derry

He needs to recognise that he is looking at up to five years in the reserve/loans, with the possibility of a few substitute appearances, followed by intermittent games and stiff competition from bought in foreign international players. He's a footballer first and foremost and first team football is the aim wherever he is. He won't do better than stay here he's only 17 and a first team regular.

Because of tunnel vision and and a dearth of football knowledge. He is a good player at this level at the very minimum. He pulled the Huddersfield defenders all over the place with his movement and passing. He'll do for me.

Talk about tunnel vision, Lallana missed two clear chances and hit the bar with an open goal why no criticism. Guly put in both Chamberlain and Chaplow for goals. He caused the Huddersfield defence all sorts of problems all afternoon, as I remember Huddersfield were putting their bodies in the way and they were closing down quickly, the chances he missed were nowhere near as easy as the two missed by Lallana who however all round was excellent apart from missing the goals. Today we had, after missing three golden chances, going behind and nearly two whilst being pulled around in defence by some slick play, shown great character, equalised out of nothing from a Lambert 2009 type shot on the turn, Guly put in Alex for the second from there we put in a terrific team performance. Jaidi was finding Lee difficult but gradually we gained control. It was a real team performance, yes there were some individual weaknesses but the teamwork got us on top and kept us there. Unlike against Brentford we played with a high tempo and the midfield were committed and showed good movement, Lambert was much improved and Guly really worked the Huddersfield defenders. If we can maintain the teamwork and commitment we may be able to get to the top of the league and stay there especially with a bit of strengthening. Even so the bench was much stronger today.

I'd be quite happy to get into the transfer window and provided we are going to strengthen the team, leave as many games as possible until we bring in reinforcements.

There has been a lot of talk about the pre season but for me the most telling reason for the poor start was the lack of competitive match preparation. The teams that appear to always start well play a few lesser quality teams often two on the same night with mixed teams, then the first team comes together and play competitive games against equal or better sides, working on match fitness and teamwork etc. We on the other hand played the two best and already match fit teams before we had hardly done any fitness work, then a hotchpotch of poor quality opposition with a final game against Reading. All the games were a mixture of first team and development players playing together with none of the first teamers playing a full game and some not even playing. The first team didn't play as a unit until the first league game which was also the first full match that any of the first team played. This preparation didn't allow the teamwork of the first team to be bedded in and to hone the match fitness which was missing.

Adam's father said that BR were poor and we should have scored eight. The AP rumours need no comment from anyone.

That BR were poor and were easy to beat. The comment was on the highlighted item.

Adam's father told Weston the very same thing.

The Bristol Rovers game keeps being put forward, any one would think it was supposed to be the great turning point of the season, however it wasn't a particularly good performance that swept every thing before it. Weston was talking to Adam's father before the Swindon cup game and he said that Rovers were so poor we should have got eight. I saw the goals and there was no great cutting edge to any of them. I understand Adam's injury was caused on a treadmill at home, that a specialist couldn't pinpoint any specific injury and suggested he continued to play until it broke down or not which it did straight after half time at Bristol. This was on the understanding if he opened it up to look, Adam would be out for a month but if not and it broke down he would be out for six weeks. To play he was having pain killing injections before 1st and 2nd halfs.

If you get to the ground about 2pm there is loads of parking on the Northam side of Freeborn. One place on the corner by the burger van is under cover £5. Just past Elliotts turn right before you get to Freeborn and there are car parking signs every where. About 200 yds from ground. HTH.

The central midfield was adequate with the way those players were performing. Now Barnard probably won't be seen until after the new year, Lambert has one goal from play and no gamechanging Waigo/Antonio. The central midfield is one of the problems, but to follow the Chairmans ambition of building a Championship winning side coming out of this division, we need a new goalkeeper, centre back, two central midfielders, two wide players, at least one striker and all of the outfield players need to be quick and athletic because without that we are deluding ourselves if we think the present team is going anywhere. I would see Schneiderlin, Puncheon, Mills, Wotton going with Lambert a possible but Lallana unlikely to go because we know he is happy with Adkins. Some of the above recruited in January may get us out of the division. Either way I see big changes in personnel. Interestingly the Chairman remarked that there are players that they are desperate to unload and even though we offered to pay 100% of their wages could get no takers.

Waigo, Antonio, Barnard, Lallana, Lambert, Puncheon all performing.

If we can dominate and carve up the opposing defence we can destabilise the oppositions attack as Brentford did to us on Saturday. Richardson Martin Seabourne and Dickson with Fonte available if pressed would be stronger rather than weaker and certainly give us more aerial power.

You obviously don't grasp the significance of rapidly overloading the opponents defence, as it sucks attacking players back, additionally if we can't defend with the back four together with defending from the front if the ball is lost, we will never be a decent attacking team. The central midfield is slow to close down, doesn't pressurise quickly enough and when in possession lacks the drive needed to get up in attack. Lambert is overloaded and marked out of it without much support and until the the wide players get behind the defences regularly, and the strikers get support from the midfield we aren't going to score a lot of goals. Lambert is not quick or mobile so the movement and penetration to open things up has to be supplied by others. The static midfield we had on saturday is just stifleing the life out of the team.

At the moment we are not playing the pass and move football that Adkins and Cortese want. We tried to, but Davis has no idea how to start playing from the back, more often than not because of his indecision and delay, passes to a player already closed down.This is why he takes so long and invariably kicks long. He wastes as much time as the Brighton keeper did on purpose. If we want to play passing football, there has to be instantaneous release to players expecting the pass, ready to move it on to players already on the move. The central midfield's pass and stand style also ends up with the ball back with Davis as soon as we are closed down, due to the slowness of the passing. We are going to have to bring in players that play this way and then Adkins can be judged. This has to include a goalkeeper that is part of the defence and moves the ball on quickly.

