McIntyre fit basically provides cover for Dorsett, Craig, Holmes and Abbey all at once which is great news. So bench at first. Would think Hutchinson is light years away from the team now, and rightly so. Hasn't played since his Shrewsbury which coincidentally is when we started improving. Also thin...
Ehibhatiomhan is strong and skillful, but to really get the best out of him you need to play the ball to his feet in threatening areas. So definitely similar to Joao. We don't really play that way, we utilise width and Smith's role involves a lot of running in behind and pressing. Plus he has the ch...
They may be higher in the table, but think this is an easier game than Cheltenham and Exeter. Meandering through the season after a good start. I think one side currently in "safe" mid table will go down and they are definitely a candidate.
Our last memorable FA Youth Cup run was around 2014 I think? The wasted generation for whom plenty went on to have good careers away from Reading. Kuhl and Tanner sadly fell away, but it contained Dickie, Stacey and Fosu among others.
I do wonder if the lack of depth is normal in L1. Teams can't afford a large roster of high quality players. So it's hardly surprising that we're reliant upon Wing, Azeez, Knibbs and Smith. I don't know enough about this division, but I expect even Pompey and Bolton have 3 or 4 crucial players whose...
I don't really care about being out, but a few concerns about the game that may read across to the league. We were toothless without Smith and Knibbs, and I'm concerned we have several key players who we don't have cover for. Even barring injuries, is it really sustainable to keep winning through Az...
The NL now is probably a similar level to L2 at the turn of the century, if not better. All but 1 or 2 teams are full time, there are clubs like Oldham and Chesterfield who should never have fallen that far plus ambitious upstarts. It makes it very hard to climb out when there's just one automatic s...
I know in the end it all comes down to Dai, but would it be worth considering writing to rumoured interested parties (e.g. Mike Ashley) and try to encourage them to make a bid or at least show they'd have some support amongst fans behind them if they did bid. Anything could be worth a try. I see th...
Did Knibbs pick up an injury in training and is now going to be out for a while? I am sure I saw it on Twitter yesterday. Unless I dreamt it of course. Had a quick look and there only appears to be a single mention of it on Twitter. It's possible it's true though; I highly doubt he'd be involved if...
You say sustainably, but at L2, that's not possible with our infrastructure. How many clubs our size or bigger have struggled to get back to the Champ just from L1, loads take 5/6 years just from there. Hell of a long time to risk waiting seein any possibility of a returnon investment. Fo down and ...
On the topic of relegation rivals, anybody know why 4 get relegated in L1? With Carlisle and Fleetwood looking the worst, that extra spot makes a big difference.
Whereas L2 get a great deal. Only 2 down and 4 up. Arguably easier to get out of than the NL.
P auno I nce S elles S tam P aul Clement J O se Gomes O ur owner R odgers That's my analysis of our managerial appointments over the last decade or so, and likely the apogee of my intellectual contribution to HNA for this year probably. Feel free to ask for further quality analysis as required. Tha...
I'd go a semi strength team. Rest our fab 4 of Wing, Smith, Azeez and Knibbs, but otherwise full strength. Plus a useful run out for McIntyre if available.
So reports that Henderson wants to return to the PL. I doubt anyone will be convinced to go for him. Must go down as one of the worst transfer decisions a player has made. Any others to rival it? I think making about £5m for 5 months work is a pretty good transfer decision tbh. He clearly disagrees...
So much speculation on how Dai will act. If he was acting rationally, he'd have accepted the Genevra bid which was rumoured at c. £30m and fcuked off. He'll never get a better offer. Do we know what his plan is? Definitely not. Should we be extremely concerned about how this ends? Definitely. Does ...
So much speculation on how Dai will act. If he was acting rationally, he'd have accepted the Genevra bid which was rumoured at c. £30m and fcuked off. He'll never get a better offer. Do we know what his plan is? Definitely not. Should we be extremely concerned about how this ends? Definitely.