KrolMong

Very good display, but, a bad time to concede. We should be 2-up before they score. Great strike from Bacuna. One or two blaming Dawson, just a great strike that has swerved away through a crowd of players. Keep that press up for another 30 minutes, we’ll score at least once.

I think we have a new issue. Southgate has adopted a system that we all know will work. He’s now utilising players in what we would class as their best positions. He can go for it and play Bellingham next to Rice or play him behind Kane. He’s got his idea of who is wide forwards are and he’s accepted that Foden has to play somewhere in that three behind Kane… But… we have a problem at centre half. Stones is now picking up knocks every other week, and that leaves a load of centre halves who can’t face a team that presses and are not willing to defend high up the pitch. Dunk can do it but isn’t the most mobile, Colwill needs games at centre half. I will never be convinced by Tomori despite the hype.

A very odd mix of displays. Some bad, some poor and some good performances. And some really bad refereeing. We should be walloping teams like that, didn’t create enough and in terms of attacking threat only Foden looked capable. Grealish, Saka and Maguire were just plain bad. Felt sorry for TAA because he was told to fill the gaps that were being left by Saka and Walker, which stifled that right foot of his. I do like Rico Lewis, he’s another who will be a superstar, his reading of the game is exceptional… but, we need to get a left back fit.

All depends on the level for next season, but, as far as I am concerned, we’d only look at… 1. If Byers stays fit, he stays. 2. I like Bernard, he can stay. 3. Iorfa has been decent, he can stay. 4. We need to see attacking stats from Windass, so goals and assists, if he carries on at this rate, he can go. Otherwise he can stay if we see him contributing. 5. Bannan is an odd one. Regardless of our league we need to be moving away from him but I wouldn’t necessarily get rid. The rest, including some of the signings we made this summer can be bombed out of the club. Some are not up to the division below either.

As for Usyk v Fury. Fury sees him as a threat, and uses the verbal jabs as motivation. This is actually what Fury does in the lead up to any tough fight. This means that Fury will be motivated which means he will prepare properly. On paper it is Fury’s to lose… But, Usyk is physically, mentally and technically a monster. Every single asset that elite boxers have, he has. So, can he come up with a plan to work around Fury’s size and skill set? I said the other day that Usyk is very capable of dropping Fury, but I am not convinced that Fury can drop an elusive Usyk who also has a granite chin - but, if he puts his body on him and can manoeuvre him at his own speed, then Usyk will have a very hard night. Regardless. It genuinely is a 50:50 fight.

I’ve read some interesting stuff on this, but the starkest comment was on some football podcast I listened to yesterday. The reality is that there is now a precedent set. But it’s what happens next with City and Chelsea - which being clear, will be absolutely nothing. There are two reasons for this, one is that it is multiple charges that both clubs are facing which are going to take several years to sift through and more critically, both sides are being backed by absolutely elite legal teams. The second, and more harrowing reason, is linked to the ESL link from a few years back. Both teams wanted part of it, and because the PL was very soft in there punishment, as soon as the threat of a punishment comes they will play that card again… The Saudi’s and QATAR’s are very much interested in funding and hosting such a competition. What you are actually going to see is those clubs with clout given a bit of free rein, but any ‘lesser’ club found to breach even at a small scale is to be punished. Some clubs will simply be untouchable in all of this.

Quite a few boxing pundits are hoping that Dubois retires Miller. I do think that Dubois is a bit of hype job who will always lose when he fights people who are even gatekeepers to world level. But Miller is a full weight idiot and a fairly shit boxer too, so I am hoping for a nasty KO. The rest of the card is full of decent matchups. Wilder v Parker is a good test for Wilder, Joshua v Wallin will be a good test for AJ because Wallin is a horrible opponent to match up against. The Bivol and Opetaia fights should be routine wins for the two champs. Miller v Dubois will be fun while it lasts.

That 23rd of December fight card is pretty special. A load of top 10 heavies fighting each other. And we have officially got the big one, Fury v Usyk on the 17th of Feb. Signed and sealed.

I’ve seen the short and long version of it, it’s horrific, and I’ve got to say, I can understand why a manslaughter charge has been levied. The best way I can describe it is that Adam Johnson, who was on his feet, has been caught in the neck by a skate blade. Remember that he is on his feet.

I have a Reading fan in my team at work. When we signed him, he simply asked if we we’re planning for relegation. He’s very pretty awful, and that’s being polite. The game passes him by.

