TimmyJimmy

As I've said a few times already Rudy wants an entirely fresh start, new team, new management, new behind the scenes loyal folk - everything everywhere. Won't work. It will finish the club off. Lunatics in charge of the asylum. Buckle up.

After watching Big Club v Ipswich I realise just how much Big Club are arrogantly deluding themselves that they're going to waltz into the play offs. A sense of self righteous destiny. I'm not so much worried about us in this match, we're going to lose, but more the horrible reality that they might be right. That would mean they are head and shoulders better than us which is so hard to take when they were so rubbish two seasons ago. Are we so far fallen that I fear watching Birmingham fans partying in the Darwen End. I hate what Venkys have done to us. Why do I feel so bereft of hope and expectation --- other that the copious amounts of booze I've just consumed. Damn them. Set 'em up Joe.

I only used Shefki as a yardstick to say that Gueye wasn't going to score many for us. Both big strapping lads but not the best footballers, they both have larger than life personalities so easy to warm to them but if you need goals - well neither would be my first port of call. We defo need a striker or we're dead in the water, that's my point. If you have warm memories of Sheki then great but apart from his goal celebrations I have little else to get misty eyed over. Apart of the fact we were in the Prem then obs!

Bellamy & Dickov were the stars of his team. The flying Finn scored 7 in 42 appearances. Couldn't trap a bag of cement. Are we talking about the same guy? Even Gueye will get that.

Gueye is the new Shefki Kuqi. It's going to end in tears if we don't sign another striker. Too much pressure will be put on Ohashi as lone scorer and his confidence will crash. Reliant then on goals from midfield but we don't have anyone who can do that. No goal scorers, a defence always likely to give away a goal ... we are really scewed. We need the cavalry to come charging over the hill.

You and Wilsden clearly have a better handle on the process. My weakness is a permanent overload of emotional intelligence rather than the garden variety type (tongue in cheek) of process intelligence. Just seems harsh on a young lad whose hopes and dreams of making it as a pro end with being wheeled out for a ritual humiliation. Ignore me, I'm just a softy.

My bad but as you say the point holds (I think).

Actually thinking about it, if it was me I'd get the ball and whack it into my own net walk to the dug out and drop my shorts. But that's just me.

Re the pushback on my Mafoumbi comments: 'Exceptional' to my knowledge is the 'E' in 'ESC' not my assessment. There's a difference in my mind to someone being told they're not good enough and to find another club in private, it's another to force the guy to walk on to the pitch for 30 seconds with 10K+ people sniggering about how useless he is and he's there only to free up an admin glitch. Hedges - funny quip, like it. I'm just saying we're fairly decent supporters at this club and I'd like to think we'd agree it would be a painful and embarrassing thing to witness. That's all.

Mafoumbi isn't selectable for a matchday squad because he’s not registered. To move him from an ESC slot to a GBE the club have to first update their squad registration with the EFL before he meets matchday eligibility rules. We need the slot back so it's good for us to do this, but think of the lad. Comes in as an 'exceptional talent', doesn't get played, doesn't get registered then gets made a humiliating laughing stock appearance as an injury time sub to enable the paperwork for someone else to join. Pretty ruthless to do that to the kid. I'd cringe for him as he walked onto the pitch. Could have been planned better IMHO

Gestede has just finished "DoF/CEO or Dummies" and has persuaded himself that doing the same stuff and expecting a different result can be fixed by having a complete clear out and starting again. Sell who you can sell, fire who you can fire. Totally clean slate. New chap in charge. That's the way to do it. Trouble is he hasn't realised our problems have little to do with t'workers the problems come from the chicken shit ownership and 'the board'. I can recommend a new book for you Rudy, try "The Poultry Paradox", a cautionary tale, football’s version of "How to lose friends and alienate people". They own a poultry empire and they’ve got the spending power of a Champions League contender but the footballing IQ of a pub team. Reviews ... Venkys: "We’re building for the future." Critics: Just not a footballing one. Venkys: "We’re committed to transparency." Critics: "You’re clearly very bad at this." Will no one rid me of this turbulent ownership.

Can't pretend I'm happy with the amount of changes we've made, we're a completely new side and I'm uncomfortable. Yet, the one position I think we're still crying out for is an out and out specialist time served card carrying striker. We'll never see the likes of Shearer ever again but at least something to get the pulse racing a little bit. Please, no more centre backs, full backs, mids, wings or any other ruddy position just spend a nice fat big fee on a marquee hit man to keep me sane.

