I was just looking at the Championship fixtures on livescore.com, expecting it would just show the next round of games, but yeh it immediately showed the next ones too with no break, so yeh I missed it. Oops! I assume it's a sky thing then if it's just us. Looks like our next 5 games can all be seen on Sky in one way or another! One only on Sky Arena though, no idea what that is, don't have Sky. Insane. I'm sure we had a whole season not long ago where we only had about that many on Sky through the whole season! I can only conclude Sky know how bad we are in front of the cameras and want to ensure we don't go up with our small fanbase 😉

Sorry if it's already been covered, but why is half the Championship playing in the evening tomorrow?

League goals from that side (to do with what you will): Pickering - 1 Hyam - 1 JRC - 1 Travis - 2 A. Wharton - 1 Dolan - 4 (in 34, also 6 assists) Szmodics - 4 (in 28, with 1 assist) Thomas - 0 (in 11 for us, 23 for Hudds, with 7 assists in total for both) So 14 goals (anyone not included hasn't scored, and I only put appearances and assists for the front line as you don't expect goals often from elsewhere so the ratio is less relevant). Brereton has 12 on his own, plus 4 assists. So personally I'd have to agree, not enough goals in the suggested lineup. Even though a lot of Dolan's were sub appearances and he has a reasonable total for direct goals contributions (10 to BBD's 16), we need to be including our player with the best record of putting the ball in the net. He's done it nearly as much as that whole team combined.

The other day Sharpe said that something like 67 different players have been used in the U21s this year. From U18 players, through the U21s themselves, trialists, up to senior players dropping down for game time and sharpness. That's an awful lot of disruption, it's harder to gain results and become a cohesive unit when the personnel keeps shifting. I'm not criticising the strategy, I'm just saying we shouldn't read too much into the fact the U21s are struggling in the league. It doesn't mean they're a worse crop than previous ones.

Probably a better title is 'will we do it?' rather than can. The poll is clear though.

Most of what you, and the rest of us, had seen of him in that time was a player who was unfit and clearly off the pace, who was often wedged into the team when he very obviously shouldn't have been. He kept breaking down as a result and never got to show us his best. Now, he's managed to get fit and keep going for an extended result, and the result has been he's been our best player for much of the last 4 months. That's not really flash in the pan stuff. He might not always maintain that form, there's never a guarantee of that with any player beyond maybe the very best in the world, but the question mark is no longer over his ability. It's whether he can stay injury-free most of the time going forward. That's why we shouldn't be held to ransom on his new contract, but he absolutely should be offered one. You're right though that he's not particularly fast, now he's fully fit he has about average pace, like most of our squad. But determination, technique and game intelligence can make up for that. I don't necessarily see him as a RB long term, although it's good he can play there as our other RB is a tad injury prone too. I believe central midfield is a position he has played in youth football, might even be where he started, but someone more knowledgeable may correct me. If he had a free roaming role like he does at the mo from RB, I don't see an issue. It would just be what he already does, but with less defensive onus. He's intelligent enough with the ball to make an impact there, in a 3 man midfield. And nobody is saying everything hangs on him.

It's just Sparks that seems upset. Granted he has posted about it repeatedly, but it's still just one guy.

I guess we really wanted to win those behind closed door friendlies too. And that we weren't too arsed about the quarter final of this very same competition where we didn't field senior players.

Pretty sure it wasn't done 'just to win', but to keep players match sharp. JDT has been doing it all season, including in meaningless behind closed doors friendlies.

Finished 6-1, another Weston goal. Super-sub.

5-1, Charlie Weston, 87th minute. 1 minute of normal time now remaining.

It's 3-1 at the moment btw. Goals for us from Edun, S. Wharton and O'Grady-Macken.

We also have players needing to gain fitness for the first team. And Phillips, Garrett and Leonard might be 'first team' players now, but they're all under 21.

Cool? Good for you. What's not so good for you of course, is your inability to understand a basic point about your flawed little mantra there. Nor your strange notion that when somebody replies to you they can only use the words and concepts in your own post in order to debunk its merits. I'm sad for you that 1995 isn't in your head though, that was a great time. Assumed you were old enough to remember it.

1:50 in. There's absolutely no way that crossed the line. Funny enough there's a couple of other 'did the ball cross the line' moments on those highlights.

I'd say that's pretty stupid of him if so. For the first time in his career, he has been able to stay injury-free and playing consistently, but moreover, consistently well. Things have finally come together for him- here, now. A new club, the upheaval of moving to a new home, new manager, new coaching staff and training regime puts all of that at risk and could destroy his career as soon as it has got going. I'd understand him wanting more money (not an outlandish amount though, he should accept his previous injury record and quality have been poor), although other clubs probably aren't about to give him the big bucks as they'll know his great form is a new thing and they'll know his poor injury record. I'd also understand him taking a fairly short deal, in the hopes he keeps playing well and injury-free and attracts bigger fish. But if he's actively thinking already that he wants to leave the club ASAP, I think that's a huge mistake on his part.

If you look at our last 6 games going into those 6 games though, we are 18th in the form table and our last three games read L, L, D. It quite possibly is a time to experiment, as what we've been doing lately hasn't worked.

How would being a dirty bastard help him avoid another injury? Surely it just winds up opponents into having a pop at them?

His match fitness won't have been helped by being out of the first team for so long, plus an injury not all that long ago. I don't think we should read too much into his cardio until he has had a proper run in the first team.

I remember hearing that in the summer of 95...didn't work out so great. In fairness though, it can sometimes be the right approach. It's all situational though, you can't use that as some cast-iron rule. If you don't maintain something it will eventually become broken.

The problem with continuing to play JRC at RB but let him roam is that it's a relatively recent approach, at least in terms of how pronounced it has become. Soon enough, teams who do their research will know it creates huge gaps down our right and will exploit it. For that reason, I'd be in favour of giving him a shot in the middle, but in a similarly free-roaming capacity. It will still leave gaps at times, but where those gaps will be is less predictable as the midfield is a more dynamic area of the pitch. Not to mention if we are using 3 in there it's more easily covered. Seems better than having Carter cover the right and leaving the centre of defence stretched.

Swearing is an absolute irrelevance, and if a player has to snatch the ball from the ball boy, then again he isn't doing his job. Ball boys give the ball to players so the game can continue. They're hardly ever needed, it's a simple job, and that's the only reason they're there. If they fuck around with that I have no sympathy.

And you'd have also raised a shit of a kid. Balls to the kid, balls to his parents. Tried being a smart arse and interfering with a professional game, going against the only thing he is even there (and paid) to do, and got what he deserved.

That you felt we needed 4 wins before the game and that we still need 4 wins. We didn't win, so, seems kinda obvious. Especially with nobody else having played yet to see if things go well for us.

Well we haven't won, so that's not entirely surprising...