saint lard

I did very much, thankyou.

Little man has now left for another 2 weeks,FFS, i hate it when he goes.

do you think i will have good reason too? Only if we are underperforming. As long as we are seen to be competeing i will be happy. Last season we had to be seen to be doing more than just competing as we had the strongest squad by far. We got results...unfortunately that was rarely acompanied by consistancy in performance collectively. Don't think i was being unrealistic by wanting the players to perform to their ability,they only did so sporadically. We have no devine right to batter anyone,we will have to earn points. They will all have to be at the top of their game,week in week out....or we will be punished by our oposition,unlike last season when we could afford to play below par. None of the above is earth shattering,just what is required,this season. Pretty realistic expectations.

My little lad came bounding in with his pressie,he was so proud of what he bought me and his hand written card. I was also very proud. We are soon to be having copious amounts of treats whilst playing Lego Pirates of the Carribean.

To all the dads that have limited access to their children,be strong and remember they only have one real dad. Be there for them always.

RIP Clarence. He passed away last night. Springsteen is said to be devastated. He was integral to the E street band. Sad Loss to the music world.

I'm interested to see how Adkins copes in this league,completely different expectations to when he was there last with Scunny. It will show his true metal. I will be happy with a top half finish to a certain degree.Although we should be pushing on a little from that with the posible resources to hand. Finish above the skates as well please. I think Coventry,the posh and Doncaster to go down. Top 6........West Ham,Forest,Leeds,Liecester,Ipswich,Birmingham.

He is still expected to sign for West Ham. Don't blame him really.

This is war,30 seconds to mars. Bloody good.

That is a brave statement,based on what exactly?

T'is him,deffo.

I certainly hope you are correct. We should have more time on the ball,which inturn should allow us to "play". Lets hope we are capable of doing so...perhaps even in the much vaunted style that Adkins professes us he wants us too. It was vey rarely on show last season.

I will be brutely honest i can't name every game that i walked away from feeling that we underperformed and that we did not look a side that had the squad and resources we did. If we were made to look very ordinary by some really poor sides there is a reason...we were poor. I completely see your point of view,but i will not look at last season through completely rose tinted specs.

It was the strength of our sqaud that got us through last season,not our playing style,this season we will need both in abundance.

That was league one,this will be a totally different class of opposition,we were a big fish in a small pond,this coming season is going to be non comparable. We need to improve vastly,full stop.

I think you know full well that is not what i am saying. You are in denial fella.You know i have a valid point.

For a fair few games we did not perform for exceptionally long spells during a match,how many times did people report back that for long periods our play was not good. Infact, copius times people were saying that it was not the performance that matters but the result...well that tells me their were times we did not perform well.I saw it for my self on many occasions.It was becoming a standing joke that were were only capable of playing for one half of a match...usually the second half.Play like that this season and teams will be out of sight before we can get near them in the second period. We were lucky we were playing teams of a lesser capability than us,this season however we will be stronlgy matched in every department. Therefore we will be punished.

Rumour on twitter is that as west ham failed to lure Gardener yesterday they have turned their attention to Cork.

You are not alone in this theory.

Are they really going to set the NPC alight next season? Performed well in League one,but yet to be convinced they will be stand out players in the NPC. Adam should hold his own but the other two are have hardly been tested in a league above. I thnk some maybe pinning their hopes on that they will be more than a match for any that are put in front of them. Here's hoping they live up to the billing.

Looking at that fixture list reminds me we are now playing with the bigger boys. We are going to have to do some serious work pre season both on the training pitch and off the pitch. We were attrocious on occasions last season and were torn a new hole by what some might class as lowly clubs. We were nieve and lacklustre at times but got away with it having a impressive sqaud for league one.We will get punished in the NPC. This coming season will be no cake walk....we must be prepared. Mid table obsurity will do me right now,and one place above the Skates.

Exactly.

Skates away,midday kick off on a Sunday in November. Skates at home,midday kick off on a Sunday in March. Last game of the season,away at West Ham,Televised,We need to win to stay up,hammers need 3 points to win the league. Skates at home to the posh on the last dayand,need a win for the playoffs. HTH.

West Ham have signed Faye,Nolan and are today likely to sign Ricardo Gardener,Big sam getting in tried and tested players not only in the Championship but could do a job in a first season back in the Premier League. In my view this is very good forward planning and something i am hoping we are going to aim for. All very well if we sign top players from league 1,Pilkington,Peltier but these are possibly short term signings as it would be a huge gamble relying on these to perform in the Prem,if and when we get there. Stability is key and the less upheaval the better,we should be looking at players in key areas that can hold their own for a season in the Prem. I know we need a mixture of youth and experience,but lets plan for the longterm,not gamble solely on ones that could 'possibly 'step up a level. Anyway we could be doing all sorts behind the scenes. All imo.

Fort road?. Thats the course i virtually overlook and was refreing too in my previous post.