Rinse and repeat. Someone needs to make an offer, negotiate with the owner and agree a fee, complete due diligence and pass the EFL checks and provide ongoing proof of funds, and then pay the money. Buying Wednesday is not difficult, all the ownership is under DC. But unless some makes a formal approach and meets the criteria I have listed above, there will be no change of ownership.

Danny was a good player, played a lot of games wide midfield, was very quick and worked hard.

What was different was that we finished this season with the 8th highest average in the country. Man Utd averaged 44k that season.

This was the game where Carlton played the whole game up top. And he was pretty awful.

Brilliant to watch. Foden, Rodri, Bernardo and Haaland were great for City. Palmer, Sterling, Gallagher for Chelsea.

We need to see where we are placed in mid Jan. if we are 12 points away from safety, then the kind of building we need to do is for the future. I would have no issue if we recruit with that in mind in Jan, and at the same rate time, make a decision on the current squad and bomb anyone that is not going to be here next season. What I do hope is that Chansiri doesn’t look at Rohl and blame him. He can’t be blamed for the quality of the squad, and he can’t be blamed for the lack of fitness or the state Xisco left us in. At the minute, the results are important because we need points. But there is a line in the sand where we will need to accept that we are down and then performance becomes important as you want to see shoots for the future. Just a general comment, there appears to be what might be a mini league at the bottom with us, Rotherham, QPR, Huddersfield and Coventry - and potentially, Birmingham.

It’s just a dreadful lack of quality. Awful defending for the first three goals. Two misses that I’d expect everyone who posts on here to at least hit the target. And then that age old issue of the legs going (although might be more result based than fitness based). We’ve also seen some poor set pieces and some very below par individual displays from Johnson, Paterson and Musaba. Fletcher and Gassama were anonymous first half. You can see what Röhl is trying, and it’s the right way to approach it. But we are desperately short of even mid table league one quality. One positive has been Bailey Cadamarteri who will a very alive in a penalty box, looks like he could be a goal threat.

Dawson has neshed that. Dreadful keeping.

Bad miss from Musaba before the first. Awful defending from the corner, he didn’t lose a runner, he actually isn’t marked and has a free header 5 yards out. Sunday league header from Bernard for the second. Send it back the way it came… you are taught that at under 10’s. We’ve had decent spells but quality has let us down, Johnson and Paterson have got into good positions but put some awful crosses in and we aren’t getting people in the box. Byers and Bannan have both played well.

What I’d actually like to see in Jan is a goalscorer, a mobile 9, a proper 10 and a left back. If we have to terminate loans and get rid of a few to do this, so be it. Certainly Fletcher and Hendricks, if we can ship out a couple on loan such as Lee Gregory and Liam Palmer, that would give us the space we need in the squad.

I think technically, Buckley can do the Bannan role. But physically and athletically he can’t. He’s just not mobile or physical enough, I don’t think he’s a great reader of the game defensively. I do think there is a role for him if his fitness improves, perhaps even as a 10 in a three behind a striker.

If you look at the loans, you’d possibly suggest that Fletcher and Hendricks are certain to go. Diaby hasn’t played, I am sure that Rohl will want a proper look. Buckley is an odd one, he’s a decent player but I think his lack of mobility perhaps doesn’t suit us. I agree on Vazquez, I like him, I think we actually have two decent keepers but both with flaws. Both are decent shot stoppers, Vazquez is much better with his feet, but poor on crosses, whilst Dawson is not so good with his feet, but his decision making on when to come and when to stay is decent. I think you can split playing time with them based on a opposition.

I think we are now seeing that Musaba and Gassama might have that x-factor to get us up the pitch. It’s that number 9 position where we are short, we are now creating good chances every single game, and the players are far more progressive with the ball. If we have any sort of money available, we need a big mobile 9 that the likes of Gassama, Musaba and Windass can play off, but more than anything else, we need a player who is capable of getting 15 goals from Jan to the end of the season. I would suggest it’s two forwards. We also need a left sided equivalent of Pol Valentin too.

The ref has done us. It’s not a red in any league and at any level of world football, defender AND goalkeeper between attacker and ball. Yellow card only, that is actually the law. A point deserved even with 10. And we’d have won that with 11.

They’d get turned over in Poland. We’ve just had Lech Poznan play Zawisza Bydgoszcz in the cup at Zawisza. 17,000 fans and 4k from Poznan. Carnage. And I mean carnage.