Part of Lambert's problem is that he is not playing up on the last defenders, together with the wide men not getting enough crosses from the byeline. When Lambert gets the ball aimed up at him he often wins the flick on, but even though it is obvious it is going goal side, we get nobody gambling. As soon as the ball is hit up towards Lambert, the second striker and the wide man on that side should be running behind him anticipating the flick on and the two central midfielders should be busting a gut to get up in support. Instead we get everybody ball watching with little movement. The two central midfielders are the biggest problem because neither bust a gut to do anything and are comfort zone players. What would I do? I'd play Fonte alongside Chaplow (Hammond if Chaplow is injured) in central midfield and bring in Martin alongside Seabourne at the back. Richardson and Dickson at fullback with Chamberlain Lambert (as far up as possible) Guly and Lallana with Bialkowski in goal. Fonte is aggressive and a leader and gets into the box, gives us three central defenders at set pieces and should be the captain. Unless we get some aggression and movement into the side we are going to struggle to win enough games until we can get some reinforcements in. Saturday was awful but the central midfield's lack of bite is the problem and unless that is changed we are in for more of the same.

Adkins hasn't been here very long but this is his first defeat at SMS along with two draws, 24 points overall from 14 games. Why haven't I criticised him? Because his teams have always played good passing football and because some of the players on the team are incapable of playing this way forcing him to compromise until he can add the players to make a difference. Pardew last season had the very quick Waigo and Antonio plus Lambert scoring, backed up by Lallana and Barnard also scoring. On Saturday Lambert yet again, except for dead ball situations got nowhere near the opponents goal and again provided no evidence that he will be able to score anytime soon. Barnard is out with a hernia, Fonte the only competent centerback suspended. Obviously the missing Chaplow was brought in as Adkins didn't think the center midfield was mobile enough which again it proved. Nobody could argue with Mills out on loan as he was third choice and wouldn't have played. Wotton is not an alternative either. A fit and performing Puncheon is missed but his history of changing clubs regularly doesn't mark him down as being the real answer. Adkins is going to have to change almost half the present team to get us promotion as we are far too fragile at the moment. Barnard, and Chaplow fit will help plus Fonte back but new athletic, quick players are needed plus a dominant goalkeeper. Schneiderlin seems to view passing the ball as the be all and end all of his game, his positional play shows no intent to attack and his defensive abilities are equally poor. Hammond works hard but is not quick and alongside Schneiderlin gives us a weak, static central midfield. Chamberlain is a seventeen year old with massive potential learning how to play league football and should really be having the odd start, plus regular appearances from the bench, not be the only wide right midfielder. The squad would be strong if we can bring in the necessary players to add to the present players and get Lambert back on track but until we do we are on a knife edge. It would be wrong to criticise Adkins because all he has is the part of Pardew's squad that is left plus Chaplow. Apart from Richardson, Dickson, Harding, Chaplow, Chamberlain and Guly the rest are pretty slow so we have to rectify that. Lallana isn't quick but more than makes up for that with his general all round ability.

I have never rated Davis as he is purely a linebound shotstopper. The biggest criticism I have is that he shows poor judgement and is flaky. He doesn't come off his line to dominate the box and undermines his defence by indecision. I will be glad when he is gone and we have a proper goalkeeper. At fault today and showed all his shortcomings without the shotstopping. The central midfield was appalling. The last thing we need is two pedestrian negative players. Schneiderlin is a luxury we can't afford in the face of mobile athleticism. His sole thought is to unload the ball and move sideways. We need athleticism, pace, forward driving movement and aggression from our midfield not comfort zone meaningless, slow, square and backward buildups allowing defences to consolidate. We were dominated today by an aggressive, athletic, hard working side but with a decent goalkeeper might still have got something out of the game. IMO we need a keeper, centre back, two central midfielders, two strikers, and two wide players. We are a very slow side, lacking pace, so from now on it should be a requirement that any player we sign to get us out of the Championship (stated aim of club's transfer strategy.) must be athletic and quick.

So highly tuned that they can stay out drinking until the early hours. Footballers compared with real athletes are nowhere near highly tuned. Secondly it is easy to write off history and think that the old time players couldn't compete. Believe me there was much more character, toughness and physical hardness in the 50s to 70s partly because all the players served national service. The present crop of overpaid, mollycoddled woosers would be kicked off the park in tears by the old timers. Given the same training regimes the old timers would be far superior because of the spartan upbringing and the national discipline together with poor pay giving them a hardness that few players today possess.

An idiot to be where he was in the early hours, an idiot to put himself in that position, but faced with a pasting from a professional boxer he was no idiot to defend himself the best way he could.

In the Premier, and I agree about the fitness in the 60s, no substitutes, and virtually the same team week in week out. Present day players wouldn't survive the tackling or the pitches.

Absolutely.

More likely, the way things were at the club with Pardew's relationship deteriorating with both Cortese and the development people we were set for implosion. In any case Adkins is a better manager. Pardew didn't embrace the technology available but Adkins does.

Happy Christmas Bill.

Sorry not very good with the computer but surely this post is suppose to be a joke !! Why would that be? Ted built the club, Markus Liebherr saved it, is still keeping it going as his family legacy and his plan is very much alive including the training ground development. He died long before his dream was fulfilled but for me he has contributed immeasureably to the club's existence and future. A statue would be appropriate.