Imagine if they knew we'd actually fucked it up thrice (Brierley).

Maybe it's not that kind of entrance he's waiting outside...

Early days, but almost since we signed him (I think it was from the moment he said Mr Shearer) I've had a feeling he's gonna be a bit of a cult hero here this lad. Might just be my love of many things Japanese though.

Dunno if that was in response to me talking about Gueye just above you, but I agree. I only wrote that because Mani decided it was time to be smug about him already. I think 10 goals would be a good return if he can also be a menace to the opposition. You need a player like that to disrupt teams, even if it's only as a bench option. I don't expect a top end finisher but I do expect some goals at least. When those come in we can see about being smug. Not sure he will be selling for that tbh if he has the kind of record you suggest. He's gonna be 28 next December, and looking at what we're struggling to get for Szmodics at about a year older than that after an insane 33 goal season, I don't see 5-6 million for someone scoring 10. But you never know. For now, it's just good he's putting himself about and causing problems, gives the opposition something to think about.

Gordon Banks is a stretch. Wahlstedt was slightly worse, from what we saw in just one season. At first when he came through he was a bit of an improvement, once he lost confidence it fell to shit, and that was that. I believe they're keepers of roughly similar ability, but Pears had more confidence. Walton was distinctly worse though, I agree. The worst number one we've had over a full season in my time. Fettis was horrible too, seemed like every shot went in, the worst per 90 minutes played...but we only had to put up with him for about a dozen games.

Well Gueye is gonna have to provide better finishing than that for anyone to be smug, or else he might just end up the new Chris Brown - a bit of a pain for defences but no cutting edge. Hopefully the goals will come though and I'm sure he will turn out better than that donkey. Ohashi though, wow, the balls on that finish in your first game in a new league and country. Bravo! Props to Carter for a superb assist too. Sent two defenders for a kebab with a smart touch then found Weismann lurking at the back sticks when the whole Derby defence had missed him. I myself thought he was going for a sneaky shot at first.

Well it's tricky speaking 'Englisg'. I certainly don't know how to 😉

Agreed with all of this, just posted similar...except that last bit, why is he like Private Pyle?!? Made me laugh though!

This is the problem with Pears and why not everyone realises he isn't good enough. He isn't always doing high profile glaring errors. He makes lots of small errors. Ones that are acceptable in say a League Two keeper but over the course of a season if you look carefully at everything he concedes there are too many where you're like 'a good keeper might have stopped that'. Take tonight's goals. Even the best do sometimes ship goals like that, so you can't just say 'yeh crap keeping'. They're a little tricky but they're right down his throat, and for my money someone like Kaminski is usually gonna save at least one, possibly both of those. The first one, like I say it's tricky because although it's right down his throat it has decent power and is perfectly placed under the bar. But, if he sends both hands up for that instead of one he probably keeps it out. I can't say a good keeper saves that every time, but I can say there's too many of those going in over time than there are with a good keeper at this level.

Travis always starts the season really well. Or at least, the previous two seasons. Hopefully he keeps it going this time, he's an asset all over the pitch when he's firing on all cylinders. Shown he can even be a goal threat when he's in the mood.

John Eustace.

Given some of the names given numbers there, a little surprised Aodhan Doherty hasn't been. Considering we brought him in for a fee.

I wasn't criticising either of you. Just saying I'm amazed you both persist in these debates to the extent you do. I'm surprised either of you have the patience for it, and at times you're quite harsh in your tone towards each other, I'm kind of impressed it never devolves into an outright slanging match tbf. I'm not telling anyone what to do, but I wouldn't have the patience for the extended discussions you have, especially since so much ground gets repeated. I do think it probably goes on a bit too much, mostly with the repetition, and you both trying to convince the other of opinions you know they'll never concur with. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming for everyone else. But hey, it's a free forum.

Dunno if it's been mentioned on here yet, but De Lange has officially joined Marseille. https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/official-jeffrey-de-lange-joins-marseille-from-go-ahead-eagles/

He wasn't free, he was 'a low six-figure fee'. No way we spent 1.8 mill on Gueye, probably about 1.25 mill based on reports. I think early reports said 1.8 mill Euros, but that figure soon shrank.

Thanks. With a bit of a lingering sound at the end, almost like gay-uh.

Anybody know how you pronounce his surname? I'm thinking it could be 'gay', 'gway', 'guhway', 'gooeye' or 'gayee'. Probably end up being none of those!

Not up to Championship fitness standards perhaps. From the clips, it seems to be a slightly slower league. Their season started in February I believe, so it can't be end of season burnout.

I did have a looksie, but it appeared the cost of leases offsets the fuel savings, plus nothing to show at the end of it. Although I'd really like an EV for its own sake, and the environmental benefit is a definite positive, the main incentive for this decision right now is economic.

