Patches O Houlihan

That's right - wasn't the fee decided by a tribunal and was pretty low considering their talent

I thought we pinched him off Spurs along with a defender of the same age (name escapes me)

I agree with you But I'm also a petrolhead so I feel obliged to post this

Lucy Bronze according to her wikipedia page played in a boys team up north - but only until she was 11: "Having played football for Belford,[21] Bronze joined Alnwick Town when young and stayed with them to the under-11 level, but Football Association (FA) rules prevented her from continuing with the boys' team when she turned twelve.[34] In the Alnwick juniors squad, Bronze was the best player on the team, picking up six "man of the match" awards from eight games; the manager was so intent for her to continue playing when she turned twelve that he helped open a discrimination case against the FA in the hopes they would allow an exception. They did not, but did set a target to support more girls' football teams in rural Northern areas as an alternative solution." Lauren James also famously played competitively alongside her brother and his mates in informal games. It would seem the FA has done their homework and decided that once boys hit puberty girls can't match them physically.

AI: Several full international women's football teams have played matches against boys' or men's youth teams, often for preparation or exhibition purposes, and results have been published: Switzerland women's national team lost 7-1 to an under-15 boys team in a preparatory match before the Women's Euro 2025. This result was widely reported in June 2025 as a test game with no competitive implications. Swiss media highlighted the physiological differences influencing the outcome, noting men's game pace being about one-third faster due to greater muscle mass after puberty. EUROS: Group Stage (Group A): Lost 1-2 to Norway, Won 2-0 against Iceland, Drew 1-1 with Finland (a stoppage-time equalizer by Riola Xhemaili secured their progression to the quarter-finals) Switzerland finished second in their group behind Norway, advancing to the knockout phase. Quarter-finals: Switzerland was defeated 0-2 by Spain The United States Women's National Team (USWNT), one of the most successful women's international teams, has on many occasions played against male youth or college teams. These matches are often friendlies or part of training camps. For example, the USWNT faces male youth sides to test skill and fitness, though specific scores for these matches vary and are not always widely published. The Australia women's team reportedly lost 7-0 to a Newcastle Jets under-16 boys' team in May 2016; the women's squad was missing some overseas-based players.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Bronze If you count all the adult trophies starting in 2009 I make it 36 trophies. Including 5x Champions League (Lyon & Barcelona), 4x WSL (Liverpool, Man City & Chelsea), plus Euro 2022 & 2025 and a World Cup final. 140 England caps including 20 goals mostly from right back She appears to have done all of this whilst being continuously injured; surgeons advising her that she would need to retire at 27. She is 33. She grew up on Lindisfarne island with a Portuguese father and speaks 4 languages. She was county champion at tennis, hockey and football. She also made national finals at pentathlon and cross country. Oh, and she is AuDHD too. After the win when she was dancing on one leg with her injured knee raised she would have been bouncing on the leg with the fractured tibia... Fair play 👍

Didn't one of the pundits say that winning the Euros again tonight was Lucy Bronze's 25th trophy?! - That's mental. No wonder they let her play with a broken leg.

Spanish coach looks intimidating...

Quarshie only played the first half, but he looked pretty good

What we need is a new Stu Armstrong at his peak In world class sides usually the number 10 is their 'best' / 'most creative' player. The reason so many of us are suggesting Fernandes plays there is because he is our best player. He can do everything pretty well. He is not super creative but he is more consistent than Dibling, more experienced than Robinson and more creative than everyone else (in that he can see a pass, and picks up great positions with good body shapes)

It seemed that for most of the first hour our tactics seemed to be 'lumping it up to Lilliput' Fraser, Archer and Arma are not beating any centre backs when stood still looking at a missile coming down from obit. What I was impressed by was that when they inevitably lost it and Espanyol got it rapidly forward 3 out of 4 of those players are pretty quick, and they were able to get back on the right side of the ball before it reached our penalty area. Clearly this is clutching at straws! Ramsdale Bree THB/Edwards Quarshie Welington Downes Charles Dibling/Arma Fernandes Robinson Downs If somehow we can get that team on the pitch there is the potential for them not to embarrass us Sugawara to play instead of Bree if our opponents are in the bottom 5 of the league

