Chez

Gutted he has left, he is rare talent that I would have loved to watch in the stripes for a season. Contrary to many posters on here I feel his departure will hurt us and affect our promotion hopes. Yes we won games without him last year and on Saturday, but there isn't a better wide right in the NPC in my opinion, so no matter who plays wide right the side will be weakened. We are going to have to buy players better than we have in two or three positions. Even with that money, it is not going to be easy. I hope de Ridder shines and any further money spent gets us the right guys. It's not impossible that we can get promoted on the back of this money

If Lowe sold a player who wanted out he was the devil, Cortese does the same and he's a hero. Getting real money for Walcott was great work considering he could of gone for bobbins. Getting £12m+ for Chamberlain is another decent piece of work. Neither Chairman had total control, but both played decent hands. If you want a rod to beat Lowe with their are plenty of better ones to choose from.

gutted about losing Chamberlain, its really taking the shine off a wonderful weekend - so thanks for your post, it ever so slightly brightened up my day.

Is it ****. Both have had an impossible job of trying to keep players that want to go. Both have/are negotiating the best possible deal for the club. Lowe got slated and still gets slated for selling our best players, Cortese (previously praised left right and centre for keeping our best players) isn't being slated and won't get slated. In my mind there is no difference. The players have control of the situation and because of that I didn't blame Lowe for selling Bridge and I don't blame Cortese for selling Chamberlain.

really? I never thought he'd leave in January, but I did think he'd go this summer. Real shame we won't get to see him for another season. Tremendous player.

If, and it's still an if, Chamberlain leaves, is this any different from Lowe selling Walcott? I've read countless times that we are not a selling club (as if) and how great Cortese is for keeping Chamberlain. Well if Alex goes, NC is no better than Lowe on that score is he? By the way I never understood why Lowe was chastised for making good money on a player wanting to leave, so I'm not going to chastise Cortese for it either, but perhaps those that slate Lowe for selling the crown jewels will give it a rest. I have to say I am gutted about this move. Losing Chamberlain is a huge backwards step for us IMO. "Sell and reinvest" is all very well, but we'll struggle to sign anyone as good as him. Having a great team is fine but there is still a requirement for exceptional players to unlock defences and turn draws into wins.

I disagree with that. I think he will be pivotal this season if he stays. Having that pace and threat down the right stretches teams and opens up the left. Without that pace we may struggle to open teams up throughout the season.

I've been a huge fan of Harding since he came here, but he had a poor game yesterday and if Howson had tucked his chance away everyone would be pointing fingers at him for getting on the wrong side. I never thought for a second we'd need an upgrade at left back, but maybe Chamberlain makes a mug of him in training too often and Adkins sees the need more than anyone? Very interesting couple of players.

and was talked about on here on Friday.

I thought the same. Players like Harding gave the ball away more than usual as they simply were not given the time they got in league 1. Even Fonte was hurried on occasions. I guess it is to be expected and we will need to up our game a little if we want to get in the play offs.

better defender.

he demonstrated the value of a left footed centre back playing on the left of the two. Tapping it off for a throw might be safe but it puts you under pressure. At this level I expect more. All the fine clearances that turn defence into attack by Seaborne go unnoticed by most, but when you see a right footer giving possession away cheaply it makes you wonder if in some games he might be the better option.

he looked for it, thankfully the ref wasn't taken in by it and he should have got a yellow. The lino gave the pen. Very surprised he didn't see it hit is chest.

I agree with that. Gradel looked very good, but Richardson didn't let him get away once. That extra pace and height makes him first choice ahead of Butterfield for me.

strange as I thought he had a decent game for them. He's much smaller than I thought, but he won a lot in the air.

if we played him on the right of the two his non existent left foot wouldn't be as exposed.

are our play off chances now hanging by a thread?

no, but my Connelly top goal scorer £25 each way bet has got off to a good start.

Can we combine Martin's strength in the air and great talking with Seaborne's quality on the ball and left foot?

fantastic, a big crowd makes for a great atmosphere.

Mr Power matched my bet so I've got £25 e/w on both DC and RL. Let the injury free good times role.

I was going to day the same thing. 15 goals should be enough to get 1/4 of those odds. I think I'll have a few bob on that.

very good on the ball, quicker than most and has a very handy left foot that makes defending easy at times (you'll only notice when a right footer has do the same job). One problem, he does not dominate in the air against big strikers. If opponents don't have a lump up front then he'll do fine, if they do we have the perfect man for the job. How many NPC sides have big strikers these days? I get the feeling its not quite as many as the last time we were there. I guess the only other issue is set pieces. With Jaidi we have been bulletproof, but without him I am a bit more nervous.

absolutely spot on, you'd think they want as many fans to buy away tickets as possible yet they charge a ticket tax and for some a parking tax. Football clubs offer free coaches from time to time to maximise support, our football business just seems keen to extract every last penny from dedicated supporters.

I take every defeat relatively on the chin these days, but I store that hurt up waiting for the day when we come back from 2-0 down and win. When that happens then I'm off the scale in terms of buzz and happiness. Painful defeats to local neighbours are deep in my conscious and just waiting to be exorcised. Experiencing the lows makes the highs that much better in other words.