Gloucester Saint

The club didn’t help him by chucking him in so young, not helped I suspect by RH having fallen out with McCarthy after the Brighton game and not giving GB a rest when the heat came on. Add in the instability of 22/23, Martinball in 23/24 (we’ve seen how many shots League 2 SPL players are taking at goal vs a wide open Rangers) and a mixed spell at Liege. Confidence can’t have been high. So if Still has brought a good keeping coaching in and lifted confidence and instilled some basic technique to complete the City academy education, then we can hope for continued growth and development. He will still make mistakes - all keepers do - but it’s the basics I’m watching. And if those go on an upwards curve I think more fans will overlook the mistakes a bit more.

I read frustration but hate is an extreme emotion, and I’m not reading the word hate, or similar adjectives. Hate is Vladimir Putin, hate is what you see between Zionists and extremist Palestinians, hate is US politics and MAGA. It’s also the scrote who burgled my Grandad’s flat and stole his medals from Dunkirk, El Alamein and Montecasino, which were returned to us cleaned (they’d been buried in a back garden), polished and paid for individually by Hampshire detectives who were so sickened at the crime. Sadly he died the week before they were found. So yes, to the above individual and burglar, whoever you are/were, I genuinely hate you and hope you’ve had a shit life. But am I going to hate a bloke kicking a football for a living? No, and most normal people don’t either.

I’m no fan of his, you’ll know that and I’ve clashed with Lighthouse about him, but I hope he kicks on now and shows the basics for the next 4-6 games and builds from there. I said I would give credit when it was due and I have. Would still be criminal not to bring in genuine competition this month though. And yes, some of the pro-Bazunu posting and crowing from a small minority is OTT and the gloating very immature. It is one game, Kelvin, Boruc, Antti, Timmy, Shilts - they did it for whole seasons and years. Shows how standards and expectations at the club need re-setting and raising.

Makes better/more controversial talking point.

On Parkinson’s complaints about why Edwards wasn’t sent off, having watched the highlights back, it reinforces what I thought in real time that Stephens was getting to it anyway and that’s what the referee thought. Far be it from me to defend the referee after missing two stonewall ones for us but it is true. Even more stupid for Edwards to panic but hopefully he improves with more minutes. 100% needs to start at Northampton to get some sharpness.

Our crossing, until Manning came on, was worse than Richard Dawkins.

If he’d fallen off that railing, all of the King’s Horses and all of the King’s men couldn’t have put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Gavin had a good game today, very good, and the late save was as ultimately match winning as Manning’s free kick or Jack’s late winner. One swallow doesn’t make a summer but it’s a good foundation for him to build from. He will still make mistakes as all keepers do but the key is that we see continued progress in the basics going forward and a growing sense of security and presence. Another keeper to push him along such as Ryan would help too. McCarthy is not as good as he was in 23/24.

That bloke sitting near you and shouting ‘Come on Hoooo-ver’ at Jos Hooiveld is still my favourite.

How do you think Nissan at Sunderland, Honda at Swindon and Toyota in Derbyshire appeared as UK plants during the 1980s? Hint - it was through considerable subsidy from the Thatcher government. Which was the right decision and thing to do btw. SMEs win tens of millions in R&D grants to help prove concepts for new products and services to sell to market from Innovate UK. Sometimes partnering with universities and colleges, sometimes not. And plenty of companies were happy to take subsidies to stay afloat during Covid and have a duty to repay the taxpayer during the rest of this decade for keeping the roof over their heads so they keep our roads and infrastructure running.

Wasn’t aware that I did tbh. Like most on here, @Farmer Saint included, I agree with some posts and not with others, but I try to rationalise why I do/don't. Sometimes people will agree with my response, sometimes they won’t. And sometimes I find I agree with people on football but less on non-football and vice versa. First league win since February - enjoy it!

Yeah, shows how bad Martin’s judgement was that he preferred Smallbone to be DMC, although he’s been making much better signings for Rangers. Shea is different league to Smallbone, no offence to Will. Smallbone is moving on I suspect.

I think he was aiming that at Nic…

Now playing an ambulance noise when an Oxford player is bleeding from a clash of heads.

87, was in the Archers that night. As @Lighthouse said, Lambert’s double at Millwall was first to mind. Bolton in the cup but that involved extra time.

@Farmer Saint looks older than I thought he’d be

Yes, and as I promised, if Gavin plays well, makes point winning saves and gets that consistency in the basics, he will get praise. One swallow doesn’t make a summer but a good game to build upon.

Key for Gavin is to keep it going - match winning save today, not lots of work to do but solid with what he did have. It was a decent penalty but something to improve with the positioning.

That was the Ryan Manning who I thought we were signing and who I’d seen playing for Swansea with goals and lots of assists.

Commentator in the Oxford v Filth game says ‘you can hear that bell in the away end’. So the skates sat around him both get deafened and nausea from the pungent stink in these temperatures of BO and stale Carling. Almost feel sorry for them..almost. Oxford winger we are interested in hasn’t featured much so far but quality is dreadful overall from both sides.

Bazunu save crucial. Can’t agree with you there Jack but well done on the late winner. Ryan Manning Swansea edition that we actually signed and Leeds wanted showed up. Fraser definitely a good squad fixture this season. Need 2 or 3 good wide quality starters and a #10. Edwards rotten, Sugawara not much better, Quarshie mixed bag as you’d expect. Wellington good overall. Stewart looked more refined than Downs but the latter did unsettle Coady finally. Robinson some promising moments and nice feet, needs to pack a punch with his shots and used to getting fouls in the u23s that he won’t get in the men’s staff. Lallana struggled early in his career with that and ideal to help Jay. Charles excellent, Downes rusty but got minutes under belt. AA terrible game, might have played himself out of the XI until October there.

*MLG mode deactivated

Downs needs to make it far harder for Ward there.

McClean is an arsehole.

- Ryan Manning scores a cracking free kick!