Makita power tool batteries? They won't have thermal management systems to speak of, so their charge rate and longevity are going to be much shitter than the batteries in an advanced EV. Truly modern EVs, from the right brands, range and longevity just shouldn't be an issue as I keep saying. We have fairly old Teslas now that have managed hundreds of thousands of miles before the battery is done. And ranges of 370 miles (generally about 320 miles real world range) are enough for me to get nearly halfway back from London before needing a charge, which can be done by the time I've had something to eat. But you live in Australia right? I get that it's different altogether out there if you're driving between cities. But infrastructure is improving, and cars are starting to be released with about 500 miles of range, with further battery tech improvements all the time. So hopefully in our lifetimes we'll all be driving some pretty impressive EVs. Yeh it's definitely a concern, if I needed to go to London in a Zoe for a gig, I'm very likely to need to plan a very lengthy charge on the way, and hope I get a bay fairly quickly. I have friends in London, and where possible I'd likely use public transport and stay the night, as driving around London is a ballbag anyway. But like you say, at short notice that might not be possible so it's a concern. Part of me has considered keeping the Peugeot as a backup for a long drive. But then I've still got to MOT it yearly, tax it (I could maybe do a SORN and activate the tax when I need it, not sure if that works at short notice), add it to my insurance instead of replacing it (or I could use Cuvva to insure it for a couple of days tbf). Just sitting around its tyres will get fucked and there may be other issues from not using it for ages. Starts to eat into all those fuel savings... Besides, only time I've driven outside the North West since I went back to acting full time 2 years ago is Newcastle, and that was just once for a £150 (plus expenses) gig I could live without. So, driving far could come up, but in practice it hasn't. But yeh the option is preferred.

I've either dodged a bullet, or missed a superb bargain. I guess I'll never know. But there are cars about a grand more expensive with nearly triple the miles done that still look like a good deal. Depends how I calculate what's best for my budget. An efficient petrol car would be cheaper to buy but more expensive to run, with more chance of needing repairs. When looking at a 5 year total cost of ownership, it's fairly unlikely I get a lower cost than that car I missed out on would've been. I have a decent amount of savings, but I'm slightly cash flow negative and hoping I can improve that to slightly cash flow positive within the year (especially if I can cut back on fuel). So I'm mostly trying to figure out what will cost me the least over a 5 year period, as I'm not desperate to save pennies up front, but don't have tons to play with. Yeh I think if your parking spot is too far from your home it's not worth you getting one as things stand, or probably in the next few years. Who knows how charging options and public charging prices (as renewable rollout increases) might change in the future, but for now, if finances are the main concern it doesn't make sense to get one without home charging. You could get a decent EV van btw, even moreso in the next few years, but again, unless you're flush with dosh it makes sense to keep what you've got while it's working. Cheap, used EV vans with decent range simply aren't available yet.

I wonder why I have a lot of anger? I read every word. Not agreeing with it doesn't mean I don't understand it. In fact you're the one who hasn't read/understood my post. As that anger isn't directed towards you. I made one comment that I don't get why you don't get it, then I explained it. Fuck Venkys isn't fuck roverstdt. I think it's also fair to say I'm one of the more balanced posters on here. But Venkys are an unmitigated disaster. The one thing they had in their favour, sending money to cover losses, is gone. There's really no middle ground to be had on this one. As you yourself tacitly acknowledge by saying they're the worst owners. Whether they're pocketing the money (which no, I don't believe, but by not sending the money which they allegedly can with a bond, in essence it's similar, but I don't believe the sales end up in India, but are being held in reserve here because Venkys might never send us another penny) or just using it to avoid any input, it simply isn't alright.

I don't understand why you don't understand it. Our situation, including the mountain of money they've squandered, is wholly and entirely the fault of Venkys themselves. They've also ruined our club, distressed and divided the fanbase, and we're supposed to be alright with them sucking money back out of the club? Fuck no. It's not ok they're not funding us anymore either. If they can't send money to us, they're less than useless, they're a serious liability (even when they do send money they're a liability). It was the only thing they had going for them. In ALL other ways, and I do mean all, they damage the club constantly. As for buyers, they've been persistent in refusing to even talk to interested bidders who could take on the burden (actually a privilege) of running this great club. Instead they've kept building the debt mountain whilst not letting the club function normally. Shit or get off the pot Venkys. You cunts.

I really like Sammie, and his efforts last season were Herculean. We are a mess and I don't blame him one bit, at his stage of his career, for wanting out to the Prem. I really wanted him to be able to leave on good terms. Club makes a fair offer because he is quality, we all move on. Thanks to Sammie for his efforts, and for a change I get to have a quality player leave the club and not feel bitter about it. I really hope he's not forcing the club's hand to sell him cheap by refusing or expressing his reluctance to train and play. I credited him with more than that. It will be sad if I end up resenting the way he left. It's also not helpful for whichever club he ends up at, or the player himself, if he hasn't had a proper preseason. All it achieves is bringing his price down.

Christ, that just shouldn't be allowed. Don't train, don't get paid. I hope it's actually hasn't trained 'much' like the other poster says, and that's because of the injury.