Whichever way it works out on the day VI has got himself a completely new team. I hope he knows how to glue them together pdq or we're in for a pasting.

Buckley AND Pears! Now I understand what RG was on about in his interview. He said exciting, I say taking a Hail Mary. VI obviously made it a condition of joining that doing the same things over and again and expecting different results is not on. He's decided to bin most of the team and start again. Brave man. With the exception of Brittain I'm not going to miss any of the departures, DB maybe but as others have said - ageing and injury prone. I doubted it before but I think Trav going may actually be on the cards given the clear out. VI is taking his punt and for good or bad reasons RG is going along with it. We could be looking at a near completely new team this year. Someone somewhere is confident and backing themselves though I confess it's not me. Good luck VI, you're going to need it I think.

After today's game the scales have dropped from my blue snd white eyes. I think we're getting properly hurt this season. There's enough bad sides out there this year to give us a chance of avoiding relegation but we're going to be in and out of bottom 3 that's for sure. Gueye cannot kick a ball, he's big and strong and may get a few assists but he cannot make a sweet contact with the ball if his life depended on it. If he's wanted in the Gulf then he can go with my blessing. Nice guy in the wrong sport. Without some real quality signings soon we're going to have a bad time. Has this really been 'an exciting' close season, the bollox some people spout, yes you RG! At least the books are balanced, shame about the football.

Enjoyed watching NEC, some really good technical players, great touches, great movement. Pressed us well. We have always struggled when pressed, our players need space and when pressed quickly run out of ideas. Kargbo obviously stood out but we can't rely on only one player this season, he'll soon get kicked to death or double marked out of a game. Gueye - less said the better. Had allowed myself to get optimistic with the earlier wins but this performance doesn't bode well for the season ahead. Need some quality signings and soon.

Re the Brittain saga. I'm used to the Alice in Wonderland world of Venky Rovers but this leaves me totally stumped. If he was always going to leave why force him into preseason training showing him all the new patterns of play and game management strategy and then sell him to a Championship rival who can leverage that knowledge and even share with others in the game when the time suits to manipulate their league placements. Quite likely I'm a numb nuts but I'm genuinely scratching my head.

M&M is going to be a player. Pity we aren't blessed with patience as a club.

... and if we get promoted?

I walked into that one didn't I, doh!

It's a great debate to have. Not sure it would help though even if legal. I understand (adjunctive therapies defo NOT my expertise) that some emerging research suggests that certain peptides, particularly growth hormone (like BPC157 or TB500, again, so I'm told), MAY play a role in accelerating tissue repair and reducing inflammation. It's certainly not NHS approved! :-) and they're not part of standard UK medical practice and best considered 'experimental or off-label'. Anyway as you say they're banned in competitive sports and probably carry longer term risks for the player. He's got what he's got and my guess is it's something that won't go away, so one for us to avoid. But, what do I know, play and pay may be worth a punt to lessen our risk, could be a Hail Mary that pays off.

Re: Baradji. Stress fractures are microscopic cracks in the bone which develop gradually from repetitive overuse. As such they don't just go away or get fixed by operations. Repeated loading exceeds the bone’s ability to remodel and repair the damage so apparently the only treatment is rest and 'off loading' with a gradual return to exercise over 6 to 8 weeks. Recurrence is not inevitable but it's common, I'm told that up to 60% of athletes who experience one stress fracture suffer another. The bone may heal but if the conditions that led to its failure persist then there's a fair chance it will reoccur. Why? Could be any of a bunch of reasons. Some sort of predisposition like having a dickie gait, too intensive training (VIs watch word), too much effort without the right amount of rest ... who knows. One things for sure he'll need a long period of recovery to be sure that the bone is fully remodelled. We have good sports science people so I'm sure they'd get to the bottom of his problem and manage reoccurrence but the bottom line is that he'll likely always be a creaking gate. Intensity will only go up when he joins us so reoccurrence is really likely so for me I'd say no thanks and move on.

M&M ?

Tell you what boys, tell you what ... some good signs there. Pace and intensity just what VI asked for. Technically OK too. Solid work in defence. Academy lads doing well. Silly to draw any conclusions about the season ahead but after this I'm not quite as pessimistic as I was a few hours ago.

Wish they'd stop making the new guys pose with a bunch of red roses, looks a little porno-pervy to me. Louche even. Maybe better to portray them with rabid aggression with veins and flesh hanging from their teeth. But what do I know.