first 11.

I think it was an absolute red in today's game. Lost control, lunged, over ankle height. It's the type that breaks your leg if your foots planted.

Think this will be a tight game. Head says 1-1 but heart is hoping for a narrow win.

I don't think Mowbray was a twat. I think he was just a man with an extremely fragile ego. He'd say contradicting things every other week. Which was mainly down to his own shortcomings as a manager. As soon as results didn't go our way, he'd revert to little old blackburn, we should be grateful, blah, blah, blah. Simple because he couldn't reflect on the fact his own ability was the root cause behind some of the legendary death spirals. One of his biggest problems was he loved the sound of his own voice. He'd never stop talking and he'd say things he shouldn't sometimes. The Sunderland juggernaut comments really stuck, especially as it came in line with encouraging our staff to jump ship. But he did do a lot of good, generally wanted the best for the club and definitely left us in a better state than when he arrived. The issue really was Venkys and Waggot not holding him accountable. Unless you're a very special manager then there is a shelf life and after the good he did, he had stayed on too long.

David Raya doing the business again for Arsenal tonight. I was ridiculed for this when I said it last year, but I genuinely think he's in the picture for top 5 goalkeepers in the world. If not top 5, he's definitely top 10. Still can't believe Mowbray shipped him out so cheaply.

I agree with this. It feels plain lazy. And if not that, its just a load of men in suits looking at each other not knowing what to do. They've been on easy street with Southgate at the healm, but even when things began to turn sour, it said a lot that they offered for him to stay on. It was purely Southgates decision to call time on his tenure. Strikes me as reminiscent of Mowbrays time here. His job security in what is a turbulent industry was unheard of because his employers knew they wouldn't have a clue where to turn for a replacement. Both him and Southgate only left their roles because they wanted too. Mowbray because his nose was put out of joint with no new contract offer and Southgate because he didn't like a few boos. Now the FA are taking the easy option and just promoting from within. I seriously doubt there is anything they have seen behind the scenes which screams at Carsley being the best man for the job. And a few 'friendlies ' against very poor opposition is nothing to get excited about and a couple of poor results in bigger matches could easily see things turn sour quickly. Carsely has a big job on his hands earning the respect of the squad. I hope it works out, but if it does I'm sure it will be more by luck than design.

God these meaningless international breaks are boring. I'm dying for the proper football to be back.

We all know this anyway but somebody is telling porkies. £9m plus bonuses for Szmodics is a bargain. Out of that we'll be paying Peterborough a sell on clause and Szmodics will probably get one of these ridiculous loyalty payments which are common these days. We'll bring in very little after deductions of which peanuts will be reinvested. With the quoted price it makes no sense to sell if Venkys are willing to cover running costs. They obviously don't want too, hence the desperation to sell. We were told the court case had no baring on the running of the club before Wharton was sold. It'll be same again. Lies, lies, lies.