the saint in winchester

He's not what you would call "a threat". Decent link up player but not forceful and bossing the defenders around.

This, in spades. Both Pardew and Pellegrino yesterday blamed the players. Pellegrino is responsible for 'spirit'. If the players are struggling for spirit and motivation, they need someone who can rouse them. That isn't Pellegrino. That comment was code for "get me out of here."

Oh lord, please tell me you are joking. I fear you are not. Is ashnats an anagram of Les Reed?

This is the worrying part! Do we have to be gone like West Brom before a new man is appointed?

He took underperformance from Forster for most of the season. Did he get involved in the coaching of the goalkeeper? If no, why not? If yes, he failed to inspire.

One up front in a 4-2-3-1 is fine if the 3 are attack-minded rather than ball recyclers. Kane didn't seem to be at his best last night, but with Son, Alli and Eriksson running at Juve and shooting on goal, they were a threat. We don't see our 3 do that. Instead we see the 1 isolated and the 3 behind playing keep ball.

Yes, but the real question is "if you had to pay £6M to cut Pellegrino loose plus a signing on fee to Silva to bring him in, would you still do it even if there was no guarantee of survival?"

Please NO! You get more points from win one, lose one than from two draws. We have to see a W in our sequence soon.

Jokanavic - article from The Independent The point sounds obvious but to Slavisa Jokanovic it was a vindication that he had been right all along. “I am working here in England, I want English people, or people who know what the English game is.” Matt Targett, Cyrus Christie and Aleksandar Mitrovic all signed for Fulham in late January, and have reignited Fulham’s push for promotion back to the Premier League. Jokanovic speaks in a low growl but when he looks back on the triumph of the transfer window, he starts to get animated. “All these three players came to the training ground, opened their bags, put on their boots and played football. I don’t have time now, in this level, to bring in people from another part [of the world]. Especially with 12 games in front of us. I need people who know about driving the car in the English style. Who know what life in England is.” That is what Jokanovic got in January, but it has not always been so simple during his time at Craven Cottage. His two years there have been characterised by progress on the pitch, some of the best passing football in the division, but a political war over signings that has only just been resolved in Jokanovic’s favour. READ MORE Sessegnon could be as good as Gareth Bale, insists Targett For too long, Fulham’s director of statistical research Craig Kline had too much say over transfers. He was a close friend of Tony Khan, the son of owner Shahid Khan, and was bizarrely given control of transfer policy. Using his own secret algorithms, Kline vetoed good signings and made bad ones, much to Jokanovic’s exasperation. It all ended in tears: Shahid Khan was finally persuaded to sack Kline last October. Kline called the police. Since Kline’s departure, club sources have noticed how much more relaxed and happy Jokanovic is. He no longer has to fight battles over transfer policy and he is no longer imposed with players he has no idea what to do with. Speaking to The Independent in his office at Craven Cottage, he still looks back on the summer transfer window – the last of the Kline era – as a missed opportunity. This guy sounds just what we need. An old fashioned manager with a vision. Hopefully Reed will yield control and allow this guy to operate.

Do you think he may be available at the end of the season?

The survivors will pick up wins in the final games, the relegated clubs won't. We can't seem to win a game, so relegation will follow. If the tactic is to go for a draw each game, that will end in relegation, for sure. Go for a win, be reckless, fortune favours the brave.

No, probably not. It's mean of me, I know, but have been hoping Fulham miss out on promotion as he would be my choice for manager next season. He has the experience now of the English game and believe he would be a good fit. Agree that if he takes Fulham up there's zero chance of him jumping ship to us.

MP : "I am so happy, we have won another point. We is consistent and is making fantastic progress".

I think it's just an update at 5pm. Agree they need to delay a decision until tomorrow. Sorry if that is a pain to Stoke fans who want to know sooner to make plans, but no-one knows what overnight will bring.

Some think we need a WIDE player. Not many wider than Akinfenwa.

I'm with you. Matej Vydra, Derby - 17 goals, 3 assists Leon Clarke, Sheff Utd - 15 goals, 3 assists Jack Marriott, Peterborough - 19 goals, 4 assists Billy Kee, Accrington - 19 goals, 8 assists Ade Akinfenwa, Wycombe - 15 goals, 11 assists Danny Rowe, Fylde, 19 goals, 0 assists

Me too. Colin, could you rename this thread to "James Beattie - sports column"?

Announcement will be made on 15th March - police, UEFA, FIFA, the FA, RFU and Simon Cowell still to be consulted.

You're not wrong there, pal. It is like this every week.

Yeah, the ref didn't DO anything to intervene (it wasn't like that ref that tripped the player up and then sent him off), the Burnley player turned and almost ran into him. He couldn't get out of the way. Anyway, that was 30 seconds before the goal. A lot happened after that. Has anyone else taken issue with Barnes charging our keeper and then handling the ball into the goal. How did that stand? After the Decoure (Watford) handball goal, we seem to be the team getting the rough end of the stick. However, I like Burnley, good to see a team of low value assets working so well and getting results. And we'd like Jack Cork back, and the Southampton born Sam Vokes as well please..

We are all agreeing on the team selection - see above. Just need to decide who is going to be all over Shakira. If we can stop him, that is the key to success.

I'm with Uncle Albert. That equaliser means he can claim to have it under control, taken the point he wanted. We absolutely have to beat Stoke next week. 38 points is the minimum we need, and one point per game won't get us there. West Brom will fire Pardew within 24 hours, have Silva installed within 48 hours and mount a challenge to escape. Meanwhile, we will trickle to 'too little too late city'.

To me, that says it's definitely on Saturday and we'll get back to you on the start time.

Sounds like best option is to go up Thursday/Friday and come back Tue morning ... if you can do that. Plenty to see in the cotton towns.

Really? And he wants £150k a week? He wants to triple his wages? No wonder Spurs are prepared to let him go. ‘ALDERWEIRELD COULD BE SOLD’ Tottenham are considering cashing in on Toby Alderweireld this summer after talks stalled regarding a new contract for the defender, according to The Times. The Belgium international is reportedly asking for his wage to be increased to £150,000 per week but Tottenham are unwilling to play ball due to their strict wage structure.