The Kraken

Butterfield like I say is a utlity player; Palace would normally have had Nathaniel Cline at right back. And as for Chaplow, the Preston fans were absolutely delighted to get rid of him, so not sure we can say he was comfortable. I personally think he is good enough, but clearly he'd need to prove himself.

I think people would be surprised how many players would struggle at Championship level. Goalies I'd have KD, not seen nearly enough of Bart to comment either way; it's telling that no other club has shown significant interest. Defenders Fonte and Harding definitely. Seaborne, not so sure but still has time to improve. Martin, definitely one for the future. Not seen enough of Dickson to say either way, same with Richardson. Mills is doing a decent job so far and I was surprised we got Dickson in and let him go. Butterfield could do a stand-in job but probably nopt good enough for a top end Championship side. Midfielders Here I think we'd struggle, and for ta op end side only Lallana could justify a starting berth. Puncheon is struggling at this level, Chamberlain is young and will definitely be worth a go but not immediately as a starter. I don't think Hammond is up to a starting position in the division above, Chaplow perhaps the same. Morgan perhaps but he has plenty to prove. Strikers Rickie on form, definitely. Guly, not seen enough of but there's potential there for sure. Barney, maybe but worth a go.

Thank heavens you're here to liven things up with your witty and humourous invective.

I very much like this kit, but I hope it is just for this season. I'm really glad we have it just for this season, and I think it looks great, but I hope we get back to stripes next season.

Gareth Bale was given 4 or 5 days off last week, which he used to return to Wales to see his family, play a bit of golf and recurperate. Nothing sinister in it IMO.

Or maybe he is just being given a break for fitness reasons; a 3 or 4 day trip away to recharge the batteries. It's not exactly unprecedented, so I'll choose not to look too much into it (especially as Fonte has looked sharper and keener in recent games).

Yes, its exactly like that conversation. Great analogy.

Like I say, I've been to 7 games this season. I don't for one minute think my status as a fan is much higher than someone else who has only been to six or less games. Have I been to more games? Yes. Is that showing more loyalty? Yes, perhaps. Does it in any way make me a "better" fan? No, of course not.

Nothing wrong with it; I just disagree with it. But then I've only been to 7 games this season, so I'm not a very good fan. Someone who's been to 8 or more games will be along to put me straight soon.

You rank fans? Odd. A Saints fan is a Saints fan; it's not something you earn.

It's got nothing to do with loyalty; its that your "standing as a fan" is dictated by the number of times you go through the turnstiles. Typical uber-fan nonsense, trying to justify his opinion as more important than others.

Well, according to Nick Illingsworth on his site (and as I'm sure he'll soon be bleating to the Echo), those who aren't going to this game aren't proper fans.

No. Leftback regularly gets things right.

You do realise that the majority of fans don't go to every game? It's natural that people will pick and choose the games they want to go to, and this one will come low on the radar for many. Add in the fact that 2 of the stands will be closed, and it's not exactly an appealing way to spend a lot of money (the £15 ticket price is just a starting point for costs). If people don't want to go, fair enough, that#s entirely their right. I don't think it's anyone's place to second guess them and criticise them for it.

Or you could just choose to ignore the parts of opinion and focus solely on the facts? Cortese is a big boy and I'm sure is not bothered about what a collection of anonymous loonies are writing about him on an internet forum. And most people are able to see through the invective without having to launch to his immedaite defence. Just ignore the agenda and look only at the facts.

That's definitely true; but leftback has often confessed he has an anti Cortese/reed/Hunter agenda, so once you can look beyond that you can also ignore the personal stuff and just take on board the actual facts (which are usually spot on).

Said all through the summer that we needed a CM to challenge Morgan and Hammond, a RM to replace Antonio, and a striker to allow cover for Lambert. Also, this was based on Connolly actually being fit, which he perhaps isn't. We've plugged the CM gap with Chaplow. Oxo has stepped up to the plate and can maybe be regarded as a replacement for Antonio, though its early days and he is still young so needs to be developed with care. Guly has come in but I don't really see him as a genuine striker, but it'll be very difficult for us to shoehorn him into his preferred number 10 role. So we're still a striker short, though with Lambert and Barnard we have a brilliant starting two, just a lack of cover and different options. If Connolly doesn't feature soon I wouldn't be surprised to see him have hos contract paid up, he just hasn't been able to stay clear of injury.

While some of that may be true, there's an unfortunate need by many people on here to have a go at those who are ITK. I've seen the same with Weston Saint and his Lallana snippets, and you can't blame a confrontational style on his behalf. Some people just seem to get a bit upset that someone else knows something they don't. Weird. Fonte getting a break is a great idea IMO; I stated in another thread that I'd like to see all the fringe players get a game tomorrow, and if KD is off too that allows Bart some game time, so another good move.

Well I paid £7.50, but that's neither here or there. They got here on merit, so I don't think anyone should judge their entitlement to their season at the highest level in the pyramid they've ever been. Good luck to them I say, even if they are going down. If you can only see the negatives in a very small club rising through the leagues and getting to the third tier in English football with such meagre resources, then I guess you and I share a very different view on football.

They were out of their depth against us; I'm not debating that. But you called them "an insult to professional football". Like it or not, they got into this division on merit, as did we. They tried to play football the right way and didn't put eleven men behind the ball (they should also have scored, with a completely free header, which would have made it 1-1). I don't think there's anything particularly classy about pouring scorn on a team much smaller than us who are currently punching a little above their weight.

I agree entirely. The JPT was a great run, and I wouldn't swap it for anything. But we're never going to win the FA Cup, and it only seems to show up the potential for injuries. Perhaps if we use it like we used the JPT last year, in that we were able to rotate some players and give the reserves some game time, then it could be beneficial. I'd quite like to see this team put out: Bart Richardson Jaidi Martin Dickson Puncheon Wotton Holmes Guly Lambert Bignall It would give the whole back four some much needed game time, let Puncheon and Lambert find their feet against "lesser" opposition, give the reserve midfielders a run and also let us see Guly in his supposed natural position. And I couldn't care less about the result, so it would all be about judging the individual performances.

That's far too harsh. We're an in-form team playing at least one division below our natural position. Daggers are struggling for form in a division at least 1 place above their natural position But they had some decent players and didn't just park the bus like we've previously seen. To call them an insult to professional football is as ignorant as it is arrogant.

Jack Saville too; will be good to see how he copes with League football.

You're right, we won't agree. To me, by neglecting to look at midweek league games in the same manner, it's about as relevant as saying that we dropped 17 points to teams whose names begin with the letter B. Anyway, let's leave it there. Past history anyway, and it's not as if we have any cup distractions this year anyway....

Seriously, I don't understand your point. You're saying the midweek cup games definitely caused us to lose points, but the midweek league games didin't. It doesn't make sense.