I haven't watched all of this but the piece I have seen he doesn't hold back about Ralph Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:33 The First Professional Contracts 06:45 Financial Education for Players 09:52 Agent Attitudes: Protectors or Profit-Takers? 13:42 Investing While Playing Football 19:38 Enjoyment of Being a Loan Player 24:24 Squad Building: How Directors and Managers Collaborate 25:52 Playing Under AVB, Ancelotti, Dimatteo 33:17 Pre-Match Dressing Room Feeling 36:29 Club Salary & Commercial Deals 38:21 On Ivanovic, F. Torres 39:57 The Players’ View of Abramovich 42:11 Playing Under a Disrespected Manager 46:25 The Preparation for a Matchday 47:30 From Chelsea to Southampton 49:42 Playing Against Diego Costa 50:46 On Eden Hazard 53:32 Players Balancing Cash and Commitments 57:13 Staying Driven Amid Distractions 58:48 Ryan’s Biggest Mistake 01:01:12 Playing for England 01:04:06 Why Southampton 01:09:32 Ryan’s Best & Worst Managers 01:15:38 The Decision to Retire 01:23:36 Quick-Fire Round

Clearly you weren't impressed with her efforts to keep out the Spanish on Wednesday night

There was so much to critique about that post; but fortunately there are plenty of others here that spotted the various issues. No one has called you out on this bollocks yet though Bijlow was a serious injury risk when we looked into signing him. Many of us thought it might be worth the risk to not have to play Baz & Alex but once Ramsdale made it known he would come we rightly grasped the opportunity. We may well have broken the 9-0 record had it not been for him, because Billow ended up only playing in 4 league games during the 24/25 season due to two different injuries. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/justin-bijlow/verletzungen/spieler/315121 https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/justin-bijlow/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/315121/plus/0?saison=2024&verein=&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=

Wrighty managed to name check Gerrard in the preamble - sorry!

If we can get Ross Stewart firing consistently then we could be in for a very entertaining season. He seems to have a great attitude, and was handy before his injuries came along. You suspect that his style would suit Will Still, and may work well in combination with Archer or Arma.

Would love Fernandes to stay, more than any of the others, and definitely build the team to fit his play. But English isn't his first language, and he's only been in the UK a year, and is still playing U21 football for Portugal > we might find that asking him to be captain demands too much of his attention and degrades the quality of his play. Ramsdale, Stephens or Flynn Downes a better fit for on field captain. Jack can stay as club captain.

If you don't make the statement then we appear to be reasonably keen to sell everyone/anyone. Make the statement and every sale will potentially earn you an extra £1 mill because you have made the player appear to be in demand by his new manager and current club

If you wanted to negotiate for the sale of Saints player from a position of strength you need to make the buyer feel that it is a distressed sale: If the player is left behind after a statement like this from the manager then you are negotiating from a position of weakness...

Koln Fans on Damion Downs. Most seem to be angry with the club for selling him - a missed opportunity "He needs time and experience. The quality is there especially with the ball at his feet. Not really a Target Man. The potential is there and he has been improving and developing through out the season. Would give him some time and maybe someone with experience by his side." --- "He is a good striker, but he needs to work on his first touch. But he improved in shooting and dribbling. His finishing is very good. I think you will have fun with him." --- "He probably needs another 1 to 2 years to realise his full potential. Dangerous in the box and a very good shot. First touch and positioning in space could be improved, he also needs to learn to use his body better. Probably best as a 9 or single striker." Sounds like having Ross Stewart and Adam Armstrong to work with might be useful

Looks like it was a Huracan not an Aventador, and braking won't be quite according to specs with a blown out tyre. But either way it won't have come to a complete halt before reaching the impact site. It seems that while speed will have been a factor, the road was also in poor shape locally. An older lady had to be cut out of her car in the same spot recently.

Quashie is blisteringly fast - literally the fastest player in his league last year (as a CB) Archer is quick but runs in the wrong direction usually. Armstrong is quick and does know which way to run. Dibling seems to have the burst of acceleration that can get him past a player to supply a cross or through ball. Downs doesn't look like a slow coach but I'll reserve judgement once we've seen him play.

Ramsdale vs Bazunu is a big bonus though based on these assessments

Here's a thought. When we played under Ralph we were pressing high. There were loads of occasions when opposition attackers would break clear and be 2 on 2 with our central defenders. In those situations we really struggled; but we did notice a benefit in having big/quick CBs - ie when ABK or Salisu had one of their occasional good games. We know that Bednarek and Stephens look like a fish up a tree in those circumstances, and that THB is not quick, and not a standout performer in those situations either. Ronny Edwards is also not tall or quick. Have we bought a CB equivalent of Kyle Walker - a player who's physical abilities enable him to get himself and the team out of a jam when it all goes tits up? "Standing at 6ft 5in tall and boasting explosive pace, Quarshie was statistically the fastest player in 2. Bundesliga this season with a top speed of 37.04 km/h." SFC Will Still & Johnanes Spors are both fans of the high pressing 'Ralph' style